Mark 8:1-10 Jesus Fed 4000 (Mt. 15.32-39)

Do we sometimes doubt about Jesus' abilities to meet our needs?
(Ps. 34.9-11)

1  Ἐν ἐκείναις ταῖς ἡμέραις πάλιν πολλοῦ ὄχλου ὄντος καὶ μὴ ἐχόντων τί φάγωσιν, προσκαλεσάμενος τοὺς μαθητὰς λέγει αὐτοῖς·
1  In those days, when there was again a large crowd and they had nothing to eat, Jesus called His disciples and said to them,

2  σπλαγχνίζομαι ἐπὶ τὸν ὄχλον, ὅτι ἤδη ἡμέραι τρεῖς προσμένουσίν μοι καὶ οὐκ ἔχουσιν τί φάγωσιν·
2  "I feel compassion for the people because they have remained with Me now three days and have nothing to eat.

3  καὶ ἐὰν ἀπολύσω αὐτοὺς νήστεις εἰς οἶκον αὐτῶν, ἐκλυθήσονται ἐν τῇ ὁδῷ· καί τινες αὐτῶν ἀπὸ μακρόθεν ἥκασιν.
3  "If I send them away hungry to their homes, they will faint on the way; and some of them have come from a great distance."

4  καὶ ἀπεκρίθησαν αὐτῷ οἱ μαθηταὶ αὐτοῦ ὅτι πόθεν τούτους δυνήσεταί τις ὧδε χορτάσαι ἄρτων ἐπ᾽ ἐρημίας;
4  And His disciples answered Him, "Where will anyone be able to find enough bread here in this desolate place to satisfy these people?"

5  καὶ ἠρώτα αὐτούς· πόσους ἔχετε ἄρτους; οἱ δὲ εἶπαν· ἑπτά.
5  And He was asking them, "How many loaves do you have?" And they said, "Seven."

6  καὶ παραγγέλλει τῷ ὄχλῳ ἀναπεσεῖν ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς· καὶ λαβὼν τοὺς ἑπτὰ ἄρτους εὐχαριστήσας ἔκλασεν καὶ ἐδίδου τοῖς μαθηταῖς αὐτοῦ ἵνα παρατιθῶσιν, καὶ παρέθηκαν τῷ ὄχλῳ.
6  And He directed the people to sit down on the ground; and taking the seven loaves, He gave thanks and broke them, and started giving them to His disciples to serve to them, and they served them to the people.
C1 started giving. The verb tenses for the words translated "taking, gave thanks, and broke" specify actiuon at a fixed moment in the past. Yet the verb translated "started giving" is in the imperfect tense. Thus we may conclude that the miracle of multiplication was a continuing process that took place, at least initially, in Jesus' hands. 

7  καὶ εἶχον ἰχθύδια ὀλίγα· καὶ εὐλογήσας αὐτὰ εἶπεν καὶ ταῦτα παρατιθέναι.
7  They also had a few small fish; and after He had blessed them, He ordered[said,] these to be served as well.

8  καὶ ἔφαγον καὶ ἐχορτάσθησαν, καὶ ἦραν περισσεύματα κλασμάτων ἑπτὰ σπυρίδας.
8  And they ate and were satisfied; and they picked up seven large baskets full of what was left over of the broken pieces.
C1 large baskets. These seven baskets were much larger than the 12 small personal baskets mentioned in 5.43. It was kind of larger basket that was used to lower Paul over the wall of Damascus (Acts 9.25). 

D1  seven. The slightly smaller scale (cf. "twelve baskets" in 6.43) perhaps signifies Israel's continued priority: to the Jews first but also to the Gentiles. 

9  ἦσαν δὲ ὡς τετρακισχίλιοι. καὶ ἀπέλυσεν αὐτούς.
9  About four thousand were there; and He sent them away.
A1 The parallel in Matt 15:32-39 notes that the four thousand were only men, a point not made explicit in Mark.

A2 Mark 8:1-10. Many commentators, on the basis of similarities between this account of the feeding of the multitude (8:1-10) and that in 6:30-44, have argued that there is only one event referred to in both passages. While there are similarities in language and in the response of the disciples, there are also noticeable differences, including the different number present on each occasion (i.e., 5,000 in chap. 6 and 4,000 here). In the final analysis, the fact that Jesus refers to two distinct feedings in 8:18-20 settles the issue; this passage represents another very similar incident to that recorded in 6:30-44.

10  Καὶ εὐθὺς ἐμβὰς εἰς τὸ πλοῖον μετὰ τῶν μαθητῶν αὐτοῦ ἦλθεν εἰς τὰ μέρη Δαλμανουθά.
10  And immediately He entered the boat with His disciples and came to the district of Dalmanutha.
A1 Dalmanutha. The exact location is uncertain, but it is somewhere close to the western shore of the Sea of Galilee. (Magdala, Mt. 15.39? Map 241)

Mark 4:11-13 Pharisees Seek Signs (Mt. 16.1-4)
11  Καὶ ἐξῆλθον οἱ Φαρισαῖοι καὶ ἤρξαντο συζητεῖν αὐτῷ, ζητοῦντες παρ᾽ αὐτοῦ σημεῖον ἀπὸ τοῦ οὐρανοῦ, πειράζοντες αὐτόν.
11  The Pharisees came out and began to argue with Him, seeking from Him a sign from heaven, to test Him.
A1 “seeking” The participle ζητοῦντες (zhtountes) shows the means by which the Pharisees argued with Jesus.

A2 a sign from heaven. What exactly this sign would have been, given what Jesus was already doing, is not clear. But here is where the fence-sitters reside, refusing to commit to him.

12  καὶ ἀναστενάξας τῷ πνεύματι αὐτοῦ λέγει· τί ἡ γενεὰ αὕτη ζητεῖ σημεῖον; ἀμὴν λέγω ὑμῖν, εἰ δοθήσεται τῇ γενεᾷ ταύτῃ σημεῖον.
12  Sighing deeply in His spirit, He said, "Why does this generation seek for a sign? Truly I say to you, no sign will be given to this generation."

B1 Sighing. On account of the attitude underlying and driving the demand of v.11. An open heart, together with Jesus' demonstrations of divine authority, should be more than enough for seeing that he truly is the Messiah. 

13  καὶ ἀφεὶς αὐτοὺς πάλιν ἐμβὰς ἀπῆλθεν εἰς τὸ πέραν.
13  Leaving them, He again embarked and went away to the other side.