Mark 8 1-21

You may read along in the passage today and think, we just did this passage. We just talked a couple weeks ago about Jesus feeding the 5000. Perhaps this is the same story, or some sort of a repetition. But it isn’t. The stories are similar, but they differ in a few important ways. So I invite you today, to read with me the feeding of the 4000 as opposed to the feeding of the 5000. You might think it is 1000 people less impressive, but hopefully we’ll be able to get more out of the text than just that. The passage today is long because I wanted us to be able to complete the whole thought of the passage, not just be left with pieces and parts. So we’ll see how the sermon turns out. Mark 8 1 ff please stand for the reading of God’s Word.

During those days another large crowd gathered. Since they had nothing to eat, Jesus called his disciples to him and said, “I have compassion for these people; they have already been with me three days and have nothing to eat. If I send them home hungry, they will collapse on the way, because some of them have come a long distance.”

His disciples answered, “but where in this remote place can anyone get enough bread to feed them?”

“How many loaves do you have?” Jesus asked.

“Seven,” they replied.

He told the crowd to sit down on the ground. When he had taken the seven loaves and given thanks, he broke them and gave them to his disciples to set before the people, and they did so. They had a few small fish as well; he gave thanks for them also and told the disciples to distribute them. The people are and were satisfied. Afterward the disciples picked up seven basketfuls of broken pieces that were left over. About four thousand men were present. And having sent them away, he got into the boat with his disciples and went to the region of Dalmanutha.

The Pharisees came and began to question Jesus. To test him, they asked him for a sign from heaven. He sighed deeply and said, “Why does this generation ask for a miraculous sign? I tell you the truth, no sign will be given to it.” Then he left them, got back into the boat and crossed to the other side.

The disciples had forgotten to bring bread, except for one loaf they had with them in the boat. “Be careful,” Jesus warned them. Watch out for the yeast of the Pharisees and that of Herod.”

They discussed this with one another and said, “It is because we have no bread.”

Aware of their discussion, Jesus asked them: “Why are you talking about having no bread? Do you still not see or understand? Are your hearts hardened? Do you have eyes but fail to see, and ears but fail to hear? And don’t you remember? When I broke the five loaves for the five thousand, how many basketfuls of pieces did you pick up?

“Twelve,” they replied.

“And when I broke the seven loaves for the four thousand, how many basketfuls of pieces did you pick up?”

They answered, “Seven.”

He said to them, “Do you still not understand?”

Let’s pray.

We are working our way gradually through the gospel according to Mark. It is one of four different, and yet similar written account of the events of the life of Jesus of Nazareth. Of all the gospels, Mark is the quickest read. It is a shorter account of many of the events of Jesus life; just the ones that Mark and Peter, led by the Holy Spirit, felt would help people know Jesus Christ; what He was like, who He was, what He did.

You remember last time we look at the feeding of the 5000 we mixed in Psalm 23. It was completely appropriate to mix in references to Psalm 23 because the people Jesus was feeding were Jews; they likely would have picked up on Jesus leading them beside still waters, in green pastures. They would have picked up on Jesus being the fulfillment, really, of Psalm 23. Jesus personified “The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not be in want…” But the feeding of the 4000 isn’t of Jews. Remember, at this point, same as last week, Jesus is in an area populated primarily by Gentiles. They don’t have Psalm 23 to reference, to think about as Jesus teaches and feeds them. They don’t have the religious history to contextualize Jesus. They are building their own understanding of Jesus the Messiah. And that’s good, but there are different challenges coming to Jesus without any preconceived notions when compared to the expectations of the Jews. Some Jews are kept away from Christ because of erroneous expectations; some Gentiles will keep away because they have no category for Jesus, no place in their lives. Same as now, really.

Reading this passage is at least moderately frustrating. These disciples just don’t get it. They’ve seen Jesus at work, seen something similar to this situation; but maybe because these people are Gentiles they don’t expect Jesus to do the same food multiplying miracle for these Gentiles too, even though Jesus has been expanding their view of who Christ is for; first the Jews then the Gentiles. Remember, we are in the midst of a section in Mark where the ministry of Jesus is expanding to include interactions with the Gentiles, and they are coming to believe in Him. Jesus came for all peoples and nations, not just the Jews. He was Jewish, born a Jew, raised a Jew, but He is for all people. He is the fulfillment of Genesis 12 where God blesses Abraham in order to be a blessing to others. The Jews were always supposed to have been a light to the Gentiles, inviting people into the knowledge and love of God, but it never worked out quite that way. Instead, through Jesus, God becomes the God of all people and all nations, not just one specific people group. That blesses us. We are blessed because of the gift of the Jews.

His disciples answered, “but where in this remote place can anyone get enough bread to feed them?”

“How many loaves do you have?” Jesus asked.

“Seven,” they replied.

This was a remote, deserty area. The Gentile crowds have been so fascinated by Jesus that they have listened to Him teach for 3 days. Everything they brought to eat is gone; they are hungry. They have ignored their hunger for several days now, but they don’t have the strength to make it home not having eaten. The issue must be addressed. A good host must not have the people suffer like this. They need to feed the people. It is frustrating reading this to think that in the recent past Jesus had a similar situation, and everything turned out well. In my imagination I can see Peter and Mark recalling this story and just shaking their heads at their own ignorance. The truth was right before them, the way of God was right there, but they were unable to grasp who Jesus was, and what He could do, over and over.

So the same scenario happens; the disciples find some bread, Jesus gives thanks and breaks it, again symbolic of the breaking of His body that will take place on the cross. The difference, is that His body was broken now for the Gentiles as well. They get the same treatment as the Jews. They also, we also get Jesus crucified for us. We are not second class citizens, but full inheritors of God’s grace and love through Christ. What is good for the Jews is also good for us. The bread of life is for us non-Jews as well.

Dave Finz pointed out to me that when Jesus fed the 5000, there were 12 baskets of food left over. 12, of course, is an important number for the Jews. It is the number of tribes within the people known as the Israelites. It is also the number of disciples around Jesus. So when there are 12 baskets of food left over from the feeding, readers would have seen that Jesus is sufficient for all of Israel. You’ll notice that in this incident, there are 7 baskets full of food left over. The number 7 seems to be pretty important in Scripture as well. 7 days of creation, and in Revelation 15:1 the number 7 refers to ‘fullness’; “And I saw in Heaven another great and marvelous sign: seven angels with the seven last plagues—last, because with them God’s wrath is completed.” In the same vein, when someone asks Jesus how many times they must forgive another person, He says 70 x 7, or a complete forgiveness, above what was humanly possible. I suspect when the early readers of Mark read this account they would have understood that the fullness of God is for the Gentiles as well, and it was demonstrated by the amount of leftover bread.

Jesus compassion that He had for the Jews, because they were like sheep without a shepherd, manifests itself here. Jesus compassion is for the Gentiles as well. We’ve seen glimpses of that compassion in individual healings, but this is the first time we truly see that Jesus mission is for the Gentiles as well as the Jews. Not just individuals, but that Jerusalem will finally become a house of prayer for all the nations, not just the one nation.

In the midst of the event, and its explanation, Mark wants us to know the Pharisees were still investigating this Jesus guy, trying to figure Him out.

The Pharisees want to see a miracle for themselves. They do not trust the testimony of others. If God is doing a new thing, it should be run through them. But it isn’t, and therefore it can’t be from God. I don’t think Jesus did miracles to impress people, or to convince them of who He was. Jesus miracles are for people who are in need; He healed people with demons, leprosy, paralyzation and blindness, among other problems. He raised the dead and performed miraculous amounts of food to appear from nothing. And now, the Pharisees would reduce Him to a doer of tricks; they want Him to jump when they say jump, to obey them. He says that isn’t going to happen. He will not be controlled by those who control the religious life of Israel, but in reality are far from God. It does, however, speak to the level of their concern that they have traveled into Gentile territory in order to confront Jesus.

The Pharisees have been coming around Jesus, questioning Him, confronting Him over the practices of His disciples, watching and waiting for Him to say something so that they can discredit Him, or worse, have Him killed. The Pharisees had it in for Jesus; He would not cower before them, He would not prove who He was to them. Their minds were made up, and would not be confused with any facts. Jesus knew what they were planning, He knew what His end would be. So, as He and the disciples leave in the boat, Jesus warns them.

The disciples had forgotten to bring bread, except for one loaf they had with them in the boat. “Be careful,” Jesus warned them. Watch out for the yeast of the Pharisees and that of Herod.”

They discussed this with one another and said, “It is because we have no bread.”

“Twelve,” they replied.

“And when I broke the seven loaves for the four thousand, how many basketfuls of pieces did you pick up?”

They answered, “Seven.”

He said to them, “Do you still not understand?”

The disciples still don’t understand, just like the Pharisees. They still don’t understand who Jesus was and what He was doing. They couldn’t let their misunderstanding of Jesus harden their hearts against Jesus, as had happened with the Pharisees. The Pharisees could have tried to understand, to discern who Jesus was by looking at His actions and His claims. Instead, since Jesus wouldn’t play by their rules, they decided, before they had all the information, who Jesus was. And then they hardened their hearts against ever revisiting that decision to see Jesus as simply a dangerous imposter. The failure to reevaluate a decision, despite the outcomes, is a dangerous way to live. One of my friends does this. Once a decision is made, there is no turning back, despite disastrous consequences.

There seem to be 3 sets of people figuring out Jesus. The first is the crowd. They are fascinated by Jesus, but haven’t made a commitment yet. They have stayed in the desert 3 days, listening to Jesus teach. Some of them have even followed Jesus around from the other side of the lake, not a short trip. Second are the Pharisees, who have decided Jesus is not who He says He is, and third are the disciples, who will bet their lives, their futures that Jesus is the Christ.

Where do you find yourself? Are you a Pharisee, convinced Jesus was just a trickster? That He didn’t die on the cross and in fact there are all sorts of ways to make it heaven if people just want to be good? If people are nice enough, they deserve to go to Heaven? Or are you part of the crowd, still checking out Jesus, trying to understand what He said, who He was and what difference He might make in your life? He will make life better, with purpose and deep meaning but also the path following Jesus is not the easiest path. What He says is often hard to hear and hard to put into practice in our lives. Jesus calls us to live up to honoring Him with our lives, in everything we do. So if you are trying to get a grasp on Christ, keep listening. You are heading in the right direction. But you will someday need to commit your life to Christ. You cannot stay on the fence forever. When you make that commitment, your life we be changed for the better, forever.

Or do you find yourself as a disciple, sometimes confused by Jesus, but ready and willing to follow Him come what may? The disciples didn’t understand everything at the time Jesus told them or did what He did. It was only in retrospect that the disciples really understood who Jesus was. I think disciples now have that same point of view. Often we don’t understand why God has us in the positions and places He has us. It is only in looking back, when we see that the hard place God had us in prepared us for the ministry that He had for us to do that we see God’s plan; at least a little of it. Have you seen the ways of God, how He provides for you through Jesus, through His love, through the fellowship of the body of Christ, how He provides the way for all people, regardless of race, regardless of background to come to God the Father, cleansed completely through the blood of the Lamb? That’s us, disciples of God, His children, His flocks, His servants, His body. Find yourself in Him and His ways.

Let’s pray.