Gospel of Mark/Chapter 8:1-21/Commentary

The Gospel of Mark Chapter 8:1-21 8:1 “In those days again”: That is, while Jesus was in this region of Decapolis.

“When there was a great multitude and they had nothing to eat,He summoned His disciples and said to them”: “When the five thousand had been caught in similar circumstances, the apostles had come with suggestions to Jesus, but now, being taught by experience, they keep silence and let Jesus manage as He will.

The multitude had not been three days without food, but it had been with Jesus three days and was now without food” (McGarvey p. 405).

Those who criticize the accuracy of the Bible regard the feeding of the 5000 and 4000 as one event, despite differences in time, place, numbers fed, number of bread-cakes and of fishes and of baskets full of left-overs.  The language of the two accounts is similar yet there are significant differences.  Jesus Himself clearly refers to two feedings (Mark 8:18-21).

8:2 “I feel compassion for the multitude because they have remained with Me now three days, and have nothing to eat”: Even the unsatisfied hunger of men awakens the compassion of Jesus. “After this long stay near Jesus, during which they forgot everything else except what they saw and heard from him, and after 1

all supplies brought along had been consumed, he cannot bring himself simply to dismiss them by telling them to go home since he himself is leaving” (Lenski p.

315).

8:3 “And if I send them away hungry to their home, they will faint on the way; and some of them have come from a distance”: In spite of all the things that Jesus was dealing with---He still had time for the multitudes.

8:4 “And His disciples answered Him, ‘Where will anyone be able to find enough to satisfy these men with bread here in a desolate place”: Here we learn that Jesus and the multitudes were in a deserted region. We might wonder why the disciples seem so dense in grasping the fact that Jesus can provide bread for any number of people. Yet we do see this often happens in life. “How frequently is a crisis met with forgetfulness of past blessings, which should have taught men to know God and never falter or hesitate where He is in charge? Secondly, Jesus was not in the habit of providing miraculously for their needs. There was no lavish and needless exercise of miraculous power. He also had rebuked people who wanted more bread (John 6:26-27). In addition: 1. A considerable period of time may have elapsed between the two events. 2. Even mature Christians (which the disciples were not), having see God’s power and provision, have subsequently acted in unbelief.

8:5 “And He was asking them, ‘How many loaves do you have?’ And they said, ‘Seven’”: Apparently, these loaves are what they had left from their own supplies.

8:6 “And He directed the multitude 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 multitude”: Observe that Jesus gave thanks. Jesus did not take the Father’s blessings for granted. Even though Jesus had wrought many miracles, He never treated them in a casual manner. Let us never lose sight of our need for daily blessings (1 Timothy 4:4).

8:7 “They also had a few small fish; and after He had blessed them, He ordered these to be served as well”: 2

8:8 “And they ate and were satisfied; and they picked up seven large baskets full of what was left over of the broken pieces”: The facts of this amazing event are recorded with the greatest brevity. They did eat, were filled, and all the leftovers were gathered.

“From seven loaves and a few fishes Christ fed the multitude of four thousand men and their families in much the same way as he had fed the five thousand. The uneaten pieces amounted to seven baskets full. Here the baskets are the larger spurides, or hampers, which the disciples may have been using on their recent journey, as compared to the smaller kophinoi of Matt 14:20, a distinction maintained in 16:9-10. The seven baskets may have contained more than the twelve on the previous occasion” (The Wycliffe Bible Commentary). As always God’s provision was more than adequate.

8:9 “And about four thousand were there; and He sent them away”: The fact that this crowd is smaller than the first crowd that was fed (5000), is a good argument against the accusation that the gospels are nothing more than mythical stories. If the gospels had been born out of unhistorical or mythical traditions, then the details concerning this second miracle would have been greater than the first miracle.

8:10 “And immediately he entered the boat with His disciples, and came to the district of Dalmanutha”: [dal muh NEW thuh]: Was a place on the western shore of the Sea of Galilee (Mark 8:10). The parallel passage in Matt 15:39 has Magdala (KJV, NKJV) or Magadan (RSV). Jesus came to this region after His miraculous feeding of the four thousand (Nelsons Bible Dictionary).

"The parts of Dalmanutha." Magdala was probably the same place, which was formerly called Migdol, Josh 19:38. It is now called Mejdel, and is situated a few miles north of the city of Tiberias, in the land of Gennesaret, on the western side of the Sea of Tiberias, and directly east of Cana of Galilee. "It is a wretched hamlet of a dozen low huts huddled into one, and the whole ready to tumble into a dismal heap of black basaltic rubbish". The Land and the Book (Thomson), vol. ii. p. 108. This was the birthplace of Mary Magdalene, out of whom the Savior cast seven devils, Mark 16:9. Dalmanutha was probably a small village near to 3

Magdala, of which no remains have been discovered. There is no contradiction in the statements of the two evangelists here, for they do not say that Jesus went to either of these towns, but only to the coasts or parts where they were situated (Barnes Notes).

Some Applications 1. Jesus challenges those who are content with doing nothing merely because they have little with which to work.

2. Jesus would not do all this work Himself, nor would He summon even one of the angels in heaven to do what His human helpers could.

3. Jesus did not use heavenly means to provide the need until the full extent of earthly provision could be ascertained and provided.

4. Even as those who had earlier rejected Jesus’ help and hurried Him away now gladly receive His help, we may learn that there is mercy with the Lord, even though we ignorantly and temporarily send Him away. Let us thank Him for the privilege of repentance (2 Peter 3:9).

The Sign from Heaven 8:11 “And the Pharisees came out and began to argue with Him, seeking from Him a sign from heaven, to test Him”: Pharisees are making increasing attempts to discredit Jesus in the eyes of the multitudes. “This is but one more attempt to discredit Him publicly by challenging Him to provide credentials they hoped He did not possess. Such bloodless ordeals were the enemies’ only real strategy short of the violence that surfaced in Jesus’ final arrest and crucifixion” (Fowler p. 447).

“Asked Him to show them a sign from heaven”: What did they expect? Fire to fall, a sun standing still, hail from a cloudless sky, voices from the throne of God? First of all, such a question is hypocritical on their part. The Sadducees (who are with the Pharisees on this occasion) didn’t really believe that such supernatural interventions could take place. Matt 16:1-4 “Some miraculous appearance in the sky. Such appearances had been given by the prophets; and they supposed, if He was the Messiah, that His miracles would not all be confined to the earth, but that He was able to give some signal miracle from 4

heaven. Samuel had caused it to thunder (1 Sam 12:16-18); Isaiah had caused the shadow to go back ten degrees on the dial of Ahaz (Isa 38:8); and Moses had sent manna from heaven, Ex 16:4; John 6:31. It is proper to say, that though Christ did not choose then to show such wonders, yet far more stupendous signs from heaven than these were exhibited at his death” (Barnes Notes).

Jesus had just fed the multitudes (Matthew 15:32), and healed a large number of sick people (15:30-31). “Unbelief always finds a way to refuse to accept the truth, no matter with what credentials it is presented. What would prevent the Pharisees from attributing any ‘sign out of heaven’ to the aid of Beelzebul? Where the word plus the signs awaken no faith, all that is left is what Jesus points out to His opponents” (Lenski p. 610). The person who needs more and more evidence is the person who has already made up their mind not to believe, no matter how great the amount of evidence provided.

8:12 “And sighing deeply in His spirit, He said, ‘Why does this generation seek for a sign? Truly I say to you, no sign shall be given to this generation’”: “Sighing deeply in His spirit”: “Being grieved deeply at the sinful obduracy which demanded signs in the midst of overwhelming demonstration of divine power” (McGarvey p. 407). Observe that God takes unbelief personally. He is grieved when people are dishonest, stubborn, and selfish. The term “spirit” means His emotions, desires and heart. From the very center of His being, Jesus grieved that men could be so dishonest and so determined not to believe. The reader should note that the term “sighing deeply” is a very intensive form of grief, sorrow, disappointment, and frustration. “Why does this generation seek for a sign?”

Especially in light of the fact that a whole host of signs had already been given!

“No sign shall be given to this generation”: Actually, many signs had been given —the miracles. In addition, they would be given the ultimate sign—the resurrected Christ. But, the type of signs they were requesting, would not be given.

8:13 “And leaving them, He again embarked and went away to the other side”: That is, He went to the east side of the lake.

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8:14 “And they had forgotten to take bread; and did not have more than one loaf in the boat with them”: Their failure sets the stage for the teaching in the next verse. It appears that the recent clash between Jesus and the Pharisees may have preoccupied their attention, or, with the recent feeding, they may have been living off the leftovers and suddenly realized that their supplies were almost exhausted.

8:15 “And He was giving orders to them, saying, ‘Watch out! Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and the leaven of Herod’”: “Leaven, which answered to our modern yeast, was a symbol of a secret, penetrating, pervasive influence, usually of a corrupting nature. The influence of the Pharisees was that of formalism, hypocritical ostentation (Matthew 23) and traditionalism; that of the Sadducees was sneering rationalistic unbelief, free thought and cunning worldliness, manifesting itself among the Herodians in political corruption” (McGarvey pp. 407-408). “And the leaven of Herod”: Herod is included with the Pharisees because he was equally wanting to see a sign, and he also had a corrupting influence. “Yeast is a symbol of evil; and, as only a very small amount is necessary to leaven a loaf of bread, so evil has a permeating power” (Gaebelein p. 689).

8:16 “And they began to discuss with one another the fact that they had no bread”: The disciples fail completely to understand what Jesus has in mind.

“They think it over in their minds and while they are doing so quietly say, ‘We did not take bread---that is what He has in mind’” (Lenski p. 615).

8:17-18 “And Jesus, aware of this, said to them, ‘Why do you discuss the fact that you have no bread? Do you not yet see or understand? Do you have a hardened heart? Having eyes, do you not see? And having ears, do you not hear? And do you not remember?”: By this time Jesus expected these men to be more perceptive.

8:19-21 “When I broke the five loaves for the five thousand, how many baskets full of broken pieces did you pick up?’ They said to Him, ‘Twelve’. And when I broke the seven for the four thousand, how many large baskets full of broken pieces did you pick up?’ And they said to Him, ‘Seven’. And He was saying to them, ‘Do you not yet understand?’”: 6

As far as worrying about forgetting to take bread along on this trip is concerned, do these disciples fail to remember the bread Jesus provided for the 5,000, with twelve baskets full for the disciples? Do they suppose for a moment that Jesus will now starve them? Likewise, He did the same with the 4,000! These two miracles should have convinced the disciples that He wasn’t warning them, “Make sure you have brought plenty of bread”. Notice how the disciples jump in their reasoning from “leaven of the Pharisees”, to a failure to have enough bread.

If the disciples thought that Jesus was warning them about buying bread in Herod’s realm, then the above miracles should have convinced them that Jesus could provide bread anywhere, and that one loaf was plenty. If the disciples thought that Jesus was warning them about buying bread from Pharisees or Sadducees, that is, “At least we are safe from contamination by the leaven of unfriendly leaders and parties, since we brought none of their bread with us”, then they have not realized that physical things do not contaminate one (Matthew 15:15-20).

Observe that their failure to understand was rooted in a failure to remember.

Often a lack of faith is nothing more than a failure to remember valuable lessons from the past, and how God has provided for us in the past. At this point Matthew records that the disciples put it all together, and understood that Jesus was warning them about the dangerous nature of the teaching of the Pharisees (Matthew 16:12).

Applications 1. “Teaching” does include “influence” and “example”.

2. Men of influence in our society who have such a subtle sway over our thinking that we may be unconscious of it, can influence us too. There are reputable gentlemen who are too clever to commit themselves publicly on the side of immorality or in favor of ideas tending toward apostasy from the living God. Yet, their example and attitude lead in this direction.

3. There is usually a grain of truth in every mistaken concept, which seems to depend upon it, just enough truth to make the error look believable.

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4. The pressure to embrace what is false is further enhanced by the prestige and apparent rectitude of those who hold such views. The “good moral man” who teaches error is far more dangerous than the person who is obviously godless and immoral.

5. The Pharisees and the Sadducees were so dangerous because they looked righteous and moral (Matthew 23).

6. Remember, anyone can be leaven! Anyone can be fooled (Hebrews 3:12).

Feel sorry for the person who thinks that they have been a Christian so long that they know so much of the Bible that they could never be led astray (1 Corinthians 10:12). Remember Peter! (Galatians 2:11-13).

7. It is so easy to be leavened by the world (Romans 12:1-2; 1 John 2:15-17).

“By the atmosphere of the world which we absorb like the air we breathe.

The moral pollution is as real as the material sort, and often we are just as unconscious of the effect of the one on our spirit as we are unaware of the damage to our body of the other” (Fowler p. 472).

8. Remember, religious leaders can be wrong. In addition, the “mainstream” can be wrong. The Pharisees and the Sadducees represented the two main Jewish religious parties of the time. The vast majority of all the Jews sided with one of these parties. So many people are leavened by the teachings in the modern religious world, because they reason, “Not all these people can be wrong”. The disciples in the First Century would have been wrong if they concluded that “Well, the Pharisees can’t be that bad, seeing that most people hold to their teachings”.

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