Beware of the Leaven of the World

Continuing a Bible study of the Gospels:

(Mark 8:1) In those days the multitude being very great and having nothing to eat, Jesus called His disciples and said to them, (2) "I have compassion on the multitude because they have now been with me three days and have nothing to eat."

At the end of the last chapter, Jesus had gone from the borders of Tyre and Sidon back to the Sea of Galilee through the borders of Decapolis.  It was in the days He was there that a great multitude of people were with Him and had apparently been listening to Him teach for three days.  He called His disciples to Him and told them that He had compassion on the multitude of people because they had been with Him so long and had nothing to eat.

(3) "And if I send them away fasting to their own houses, they will faint on the way, for some of them came from far."

Jesus told His disciples He did not want to send the people away back to their houses being so hungry as they might faint on the way, as some of them had come quite far.

(4) And His disciples answered Him, "From where can a man satisfy these people with bread here in the wilderness?"

Remarkably, the disciples asked where they could get bread enough to satisfy the multitude out there in the wilderness.  Had they not remembered how Jesus had fed so recently the five thousand?  And even if this event had actually happened chronologically before the other, then they had forgotten at that time how Jesus fed the multitude.

(5) And He asked them, "How many loaves do you have?" And they said, "Seven."

Jesus asked them how many loaves they had, and they answered they had seven.  For the first time I see significance in the number of loaves, seven.  Seven has a spiritual meaning in the Bible; it represents completeness and fullness, even perfection.  Even in the feeding of the five thousand, they had five loaves and two fishes equaling seven.  In both instances, they had the perfect number to feed the multitudes.

(6) And He commanded the people to sit down on the ground, and He took the seven loaves and gave thanks, and broke them and gave them to His disciples to set before them; and they did set them before the people.

Jesus instructed the people to sit on the ground.  He took the seven loaves of bread and gave thanks for them.  He then broke the bread and gave it to the disciples to set before the people, which they did.

(7) And they had a few small fish; and He blessed and commanded to set them also before them.

The disciples also had a few small fish, and Jesus took those, blessed them, and gave them to the disciples to set before the people.

(8) So they ate and were filled, and they took up of what was left seven baskets.

The people ate and were filled, and when the disciples took up the leftovers, there were seven baskets full.  Again that number of perfection.  At the feeding of the five thousand, they had twelve baskets remaining.  Twelve, of course, represents the twelve tribes of Israel and also means perfection and completeness.

(9) And those who had eaten were about four thousand; and He sent them away.

This time Jesus had miraculously fed four thousand.  After they had eaten and were filled, He sent them away.

(10) And immediately He entered in a ship with His disciples, and came to the region of Dalmanutha.

After the multitude left, Jesus got onboard a ship, as they had been on the seashore.  He and His disciples sailed to the region of Dalmanutha which was a city in the coasts of Magdala, which is where Matthew said they had sailed to in his account.

(11) And the Pharisees came forth and began to question Him, seeking from Him a sign from heaven, testing Him.

The Pharisees there came to Jesus to question and test Him.  They asked Him to show them a sign from heaven.

(12) And He sighed deeply in His spirit, and said, "Why does this generation seek after a sign? Verily, I say to you there shall be no sign given to this generation."

Jesus sighed deeply in His soul, saddened by the hardness of the Pharisees' hearts, knowing they only sought to test Him, as they had already seen so many signs.  He told them there would be no sign given to them.  In Matthew's account, Jesus had added except for the sign of Jonah, which referred to His being in the tomb three days and then rising.

(13) And He left them, and entering into the ship again, departed to the other side.

Jesus left the Pharisees and returned to the ship and sailed toward the other side of the sea.

(14) Now the disciples had forgotten to take bread, neither had they more than one loaf in the ship with them.

The disciples had forgotten to take bread with them on the ship, which apparently was their usual practice, as they might be at sea for days.

(15) And He charged them, saying, "Take heed, beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and the leaven of Herod."

Jesus spoke to the disciples, having just left the Pharisees, telling them to beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and of Herod.  In Matthew's account, Jesus had said the Pharisees and the Saducees.  It is very probable He had said to beware of them all.

(16) And they reasoned among themselves, saying, "Because we have no bread."

The disciples reasoned among themselves that it was because they had forgotten bread that Jesus was talking about food.

(17) And when Jesus knew it, He said to them, "Why do you reason, because you have no bread? Do you not yet perceive, neither understand? Is your heart yet hardened?"

Jesus knew what they were saying and asked why they reasoned that He was talking about food.  He asked if they still didn't understand and if their hearts were still too hard to perceive what He was talking about.

(18) "Having eyes, do you not see? And having ears, do you not hear? And do you not remember?"

Jesus seemed quite exasperated with His disciples and continued, asking if they had eyes but could not see; they had eyes to see physically, but failed to see with their spirits and understand.  He asked if they had ears but could not hear, meaning their spiritual ears that failed to hear.  Jesus asked them if they didn't remember; they had seen and heard countless things from Him and should have been able to comprehend the spiritual things.

(19) "When I broke the five loaves among five thousand, how many baskets full of fragments did you take up?" They said to Him, "Twelve."

Jesus then questioned the disciples about the recent miracles they had just witnessed.  He asked about the time He broke five loaves of bread and fed five thousand with it.  He asked how many baskets of leftovers they took up after the people had eaten their fill.  They answered twelve.

(20) "And when the seven among four thousand, how many baskets full of fragments did you take up?" And they said, "Seven."

Jesus then asked them about the most recent time He had just fed four thousand with seven loaves; how many baskets of leftovers had they taken up then?  They answered seven.

(21) And He said to them, "How is it that you do not understand?"

Jesus asked His disciples how it was that they did not understand.  His point was, of course, that they had no need to be worried about bread, and He certainly wouldn't be concerned about bread, the food, so why was it they had reasoned among themselves that He would be talking about food?  How was it they couldn't understand He was talking about spiritual bread?  The leaven He had been talking about was the false spiritual leaven of the hypocrites which like leaven would spread throughout the heart and soul and even a population.

(22) And He came to Bethsaida, and they brought a blind man to Him and beseeched Him to touch him.

Jesus came to Bethsaida, a fishing town on the Sea of Galilee.  The account in John tells us it was the city of Peter, Andrew, and Philip.  Some people brought a blind man to Him and begged Him to touch the man.

(23) And He took the blind man by the hand and led him out of the town, and when He had spit on his eyes and put His hands on him, He asked him if he saw anything.

Jesus took the blind man by the hand and led him out of town.  He was either avoiding vain praise and glory, or perhaps because of the unbelief and hardened hearts of the people in this place, He did not wish to perform a miracle in their presence.  Jesus was not about vain show, but did have mercy on and wish to heal this man.  When they were out of town, Jesus spit on the blind man's eyes and put His hands on him and asked if he saw anything.

(24) And he looked up and said, "I see men as trees, walking."

The blind man told Jesus he could see men who looked like trees walking.  From a distance, they all looked the same, but because of their motion, he was able to distinguish the men from the trees.

(25) After that He put His hands again on his eyes, and made him look up; and he was restored and saw every man clearly.

Jesus put His hands on the man's eyes again, and this time when the man looked up, his vision was perfectly restored and he could see every man clearly.  Once again, we see Jesus heal in a different way.  He could have merely spoken and the man would have been healed.  He could have been healed the moment Jesus touched him.  Why was this done in stages?  I believe it was to show us there was no magic formula; we do not have to have Jesus physically touching us to heal us.  Sometimes Jesus might use doctors to heal, and it might be a gradual healing, but the same miraculous result may occur.  In addition, it was an illustration of spiritual blindness.  A sinner is blind to the truth, and through the effects of religion and the Holy Spirit, begins to see, but at first not clearly.  At first doctrines may seem mysterious and he cannot totally comprehend them.  However, as he is converted and becomes a new man and has the Holy Spirit to guide him in all truth, he soon can see distinctly.

(26) And He sent him away to his house, saying, "Neither go into the town nor tell anyone in the town."

Once again Jesus charged a recipient of His miraculous healing not to tell anyone about it, to go to his house and not to go into town.  Once again we can assume that Jesus did not wish to give more fuel to the fire of the Pharisees' jealousy and bring their action before its time.

(27) And Jesus went out and His disciples into the towns of Caesarea Philippi, and by the way He asked His disciples, saying to them, "Whom do men say that I am?"

Then Jesus and His disciples went into the towns of Caesarea Philippi, so called because it was ruled by Philip the Tetrarch.  On the way He asked His disciples whom men said that He was.

(28) And they answered, "John the Baptist, but some say Elijah, and others, one of the prophets."

They answered by saying some said He was John the Baptist, others thought He was Elijah, as they were expecting Elijah to come before the Messiah, and still others thought He was one of God's prophets, either one of the past come again, or a new prophet raised up by God.

(29) And He said to them, "But whom do you say that I am?" And Peter answered and said to Him, "You are the Christ."

Jesus then asked His disciples who they thought He was.  Peter answered that He was the Christ.  In the account in Matthew, Jesus told Peter that he was blessed to know that because he could not have known by "flesh and blood," but only by Father God in heaven.

(30) And He charged them that they should tell no man about Him.

Jesus commanded His disciples not to tell anyone that fact, at least for the time being.  He didn't want the people trying to set Him up as a king which was what many were expecting the coming Messiah to be, and He didn't want to provoke the anger of the scribes and Pharisees to try to destroy Him before His time.

(31) And He began to teach them that the Son must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders and the chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again.

Jesus then began to teach His disciples about what was to happen to Him on earth.  He was going to have to suffer at the hands of the elders, chief priests, and scribes, and that He would be killed, but after three days, He would rise again.

(32) And He spoke that word openly. And Peter took Him and began to rebuke Him.

Jesus spoke very openly and honestly to His disciples about what was to happen to Him.  However, Peter, not liking what he was hearing about Jesus's suffering and death, took Him aside and began to argue that fact with Him.  The account in Matthew told us Peter said that it would not happen that way to Him.

(33) But when He had turned about and looked at His disciples, He rebuked Peter, saying, "Get behind Me, Satan! For you don't savor the things that are of God, but the things that are of men."

I'm sure, as quite a surprise to Peter, Jesus turned and rebuked him, even seemingly called him Satan.  In fact, Jesus was speaking to Satan who must have prompted Peter to say what he did.  He told him he didn't speak the things of God, but only the selfish feelings of man; for, of course, we know God had a much greater purpose in mind.

(34) And when He had called the people to Him, with His disciples also, He said to them, "Whoever will come after Me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow Me."

Jesus then called the people to Him that had been close by as they always seemed to be around Jesus.  He also called His disciples to Him to hear this truth, that whoever desired to follow Him must be prepared to deny themselves of their worldly and selfish desires.  They must deny their own wills and embrace the will of God, no matter what the painful consequences.

(35) "For whoever will save his life shall lose it, but whoever shall lose his life for My sake and the gospel's, he shall save it."

Jesus went on to tell them that whoever tried to save his own life by his own means would lose it.  However, whoever gave up his life and his will for the sake of Christ and the gospel, he would save his life, even have an eternal life.

(36) "For what shall it profit a man if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?"

Jesus then asked rhetorically what good was it if a man had all the money and power and means to gain the entire world, but lost his soul in the process.

(37) "Or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?"

Jesus then posed another question, just what would a man give in exchange for his soul?  All the riches and power in the world would only be a temporary thing, a blip in eternity.  Was man willing to give his eternal soul in exchange for a brief worldly gain?

(38) "Whoever therefore shall be ashamed of Me and of My words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of him also shall the Son of man be ashamed when He comes in the glory of His Father with the holy angels."

One of the reasons that the Jews rejected Jesus was that they were expecting a king to come save them in the traditional sense.  Had He indeed come clothed in royal robes, He would probably have had a huge following, but most of them would have been hypocrites.  Jesus came to the world in a lowly manner that the world might be saved by receiving His message and accepting His gift of redemption, not by adoration to a worldly king.  If any man was ashamed of Him and His words because He was not a rich and beautiful worldly king, then he would be lost and condemned when the Lord returned to gather His saints.  Jesus came in opposition to the ruler of the darkness of this world who deceives with worldly riches and power, so why would He have come in worldly riches and power?  Salvation is in Him and His words alone, not in any worldly riches, power, or fame.  Anyone who rejected that seemingly lowly person and message would be eternally lost.  And should He die a lowly miserable death, words Peter had rejected, it did not diminish Him and His word; in fact, as Peter and all the disciples would learn, it is what brought salvation and victory over death when Jesus would triumphantly rise again.

The Heart of the Law Vs. Traditions of Man

Continuing a Bible study of the Gospels:

(Mark 7:1) Then came together to Him the Pharisees and certain of the scribes, who came from Jerusalem.

At the end of the last chapter, Jesus had come into the land of Gennesaret.  It seems that the Pharisees and some scribes heard He was there and decided to go from Jerusalem to see Him there.

(2) And when they saw some of His disciples eat bread with defiled, that is to say, with unwashed hands, they found fault.

When the scribes and Pharisees saw some of Jesus's disciples eating bread with unwashed hands, they immediately found fault, for which they were probably looking when they decided to come to Gennesaret to observe Jesus.

(3) For the Pharisees and all the Jews do not eat unless they wash their hands scrubbing, holding the tradition of the elders. (4) And when they come from the market, they do not eat unless they wash. And there are many other things which they have received to hold, the washing of cups, pots, copper vessels, and tables.

It was a tradition handed down by the elders that the Jews must scrub their hands well before eating.  When they came from the marketplace perhaps having bought food, they were not to eat it until they had washed.  There were many other things that the Jews held as tradition that had been passed down from the elders, like the washing of utensils and tables, etc.

(5) Then the Pharisees and scribes asked Him, "Why do Your disciples not walk according to the tradition of the elders, but eat bread with unwashed hands?"

Having seen some of the disciples eating with unwashed hands against their tradition, the scribes and Pharisees came to Jesus and asked Him why they did not walk according to those traditions and ate with unwashed hands.

(6) He answered and said to them, "Well has Isaiah prophesied of you hypocrites, as it is written, 'This people honors Me with their lips, but their heart is far from Me.'"

Jesus answered the scribes and Pharisees, first by saying that Isaiah had pegged them well when he prophesied of such hypocrites, and then He quoted Isaiah 29:13 which spoke of the people honoring the Lord with their lips, but their hearts were far from Him.

(7) "'How in vain they do worship Me teaching doctrines the commandments of men.'"

Jesus continued quoting Isaiah in a paraphrase of Isaiah 29:13 that spoke of the people teaching as doctrine the precepts of men.

(8) "For laying aside the commandment of God, you hold the tradition of men, the washing of pots and cups, and many other such things you do."

Jesus accused them of setting aside the commandments of God, and holding to their own traditions of men, such as the washing of utensils, the ritual washing of hands, and many other such things.

(9) And He said to them, "Full well you reject the commandment of God that you may keep your tradition. (10) For Moses said, 'Honor your father and your mother,' and, 'He who curses father or mother, let him die the death.'"

Jesus reiterated how the scribes and Pharisees rejected the commandment of God in order to keep their own traditions.  He went on to quote Moses on the commandment to honor father and mother (Exodus 20:12), and the law's penalty for cursing father or mother, death (Exodus 21:17).

(11) "But you say, 'If a man says to his father or mother, "It is Corban," that is to say, a gift, "by whatever you might have received from me."' (12) And you allow him to do no more for his father or his mother."

Rather than obeying Moses's commandment of God, Jesus said that the Pharisees had made their own law of man that said a man was allowed to call whatever gift he would have supposedly given to his father and mother "Corban," meaning a gift offered to God.  Then he was released from doing any more for his parents.  It's as if he said that he had given an offering to the synagogue in their name, rather than giving them the offering to help in their need.  It was an offering that he should have given the synagogue anyway, and also he should have supported his parents.  However, by telling his parents that he had devoted their portion to God, he got away with not supporting them, thus not honoring them as the commandment instructed.

(13) "Making the word of God of no effect through your tradition which you have delivered; and many such like things you do."

With the tradition in Jesus's example to the scribes and Pharisees, He told them they had subverted the word of God and had made it of no effect through their tradition of men.  That was one example of how they did it, but He said they did it with many other things in that manner.

(14) And when He had called all the people to Him, He said to them, "Hearken to Me, everyone, and understand."

Jesus then called all the people to Him to hear Him continue with the teaching He had begun in His answer to the scribes and Pharisees.  He urged them all to listen to Him and to understand.

(15) There is nothing from outside a man that entering into him can defile him, but the things which come out of him, those are the things that defile a man.

By saying that nothing from outside a man going into him could defile him, Jesus was further answering the question about why the disciples ate with unwashed hands.  Eating food with dirty hands, suggesting that dirty food went into a man, did not defile a man.  It's the things that came out of him that defiled him.  As Jesus had said in Matthew 12:34, "Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks."  It's those things from his heart that he spoke that defiled him.

(16) "If any man has ears to hear, let him hear."

Jesus had called the people to Him, urging them to listen and understand.  He now reiterated that sentiment by adding that anyone who had ears to hear Him, let him truly hear, inferring his understanding.

(17) And when He had entered into the house from the people, His disciples asked Him concerning the parable.

When Jesus had gone into a house away from the crowd of people, His disciples asked Him about what He had previously said.  It seems to me it hardly qualified as a parable, but the disciples hadn't been able to understand Jesus's meaning, so it seemed a parable with hidden meaning to them. 

(18) And He said to them, "Are you so without understanding also? Do you not perceive that whatever thing from outside enters into the man cannot defile him? (19) Because it does not enter into his heart, but into the belly and goes out into the privy, purging all foods."

Jesus seemed a bit exasperated with His disciples.  He asked if they were also with no understanding as the people He had spoken to outside.  After all, they had been with Him all this time, being taught by Him, and it had been given them to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven (Matthew 13:11).  Jesus asked His disciples if they could not understand that what entered into a man could not defile him, because what went in went to the belly and not the heart, and it further went out into the toilet, purifying all foods.  The body took what was nutritious and used it, and eliminated the rest as waste; therefore it had been purified by the body and could not defile him.

(20) And He said, "That which comes out of the man, that defiles the man. (21) For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders, (22) Thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lasciviousness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness. (23) All these evil things come from within and defile a man."

Jesus went on to explain the rest of the "parable."  It's what came out of the man that defiled him, for those things came from his heart.  All evil thoughts and plans for evil deeds start with feelings embedded in the heart.  Jesus then went on to name a long list of evil intentions that came from the heart of man, coming from within and defiling the man.

Sometimes I am struck by the slowness of the disciples to grasp what seems so obvious.  However, I have had the benefit of much more learning than they had had at that point.  We have the entire Biblical manual, including the New Testament, with all the mistakes of human beings, including the disciples, from which to learn.  It should give us great hope and inspiration to know that such flawed and seemingly intellectually dull people could do such great things with God.  After all, God used even a donkey (Numbers 22:28)!

(24) And from there He arose and went into the borders of Tyre and Sidon, and entered into a house, and wanted no man to know but He could not be hidden.

Jesus then went from Gennesaret to the borders of Tyre and Sidon, two cities in Phoenicia.  It seems He did not go into those cities but was on the outskirts in those areas of Galilee that bordered on Phoenicia.  He went into a house there desiring no one to know He was there, but Jesus had become too famous to be hidden.

(25) For a woman whose young daughter had an unclean spirit heard of Him and came and fell at His feet.

A woman who had a daughter with an unclean spirit indeed heard Jesus was there and came to Him and fell down at His feet.

(26) The woman was a Greek, a Syro-Phoenician by nation; and she begged Him to cast the devil out of her daughter.

The woman was Greek, a Gentile, not a Jew.  She was a Syro-Phoenician or a Canaanite, as it seems Canaan was sometimes called Syro-Phoenicia as it lay between Syria and Phoenicia.  She came to Jesus and begged Him to cast the devil out of her daughter.  According to the account in Matthew, she repeatedly begged, having received no answer at first.

(27) But Jesus said to her, "Let the children first be filled, for it is not good to take the children's bread and cast it to the dogs."

Jesus finally did answer her and told her that the children of Israel were to be filled first, for He had come to save the lost sheep of Israel.  He said it was not good to take the children's bread and throw it to the dogs, meaning it was not the time and not proper to give the Gentiles what was meant for the Jews.

(28) And she answered and said to Him, "Yes, Lord, but the dogs under the table eat of the children's crumbs."

The woman did not deny that what Jesus said was true.  She agreed but pointed out that even the dogs under the table were able to eat the crumbs that the children dropped.  I am struck by the ability of this woman to understand Jesus's analogy when even His disciples did not understand some of the simplest analogies.

(29) And He said to her, "For this saying go your way; the devil is gone out of your daughter."

Jesus was evidently also struck by her understanding and faith in Him that even the crumbs of His greatness could cure her daughter.  He told her that because she had said what she did, her daughter was healed and she should go her way.

(30) And when she had come to her house, she found the devil gone out and her daughter lying on the bed.

Indeed, when the woman went to her house, she found her daughter lying peacefully on the bed and the devil was gone out of her.

(31) And again, departing from the coasts of Tyre and Sidon, He came to the Sea of Galilee through the midst of the coasts of Decapolis.

Jesus then went back from the borders of Tyre and Sidon and headed back to the Sea of Galilee through the midst of the region of Decapolis.  The verse said He came to the Sea of Galilee, but I believe the point is that He probably neared it but was still on the edge of the borders of Decapolis.

(32) And they brought to Him one who was deaf and had an impediment in his speech, and they beseeched Him to put His hand upon him.

While in this region, some people brought to Jesus a man who was deaf and had an impediment in his speech.  They begged Him to lay His hand upon him, obviously knowing that would heal the man.

(33) And He took him aside from the multitude and put His fingers into his ears, and He spat and touched his tongue.

Jesus took the man aside away from the multitude.  He put His fingers into the man's ears, then spat probably on His finger and then touched the man's tongue with it.

(34) And looking up to heaven, He sighed, and said to him, "Ephphatha," that is, "Be opened."

Jesus then looked up to heaven and sighed, pitying the sufferings of the man before Him, and then said, "Ephphatha," which literally meant "be opened."  It was an emphatic statement; He was not asking His Father God in heaven to open the ears of the man, for He had all the power to do that Himself.  I believe in this action He demonstrated that healing came from God in heaven above.  I also believe that in the way He healed the man in this situation, He sought to teach that there was no magic formula to receive healing.  Jesus had power over all and could heal with just His word, but the people who brought the man to Jesus asked that He put His hand on him.  I believe Jesus wanted to demonstrate that the healing came from God in heaven above and took a few more steps this time to prove that.  After all, Jesus would not always be there with the people to lay His hands on them; they needed to understand just where His power came from.

(35) And immediately his ears were opened, and the bond of his tongue was loosed and he spoke plainly.

Immediately the man's ears were opened and he could hear, and his tongue was freed so that he could speak plainly.  I love the double meaning of the original word used for "bond," that is, "desmos."  It meant "band" as in the ligament in the man's tongue that was loosened, and it also meant "bond" as in shackled or bound, as the man surely was in bondage to his disability.

(36) And He charged them that they should tell no man, but the more He charged them, so much the more they published a great deal.

Once again Jesus commanded that the man and the people who witnessed his healing not to tell anyone about it.  Once again He was desirous to keep the scribes and Pharisees from adding fuel to their fire, so to speak, as it was not yet time.  And once again the people just could not contain their joy and awe at the healing.  Mark went as far to say that the more Jesus charged people not to tell of their healing, the more they proclaimed it.  I'm sure it wasn't that they wanted to disobey; it was just too good to keep to themselves.

(37) And were beyond measure astonished, saying, "He has done all things well; He makes both the deaf to hear and the dumb to speak."

The deaf man, the people who witnessed the healing, and perhaps also meaning the people who were told of the miraculous healing, were amazed beyond measure at all the ways Jesus healed completely and perfectly.  They referred to the healings they could see, but Jesus also perfectly and completely redeemed men's souls, saving the entire lost world if its inhabitants just accept His offering.

In this chapter, we saw Jesus teaching the heart of the law, not the legalistic tradition of man it had become.  You could also see the heart of the law in His healing of the Syro-Phoenician woman's daughter.  Although He had come to save His own people, the heart in the law was to save all people who would have faith in Him.  His heart was demonstrated in the healing of the deaf man when He sighed and looked up to heaven to show all where their hope and healing came from.  Truly God loves all His creation and meets us where we are to give us just what we need to receive His mercy and grace.

Jesus Feeds Five Thousand and Walks on Water

Continuing a Bible study of the Gospels:

(Mark 6:30) And the apostles gathered themselves together to Jesus and told him all things, both what they had done and what they had taught.

In the last post, Jesus had sent His disciples out two by two to preach the Gospel.  They now had come back to Jesus and reported all they had taught and done.

(31) And He said to them, "Come yourselves apart to a desert place and rest awhile," for there were many coming and going, and they had no leisure so much as to eat.

Jesus told His disciples to go out to a deserted place to rest, for where they were, so many people were constantly coming and going that they didn't even have time to eat.  Jesus knew that rest was necessary, and it is the reason that God rested the seventh day of creation, to show us the need for rest.

(32) And they departed to a desert place by ship privately.

Jesus and the disciples were able to separate themselves from the people by taking a ship to a deserted location.

(33) And the people saw them departing and many knew Him and ran afoot there out of all the cities, and outran them, and came together to Him.

Although they had separated themselves from the people by boarding the ship, the people saw them departing and many ran by foot and outran the boat, and came together to Jesus when He arrived at His destination.

(34) And Jesus, when He came out, saw many people and was moved with compassion toward them because they were as sheep not having a shepherd, and He began to teach them many things.

When Jesus came out of the boat and saw the many people who had run ahead to meet Him, He had compassion on them.  They were as lost sheep without a shepherd.  They were hungering to be taught by Jesus because they had no good teachers in the scribes and Pharisees.  Therefore, Jesus began to teach them many things.

(35) And when the day was now far spent, His disciples came to Him and said, "This is a desert place and now the time is far passed. (36) Send them away that they may go into the surrounding country and into the villages and buy themselves bread, for they have nothing to eat."

It appears Jesus taught the people most of the day.  When it was late in the day, His disciples came to Him suggesting that it was getting quite late and since they were in a deserted place, He should send the people away so that they might go into the surrounding country and villages and buy themselves something to eat.

(37) He answered and said to them, "You give them something to eat." And they said to Him, "Shall we go and buy two hundred denarii's worth of bread and give it to them to eat?"

Jesus told His disciples that they should give the people something to eat instead of sending them out to get it themselves.  This brings to mind something that happened to me once.  My husband and I were getting out of the car at church one Sunday morning when a young lady approached us.  She had just been released from the jail across the street and had no money and no ride.  My first impulse was to run inside the church to get her some help.  I was even on my way when I stopped and turned around and said, "I guess we can help her."  My husband nodded knowingly as he usually did know the right thing to do in these type situations.  She just needed a lunch at Burger King, a ride to the bus station, and a ticket home.  Of course, we were able to do that!  But like the disciples, my first thought was to send her away to someone else to help.  

Back to Jesus and His disciples--when Jesus directed the disciples to feed the people themselves, they asked if they should go buy bread to feed the people.  In the account in John, Philip suggested that two hundred denarii's worth of bread wasn't even enough to give every single one of the people there just a little bread.  The disciples were limiting Jesus to what they themselves might be able to do without Him.  We humans do seem to want to put God in a little human box and limit Him to our understanding.  2 Timothy 3:5 talks about people who have a form of godliness but deny its power.  Paul told Timothy to turn away from such people!  That is like the scribes and Pharisees were; they had a form of godliness in religion, but denied the power of the true all-powerful God.  Our one true God and Jesus in the flesh could do all things!  The disciples should have realized that by now.

(38) He said to them, "How many loaves have you? Go and see." And when they knew, they said, "Five and two fish."

Jesus asked the disciples to go and see how many loaves of bread they had.  They came to Him and reported they had five loaves of bread and two fish.

(39) And He commanded them to make all sit down in groups on the green grass.

Then Jesus instructed the disciples to have all the people sit down on the grass in groups.

(40) And they sat down in groups, in hundreds and in fifties.

Indeed, the disciples had the people sit down in groups of one hundred and groups of fifty.

(41) And when He had taken the five loaves and the two fish, He looked up to the heaven and blessed and broke the loaves, and gave them to His disciples to set before them; and the two fish He divided among them all.

Jesus took the five loaves and the two fish, and looked up to heaven and blessed the food.  Our food and all provisions are surely blessed by God in that He provided them to us, and we should always be mindful to thank Him for these blessings.  Jesus then broke the loaves and gave them to the disciples to set before the people.  He also divided the two fish.

(42) And they all ate and were filled.

Miraculously all the people were able to eat their fill!

(43) And they took up twelve baskets full of the fragments and of the fish.

When the people were full, the disciples picked up the leftovers in baskets and filled twelve of them, much more than when they started.

(44) And those who ate of the loaves were about five thousand men.

Jesus had fed five thousand men, not including women and children, according to the account in Matthew, with what began as five loaves of bread and two fish.

(45) And immediately He compelled His disciples to get into the ship and to go to the other side over against Bethsaida while He sent away the people.

Immediately after they ate, Jesus instructed His disciples to get into the ship and go to the other side of the sea across from Bethsaida while He sent the multitudes away.

(46) And when He had sent them away, He departed to a mountain to pray.

When Jesus had sent His disciples away in the ship and had sent the multitude of people away, He was alone to depart into a mountain to pray.  It is interesting that Jesus being God, prayed to God in heaven as often as He did.  Did He need to pray in order to continue to have power on earth?  I don't think so.  As completely human, He did have a need for prayer, but not because it would give Him the innate godly power He already had on earth.  Rather it was a need for spiritual support, and a desire to be in communion with God in heaven, and prayer is the only way we here on earth can communicate with God in heaven.

(47) And when evening had come, the ship was in the midst of the sea, and He was alone on the land.

By the time evening had come, Jesus was alone on the shore as He had sent all the people away, and the ship with His disciples was in the midst of the sea.

(48) And He saw them toiling in rowing for the wind was contrary to them; and about the fourth watch of the night He came to them walking on the sea, and would have passed by them.

Jesus saw the disciples in their ship in the midst of the sea struggling to row against the wind.  It was in the fourth watch of the night, which would have been after 3:00 in the morning, when He came to them walking on water, and it seemed as though He would have walked right past them.  Why was that part significant enough to be added to the scripture?  I think it was meant to give a visual of how Jesus appeared on the water.  By the direct line in which He appeared to be going, and perhaps with the swiftness and determination with which He walked, it seemed as if He would walk right past them.

(49) But when they saw Him walking on the sea, they supposed it was a spirit and cried out.

When the disciples saw Jesus walking on the sea, they assumed it was a ghost and cried out in fear.

(50) For they all saw Him and were troubled. And immediately He talked with them, and said to them, "Be of good cheer! It is I; do not be afraid."

All the disciples had seen what they thought to be a ghost walking on the water and were afraid.  However, Jesus spoke to them, telling them to be of good cheer, for it was Him and they had no need to be afraid.

(51) And He went up to them in the ship, and the wind ceased; and they were greatly amazed in themselves beyond measure and wondered.

Jesus went up into the ship with the disciples and the wind ceased and the sea was calm.  Amazingly, the disciples were so amazed beyond measure and marveled at what they had seen Jesus do.  They had seen countless miracles, even the raising of the dead, and so recently the feeding of the more than five thousand, yet this miracle of walking on water amazed them beyond measure?

It is also interesting to note that although Mark was said to be Peter's scribe, he did not write about Peter's walking on water to meet Jesus as Matthew had written.  It seems that Matthew often elevated Peter to a position greater than the other disciples, as if he were the head of their group.  I would imagine Peter, in turn, would not want to boast about himself, but rather concentrate on the greatness of his Master.

(52) For they considered not the loaves, for their hearts were hardened.

Indeed, the scripture points out that the disciples should have considered the miracle of the loaves they had just witnessed, as well as countless other miracles, and known in their hearts that Jesus was perfectly capable of any such miracle.  However, their hearts and minds were still hard and slow to understand.

(53) And when they had passed over, they came into the land of Gennesaret and drew to the shore.

When Jesus and His disciples had completely crossed over the sea, they came to the land of Gennesaret and brought their boat to shore.

(54) And when they had come out of the ship, immediately they knew Him.

When Jesus and the disciples came out of the ship, the people there immediately recognized Jesus.

(55) And ran through that whole surrounding region, and began to carry about in beds those who were sick to where they heard He was.

The people ran through the whole region scrambling to bring to Jesus those who were sick wherever they heard He might be.

(56) And wherever He entered, into villages, cities, or the country, they laid the sick in the streets, and besought Him that they might touch if it were only the border of His garment; and as many as touched Him were made whole.

Wherever in that region that Jesus went, whether in the villages, the cities, or even in the country, people brought their sick to Him and laid them in the streets, beseeching Him that they be allowed to merely touch the hem of His garment.  It seems as though the news of that such miracle as with the woman with the issue of blood had reached them, and they desired merely to be able to touch His hem.  All those who touched Him were indeed made whole.  We aren't told that the people desired to hear Jesus's teaching, only to be healed, but just as Jesus had compassion on the sick in Nazareth where it was said He could do no mighty work because of their unbelief, He had compassion on these sick people.