Mark 8:1-10
Sufficient Resources for All (2)
Answering the Hunger of the Non-Jewish World
Mark 8:1-10 – Jesus Feeds a Gentile Crowd
In this section Mark gives a second account of the feeding of a multitude. Scholars dispute whether Mark consciously duplicated the previous account, or whether he simply accepted what was already contained in the tradition to hand. Whatever was the case, this second account shared many of the details of the first, but with significant differences.
The last direct indication of location was in non-Jewish territory. There is no reason to suppose a different placement. This incident would be the Gentile equivalent of the previous feeding of the Jewish crowd.
1 Around that time, there was a big crowd again. Since there was nothing to eat, he called the disciples around him and said,2 “I am concerned about the crowd. They have been with me for three days by now, and have nothing to eat. 3 If I send them back home hungry, they will collapse on the way. Some of them have come from quite a distance.”Scriptural Precedent
In setting the scene, the narrative echoed the imagery of Psalm 107: Some wandered in desert wastes,finding no way to an inhabited town;hungry and thirsty,their soul fainted within them... (Psalm 107:4-5) Let them thank the Lord for his steadfast love,for his wonderful works to humankind.For he satisfies the thirsty,and the hungry he fills with good things. (Psalm 107:8-9)The need of the Gentiles was different from that of the Jews. Jesus had reacted to the plight of the Jewish crowd because he had seen them like sheep without a shepherd, people whose leaders had neglected and exploited them. That description did not suit a Gentile crowd whose leaders were presumed to have no knowledge of God’s Kingdom. Instead their need was described as what it was: hungering for what they had never known.
4 The disciples answered him, “How could anyone satisfy their hunger in a wilderness?”5 He answered them, “How many loaves of bread do you have?” And they answered, “Seven”.If Jesus had already fed a crowd of five thousand, the disciples wondering how he could possibly feed a second small crowd would hardly make sense. The story is more likely Mark’s retelling of the earlier incident, modified to suit his message.
6 He directed the crowd to sit down on the ground. Then he took the seven loaves, gave thanks, broke them and gave them to the disciples to distribute, and they handed them around to the crowd.7 They had a few pieces of dried fish too. He blessed them and said, “Hand them around too.”The actions of Jesus again reflected the language of liturgy, this time of the Gentile vernacular. Jesus gave thanks. Giving thanks was the usual Greek expression of prayer to God, distinct from Jewish “blessing” or “praising”. The phrase blessing was used of Jesus’ prayer over the fish, perhaps because it never became a part of the Greek (or Jewish) eucharistic liturgy (but was retained in the narrative out of respect for the original).
8 They ate and were satisfied, and they picked up seven baskets of leftovers.Mark once more strongly emphasised the theme of abundance.
The change in numbers from twelve to seven may have reflected the Gentile cultural background. While twelve was a number familiar to Jews and represented the fullness of Israel (the twelve tribes), seven was the number generally understood to refer to fullness in the pagan world.
A further indication that this incident was a Greek language retelling of the original can possibly be detected in the word translated as basket. Baskets in the Greek and Jewish worlds were different and were referred to differently.
9 There were about four thousand people. He then sent them away,Why the change in the size of the crowds of people, a drop from five to four thousand, is not clear.
As with the first narration, there was no mention made of the reaction of the crowd.
The earlier incident of the Syrophoenician woman had clearly highlighted the point that, whereas Jesus’ mission might not have been specifically directed to Gentiles, the Gentiles nevertheless, like the puppies under the table, could eat the children’s crumbs [7.28]. Mark wished to illustrate this point with as much clarity as possible for the sake of his readers, and so gave this Greek rendition of the story. The deliberate repetition served to make clear the point that, as the Christian community opened to the Gentile mission, they were in fact following the lead of Jesus, and God would provide, whatever their fears and hesitations.
10 .. immediately got into the boat with his disciples, and went into the district of Dalmanutha.The whereabouts of Dalmanutha is unknown. However, since immediately after they disembarked, they would engage with a group of Pharisees, presumably they were back in Jewish territory, in Galilee. The expedition into pagan territory had ended.
Next >> Mark 8:11-13