Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Mark 6:34
And Jesus, when he came out, saw much 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.
34. he came out ] Comparing the account in the Fourth Gospel, we may conjecture that on landing the Lord and His disciples ascended the hill-side (Joh 6:3) and there waited awhile till the whole multitude was assembled. Then descending, He saw them all, and moved with compassion began to “ teach them many things concerning the kingdom of God ” (Luk 9:11), and healed them that had need of healing.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Mar 6:32; Mar 6:34
And Jesus, when He came out, saw much people, and was moved with compassion.
–
Christs teaching the worlds great need
I. The people.
1. The people saw Him.
2. They knew Him.
3. They ran afoot thither.
4. They outran and reached Him.
II. The Lord.
1. He came.
2. He saw.
3. He pitied.
4. He taught. (H. Bonar, D. D.)
The compassion of Christ
I. The compassion of Jesus Christ. Compassion is a branch or modification of kindness of heart, or of benevolence. Under the influence of it we enter into the circumstances and feelings of others; prompted to aid and relieve them. The term compassion signifies to sympathize, or to suffer along with others; and, therefore, while it is a most lovely affection, and the exercise of it yields the purest delight on the one hand; yet, on the other, it is always attended with uneasy feelings and painful sensations, and that in exact proportion to the strength of our compassion. Hence you will see, that when compassion is ascribed in Scripture, as it often is, to God, it must differ in some essential points from human compassion. We are compound beings, having not only bodies, but rational souls; and possessing not only the powers of understanding, will, and conscience, but instincts, affections, or passions. But God is a Spirit a simple uncompounded being. In Him there is no such thing as passion; and, consequently, no uneasy feelings or painful sensations can attend the exercise of compassion in Him. It is the benevolent and ready tendency o! His gracious nature to pity and relieve the miserable, when this is consistent with His sovereign and wise pleasure. I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion. This ready and benevolent tendency of nature, to pity and relieve the miserable, was one of the brightest and loveliest features in the character of the Saviour; and, from eternity, and as He was a Divine person, it was exactly the same in Him as in the other persons of the adorable Trinity. But in the person of Jesus Christ are now closely united both the Divine and human natures; and, thus, when He was in this world, in the form of a servant, and acting and suffering in our stead, compassion in Him partook of the nature and properties both of Divine and human compassion. He possessed not only the perfections of Godhead, but the sinless feelings and affections of manhood. In all things it behooved Him to be made like unto His brethren, that He might be a merciful and faithful High Priest in things pertaining to God. In His present state of glory, He wears our nature, and will do so forever; and He is said to be touched with the feeling of our infirmities, yet, as His humbled suffering state is completely at an end, He is really and tenderly, though not painfully, impressed with our weaknesses, sorrows, and dangers. But the case was widely different with Him while in this world. It was then a part of His humbled suffering state to take our infirmities on Him, to bear our griefs and carry our sorrows. In His human nature, He felt our sorrows and wretchedness as far as His sinless and unsinning nature could feel them. He was then literally moved with compassion. He felt as a shepherd does for his straying sheep; as a compassionate man for suffering humanity; as the incarnate Son of God, in the character of Redeemer, for perishing sinners. And Jesus, when He came out, saw much 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.
II. I shall speak of the objects of the Saviours compassion:-
1. Sinners of the human race were the objects of His Divine and eternal compassion. In common with the Father and Spirit, He remembered us in our low estate; for His mercy endureth forever. His compassion was not of the sentimental speculative kind, which leads many to say to the naked and destitute, Depart in peace, be ye warmed and filled; but to do no more. No. It was real, deep, operative. He pitied sinners, and so He was their Saviour, and did and suffered all that infinite wisdom and justice saw to be necessary to procure eternal redemption for them.
2. During the time the Saviour was in this world, the condition of sinners daily moved His compassion. When He saw the widow of Nain following the bier of her only son to the grave, He had compassion on her, and said unto her, Weep not.
3. All His people, even the best and holiest in this world, are the objects of His compassion. All need it. Not as though I had already attained, either were already perfect. For in many things we offend all.
4. The weak, the timid and doubting, are peculiarly the objects of His compassion-who are weak in the faith, who are of a fearful mind, who are harassed with temptations, and borne down with poverty and oppression, vexations and bereavements.
Application:
1. Do you wish to have objects of compassion presented to your view? Think of the heathen.
2. This subject reads an important lesson to all ministers of the gospel We should be imitators of the compassion of Christ.
3. Will sinners have no compassion on themselves?
4. Let weak and timid Christians be encouraged, We have set before you the compassionate Saviour. Put your case into His hands. Trust in His compassion. (Scottish Pulpit.)
Pity more unselfish than love
We often speak of love as the ultimate passion, but there is a depth even beyond love. For love is largely its own reward, and so may possibly have an element of imperfection, but pity or compassion has not only all the glory or power of love, but it forgets itself and its own returning satisfactions, and goes wholly over into the sufferings of others, and there expends itself, not turning back or within to say to itself, as does love, How good it is to love! It may be a factor in the solution of the problem of evil that it calls out the highest measure of the Divine love; a race that does not suffer might not have a full revelation of Gods heart. What! Create a race miserable in order to love it! Yes, if so thereby its members shall learn to love one another and if thus only it may know the love of its Creator. In the same way it is mans consciousness of misery, or self-pity, that reveals to him his own greatness-a thought that Pascal turns over and over. Pity is love and something more: love at its utmost, love with its principle outside of itself and therefore moral, love refined to utter purity by absorption with suffering. A mother loves her child when it is well, but pities it when it is sick, and how much more is the pity than the love! How much nearer does it bring her, rendering the flesh that separates her from it a hated barrier because it prevents absolute oneness, dying out of her own consciousness, and going wholly over into that of the child whose pains she would thus, as it were, draw off into her own body! To die with and for one who is loved-as the poets are fond of showing-is according to the philosophy of human nature. Might not something like it be expected of God, who is absolute love? And how shall He love in this absolute way except by union with His suffering children? Such is the nature of pity; it is a vicarious thing, which bare love is not, because it creates identity with the sufferer. (T. T. Munger.)
Christs pity embraced the unconscious suffering of men
It is not to be thought, however, that this Christly pity embraced only the conscious suffering of men. It is an undiscerning sympathy that reaches only to ills that are felt and confessed. We every day meet men with laughter on their lips, and unclouded brows, who are very nearly the greatest claimants of pity. Pity him who laughs but never thinks. Pity the men or women who fritter away the days in busy idleness, calling it society, when they might read a book. Pity those, who, without evil intent, are making great mistakes, who live as though life had no purpose or end, who gratify a present desire unmindful of future pain. Pity parents who have not learned how to rear and train their children: pity the children so reared as they go forth unto life with undermined health and weakened nerves, prematurely wearied of Society, lawless in their dispositions, rude and inconsiderate in their manners, stamped with the impress of chance associations and unregulated pleasures. No! it is not pain that is to be pitied so much as mistake, not conscious suffering, but courses that breed future suffering. Who then calls for it more than those who have settled to so low and dull a view of life as not to feel the loss of its higher forms, content with squalor and ignorance and low achievement or mere sustenance? It is now quite common to say at the suggestion of some very earnest philanthropists that the poor and degraded do not suffer as they seem: that they get to be en rapport with their surroundings, and so unmindful of their apparent misery. This may be so, but even if the wind is thus tempered to these shorn lambs of adversity, it is no occasion for withholding pity. Nay! the pity should be all the deeper. The real misery here is, that these poor beings do not look upon their wretched condition with horror and disgust, that they are without that sense and standard of life which would lead them to cry, This is intolerable; I must escape from it. Hence, the discerning Christ-like eye will look through all such low contentedness to the abject spirit behind it, and there extend its pity. Not those who suffer most, but oftener those who suffer least, are the most pitiable. (T. T. Munger.)
Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell
Verse 34. Much people, &c.] See this miracle explained on Mt 14:14, &c.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
When Christ came out of the ship, on the other side of the water, he found that the people had outwent the ship; they were come about with a desire to hear the word. He considered what miserable priests and teachers they had, so that they were indeed as sheep without a shepherd, having none but such as were as bad or worse than none. Though he was weary, and came hither for some rest and repose, yet he will deny himself as to his bodily cravings, to do good to their souls: he first preacheth to them, and teacheth them many things; then he confirmeth his doctrine by a miracle, the relation of which followeth (see Mar 6:35-44).
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
34. And Jesus, when he came out ofthe shiphaving gone on shore.
saw much peoplea greatmultitude.
and was moved with compassiontoward them, because they were as sheep not having a shepherdAtthe sight of the multitudes who had followed Him by land and even gotbefore Him, He was so moved, as was His wont in such cases, withcompassion, because they were like shepherdless sheep, as to foregoboth privacy and rest that He might minister to them. Here we have animportant piece of information from the Fourth Evangelist (Joh6:4), “And the passover, a feast of the Jews, wasnigh”rather, “Now the passover, the feast of the Jews,was nigh.” This accounts for the multitudes that now crowdedaround Him. They were on their way to keep that festival atJerusalem. But Jesus did not go up to this festival, as Johnexpressly tells us, (Joh 7:1)remaining in Galilee, because the ruling Jews sought to kill Him.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
And Jesus, when he came out,…. Of the ship, and was got ashore,
saw much people; who came partly from the places where he came from, and partly from the cities and towns adjacent:
and was moved with compassion towards them; [See comments on Mt 14:14], the reason follows,
because they were as sheep, not having a shepherd. Christ observed, that they were hungering and thirsting after the word of righteousness, and had no faithful, spiritual pastors to feed them with knowledge and understanding; for the Scribes and Pharisees were blind guides, and shepherds that could not understand; so that the people were ready to perish for lack of knowledge, not having any spiritual comfort and refreshment under their ministry: hence they followed Christ, wherever he went, with great zeal and fervency, earnestly desiring the bread of life: this moved his compassion, so that though his view in coming to this place was retirement, and that his disciples might have some rest and refreshment, and might solace themselves in private conversation with him, and each other; yet postponing private advantage to public good, instead of reproving them for giving him this fresh trouble, kindly and tenderly received them:
and he began to teach them many things; relating to the kingdom of God, the Gospel dispensation, the doctrines and ordinances of it; things relating to their spiritual and eternal welfare, the comfort, and salvation of their immortal souls: and he dwelt long upon these subjects, because he found they were very ignorant, and needed instruction, and were very desirous of it; as well as healed all such of bodily diseases that stood in need thereof; of which Matthew only takes notice, Mt 14:14; as Mark only of doctrine; but Luke mentions both doctrine and miracles of healing, Lu 9:11.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
They were as sheep not having a shepherd ( ). Matthew has these words in another context (Mt 9:26), but Mark alone has them here. is the usual negative for the participle in the Koine. These excited and exciting people (Bruce) greatly needed teaching. Mt 14:14 mentions healing as does Lu 9:11 (both preaching and healing). But a vigorous crowd of runners would not have many sick. The people had plenty of official leaders but these rabbis were for spiritual matters blind leaders of the blind. Jesus had come over for rest, but his heart was touched by the pathos of this situation. So “he began to teach them many things” ( ). Two accusatives with the verb of teaching and the present tense of the infinitive. He kept it up.
Fuente: Robertson’s Word Pictures in the New Testament
1) ”And Jesus, when He came out, saw much people,” (kai ekselthon eiden polun ochlon) ”And going forth (Jesus) saw a great crowd,” in the area where He had withdrawn, with the apostles, for a little rest, Mar 6:31.
2) ”And was moved with compassion toward them,” (kai esplagchrristhe ep’autous) “And He had compassion upon them,” held affections of compassion for them, La 3:22; Heb 4:15-16; Mat 14:14.
3) “Because they were as sheep not having a shepherd,” (hoti esan hos peobata me echonta poimena) “Because they were sheep that had no shepherd,” in want, in need, and in danger of food and shelter of spiritual kind, Mat 9:36-38. They were mental and religious wanderers, without a guide to lead and guide, care for and protect and feed them.
4) “And He began to teach them many things.” (kai erksato didaskein autous polla) ”And He began to teach them numerous (many) things,” though weary of toil, as He was above all a teacher and preacher, such as men never heard before or since, Mat 7:28-29; Mat 13:54; Luk 4:31-32. The spiritually hungry and needy masses moved Jesus, in compassion, to forego or put aside His time of privacy and rest, to meet their immediate needs, Gal 6:9.
Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary
‘And he came out and saw a great crowd, and he had compassion on them because they were as sheep not having a shepherd, and he began to teach them much.’
Jesus was not dismayed by what had happened. He recognised the great longing of the crowd and their sense of needing guidance and help. He ‘had compassion on them’. This word for compassion is used only of or by Jesus. The word speaks of a compassion that responds with action.
‘They were as sheep not having a shepherd.’ Such sheep are aimless, poorly fed and in danger of perishing. He saw their need for a Shepherd. (See Num 27:17; 1Ki 22:17; 2Ch 18:16; Eze 34:5; Mat 15:24 compare Zec 11:4-6). ‘He began to teach them many things’ or ‘to teach them at length’. Possibly the comment about the sheep indicates that Jesus used this as an illustration in His teaching to them. Later He would certainly later tell parables about sheep (Mat 12:11-12; Mat 18:12-13; Mat 25:32-33; Mat 26:31; Luk 15:4-6) and declare that He was the good shepherd (John 10).
Some have suggested that the crowd who had gathered were there because they were hoping to stir Jesus into military action, and no doubt some of them were there with that in mind as John may be indicating (Joh 6:15). But we need not doubt that on the whole they were there in order to learn more about what He had to say, otherwise He would not have treated them as members of His covenant community by feeding them miraculously. However, that being said, in Galilee any prophet was seen as a possible rallying point.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
34 And Jesus, when he came out, saw much 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.
Ver. 34. They were as sheep, &c. ] They were all slaves to the Romans, and many of them lame and diseased, but nothing troubled Christ so much as this, that they lacked pastors and teachers. They that are without a teaching priest are said to be without God in the world, 2Ch 15:3 .
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
34. ] having disembarked, most probably. Meyer would render it, ‘ having come forth from his solitude ,’ in Matt., and ‘ having disembarked ’ here: but I very much doubt the former. There is nothing in Matt. to imply that He had reached his place of solitude before the multitudes came up. John indeed, Mar 6:3-7 , seems to imply this; but He may very well have mounted the hill or cliff from the sea before He saw the multitudes, and this would be on his disembarkation .
To shew how arbitrary is the assumption of Mark having combined Matt. and Luke, see how easily the same might be said of Luke himself , with regard to Matt. and Mark here: , Matt.: . ., Mark; . . . ., . . , Luke: = Matt. Mark.
Fuente: Henry Alford’s Greek Testament
Mar 6:34-44 . The feeding (Mat 14:14-21 , Luk 9:11-17 ).
Fuente: The Expositors Greek Testament by Robertson
Mar 6:34 . , He began to teach, constrained by pity ( ), though weary of toil and of popularity . To teach ; Mt. says to heal . There could be few, if any, sick in a crowd that had come in such a hurry.
Fuente: The Expositors Greek Testament by Robertson
toward = upon. Greek. epi. App-104.
having = conscious of (not) having.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
34. ] having disembarked, most probably. Meyer would render it, having come forth from his solitude, in Matt.,-and having disembarked here: but I very much doubt the former. There is nothing in Matt. to imply that He had reached his place of solitude before the multitudes came up. John indeed, Mar 6:3-7, seems to imply this; but He may very well have mounted the hill or cliff from the sea before He saw the multitudes, and this would be on his disembarkation.
To shew how arbitrary is the assumption of Mark having combined Matt. and Luke,-see how easily the same might be said of Luke himself, with regard to Matt. and Mark here:- , Matt.:- . ., Mark;- . . . ., . . , Luke: = Matt. Mark.
Fuente: The Greek Testament
Mar 6:34. , He began) afresh, as if He had not taught them previously. There is need of real compassion, to enable one to teach; and compassion is the virtue of a good teacher.
Fuente: Gnomon of the New Testament
saw: Mat 14:14, Mat 15:32, Luk 9:11, Rom 15:2, Rom 15:3, Heb 2:17, Heb 4:15
because: Num 27:17, 1Ki 22:17, 2Ch 18:16, Jer 50:6, Zec 10:2, Mat 9:36
and he: Isa 61:1-3
Reciprocal: Ezr 7:25 – teach ye Neh 8:13 – the second Mar 1:41 – moved Mar 2:2 – and he Mar 8:2 – compassion Luk 4:42 – and the Joh 6:1 – these Joh 6:5 – saw Col 1:28 – teaching
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Chapter 4.
The Feeding of the Five Thousand
“And Jesus, when He came out, saw much 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. And when the day was now far spent, His disciples came unto Him, and said, This is a desert place, and now the time is far passed: Send them away, that they may go into the country round about, and into the villages, and buy themselves bread: for they have nothing to eat. He answered and said unto them, Give ye them to eat. And they say unto Him, Shall we go and buy two hundred pennyworth of bread, and give them to eat? He saith unto them, How many loaves have ye? go and see. And when they knew, they say, Five, and two fishes. And He commanded them to make all sit down by companies upon the green grass. And they sat down in ranks, by hundreds, and by fifties. And when He had taken the five loaves and the two fishes, He looked up to heaven, and blessed, and brake the loaves, and gave them to His disciples to set before them; and the two fishes divided He among them all. And they did all eat, and were filled. And they took up twelve baskets full of the fragments, and of the fishes. And they that did eat of the loaves were about five thousand men.”-Mar 6:34-44.
The Search for Retirement.
You will remember the events that led up to this great wilderness feast. The Apostles had just returned from their first missionary journey, tired and excited by their attempts at preaching. Jesus Himself had been pierced to the quick by the murder of John the Baptist in Machrus. Both the Master and the disciples were in sore need of quietness and rest-quietness and rest which they could not possibly secure in Capernaum, where it was all bustle and excitement, and where there were so many coming and going that they had no leisure so much as to eat. Jesus accordingly proposed to the disciples that they should escape out of the tumult and excitement of Capernaum, by taking ship and crossing over to the quiet uplands on the other side of the lake. And so, with what privacy they could, they made their way down to the boat, and set sail for a desert place, apparently near the other Bethsaida, known as Bethsaida Julias.
A Baffled Quest.
But Jesus was the hero of the hour. As the result of His wonderful works He was the object just now of a perfervid enthusiasm. The people never allowed Him out of their presence. And so it came to pass that He could not steal away to that quiet place to which He had invited His disciples unobserved. Some eyes were upon Him as He and His, perhaps in the gathering dusk, launched out upon the bosom of the lake. The news soon spread that He was gone, and in their eager enthusiasm the people began to crowd out of Capernaum, and hurried along the shores of the lake in the direction in which they had seen Him go. The number of people who did this is an index to the excitement earned by Christ’s teaching and miracles-for all the evangelists agree that there were 5000 men, besides women and children. This vast number of people trudged it along the shore, “running all the way,” says Dr. Bruce, with the result that when Jesus and His disciples reached the spot they were aiming for, instead of finding the quiet they desired, they found this excited and eager crowd there waiting for them. “And He came forth and saw a great multitude” (Mar 6:34). And so our Lord’s quest for privacy was baffled. The quiet He sought He could not get. In the desert uplands of Bethsaida Julias, just as much as in the crowded streets of Capernaum, the multitude was ever with Him.
The Trial of Interruptions.
There is nothing so trying, as Dr. Chadwick says, “as the world’s remorseless intrusion upon one’s privacy.” Supposing that you and I had been in Christ’s place. Supposing that we had set out to gain quiet, and, instead of quietness, found a crowd, the very crowd we were trying to avoid. How should we feel? Supposing that you or I were the subject of this paragraph, how would it read: “And He came forth and saw a great multitude”? Yes; what would be the next sentence, if you and I had been the subject of it? Would it read like this: “And He was angry, and would not land. He was sore vexed, and returned back again”? For we get petulant and annoyed when our best-laid plans and cherished purposes are frustrated by the intrusion of other people. When I have promised myself half an hour or an hour’s quiet reading-and the very rarity of the opportunity makes it the more welcome when it comes-I know how easily and quickly I become impatient, when a ring at the telephone or a knock at the door tells me that I have to surrender my promised quiet to attend to other people’s affairs. But how different it was with Jesus! He sorely needed quiet-quiet to talk to His disciples, quiet to talk with God, for His own heart was well-nigh breaking with sorrow. And yet, when He came forth and saw the multitude, and realised that there was after all to be no quiet for Him, there is no suggestion of petulance in His voice, as there was no shade of anger in His soul.
The Lord’s Compassion.
“And He came forth and saw a great multitude, and He had compassion on them” (Mar 6:34). What an exquisite touch this is! And what a beautiful light it throws on the character of Jesus! It is just another illustration of that wonderful love that never sought its own, but always forgot its own needs and worries and sorrows in sympathy and care for the burdens and sorrows of other people. That was the feeling the sight of the crowd stirred in Jesus-not annoyance or vexation, but a deep compassion.
The Shepherdless Multitude.
And this was what excited His compassion-“because they were as sheep not having a shepherd” (Mar 6:34). Just think of the figure for a moment. You can scarcely conceive of a more pitiable object than an Eastern sheep without a shepherd to care for it. For, to begin with, pasture grounds were not easily found. It was part of the shepherd’s duty to lead his flock into the green pastures and by the still waters. But a shepherdless sheep in a land of such partial and scanty pasturage might very easily perish for lack of sustenance. Then, in the second place, not only was pasturage scanty, but wild beasts were plentiful. A shepherdless sheep might easily fall victim to some prowling savage beast. And when Jesus looked out on that vast crowd, His heart was stirred within Him, for to Him they seemed just like poor shepherdless sheep. He saw before Him starving souls. You remember John Milton’s line, “The hungry sheep look up, and are not fed.” That is exactly how it was with these people. They had their pastors and teachers. But these never led them into the green pastures of God’s Word or broke to them the bread of life. They talked to them about the traditions of the elders, and neglected mercy and truth. And so the peopled souls were well-nigh perished with hunger. But He saw not only famishing souls-He saw also wandering souls, lost souls, souls in very imminent peril, because of those enemies that lie in wait to destroy. For scribes and elders were but blind leaders of the blind, and did nothing to guide their feet into ways of godliness and truth. He saw souls lost and out of the way, because there was no one to guide them and care for them. And as He looked at this great multitude of shepherdless sheep, famished and lost, the Lord had compassion on them and “began to teach them many things.” “He began to teach them many things,” i.e. He Himself shepherded these shepherdless souls. “He taught them many things.” He led them into the green pastures of the Word. He spoke to them those words which were spirit and life. And how eagerly they listened! “The common people heard Him gladly.” The hungry and famished sheep were being fed.
-And the Good Shepherd.
But He not only fed the hungry, He went after the wandering and the lost. He had always some word of hope and entreaty and appeal for the sinner. He followed them out into the wilderness of their sin. And He rescued many. Matthew the publican, the woman who was a sinner, Zacchus, the Samaritan woman-these are just specimens of lost sheep whom Jesus brought back into the safety of the fold. “And He taught them many things.” Tired and weary though He was, He went on teaching the whole day. He spent Himself in the work. It was not a mistake; nor is it for us. It is worth any sacrifice to feed a fainting soul, to save a lost soul. It is worth our while to become all things to all men, if by all means we can save some.
The Marvellous Meal.
But Jesus did more than teach them that day. He fed them too. He provided a meal out there in the wilderness for this vast crowd, and provided so bountifully that not only did all eat and were filled, but there were gathered up of broken fragments after the feast was done twelve baskets full. Now, avoiding more familiar ground, let me call your attention to a point that perhaps is not often thought about by us; I mean the motive of the miracle. For, as Dr. A. B. Bruce points out, this miracle appears to be a miracle without a sufficient reason. It cannot be said to have been urgently called for by the necessities of the multitude. There is that difference between the feeding of the four thousand and the feeding of the five thousand. The feeding of the four thousand was an act of, shall I say, necessity? The multitude had been with Jesus three days, and had nothing to eat, and if He had sent them away fasting, they would have fainted by the way, for some of them had come from far. But there was no such necessity in the case of the feeding of the five thousand. The people had only been with Him a few hours. There were villages near by, where, as the disciples suggested, the people could buy for themselves. Or, if worst came to worst, the disciples had sufficient money in the common purse to buy some 40 of bread; so that at any rate every one could have a little. There was clearly no necessity for the miracle. Why, then, did our Lord perform it? For, as Mr. David Smith puts it, it was never His wont to exert His miraculous power unless it was needed, and there was no other way.
-A Foreshadowing of the Cross and Passion.
It is not enough to answer that it did not need dire necessity to stir our Lord’s compassion into exercise. As a matter of fact, except in this case He was a severe economist in the exercise of power. What, then, is the reason for this divergence? I think that Mr. David Smith and Dr. Bruce suggest to us the right answer. The real explanation of the miracle is to be found in the great discourse that in the Fourth Gospel succeeds it (John vi.). That discourse on the bread of life, and on eating the flesh and drinking the blood of the Son of Man, has always been considered to throw light upon the sacrament of the Lord’s Supper. But at its delivery it was a discourse on this miraculous feast. Its applicability also to the Last Supper is due to this fact-that this desert meal in a very deep and real fashion foreshadowed the Communion Feast of the Upper Boom. Let us call to mind again the mental and spiritual condition of our Lord on the day on which the miracle took place. He had just heard of the death of John the Baptist. And the news of the tragic end of His forerunner had made Him realise afresh that He too was marching straight to a cruel death. The cross rose stark and naked and cruel before His vision. And His soul was sore troubled within Him. It was because the thought of His own great sacrifice was filling His mind; it was because He was realising with fresh vividness that He could only save the world by giving Himself for it, that He performed this miracle. It was an anticipation of that other feast, when He took the bread, and blessed and brake, and gave to the Twelve in the Upper Room, and it was meant to teach exactly the same lesson. The succeeding discourse shows that all this was in Jesus’ mind. And there is a little touch in John’s account of the miracle itself that points the same way. John gives a note of time, “The passover was at hand” (Joh 6:4). Now that is not a note of time simply. It is meant as a clue to the meaning of the whole incident. This is how Dr. Bruce puts it: “It was Passover time, and Jesus was thinking of it, though He went not up to the feast that season.” He thought of the paschal lamb, and how He, the true Paschal Lamb, would soon be slain for the life of the world; and He gave expression to these thoughts that were in His soul in the incident we are considering. Yes, this feast was prophetic of our Lord’s cross and passion. By it He said to the multitudes, “I, the Son of God, am the Bread of life. What this bread which I break and give you is to your bodies that I am to your souls. “Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, ye have not life in you” (Joh 6:53). If any man eat of this bread, he shall live for ever; and the bread that I will give is My flesh, which I will give for the life of the world” (Joh 6:51).
A Sifting Incident.
By the very fact that the, feast had this mystical and sacramental significance, it became a means of testing and sifting that vast crowd that participated in it. There were some casually-minded people who saw in the feast nothing but bread and fish, and in Jesus no more than one who could minister to their material needs. The feast stirred their casual and worldly ambitions, and they were all for making Christ King instead of Herod. They saw no hint of its spiritual meaning. They discerned not the Lord’s body. But there were some, just a few, who saw its deeper meaning, and who welcomed it as a sign and seal of the Saviour’s saving grace. The next day the sifting became visible. For when Jesus explained it all, and talked to them about eating His flesh and drinking His blood, many of them “went back, and walked no more with Him” (Joh 6:66). And the abandonment of this materialistic and casual crowd left Jesus with just the few who were in spiritual sympathy with Him. “Will ye also go away?” He said to His disciples. “Lord,” said Peter, “to whom shall we go? Thou hast the words of eternal life” (Joh 6:68). That is the significance of this volunteered miracle. It is an anticipation of the Last Supper. It is a foreshadowing of the cross. The broken bread was just the sign and symbol of Christ’s body broken and given for the life of the world.
And now, out of the many points in the narrative of the miracle itself that suggest themselves for our notice, I mean to confine myself to just one.
The Multiplication of Resources.
“Give ye them to eat,” said Jesus to His disciples, and pointing to the vast crowd before them. And the disciples were staggered by the command. It would take at least 40 worth of bread, they protest, to feed that host. “How many loaves have ye?” said Jesus. And they come back and say, “Five, and two fishes.” And without sending to Bethsaida for the 40 worth of bread, He bids them feed the crowd with the scanty provision they had. Five loaves and two fishes, and a crowd of 5000 men to be fed! It looked absurd, did it not? But, after Christ had blessed them, those loaves and fishes multiplied in the giving, so that all had enough, and there were twelve baskets full of fragments left over; 5000 men fed on those loaves and fishes, and more was left at the end than there was at the beginning.
Duty not measured by Human Ability.
The Power still with us.
Bushnell has a great sermon on that phrase, “Give ye them to eat,” which he entitled, “Duty not measured by Ability.” Christ is always bidding us do impossibilities. He commands us to do things which are quite obviously beyond our power. But the marvel is, they get done. “Give ye them to eat”; it sounded foolish, but it was done. No; “duty is not measured by ability.” Christ can empower us to do the seemingly impossible things. But there is another word also to be added. Duty is not measured by ability, but ability is not measured by the sum-total of our resources. It was not with five loaves and two fishes that the disciples fed the crowd, but with five loaves and two fishes blessed and multiplied by Christ. The blessing and multiplying Christ is with us still, ready to make our scanty resources equal to any task to which He summons us. There are no impossibilities to men or churches, however weak, who have with them the blessing and multiplying Christ. We have giant tasks confronting us-unbelief and sin at home, the vast millions of paganism abroad; and we sometimes compare our resources with the tasks, and we grow faint-hearted and despairing sometimes. But why should we? We have the blessing and multiplying Christ. When the modern missionary movement started with William Carey and 13, it did look absurd, did it not? No wonder sceptics laughed. But look at what has actually happened. The movement so begun bids fair to evangelise the world. Christ multiplied our poor loaves and fishes. Let us have faith in our Lord. Let us trust His power. There are no tasks impossible to us. “With three shillings Theresa can do nothing; but with Jesus and three shillings there is nothing Theresa cannot do.” And let us bring our own poor resources for Him to bless and multiply-small gifts, scarcely the one talent. But in His hands what may they not accomplish! He may do much with you and me. For all through the ages we have been using weak instruments to do impossible things. “God hath chosen the foolish things of the world, to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world, to confound the things which are mighty” (1 Cor. i 27).
Fuente: The Gospel According to St. Mark: A Devotional Commentary
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When he came out denotes when he left the boat and came ashore. The compassion of the Lord was always one of his ruling principles. His opinion of this mixed throng that had come out of all cities is compared to a flock that has been deserted by the shepherd. Such a group of people would furnish the kind that was hungering and thirsting after righteousness (Mat 5:6), hence it says he began to teach.
Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary
Mar 6:34. And he came forth. Either disembarked from the boat, or, more probably, came out from His retirement. Upon landing they went up some hill or cliff and from that point saw the great crowd. (Joh 6:3; Joh 6:5). It is not certain that the needed rest was obtained.
Had compassion, etc. Comp. Mat 9:36, which tells of the same feelings on an earlier, but similar occasion.
He began to teach them many things. This shows what He deemed their greatest need to be, although at the same time He healed their sick (Matthew); comp. Luk 9:11. Began may mean, either that He began at once, or that He only began, the day being already far spent. The former is more probable.