9. Mark 6:30-7:23 - Mircales
6/11/22
Preach
Scripture
Questions
6:30-6:44 The feeding of five thousand
30 And the apostles regathered to Jesus and reported to him everything that they had done and that they had taught. 31 And he said to them, “You yourselves come privately to an isolated place and rest for a short time.” For those who were coming and going were many, and they did not even have time to eat. 32 And they went away in the boat to an isolated place by themselves. 33 And many people saw them leaving and recognized them, and ran there together by land from all the towns, and arrived ahead of them. 34 And getting out of the boat he saw the large crowd and had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd, and he began to teach them many things. 35 And the hour had already become late when his disciples came up to him, saying, “The place is desolate and the hour is already late. 36 Send them away so that they can go into the surrounding farms and villages and purchase something to eat for themselves.” 37 But he answered and said to them, “You give them something to eat.” And they said to him, “Should we go and purchase bread for two hundred denarii and give it to them to eat?” 38 And he said to them, “How many loaves do you have? Go look!” And when they found out, they said, “Five, and two fish.” 39 And he ordered them all to recline in groups on the green grass. 40 And they reclined in groups, by hundreds and by fifties. 41 And taking the five loaves and the two fish and looking up to heaven, he gave thanks and broke the loaves and gave them to his disciples so that they could set them before them. And he distributed the two fish to them all. 42 And they all ate and were satisfied. 43 And they picked up the broken pieces, twelve baskets full, and of the fish. 44 And those who ate the loaves were five thousand men.
Jesus is tired [vv31-32] but the crowds will not let up [v33]. The “isolated place” [ἔρημον τόπον] is desert! And the crowds have followed them! How does the exhausted Jesus respond to the crowd [v34]?
This is a well-known miracle [vv35-43]. How does it connect with v34? Jesus is like Moses [Matthew 5-7] and THE prophet [Deuteronomy 18:15]. What does feeding Israelites in the desert hyperlink to?
6:45-52 Jesus walks on water
45 And immediately he made his disciples get into the boat and go on ahead to the other side, to Bethsaida, while he himself dismissed the crowd. 46 And after he had said farewell to them, he went away to the mountain to pray. 47 And when evening came, the boat was in the middle of the sea and he was alone on the land. 48 And he saw them being beaten in their rowing because the wind was against them. Around the fourth watch of the night he came to them, walking on the sea, and he was wanting to pass by them. 49 But when they saw him walking on the sea, they thought that it was a ghost, and they cried out. 50 For they all saw him and were terrified. But immediately he spoke with them and said to them, “Have courage, I am he! Do not be afraid!” 51 And he went up with them into the boat, and the wind abated. And they were extraordinarily astounded within themselves, 52 because they did not understand concerning the loaves, but their hearts were hardened.
This is very similar to 4:35-41. What are the differences between the two incidents?
What should the disciples have learnt from the first incident? Why are their hearts hardened [v52]?
6:53-56 Many healed at Gennesaret
53 And after they had crossed over, they came to land at Gennesaret and anchored there. 54 And as they were getting out of the boat, people recognized him immediately. 55 They ran about through that whole region and began to carry around those who were sick on stretchers, wherever they heard that he was. 56 And wherever he would go, into villages or into towns or to farms, they would put those who were sick in the marketplaces and would implore him that if they could touch even the edge of his cloak. And all those who touched it were healed.
Gennesaret was a fertile region by the Sea of Galilee1. Describe the geographic change in this part of the story? What do they hyperlink to?
7:1-13 Human traditions and God’s commandments
1 And the Pharisees and some of the scribes who had come from Jerusalem gathered to him. 2 And they saw that some of his disciples were eating their bread with unclean—that is, unwashed—hands. 3 (For the Pharisees and all the Jews do not eat unless they wash their hands ritually, thus holding fast to the traditions of the elders. 4 And when they come from the marketplace, they do not eat unless they wash. And there are many other traditions which they have received and hold fast to—for example, the washing of cups and pitchers and bronze kettles and dining couches.) 5 And the Pharisees and the scribes asked him, “Why do your disciples not live according to the tradition of the elders, but eat their bread with unclean hands?” 6 So he said to them, “Isaiah prophesied correctly about you hypocrites, as it is written,
‘This people honors me with their lips,
but their heart is far, far away from me.
7 And they worship me in vain,
teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.’
8 Abandoning the commandment of God, you hold fast to the tradition of men.”
9 And he said to them, “You splendidly ignore the commandment of God so that you can keep your tradition. 10 For Moses said, ‘Honor your father and your mother,’ and, ‘The one who speaks evil of father or mother must certainly die. 11 But you say, ‘If a man says to his father or to his mother, “Whatever benefit you would have received from me is corban” (that is, a gift to God), 12 you no longer permit him to do anything for his father or his mother, 13 thus making void the word of God by your tradition that you have handed down, and you do many similar things such as this.”
Ceremonial washing was huge in Second Temple Judaism and still is today in Orthodox and Hassidic Judaism and Islam. What is the ONE ceremonial washing Jesus still commands? What does this passage tell us happens when we add to the commands of God?
Jesus quotes from Isaiah 29:13. Read Isaiah 29:13-16. What are some things you notice? This was written centuries earlier. But read on to Isaiah 29:17-24. Describe the blessings God promises. How did God deliver on his promise?
7:14-23 Defilement from within
14 And summoning the crowd again, he said to them, “Listen to me, all of you, and understand: 15 There is nothing outside of a person that is able to defile him by going into him. But the things that go out of a person are the things that defile a person.” 17 And when he entered into the house away from the crowd, his disciples asked him about the parable. 18 And he said to them, “So are you also without understanding? Do you not understand that everything that is outside that goes into a person is not able to defile him? 19 For it does not enter into his heart but into his stomach, and goes out into the latrine”—thus declaring all foods clean. 20 And he said, “What comes out of a person, that defiles a person. 21 For from within, from the heart of people, come evil plans, sexual immoralities, thefts, murders, 22 adulteries, acts of greed, malicious deeds, deceit, licentiousness, envy, abusive speech, pride, foolishness. 23 All these evil things come from within and defile a person.”
What is the point Jesus is making again and again? Do you think the disciples have understood? How might you use this with Jewish and Moslem friends? Do you share the imagery and significance of baptism or communion with non-Christians?
More
Mark resources at Bible Project.
Josephus described the plain as fertile with a wide variety of species, including walnut trees, palm trees, fig trees, and olive trees (Josephus, Antiquities, 3.515–18). Strabo reports that the Plain of Gennesaret was a major producer of balsam (Strabo, Geography, 16.2.16).
Phillip J. Long, “Gennesaret,” in The Lexham Bible Dictionary, ed. John D. Barry et al. (Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2016).