Mark 8:1-10
Jesus Feeds the Four Thousand
1 During those days another large crowd gathered. They had nothing to eat. So Jesus called for his disciples to come to him. He said, 2 “I feel deep concern for these people. They have already been with me three days. They don’t have anything to eat. 3 If I send them away hungry, they will become too weak on their way home. Some of them have come from far away.”
4 His disciples answered him. “There is nothing here,” they said. “Where can anyone get enough bread to feed them?”
5 “How many loaves do you have?” Jesus asked.
“Seven,” they replied.
6 He told the crowd to sit down on the ground. He took the seven loaves and gave thanks to God. Then he broke them and gave them to his disciples. They passed the pieces of bread around to the people. 7 The disciples also had a few small fish. Jesus gave thanks for them too. He told the disciples to pass them around. 8 The people ate and were satisfied. After that, the disciples picked up seven baskets of leftover pieces. 9 About 4,000 people were there. After Jesus sent them away, 10 he got into a boat with his disciples. He went to the area of Dalmanutha.
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1. Finding Conflict / Are we INSSA Or ASSA?
"INSSA" is an abbreviation for INSIDER, and "Assa" is an abbreviation for OUTSIDER.
In the Bible, there are stories about Jesus feeding a large group of people in Mark chapters 6 and 8. Even though these stories might seem similar, if you take a closer look, there's a big difference—one that's about how people are treated, like insiders and outsiders.
In the feeding of the 4,000, Jesus seems to care more about the crowd than in the feeding of the 5,000. It's like he's more connected or interested in the 4,000 people. But the twelve disciples pay more attention to the 5,000 crowd than the 4,000.
So, these stories show that Jesus and his disciples had different attitudes and interests in these two events.
1) In Mark chapter 8, Jesus called his disciples and said, "I feel sorry for these people in the crowd, they've been with me for three days now, and they have nothing to eat." He was thinking about how to feed the crowd.
(Mark 8:1-4) At that time, there was a large crowd again, and they had nothing to eat. Jesus called his disciples and said, "I feel sorry for these people because they have been with me for three days, and they have nothing to eat. If I send them home hungry, they will become weak on the way. Some of them have come a long way." The disciples answered, "Where in this wilderness can anyone find enough bread to feed these people?"
2) In Mark chapter 6, the twelve disciples went to Jesus and suggested, "Send the crowd away so they can go to the surrounding villages and farms to buy something to eat." They were thinking about how to feed the crowd.
(Mark 6:35-36) As it became late, the disciples approached Jesus and said, "This is a deserted place, and it is already late. Send the crowd away so that they can go to the nearby villages and farms to buy something to eat."
Why do Jesus and the disciples show such a clear difference in their concerns between the feeding of the 4,000 and the feeding of the 5,000?
The answer is simple. Jesus was more concerned about the outsiders, while the disciples were more concerned about the insiders.
2. Conflict Analysis / The crowd in the feeding of the 4,000 was predominantly composed of outsiders.
There are stories that serve as evidence that the event of the feeding of the 5,000 was for the insiders, specifically the Jews.
Firstly, after Jesus spoke to them one day, he performed the miracle in the evening. Secondly, the people who gathered were from nearby villages and towns, making it easy for them to find food. Thirdly, they had money and could directly buy food for themselves.
On the other hand, there are stories that indicate the people in the feeding of the 4,000 were outsiders, or Gentiles.
Firstly, the crowd had been with Jesus for three days without sufficient food. Secondly, the people who came seeking Jesus came from distant places. Thirdly, the setting was in a wilderness region. They were outsiders.
1) A large crowd glorified the God of (Israel).
Specifically, those who were mute, crippled, blind, and had received healing confessed and glorified God, acknowledging Him as the God of Israel.
(Matthew 15:31) "The crowd was amazed when they saw the mute speaking, the crippled made well, the lame walking, and the blind seeing. And they glorified the God of Israel."
2) The miracle of the feeding of the 4,000 took place in the region of (Decapolis), east of the Jordan River.
The place where Jesus performed the miracle of the feeding of the 4,000 was in a region inhabited by Gentiles. Mark 7:31 mentions passing through the region of Decapolis, which was a Roman Decapolis city with ten cities.
(Mark 7:31) "Then Jesus left the vicinity of Tyre and went through Sidon, down to the Sea of Galilee and into the region of the Decapolis."
3) Jesus was impressed by the (faith) of the Syrophoenician woman.
We have already seen in Mark chapter 7 how Gentiles were often disregarded by the Jews. When Jesus went to the region of Tyre, a Syrophoenician woman with a demon-possessed daughter came and begged Jesus for healing. His response to her was initially shocking: "It is not right to take the children's bread and toss it to the dogs." Gentiles were often treated as if they were dogs.
In the wilderness of the Decapolis region, where the miracle of the feeding of the 4,000 happened, people from various areas, especially outsiders, might have gathered. If it took them a long time to go back home, perhaps individuals, including the Syrophoenician woman from Tyre and Sidon, who were outsiders, would have come to Jesus with 'faith.'
Jesus valued the Jewish people, but even those who were treated like dogs for days while hungry sought Jesus and listened to His words. Jesus couldn't help but feel compassion for them.
3. Insight/ How did Jesus show grace to the Gentiles?
1) Jesus fed (4,000) people abundantly.
Jesus instructed the crowd to sit on the ground. In the case of the feeding of the 5,000, they sat on the grass, but in the feeding of the 4,000, being in a wilderness, they sat on the ground. Then Jesus blessed seven loaves of bread and two fish, and miraculously, after everyone had eaten, seven large baskets were collected.
Here, there's a point of comparison with the feeding of the 5,000. In the previous event, 12 baskets were left, but why in the feeding of the 4,000, there were seven baskets left? Is it a smaller quantity? No.
a) The Greek word for basket is 'kophinos,' which refers to the lunch-sized basket that Jews would carry when traveling in Gentile territories.
b) The Greek word for large basket is 'spuris,' describing a large-sized basket, big enough to contain Saul when he escaped.
Why did Jesus leave so much food?
2) Jesus also fed them on the (way) back.
Jesus not only fed the hungry crowd in the wilderness for three days but also left extra food (seven baskets) for their journey back, considering that they had come from afar.
3) Jesus worked through his (disciples).
The feeding of the 4,000 is not just a message of compassion for the Gentiles. It also includes a message to the disciples, who loved their Jewish brethren more.
While Jesus could have miraculously fed the 4,000 alone, as he did with the 5,000 or 7,000, he chose to involve his disciples. He blessed and broke the bread and fish, then instructed the disciples to distribute it. The disciples directly experienced the grace of feeding 4,000 people and having seven large baskets left.
4. Gospel Message / Who is Jesus?
Beloved people of all nations, why does Jesus love us, the outsiders, those who have lived lives like dogs, so much? Why does he show such abundant grace in response to the hunger of humanity?
1) Jesus is (human).
Jesus is divine, but he is also human. He set aside his divine nature and became one of us.
(Philippians 2:5-8) "Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross."
Certainly, Jesus became human to die for us, but in a narrower sense, he became a human out of love to experience the joys and sorrows of being human firsthand.
2) Jesus grew up in (Nazareth).
Jesus didn't just experience the human joys and sorrows at birth. Growing up in Nazareth, he deeply empathized with the loneliness, isolation, and frustration that comes with human distinctiveness.
Jesus was never an insider in the town of Nazareth; he was an outsider. Even as the son of Mary and working as a carpenter, he felt the pain of being a thorough outsider.
(Mark 6:1-3) "Jesus left there and went to his hometown, accompanied by his disciples... Isn't this the carpenter? Isn't this Mary's son?"
3) Jesus underwent the same (trials) as a human.
When Jesus began his ministry of solidarity, what was the first thing he experienced? Human hunger. In the wilderness, he faced the temptation to turn stones into bread.
(Matthew 4:1-3) "Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. After fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. The tempter came to him and said, 'If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread.'"
After fasting for 40 days, Jesus, in his human form, was likely in a desperate state. Therefore, he still has great compassion for us who continue to undergo the trial of hunger.
"Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us today our daily bread. Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one."
The Lord's Prayer taught by Jesus to his disciples is composed of heavenly and earthly aspects.
In praying for the kingdom of heaven to come on earth, the first petition for earthly matters is what? "Give us today our daily bread."
Jesus, aware of the seriousness of the issue of sustenance on earth, instructed them to pray for "daily bread."
I admire Jesus for understanding the significance of the daily struggles we face on this earth.
Conclusion:
Jesus had compassion for the outsiders who came to him. Just as Jesus worked miracles through his disciples when he performed the miracle of the 7 loaves and 2 fish, he has given us the mission to take care of outsiders. And every time we care for outsiders, we experience a "miracle"!
