Mark 8:1-10 — Who's Staying for Dinner?

Mark 8:1-10

In those days, when again a great crowd had gathered, and they had nothing to eat, he called his disciples to him and said to them,

“I have compassion on the crowd, because they have been with me now three days and have nothing to eat. And if I send them away hungry to their homes, they will faint on the way. And some of them have come from far away.”

And his disciples answered him,

“How can one feed these people with bread here in this desolate place?”

And he asked them,

“How many loaves do you have?”

They said,

“Seven.”

And he directed the crowd to sit down on the ground.
And he took the seven loaves, and having given thanks, he broke them and gave them to his disciples to set before the people; and they set them before the crowd.
And they had a few small fish. And having blessed them, he said that these also should be set before them.
And they ate and were satisfied.
And they took up the broken pieces left over, seven baskets full.
And there were about four thousand people.
And he sent them away.
And immediately he got into the boat with his disciples and went to the district of Dalmanutha.

Comments:

The people came and camped out for three days to see and celebrate with those whom Jesus had healed and also to listen to Jesus' teaching. Matthew makes it clear that the deaf and mute man was not the only one who was healed there next to the Sea of Galilee. As it is written,

“And great crowds came to him, bringing with them the lame, the blind, the crippled, the mute, and many others, and they put them at his feet, and he healed them, so that the crowd wondered, when they saw the mute speaking, the crippled healthy, the lame walking, and the blind seeing. And they glorified the God of Israel.” (Matt 15:30-31)

But as they stayed for this extended period they were soon without food for anything they had to eat was probably consumed on the first day. This was now day three and they had nothing to eat. Jesus shows his compassion for them. He doesn’t want to send them home and have them pass out from hunger on the way. Although Jesus had already miraculously fed people the disciples don't seem to expect that he will feed this crowd. Why? The feeding of the 5,000 presented Jesus as a new Moses feeding the people of Israel with bread from heaven. This situation in Mark 8 was different as the hungry crowd was most likely Gentilesfrom Decapolis (note their outsider name for God "the God of Israel") and certainly, in the minds of the disciples, they had no right to expect the new manna, or the children’s bread (Jesus’ saying to the Syrophoenician woman 7:27) do they? No. No one has a right to expect it, however, Jesus gives it anyway out of his compassion for them.

Jesus not only healed them in the same way that the Jews were healed, but he fed them in the same way as well. Jesus is for everyone! No more "Us" and "Them" divisions are to be tolerated in the Kingdom of God! I am reminded of Isaiah 49:6,

“It is too light a thing that you should be my servant

    to raise up the tribes of Jacob

    and to bring back the preserved of Israel;

I will make you as a light for the nations,

    that my salvation may reach to the end of the earth.”

Geographical note: Dalmanutha is usually thought of as referring to the area of Magdalla on the NW side of the Sea of Galilee. That is the location where after a time of drought they uncovered the wooden fishing boat dating back to the time of Christ featured in a previous post.