Christian teaching

We’re back in Mark 6 today taking another look at the feeding of the 5,000. We went through this passage last week, but to refresh our memory let’s read it again.

³³ Now many saw them going and recognized them, and they ran there on foot from all the towns and got there ahead of them. ³⁴ When he went ashore he saw a great crowd, and he had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd. And he began to teach them many things. ³⁵ And when it grew late, his disciples came to him and said, “This is a desolate place, and the hour is now late. ³⁶ Send them away to go into the surrounding countryside and villages and buy themselves something to eat.” ³⁷ But he answered them, “You give them something to eat.” And they said to him, “Shall we go and buy two hundred denarii worth of bread and give it to them to eat?” ³⁸ And he said to them, “How many loaves do you have? Go and see.” And when they had found out, they said, “Five, and two fish.”³⁹ Then he commanded them all to sit down in groups on the green grass. ⁴⁰ So they sat down in groups, by hundreds and by fifties. ⁴¹ And taking the five loaves and the two fish, he looked up to heaven and said a blessing and broke the loaves and gave them to the disciples to set before the people. And he divided the two fish among them all. ⁴² And they all ate and were satisfied. ⁴³ And they took up twelve baskets full of broken pieces and of the fish. ⁴⁴ And those who ate the loaves were five thousand men. ⁴⁵ Immediately he made his disciples get into the boat and go before him to the other side, to Bethsaida, while he dismissed the crowd.

Last time we saw how Jesus, without anyone asking, multiplied five loaves of bread and two fish into enough food to feed a crowd of over 5,000 people. All ate and were satisfied and there were 12 baskets full left over. Today we look at how this feeding is more than just a miracle – it’s a sign. That is, it points to something about Jesus; about who Jesus is and the salvation he brings

That this is so comes out in the very next story, in Mark 6:51-52. After Jesus walked on the water and the winds ceased these verses say –

⁵¹And they (the disciples) were utterly astounded, ⁵²for they did not understand about the loaves, but their hearts were hardened.

Mark is saying, if the disciples had understood what the feeding of the 5,000 was about, they would not have been surprised that Jesus could walk on water. They understood that Jesus did a great miracle, but they missed something important. So what is it that they didn’t understand? This is our topic today.

And first we note that there are –

Parallels between the feeding of the 5,000 and the feeding of Israel in the wilderness

There are connections between the two. Not everything is the same for sure, but there’s enough commonality to make a link. Let’s look at this –

1. Location. The Israelites were in the wilderness. The 5,000 are in a desolate place. And Mark emphasizes this by saying it three times (vs. 31, 32, 35).

2. Organization. The Israelites were organized into groups of 1000’s, 100’s, 50’s and 10’s (Exodus 18:21; Deuteronomy 1:15). Jesus organizes the 5,000 into groups of 100’s and 50’s reminiscent of this – v. 39-40.

3. A miracle. There was a feeding miracle of bread (manna) and meat (quail) – Exodus 16. There is a feeding miracle of bread and meat(in this case fish).

4. Much food. There was an abundance of food – Exodus 16:12. Psalm 78:25 says of this, “he sent them food in abundance.” All 5,000 eat and are satisfied with much left over; 12 baskets full.

So there are broad parallels between these stories. Let’s see now what this tells us about –

Who Jesus is

• Moses was the leader or shepherd of Israel during this feeding.
• And Jesus is the shepherd in our passage, who teaches and feeds the multitude.

This connection between Moses and Jesus is highlighted in that Jesus alludes to Numbers 27 in v. 34 when he says that the crowd of 5,000 are “like sheep without a shepherd.” That’s because Numbers 27:16-17 is a prayer of Moses that uses shepherd language and has this phrase in it:

¹⁶Let the Lord, the God of the spirits of all flesh, appoint a man over the congregation ¹⁷who shall go out before them and come in before them, who shall lead them out and bring them in, that the congregation of the Lord may not be as sheep that have no shepherd.

This is Moses praying for a successor, another shepherd for Israel. And historically this was Joshua. But interestingly the name “Jesus” is another form of the word for “Joshua.” So the reference to this passage in v. 34 indicates that Jesus is acting as the true successor of Moses come to shepherd God’s people.

(A similar connection to Moses is made in John’s telling of the story where some in the crowd want to make Jesus king because they think he is, “The prophet who is to come into the world” – referring to Deuteronomy 18:15-19, again talking about Moses’ successor.)

And there are other messianic predictions that use shepherd language (See – Micah 5:2-4, Zechariah 13:7, Jeremiah 23:1-6). Ezekiel 34 in particular connects with the phrase “like sheep without a shepherd” because it describes the scattering of the sheep due to Israel’s bad shepherds. And then God promises in –

v. 23 – And I will set up over them one shepherd, my servant David, and he shall feed them: he shall feed them and be their shepherd.

So this is a prophecy about the coming Messiah. And in Mark 6, Jesus is the Shepherd who feeds the 5,000.

All of this shepherd language and the allusions to Moses or Joshua or David as previews of the Messiah make the point that Jesus is the true Shepherd and Messiah of Israel. Who is Jesus? The feeding of the 5.000 portrays him as the Messiah.

But there’s more. Only a glance at our story shows that Jesus is much more than just a human Messiah. Who was it that fed Israel in the wilderness? It was God, not Moses. In Exodus 16:15 Moses said, “It is the bread that the Lord has given you to eat” (Also Psalm 78:23-24)

And who is it that feeds the 5,000? It is Jesus. Mark 6:41 says “Jesus broke the loaves and gave them to the disciples to set before the people. And he divided the two fish among them all.” Jesus takes up the role with the 5,000 that God held with Israel in the wilderness in creating food for God’s people. He is much greater than Moses, Joshua or David, or whoever.

That he takes up God’s role shows us that Jesus is the Son of God. He can do what only God can do. Like father, like son, Jesus is God’s son. This is who he is.

Next, we look at what this story tells us about –

The salvation Jesus brings

And first we note that the feeding of the 5,000 points back to Passover. This was the meal that remembered and celebrated Israel’s salvation from slavery. Because of the death of the Passover lamb, the firstborn of Israel were spared and everyone was freed from Egypt.

• In our passage, in v. 39, the reference to “green grass” shows us that this happened in springtime, which is broadly when Passover occurs.
• And we learn more specifically that this indeed happened at the time of Passover in John 6:4.

So the Passover meal is certainly in the background to help us understand this feeding miracle.

Second, the feeding of the 5,000 points forward to the Messianic banquet. This is that great meal of celebration at the end of the age that Isaiah 25:6-9 talks about –

⁶On this mountain the Lord of hosts will make for all peoples a feast of rich food, a feast of well-aged wine . . .. ⁸He will swallow up death forever; and the Lord God will wipe away tears from all faces . . .. ⁹It will be said on that day, “Behold, this is our God; we have waited for him, that he might save us.”

Jesus talks about this event in numerous places, for instance in Matthew 8:11 he says,

I tell you, many will come from east and west and recline at table with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven.

• In our passage, in v. 39 the word “sit” can also be translated as “recline.” It’s a word used for how you sit or lay down at an ancient banquet. It’s the same word that’s used in Matthew 8:11 – “recline at table.”
• Also in v. 39 the word used for “group” (symposia) can mean dining groups at a banquet.

This banquet terminology shows that the feeding is being presented as a preview of the still to come messianic banquet on the last day.

And then finally the feeding of the 5,000 points to the Lord’s supper. Not everything is the same, for instance in the Lord’s supper you have bread and wine and the feeding has bread and fish. (Although throughout the emphasis is on the bread and not the fish.) But despite some differences, there’s a connection.

And in fact, as I have shown you before, the Lord’s supper itself is connected to both Passover and the Messianic banquet.

Here are some connections between the Lord’s supper and the feeding:

• Both involve reclining, that is, they are pictured as banquets – 6:39; 14:18
• In both Jesus is the host of the meal
• And in both Jesus performs the same actions, in the same order: he takes, blesses, breaks and gives the bread – 6:41; 14:22

That the feeding of the 5,000 is connected to the Lord’s supper shows us that the bread from the Lord’s supper (the Passover bread) which symbolizes Jesus broken body on the cross for our salvation -is also symbolized in the broken bread of the feeding miracle.

As we learn from John’s account of the feeding, Jesus is the true bread that comes down from heaven.

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Who is Jesus? He is who Mark told us he was in chapter 1:1 – “the Messiah” and “the Son of God.”

And what does he do? He brings forth the salvation of the kingdom of God that Marks tells us Jesus preached in chapter 1:15. This salvation was pictured long ago in the Passover meal, predicted in prophecies of the Messianic banquet, symbolized in the Lord’s supper and also in the feeding of the 5,000.