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The Compassionate Provider
(Mark 8:1–10)

In those days, when there was again a large crowd and they had nothing to eat, Jesus called His disciples and said to them, “I feel compassion for the people because they have remained with Me now three days and have nothing to eat. If I send them away hungry to their homes, they will faint on the way; and some of them have come from a great distance.” And His disciples answered Him, “Where will anyone be able to find enough bread here in this desolate place to satisfy these people?” And He was asking them, “How many loaves do you have?” And they said, “Seven.” And He directed the people to sit down on the ground; and taking the seven loaves, He gave thanks and broke them, and started giving them to His disciples to serve to them, and they served them to the people. They also had a few small fish; and after He had blessed them, He ordered these to be served as well. And they ate and were satisfied; and they picked up seven large baskets full of what was left over of the broken pieces. About four thousand were there; and He sent them away. And immediately He entered the boat with His disciples and came to the district of Dalmanutha. (8:1–10)

Shortly after the feeding of the five thousand (Mark 6:35–44) and the sermon on the bread of life (cf. John 6:35, 51), the Lord left Galilee for an extended time of private training with the Twelve. He and His disciples went first to the region of Tyre, where Jesus ministered to a Syrophoenician woman who exhibited great faith in Him (7:24–30). Next, they traveled north through Sidon, and then east and south to the region of Decapolis on the southeastern side of the Sea of Galilee (v. 31). In all, their circuitous journey through Gentile territory likely lasted for two or three months, providing the Twelve with focused personal instruction from their Lord.

During that time, the disciples would have been acutely aware that they were not in the land of Israel, a reality that fit the teaching purposes of Jesus as He began to prepare them for the Great Commission: to go into all the world and preach the gospel to people of every nation (Matt. 28:19–20; Acts 1:8). Like the reluctant prophet Jonah, the Israelites of Jesus’ day despised the Gentiles and had no desire for their salvation. The disciples undoubtedly were affected by the racial bias of their culture (cf. Luke 9:54). That deeply rooted prejudice was opposite the heart of God, who from eternity’s original decree intended the message of salvation to spread from His chosen people to all nations (cf. Gen. 12:3). It was critically important for the Twelve to understand that the gospel was a message for the whole world.

Their foray into Gentile territory ended in the region of Decapolis (Mark 7:31), which bordered the southeastern shores of the Sea of Galilee. The people there had heard about Jesus (cf. Mark 5:20), so that when He arrived, massive crowds came out to meet Him on a mountainside near the lake (cf. Matt. 15:29). There, He healed the sick who were brought to Him, including the lame, crippled, blind, deaf, mute, and many others (v. 30; cf. Mark 7:31–37). As a result, the Gentile multitude “marveled as they saw the mute speaking, the crippled restored, and the lame walking, and the blind seeing; and they glorified the God of Israel” (Matt. 15:31).

The event recorded in Mark 8:1–10 culminates Jesus’ journey through those Gentile areas. This passage can be divided into four segments: the merciful compassion of the Lord, the myopic consternation of the disciples, the miraculous creation of a meal, and the ministry cultivation of the Twelve.

THE MERCIFUL COMPASSION OF THE LORD

In those days, when there was again a large crowd and they had nothing to eat, Jesus called His disciples and said to them, “I feel compassion for the people because they have remained with Me now three days and have nothing to eat. If I send them away hungry to their homes, they will faint on the way; and some of them have come from a great distance.” (8:1–3)

The first feeding of thousands (Mark 6:35–44) took place on the northeast side of the Sea of Galilee, near the time of the feast of Passover (John 6:4), when the hills around the lake were lush with grass (cf. Matt. 14:19; John 6:10). Several months had likely passed since that miraculous event, a point suggested by the description of the hillsides as mere “ground” on this occasion (Matt. 15:35; Mark 8:6). Under the intense heat of summer, the green grass of spring would begin to wither away and die.

It was in those days that there was again a large crowd and they had nothing to eat. The massive multitude had been drawn to Jesus by His miracles (cf. Matt. 15:29–31; Mark 7:31–37). Though they were Gentiles from a pagan region, their response was one of praise to the God of Israel. Mark uses the word again to indicate that this large crowd with nothing to eat should not be confused with the earlier Jewish multitude whom Jesus fed near Bethsaida. (For more on the distinction between those two events, see the discussion below.)

Jesus called His disciples and said to them, “I feel compassion for the people.” Though the gospel writers repeatedly state that Jesus felt compassion toward people (cf. Matt. 9:36; 14:14; 15:32; 20:34; Mark 1:41; 6:34; Luke 7:13), only here and in the parallel passage (Matt. 15:32) did Jesus, speaking in the first person, declare this about Himself. The verb translated feel compassion (from the Greek word splanchnizomai) literally means “to be moved in one’s bowels,” the visceral organs where the feelings of pain are felt, so that the ancients considered them to be the seat of emotions. The idea was similar to modern expressions like a “gut-wrenching” emotion or a feeling “in the pit of one’s stomach.” The English word compassion comes from a Latin word meaning, “to suffer with,” and conveys feelings of deep sympathy, pity, and kindness toward those who are hurting.

Throughout the Old Testament, God repeatedly revealed Himself as the God of compassion. In Exodus 34:6, the Lord God declared Himself to be “compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in lovingkindness and truth.” Moses reiterated that divine attribute to the Israelites in Deuteronomy 4:31, “For the Lord your God is a compassionate God; He will not fail you nor destroy you nor forget the covenant with your fathers which He swore to them.” The book of Psalms echoes that truth: “The Lord is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in lovingkindness” (Ps. 103:8; cf. 111:4). Even when the nation of Israel proved unfaithful, “the Lord was gracious to them and had compassion on them and turned to them because of His covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and would not destroy them or cast them from His presence until now” (2 Kings 13:23; cf. 2 Chron. 36:14; Neh. 9:17; Joel 2:13). As the prophet Jeremiah declared, even after the fall of Jerusalem, “The Lord’s lovingkindnesses indeed never cease, for His compassions never fail” (Lam. 3:22; cf. Mic. 7:19).

Because He is God, divine compassion marked the life of Christ. Jesus expressed merciful care both for people’s spiritual needs (cf. Matt. 9:36; Mark 6:34) and for their physical afflictions (Matt. 14:14); He extended that care to both Jews and Gentiles (cf. Matt. 8:5–13; 15:22–31; Mark 7:31–37). On this occasion, the Lord felt compassion for this crowd specifically because they had remained with Him for three days with nothing to eat. In their eagerness to hear Jesus’ teaching and witness His miracles, the people refused to go home—even if it meant sleeping outside and missing a few meals. Overwhelmed with the Lord Jesus, they put hunger aside. He recognized what perhaps they themselves did not even realize. Speaking to His disciples, the Lord said, If I send them away hungry to their homes, they will faint on the way; and some of them have come from a great distance. The word faint (from the Greek verb ekluō) means “to weaken” or “to collapse,” like a bowstring that goes limp when unstrung. Knowing that the people had not eaten for three days, and that some of them would be traveling long distances to return home, Jesus responded with compassion.

THE MYOPIC CONSTERNATION OF THE DISCIPLES

And His disciples answered Him, “Where will anyone be able to find enough bread here in this desolate place to satisfy these people?” And He was asking them, “How many loaves do you have?” And they said, “Seven.” (8:4–5)

The disciples answered Jesus by asking, “Where will anyone be able to find enough bread here in this desolate place to satisfy these people?” At first glance, the Twelve seem to react in almost the same way as before, during the feeding of the thousands near Bethsaida (6:35–37). Certainly, they had not forgotten what Jesus had done a few months earlier. So why did they ask almost the same question as before? Did they not know the Lord Jesus could provide as He had done earlier? The answer is that they did. Their question is best understood as a kind of tongue-in-cheek acknowledgment of the earlier miracle, and their own admission that they had again no adequacy or resources for such a vast need. It was not intended to cast doubt on Jesus’ miraculous power, but rather to emphasize the fact that, if a crowd this large was going to be fed in that remote location, it would require another creation of food. The word translated to satisfy, from the Greek verb chortazō, derives its meaning from the world of animal husbandry where it described livestock eating until they were completely full. It is the same word used to describe the satisfied multitude in Mark 6:42.

If the disciples had any doubts about what was about to happen, it was not Jesus’ power they questioned but His purpose. This crowd consisted of Gentiles, people outside of the Abrahamic covenant whom the Jews considered to be unclean. It was one thing for Jesus to heal them, but the creation of a meal went one step further. For Jewish people to eat with Gentiles was forbidden by rabbinic regulations (cf. Acts 10:28; 11:3; Gal. 2:18). Understandably, that idea would likely have caused consternation among the disciples. Yet, Jesus was teaching them an important lesson about how far the gospel would extend. Thus, this miracle served as a fitting climax to the time He and the Twelve spent traveling through Gentile territory.

In order to highlight the miraculous nature of what He was about to do and perhaps to remind the disciples of what He had done before, Jesus was asking them, “How many loaves do you have?” And they said, “Seven.” In verse 7, Mark explains that “they also had a few small fish.” Before the previous creation of food for thousands, the disciples found five loaves and two fish (Mark 6:41). On this occasion, they managed to collect seven loaves and several fish. Bread and fish comprised the typical meal for those who lived around the lake. Obviously, such meager supplies were useless in feeding such a massive crowd. The apostles knew that, but they also knew the power of their Creator Lord.

THE MIRACULOUS CREATION OF A MEAL

And He directed the people to sit down on the ground; and taking the seven loaves, He gave thanks and broke them, and started giving them to His disciples to serve to them, and they served them to the people. They also had a few small fish; and after He had blessed them, He ordered these to be served as well. And they ate and were satisfied; and they picked up seven large baskets full of what was left over of the broken pieces. About four thousand were there; and He sent them away. (8:6–9)

As Jesus had done before, He directed the people to sit on the ground, perhaps in groups of hundreds and fifties (cf. Mark 6:40) in order to separate them for the distribution of the meal. Taking the seven loaves, a form of flatbread, He gave thanks and broke them. By giving thanks to the Father, Jesus not only modeled what it means to depend on God for daily provisions (cf. Matt. 6:11), He also signified to the crowd of onlookers that the power behind the miracle was divine.

Without any apparent exertion or strain, Jesus started giving pieces of bread to His disciples to serve to them, and they served them to the people. They also had a few small fish; and after He had blessed them, He ordered these to be served as well. As with the previous miraculous provision, no natural explanation is possible. This was the spontaneous and continuous creation of bread and fish by the Creator of all things Himself (cf. John 1:3; Col. 1:16; Heb. 1:3). The Lord kept bringing meals into existence out of nothing as the disciples distributed them to those in the crowd until everyone was fed. Of course, in addition to miraculously creating the food, Jesus could have supernaturally distributed it to the people. The Lord involved His disciples in order to allow them to participate in the expression of heavenly compassion. Their involvement also symbolized their future role as soul-feeding messengers of the life-giving gospel. Soon, they would distribute the message of the bread of life to the whole world.

With the food created and disseminated, the people ate and were satisfied. The word satisfied comes from the same Greek word found in verse 4 and indicates that the hungry crowds, after three days without eating, feasted until they were totally satisfied. When the meal was over, the Twelve picked up seven large baskets full of what was left over of the broken pieces. As they had done previously at the meal near Bethsaida, when they collected twelve baskets of food (6:43), the disciples gathered what was left. None of the food was wasted. Large baskets translates a form of the Greek word spuris, the same word used to describe the basket that lowered Paul over the side of a Damascus wall (Acts 9:25). These baskets were different than the small baskets (from the Greek kophinos) that the disciples used on the previous occasion. Jesus later distinguished between the two miraculous meals by reminding the disciples of the different baskets they had used. In Mark 8:18–20, Jesus asked them,

The different types of baskets are not the only distinction between this miraculous feeding and the one that occurred earlier (in Mark 6:35–44). The locations (Bethsaida vs. Decapolis); the audience (Jews vs. Gentiles); the number of men present (5,000 vs. 4,000); the length of time the crowd lingered beforehand (one day vs. three days); and the number of loaves (five vs. seven) were all different. Moreover, Jesus Himself distinguished between the two events (Mark 8:18–20); Matthew and Mark recorded both occasions as being two separate miracles. Though some modern skeptics suggest these two events should be conflated, that notion is clearly unsupported by the biblical text.

Mark’s comment that about four thousand were there refers only to the total number of men. The parallel passage in Matthew 15:38 makes that point explicit, “Those who ate were four thousand men, besides women and children.” With four thousand households represented, the crowd could have easily numbered between fifteen and twenty thousand. Neither Matthew nor Mark record the response of the people, though they were undoubtedly elated. Perhaps some of them wanted to make Jesus king, just as the multitude had tried to do near Bethsaida (cf. John 6:15). As on that occasion, after the meal, He ended the astounding event and sent them away.

THE MINISTRY CULTIVATION OF THE TWELVE

And immediately He entered the boat with His disciples and came to the district of Dalmanutha. (8:10)

After the three days of intense ministry, filled with miraculous healings and culminating in a supernatural meal, Jesus left the region of Decapolis to return to Galilee for a short time. Immediately He entered the boat with His disciples and came to the district of Dalmanutha. The parallel passage, Matthew 15:39, identifies their destination as “the region of Magadan.” The two accounts are not contradictory but use two different names to refer to the same area between the towns of Magdala and Capernaum. Jesus’ return to Galilee brought His excursion into Gentile territory full circle—from Tyre to Sidon to Decapolis and back to Galilee. The cross was now less than a year away, and it would not be long before Jesus transitioned His ministry focus to Judea and Jerusalem.

As noted above, Jesus’ journey into Gentile lands provided the Twelve with an extended time of personal training and critical instruction. In the process, they received invaluable preparation in at least four areas. First, they were exposed to Jesus’ divine person. They witnessed His authority over demons (Mark 7:29–30), His power over disease (7:31–37), and His ability to create food spontaneously (8:1–9). They watched as people with incurable diseases and physical disabilities—from blindness to paralysis to deafness—were brought to Jesus and healed immediately and completely by Him. The disciples understood that only God could be the source of such power, which is why they confessed Jesus to be God’s Son (cf. Matt. 14:33; 16:16).

Second, they learned that the ultimate priority in life is worship. As Jesus had earlier explained to a woman in Samaria, “An hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for such people the Father seeks to be His worshipers. God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth” (John 4:23–24). During their journey outside of Galilee, the disciples saw that principle fleshed out in a Gentile context. It was a Syrophoenician whom Jesus commended for her great faith (Matt. 15:28). And it was the Gentile crowds in the region of Decapolis who witnessed Jesus’ miracles and “glorified the God of Israel” (v. 31). By contrast, the religious leaders of Israel had substituted coldhearted religion full of rabbinic rules and restrictions for true worship (Mark 7:1–13). It is essential to recognize that difference.

Third, having been there for both of the meals Jesus miraculously created, the disciples began to understand the divine resources available to them. Though their faith was still weak in this regard (cf. 8:16–21), it was necessary for them to embrace the promise of Matthew 6:31–33,

The disciples had no ability in themselves to feed hungry crowds or give spiritual life to wasted souls. But Jesus did. His resources were infinite, His power limitless, and His providential precision perfect. They simply needed to depend on Him (cf. Heb. 13:5–6). By involving them in the distribution of food to the multitudes, the Lord provided them with a vivid illustration of God’s inexhaustible care that was especially designed not for the body but the soul.

Fourth, the disciples witnessed the Lord’s compassion dramatically displayed toward people whom first-century Jews generally treated with scorn and disdain. It made sense to them that the Messiah would perform miracles for the people of Israel. But to think that He would also cast out demons, heal diseases, and create meals for Gentiles represented a major paradigm shift. Yet, it was a lesson the disciples desperately needed to learn, as Jesus prepared them to take the message of salvation to the ends of the world. As one commentator explains:

A short time earlier, Jesus’ Galilean ministry had culminated with thousands of Jews being miraculously fed. His foray into Gentile territory similarly ended with the creation of a supernatural meal. Both occasions were previews of the coming glories of the messianic kingdom, in which all of the redeemed, both Jew and Gentile, will participate in the celebratory banquet of the Lamb (cf. Rev. 19:9).

As demonstrated by all of Jesus’ miracles, it is the nature of God to care for those in need. Whenever Jesus healed an infirmity, cast out a demon, raised a dead person to life, or fed a hungry multitude, He put God’s compassion on display. That compassion reached its highest point at the cross. As the Lord Himself said on the night before His death, “Greater love has no one than this, that one lay down his life for his friends” (John 15:13; cf. Heb. 2:17; 1 John 3:16). To satisfy the crowd’s physical hunger after three days required compassion and supernatural power, but to save their souls for eternity required something far more—supernatural sacrifice. Jesus willingly went to the cross to bear the full weight of divine punishment for the sins of all who would ever believe in Him (cf. 2 Cor. 5:21).