Mark's account of this miracle plays an important role in his Gospel. The unusually long introduction provides the setting for this miracle. It stresses Jesus' humanity, and the miracle itself demonstrates His deity. Mark later referred to this miracle twice (6:52; 8:17-21) showing that the disciples did not learn what they should have from it. This meal on the mountainside contrasts with the feast in Antipas' fortress that Mark just described (vv. 17-29). It shows the simplicity of Jesus' provision for a vast multitude compared to Herod's sumptuous and selfish banquet that resulted in the death of a righteous and holy man.161There is also an emphasis in this section of the Gospel on how Jesus cares for His own.
6:31 This verse does not appear in any of the other Gospels. Jesus provided rest for His busy servants by leading them out to a lonely area (Gr. eremos) where the crowds that were greater than ever were not as likely to follow. This place was near Bethsaida Julius on the northeast side of the lake (cf. Luke 9:10; John 6:1). It is interesting that Mark did not record Jesus' evaluation of the disciples' work but His consideration for them as workers.
"For continued effectiveness, every worker must now and then stop to take a breath and relax a little."162
6:32-34 Many people anticipated where Jesus was heading with His disciples in a large boat, probably a fishing boat (Gr. ploion). They were able to skirt the northern end of the lake on foot and meet the boat when it landed. Instead of feeling frustrated, Jesus felt compassion for the multitudes. He saw them as sheep lacking a shepherd who would provide for their needs (cf. Num. 27:17; 1 Kings 22:17; 2 Chron. 18:16; Ezek. 34:5). As David had done, Jesus provided for His sheep in a remote area (John 10:1-21; cf. Ezek. 34:23-25). He began to teach them and apparently did so for many hours (v. 35). Teaching was their greatest need, though healing was what they craved.
6:35-36 The disciples assumed that Jesus wanted the people to provide their own suppers. They reminded Jesus of the time so He could dismiss them. Jesus had something else in mind. He wanted to teach the disciples and the multitudes to look to Him for their needs. He was the ultimate source of all they needed.
6:37 Jesus suggested that the disciples feed the people because He wanted them to realize their inability to do so. The word "you"is emphatic in the Greek text. Having admitted their inability, Jesus' ability would make a greater impression on them. It would teach them that He was different from them. The disciples' response shows that they had not yet learned to look to Jesus for all their needs. Instead of asking Him to provide what the people needed, they calculated the cost of the food and concluded that they could not afford to pay for it.
6:38 Jesus asked them how many loaves of bread they had because He would use what they had to feed the multitude. Normally Jesus uses what His disciples have to meet the needs of others. While the loaves were inadequate, they were still essential elements in this miracle. Likewise disciples need to realize the inadequacy of their resources, but they also need to understand that it is those resources, as inadequate as they are, that Jesus uses. The barley loaves in view were small and flat (cf. John 6:9). One person could eat several of them in one meal.163The two fish were probably salted and dried.
6:39-40 Mark alone noted the green grass thus dating this miracle in the late winter or early spring. John dated it more specifically as near Pentecost, which fell in late March or early April (John 6:4).164In the summer the grass turns brown in Palestine.
The orderly division of the people at least facilitated the distribution of food. The Greek phrases symposia symposia(v. 39) and prasiai prasiai(v. 40) picture the people spread out on the hillside like several garden plots. This organization may reflect the student teacher relationship that the rabbis fostered by seating their students in rows.165This seems far fetched to me. Another suggestion is that Jesus intended this arrangement to recall Israel camping in the wilderness so His disciples would view these people as the new Israel.166This view is possible but unlikely since most of those present were probably unbelievers.
6:41 By praying Jesus gave God thanks for the food and reminded the people that it came from Him. Giving thanks before meals was a common Jewish practice. Jesus blessed God for giving the food. He did not bless the food itself.167Looking up to heaven further clarified that it was God to whom He was praying.
Mark did not record how Jesus performed the miracle, though evidently the multiplication happened in Jesus' hands. He stressed that it was Jesus who did it. This was the most important point to him. Jesus met the needs of people in innumerable creative ways. It is important for disciples to focus on the source of the provision, God, rather than the means and methods He uses to provide. By thanking God for the food and then providing it miraculously for the people, Jesus was presenting evidence that He was God. Thoughtful individuals in the crowd remembered God's miraculous provision of manna in the wilderness (John 6:14) and realized that Jesus was God's servant who delivered what God provided, a second Moses.
Jesus served the people through the disciples who presented what He had provided to the multitudes. The disciples served as waiters. This is the work of servant disciples. This was another lesson in discipleship.
6:42-44 The abundance and adequacy of Jesus' provision were obvious in the amount of food that remained uneaten. The baskets (Gr. kophinoi) were large wicker ones, though there was not much food left over. Jesus provides generously, but He does not provide so extravagantly that there is needless waste.
This miracle revealed the person of Jesus to the multitudes, but it was its effect on the disciples that Mark stressed. As noted, the incident contained many lessons about discipleship as well as revelations of Jesus' identity.
