Mark 8:1-38

Feeding the Four Thousand

[An Analysis]

Mark 8:0

Here we have a special exemplification of the philanthropic spirit of Christ. In Christ, philanthropy was not a sentiment but a controlling power, not a dream but a fact Some of the more striking suggestions of this paragraph are these: (1) Two different methods of dealing with social problems, "send the multitude away;" that is one method, "give ye them to eat;" that is another. We often have the remedy at hand while we fruitlessly seek it afar off. No man knows the range of his resources. This applies to mind, money, influence, to all the aspects of life. A man's resources, looked at from the outside, may be as a grain of mustard seed; but planted, used, put into right conditions, etc. The disciples took an insufficient view of their resources, taking the account from the various evangelists, they said, "We have five loaves, we have but five loaves, we have but five barley loaves; we have but two fishes, we have but two small fishes." Lower and lower they sink in their representation of their resources, a picture of men who have no faith. The life that is in a man multiplies the resources that are outside. (2) The entire fulness of Christ in relation to all human need. He said, "Bring them hither to me." Christ cared for the bodies of men; and his religion can never be unmindful of social, secular, commercial, and physical questions. The whole man came originally from God, and to the end of time the whole man must be profoundly interesting to God. All our resources must be taken to Christ if we would make them truly availing to the necessities of men. We hardly yet understand Christ's relation to material questions. "Let the people praise thee.... Then shall the earth yield her increase." Man loses no bread by praying over it. The principle may be extended no life spent in true devotion is wasted. If Christ "looked up to heaven" while using the things of earth, shall we use the things of earth as though there were no heaven? (3) The compatibility of carefulness with the greatest bounty, "They took up of the broken meat that remained seven baskets full." God will not suffer loss. He makes use of every sunbeam now that fell upon the first morning of time, and the dew which glittered in Eden sparkles in the rainbow of to-day. God is the most exacting of economists.

Among the miscellaneous remarks suggested by this paragraph may be named: (1) Christ's power in all the wildernesses of time. (2) The impossibility of loneliness or want in fellowship with Christ. (3) The union of religious exercises with daily engagements. (4) The Giver of earthly bread is also the Giver of heavenly bread. (5) The man who is prepared to give himself is prepared to give all lower property.

There need not be any difficulty in receiving this statement. If a man will closely examine himself he will find that in his own life there have been interpositions and deliverances, unexpected and thrilling manifestations of bounty which verify this narrative, and show that in every life the miraculous element is most positive and influential.

Look at the incident (1) As showing that trials may arise through following Christ. The multitude had nothing to eat! Whatever the motive of the outsiders for following Christ, they did follow him, and in following him they were exposed to inconvenience and trial. There is no trial now in following the Saviour. Show the pitifulness and absurdity of modern whining in this matter of suffering. Following Christ is now the most successful habit of society, outside following, not vital, spiritual, self-sacrificial following.

Look at the incident (2) As showing how the impossible may become the possible. From the standpoint of the disciples, etc. From the standpoint of Christ, etc. We should always have a view of our own, but should not always act upon it. Our own view should show us the vastness and solemnity of life; should show us also our personal incompetence to meet its great necessities. Looking at these two things we shall be humbled, humbled even to the point of despair. On the other hand, we should act on the view of Christ. We must connect ourselves with the supernatural, if we would really have dominion over all the wants and tumults of human life. God's views are to be carried out in God's strength. Now and again God sets us to do some great thing which startles us: it is so much out of proportion to our resources: we think God must have made a mistake! We often find ourselves uttering the tone of surprise in looking at unexpected demands upon our strength. This really does us good. It is well for a man to be startled out of himself, to be taken to the very limit of the possible, and to be told by God to throw himself over into the impossible. It was so, practically, in this case. Hear the startling word, Feed four thousand people with seven loaves and a few small fishes! This kind of demand in life does us good because it leads us to cast ourselves entirely upon the Infinite. Sometimes it is said by men in the kingdom of Christ, who have to deal with great and difficult questions, "We are bound to look at these things as business men:" in a very superficial sense this may be true, but as a rule of Christian enterprise it is a profound and most mischievous fallacy. The disciples looked at this question as business men! What was it that the disciples forgot? God! So with ourselves: we persist in ignoring the divine element.

Look at the incident (3) As showing how much superior is the man of ideas to the man of loaves. The man of loaves said, "It cannot be done;" the man of ideas said, "It must be done!" See how a man may be dwarfed by the material! The soul perishes in the absence of spiritual aspiration and communion. Don't live in your business, live beyond it, and descend upon it from the highest spiritual elevation. Loaves are for one world; ideas are for the universe. Of necessity the material must limit the power and hope of its believers: on the other hand, the spiritual ever lures the mind to enterprises higher and higher. This holds good of purely intellectual energy, how much more of energy that is religious as well as intellectual!

Look at the incident (4) As showing that the spiritual vindicates itself from the charge of wastefulness. With such power to multiply loaves, why be so careful about fragments? The one is the counterpart of the other. The spiritual is not the waste, but the accumulation of power. The crumbs of one meal should be the germs of another. The most liberal was also the most economical. In the universe there is nothing wasted, though the bounty be so liberal, and the feast so long-continued.

10. And straightway he entered into a ship with his disciples, and came into the parts of Dalmanutha.

11. And the Pharisees came forth, and began to question with him seeking of him a sign from heaven, tempting him.

12. And he sighed deeply in his spirit, and saith, Why doth this generation seek after a sign? verily I say unto you, There shall no sign be given unto this generation.

13. And he left them, and entering into the ship again departed to the other side.

The multitude did not ask for a sign, yet one was given: the Pharisees specially desired a sign, and no sign was granted. Mere curiosity should never be gratified by the Christian interpreter. There is no real necessity in human life which will be left unsupplied by the Saviour, when an apparent want is not supplied by him, we may be assured that the want was apparent only, and by no means real. The text may be taken as the basis of a discourse upon the refusals of Christ We often speak of what he gave: we might speak also of what he withheld. The words of the Old Testament are applicable to Jesus Christ. "No good thing will he withhold from them that walk uprightly." The refusals of Jesus Christ were governed by three considerations: (1) Religious curiosity is not to be mistaken for religious necessity; (2) Religious confidence is not to be won by irreligious ostentation; (3) Religious appeals are not to be addressed to the eye, but to the heart. In applying, these points show what Christ gave in comparison with what Christ refused. He gave bread, sight, hearing, speech, health; he gave his life, yet he refused a sign!

Understand that in some cases not to give a sign is in reality to give the most solemn and dreadful of all signs!

14. Now the disciples had forgotten to take bread, neither had they in the ship with them more than one loaf.

15. And he charged them, saying, Take heed, beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, and of the leaven of Herod.

16. And they reasoned among themselves, saying, It is because we have no bread.

17. And when Jesus knew it, he saith unto them, Why reason ye, because ye have no bread? perceive ye not yet, neither understand? have ye your heart yet hardened?

18. Having eyes, see ye not? and having ears, hear ye not? and do ye not remember?

19. When I brake the five loaves among five thousand, how many baskets full of fragments took ye up? They say unto him, Twelve.

20. And when the seven among four thousand, how many baskets full of fragments took ye up? And they said, Seven.

21. And he said unto them, How is it that ye do not understand?

Christ gave the practical application of the refusal. This "beware" must be taken as the utterance aloud of the result of an unspoken process of reasoning. The address suggests three things: (1) That Christian thinking is to be conducted cautiously. Do not receive every suggestion that is offered. There is an enemy, beware of him! (2) That Christian thinking is not to be perverted by great names. The Pharisees and Herod! Socially, these were amongst the greatest names of the day. There are many great names now, such as priests, editors, leaders, etc. Look at the speech, not merely at the speaker. Doctrine, before men. (3) That Christian thinking is not to be degraded by liberalism and materialism. "It is because we have no bread." This was paltry. Some men's thinking is always downwards. They cannot understand figures of speech. Preachers should be careful, in condescension to general ignorance and occasional imbecility, to explain that when they say leaven they do not mean bread. It is most humiliating to give such explanations, but the Master gave them!

The 21st verse supplies a basis for a discourse upon the reproofs of Jesus Christ. There are reproofs which proceed (1) upon our forgetfulness of providences, Mark 8:19-20 ; (2) upon our bondage to the mere letter, leaven being mistaken for bread; (3) upon our abuse or non-use of faculties, "having eyes, see ye not? having ears, hear ye not?" There should be some difference between the eye of a beast and the eye of a man.

22. And he cometh to Bethsaida; and they bring a blind man unto him, and besought him to touch him.

23. And he took the blind man by the hand, and led him out of the town; and when he had spit on his eyes, and put his hands upon him, he asked him if he saw ought.

24. And he looked up, and said, I see men as trees, walking.

25. After that he put his hands again upon his eyes, and made him look up: and he was restored, and saw every man clearly.

26. And he sent him away to his house, saying, Neither go into the town, nor tell it to any in the town.

This paragraph may be regarded as showing three views of Christ's work. (1) Christ's work as a salvation. The restoring of sight was a point on the brilliant line, the end of which was the salvation of mankind; so was every miracle of healing. (2) Christ's work as a process: the good work was not accomplished in this case, as in others, by a word, it was done gradually. It is so in spiritual enlightenment. All good men do not see God with equal quickness or equal clearness. (3) Christ's work as a consummation: "He was restored, and saw every man clearly." He will not leave his work until it be finished; if so be men beseech him to go on to be gracious.

It has been to some readers an occasion of surprise that Jesus Christ should not instantaneously have cured the blind man. We should, indeed, rejoice in the variety of Christ's methods of working. His every method, to say nothing of his purpose, is full of mercy. His method is adapted to the cases which it treats. Some men could not bear instantaneousness. How many men have been ruined by sudden prosperity? Think, too, how obvious and manifold are the advantages of processes: how man is taught: how possibilities are revealed: how sympathy is excited: how dependence is encouraged: how patience is sanctified. It should, further, be understood that as a matter of fact instantaneousness is the exception, and not the rule of divine procedure: if, therefore, there is to be any surprise, it should be at the suddenness, and not at the slowness of Christ's physical ministry.

27. And Jesus went out, and his disciples, into the towns of Cæsarea Philippi: and by the way he asked his disciples, saying unto them, Whom do men say that I am?

28. And they answered, John the Baptist: but some say, Elias; and others, One of the prophets.

29. And he saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am? And Peter answereth and saith unto him, Thou art the Christ.

30. And he charged them that they should tell no man of him.

Another instance of a process as in opposition to a sudden result. The method of the inquiry, too, is a process: first, what do men say, and secondly, what do you say? The conversation may be taken in three points of view:

(1) Jesus Christ, the subject of universal inquiry. All men talk about him: he appears to all by the variety of his works and by the vitality of his teaching: as the Son of man he appeals to all men.

(2) Jesus Christ demanding a special testimony from his own followers. "But whom say ye that I am?" We are called to knowledge: we are called to profession: we are called to individuality of testimony. We are not to be content with taking part in common talk, and sheltering ourselves behind general opinion; having special privileges, we must have special judgments regarding Christ and his doctrine.

(3) Jesus Christ, revealed by his works rather than by verbal professions. See how the case might be paraphrased: "I have been with my disciples for a considerable period; they have known my spirit, and seen my manner of work: they have not been told in so many words who I am: my appeal has been conveyed through service and through doctrine: it is now time that they should have grown far enough in spiritual strength and spiritual discernment to know the mystery of my personality, I shall ask them therefore to declare my name and status."

Regard this as the true method of disclosing every individuality. A teacher may say, "I am a very great man, therefore believe me:" it is beginning at the wrong end: let the doctrine produce its own effect: let the works be such as shall compel observers to inquire, What manner of man is this?

In the light of this suggestion, see the value of the charge that the disciples should tell no man of him. Men must be conquered by great deeds, not by great names: men must be trained to strength by thought, inference, comparison, and moral discrimination; not by sudden and startling displays of personal glory. God himself has adopted this method. His glory has ever been shown through his goodness, his name has been approached through the beauty and splendour of his works.

31. And he began to teach them, that the Son of man must suffer many things, and be rejected of the elders, and of the chief priests, and scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again.

The disciples needed to be specially prepared for this disclosure. See the infinite and gracious wisdom of the course: as soon as they are strengthened by a distinct acknowledgment of his divine personality, they are called to bear the revelation of his sacrificial character! No sooner does he fully acknowledge his glory than he stoops to the depth of his sacrificial humiliation! To have told of the rejection and killing first would have overpowered the disciples: therefore (and herein are the subtle signs of his Godhead) he prepared them for the shock by the splendour of the supreme revelation, I am the Christ! The personality gave value to the sacrifice, and at the same time gave an assurance that for once death would be made a servant rather than a master.

Regard this verse as showing (1) Christ's foresight; (2) Christ's preparedness for his work; (3) Christ's dominion over events, "After three days rise again."

32. And he spake that saying openly. And Peter took him, and began to rebuke him.

33. But when he had turned about, and looked on his disciples, he rebuked Peter, saying, Get thee behind me, Satan: for thou savourest not the things that be of God, but the things that be of men.

Peter rebuked Christ, and Christ rebuked Peter, an altercation of more than mere words. It is charged with practical truths: (1) Man's shortsightedness; (2) man's sentiment exaggerated; (3) man's audacity, to think he can help or save Christ!

On Christ's side: (1) He rebukes the oldest; (2) he rebukes the wisest, it was Peter who said, "Thou art the Christ;" (3) he shows that men are only worthy of him in proportion as they enter into his spirit.

34. And when he had called the people unto him with his disciples also, he said unto them, Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.

35. For whosoever will save his life shall lose it; but whosoever shall lose his life for my sake and the gospel's, the same shall save it.

36. For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?

37. Or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?

38. Whosoever therefore shall be ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation; of him shall also the Son of man be ashamed, when he cometh in the glory of his Father, with the holy angels.

These words seem to mark an epoch in the Saviour's teaching. The announcement has all the formality and solemnity of a new beginning. The principle had been the same from the first, but it had not been plainly stated in so many words. Henceforth there is to be no mistake. The "follower" is not the man in the crowd who can hardly give any account of himself; who is there because other people are there; he is the man who carries a cross, who rules over himself in Christ's spirit, and takes the law of his life from Christ. At first, Christ said, "Follow me." Now he says, "If you will follow me, take up your cross." It is an enlargement in words, but there is no change of spirit. Still, it is beautiful to mark how the cross is introduced into the ministry of Jesus Christ. First of all he takes it himself, and then he says, You must do the same. This is following! Doing what Christ does, and doing it because of his example and command. Sometimes we find it extremely difficult to say the keyword of our meaning. Other words we can say easily enough, but how to get out the master-word that says everything at once! In Christ's case that word was "Cross." It has been a burden on his heart for many a day, and now he has spoken it out loudly. There are some words which if we do not say loudly, in high and hallowed excitement, we shall never say at all. The minister says words in public which he could never say in private; he speaks from the whirlwind what he could never say in a whisper.

The words in this paragraph, 34-38, are spoken with great energy, as if spoken in haste which never allowed the speaker to take breath. He had so much to say, and he said it every whit in one brief paragraph! See how much he spoke in that flashing moment:

(1) I am the leader of men, "whosoever will come after me."

(2) My leadership is based upon the principle of self-sacrifice.

(3) This principle is of universal application, "Whosoever."

(4) Though the principle is universal, the cross may be personal, "his cross:" what is a cross to one man may be no cross to another. Every man has his own cross: he may break it or carry it: he must carry it if he would follow me.

(5) The world says, "Save your life;" I say, "Lose it," but mark the conditions, "for my sake and the gospel's;" not suicide, but martyrdom; not recklessness, but courage.

(6) To lose the soul is to lose the world. To lose your eyes is to lose summer and beauty. To lose your hearing is to lose music and eloquence. To lose your soul is to lose all.

(7) There is a law of inversion operating in human affairs: one day I shall be ashamed of all who are now ashamed of me. I shall come in my glory, and in the glory of the Father. Strange conjunction of words, "Cross," "Glory."

In view of these words three things are clear: (1) That the application of Christianity to daily life is not easy; (2) that such application can only be made in the strength of him who demands it; (3) that whosoever makes such application will share the glory of the Son of man.