Mark 6:42 - Printer Friendly

Jesus has blessed, broken, and distributed five loaves of bread and two fish, and fed well over five thousand people, "as much as they wanted" (John 6:11). "Satisfied" is from the Greek root word chortazo and means to be filled, like an animal that is being fattened. God can take very little and make a feast. He allowed Elisha to provide a living for a woman and her son with one jar of oil (2 Kings 4:1–7) and to feed a hundred men with twenty loaves of barley bread (2 Kings 4:42–44). In His first recorded miracle, Jesus made high-quality wine out of water (John 2:1–11).

We will be filled if we are satisfied with what God provides. There is no mention of complaining or dissention about the quality of the meal among those gathered on the Plain of Bethsaida. They are grateful to receive anything. This is in stark contrast to Herod Antipas. God placed Antipas in authority over Galilee and Perea (Romans 13:1) and provided him with a wife who ensured peace on his border. He was not satisfied. He divorced his wife, married his sister-in-law, and requested that the emperor make him king. In return, he was invaded by his ex-father-in-law and exiled for treason by the emperor.

It is good to ask God the desires of our hearts. It is essential to believe that He knows what is best for us and will fill our needs according to His plan. If we value the world, everything we have will pass away. If we love and value God, we will live with Him forever (1 John 2:15–17).

Mark 6:33–44 provides another depiction of Jesus' miraculous feeding of thousands of people. The Twelve have worked so hard on their first missions trip they haven't had time to eat (Mark 6:31), and an attempt to rest is foiled by a demanding crowd. Instead of avoiding the interlopers, Jesus heals (Matthew 14:14) and teaches them. Instead of dismissing them, He feeds them. The Twelve again witness Jesus' great power and authority but don't catch the lesson: Jesus is God and can provide whatever anyone needs. This story is also found in Matthew 14:13–21 and Luke 9:11–17, and it is one of the few miracles mentioned in John (John 6:2–14). This makes it the only miracle referenced in all four Gospels.

Jesus returns to His hometown of Nazareth, but the people there are faithless and skeptical. As a result, Jesus performs no more than a few minor miracles. He then assigns His twelve apostles to travel in pairs, preaching repentance and healing various conditions. Mark then takes a brief detour to explain the death of John the Baptist, beheaded after Herod Antipas is tricked by his wife. The focus then returns to Jesus, explaining His miraculous feeding of thousands of people, walking on water, and healing people in Gennesaret.

Even as the Twelve are given opportunity to wield some of Jesus' power and authority, they still struggle to understand. They misinterpret who He is, what He has come to do, and how much He will ask of them. They fear Jesus' display of deity, but seem to dismiss the murderous rejection of His hometown and the death of John the Baptist. It's easy to have faith in a prophet who seems poised to rescue Israel from foreign rule. It is still beyond them to understand that He is actually God.

The Gospel of Mark emphasizes both Jesus' servanthood and His role as the promised Messiah: the Son of God. This is done through a concise, action-packed style. Mark provides relatively few details, instead focusing on actions and simple statements. This relates to the Gospel's authorship, which is believed to be based on the memories of the apostle Peter. These include many of Jesus' miracles, in contrast to other Gospels which include many more of Jesus' teachings and parables. Mark also makes frequent mention of Jesus' ministry being misunderstood by others.