Chapter # 6 Paragraph # 4 Study # 3
December 14, 2021
Moss Bluff, Louisiana
(268)
1901 ASV
6:33 And [the people] saw them going, and many knew [them], and they ran together there on foot from all the cities, and outwent them.
6:34 And he came forth and saw a great multitude, and he had compassion on them, because they were as sheep not having a shepherd: and he began to teach them many things.
6:35 And when the day was now far spent, his disciples came unto him, and said, The place is desert, and the day is now far spent;
6:36 send them away, that they may go into the country and villages round about, and buy themselves somewhat to eat.
6:37 But he answered and said unto them, Give ye them to eat. And they say unto him, Shall we go and buy two hundred shillings' worth of bread, and give them to eat?
6:38 And he saith unto them, How many loaves have ye? go [and] see. And when they knew, they say, Five, and two fishes.
6:39 And he commanded them that all should sit down by companies upon the green grass.
6:40 And they sat down in ranks, by hundreds, and by fifties.
6:41 And he took the five loaves and the two fishes, and looking up to heaven, he blessed, and brake the loaves; and he gave to the disciples to set before them; and the two fishes divided he among them all.
6:42 And they all ate, and were filled.
6:43 And they took up broken pieces, twelve basketfuls, and also of the fishes.
6:44 And they that ate the loaves were five thousand men.
- I. Jesus' "Compassion" Upon The Great Crowd.
- A. The "character" of that "great crowd".
- 1. Totally corrupt as to motivation. This observation comes mostly, but not completely, from the other Gospels' details of the same event. John's Gospel indicts the crowd with two criticisms: 6:15 records that "Jesus, perceiving that they were intending to come and take Him by force to make Him King...", and 6:26 says that Jesus told them, "Truly, truly, I say to you, you seek Me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate of the loaves and were filled."
- 2. Being made of a "they" who "saw" them departing and a "many" who "knew with almost certainty" (epiginosko) where they were headed. These ran on foot from all of the cities and arrived there before Jesus and the disciples arrived. This is a significant mystery: How did the "many" possess this "knowledge" so that they could "run" and "get there ahead of" Jesus and the "apostles"?
- a. This "seeing" is recorded by Mark as something that he also mentioned in 49 other texts. It sometimes signals a physical "seeing" with implications regarding what happens when a person's eyes record something upon his/her brain (1:10, 16, etc.). It sometimes means the person's "sight" is a metaphor for the comprehension one gets regarding something of some level of interest (4:12; 6:38; 8:15; etc.). Mark's use is predominantly "the use of the eyes to record some visible phenomenon", with repercussions that follow.
- b. This "knowing" is a matter of a deeper level of merely "knowing"; it is a matter of a more solid interaction with the "known" object that leads to a deeper perception of the significance of the matter of "seeing". Mark only uses this term in four texts: 2:8, where Jesus became "aware in His Spirit" of the unspoken reasonings of the adversaries; 5:30, where Jesus "perceived" the departure of power from Himself to accomplish the healing of the woman's "issue of blood"; 6:33, where we are currently investigating Mark's words and a certain "many" recognized where Jesus was going in the boat; and 6:54, where an undescribed "they" discerned that what they were "seeing" was Jesus. There is no indication in Mark's words as to the question of what enabled the "many" to come to this level of "knowing" Jesus' destination.
- 3. Described as being like sheep who have no shepherd in Jesus' perception of them as He "saw" a large crowd. This is no small description given that sheep are essentially blindly casual about where they are and what they are doing and, without a shepherd, will walk away from the larger group and get "lost". According to Matthew 18:12, this can happen even when there is a shepherd present.
- a. Mark's uses of "sheep" are two: our current text and 14:27 where the Old Testament is quoted in respect to "sheep" being scattered because the "shepherd" has been incapacitated.
- b. Mark is not unaware of the many references to God's people as "sheep".
- 4. Of such character that Jesus "immediately" "made His disciples" depart in the boat.
- 5. Is focused upon the "men" in the crowd, though there were women and children there also (though Mark's text makes no mention of women or children). It is possible that, because those there "ran" from all the cities, there were more men than women or children constituting the "great crowd". However, Matthew wrote "...five thousand men who ate, besides women and children..." (14:21). Matthew 16:9, however, puts the focus upon "the five thousand" even though the presence of the women and children may have pushed the number higher than ten, fifteen, or even twenty thousand. Luke makes no negative comments regarding the makeup of the crowd (yet maintains the "five thousand" number), or of its motives. The point is that Mark's focus was upon the five thousand "men". It was, indeed, a great crowd being about the same size as "Legion" (5:9), and being of the same basic mindset.
- B. The "compassion" of Jesus in the face of that "character".
- 1. There are four uses of "feeling compassion" by Mark: 1:41 -- regarding a leper, who, after his cleansing, was blatantly disobedient; 6:34 -- regarding a large crowd needing food; 8:2 -- regarding a large crowd needing food; and 9:22 -- regarding a demonized son of a desperate father.
- a. The first and last references raise the question of whether, or not, Jesus is in possession of that quality of character called "compassion" ("...if you are willing, you can..." and "...if you can do anything...").
- b. The second and third references reveal the answer to that question by declaring that Jesus was moved by compassion even though there was little to call it forth in the character of "the sheep" -- though the second large group was with Jesus for three days without food; possibly indicating a greater commitment than those of the first group. [Matthew 15:38 says that Matthew says the same thing that he said about the 5000 in 16:9 -- that the number was of "men" without counting the women and children].
- 2. Addresses the issue of "compassion" as being a matter of significant ignorance (this may well explain Paul's claim in 1 Timothy 1:13 that he received mercy because "I acted ignorantly in unbelief").
- a. Moved by "compassion" Jesus "began to teach them many things".
- 1) This is "bottom line" stuff. There is nothing of appreciable value that does not have legitimate understanding at its foundation.
- 2) The two most basic realities to "Life" are the answers to two questions: "What is valuable" and "What is true?" If the answers to these questions are erroneous, "Life" is impossible according to John 17:3.
- b. This is, however, a complicated issue because of Mark 4.
- 1) The same phraseology is present (4:2 -- He was teaching them many things).
- 2) But His teaching was deliberately "in parables" to keep those who heard from any significant level of understanding (4:11-12); i.e., their "ignorance" continued in spite of being "taught many things".
- 3) It is not insignificant that those who "knew" enough to be able to "run to the right place" were not sufficiently "knowledgable" so as to answer the above two questions.
- c. There is great benefit to understanding truth; and there are great disasters awaiting those who "act in ignorance" and are not enlightened by "compassionate teaching".
- 1) We are told nothing of the content of Jesus' teaching at this point.
- 2) That Jesus taught is the point.
- 3. The parallel in Deuteronomy 15:4-11 reveals the fact that "compassion" is not to be exercised only toward the "deserving". Self-righteousness kills "compassion".