MARK LESSON 13


     We will begin this lesson in Mark 6:31.

     Mark 6:31 "And he said unto them, Come ye yourselves apart into a
desert place, and rest a while: for there were many coming and going,
and they had no leisure so much as to eat."

     We see from this, that even ministers of God should find a time
and go aside and rest.  These disciples had been out ministering from
village to village and this terrible thing with John the Baptist had
just happened, as well.  This was supposed to be a time of rest and
relaxation.

     Mark 6:32 "And they departed into a desert place by ship
privately."  Mark 6:33 "And the people saw them departing, and many
knew him, and ran afoot thither out of all cities, and outwent them,
and came together unto him."

     We see, here, that the fame of Jesus had spread so widely that
even in this hiding place the multitude had found Him and gathered to
Him.

     Mark 6:34 "And Jesus, when he came out, saw much people, and was
moved with compassion toward them, because they were as sheep not
having a shepherd: and he began to teach them many things."

     Even though Jesus was headed to the desert to rest and recuperate
with the disciples, His heart was still moved by these people with
such great needs.  The scribes really could not have been called
shepherds, because the good and welfare of the sheep was not their
purpose.  Jesus was never too busy to help them, and He is never too
busy to help us in our needs.  Jesus is the great Shepherd.  His
concern is for His sheep. This next part of Mark, right here, is so
important that this same miracle is told in all four of the gospels.
This really made an indelible picture in the minds of those who saw
it.  Now we will get into the story of the five loaves of bread and
the two fishes.

     Mark 6:35 "And when the day was now far spent, his disciples came
unto him, and said, This is a desert place, and now the time [is] far
passed:"  Mark 6:36 "Send them away, that they may go into the country
round about, and into the villages, and buy themselves bread: for they
have nothing to eat."

     Jesus had probably set the scene for this whole thing so that He
could show this great miracle to the people and to the disciples.  He
knew it was a desert place.  He had ministered late; so there would be
no chance to go for food, and the people would be very hungry, as well.
The disciples had not yet learned that no situation was impossible to
Jesus.  The disciples could only think of the physical, so they suggested
that Jesus send them away into the country round about to buy food.

     Mark 6:37 "He answered and said unto them, Give ye them to eat.
And they say unto him, Shall we go and buy two hundred pennyworth of
bread, and give them to eat?"

     Jesus, just matter of factly said, feed them.  This "two hundred
penny" was actually the wages of a man for 200 days, so it truly was a
large amount of money.  This crowd was so large, even this large amount
might not even be enough.

     Mark 6:38 "He saith unto them, How many loaves have ye? go and
see. And when they knew, they say, Five, and two fishes."

     Jesus already knew how much there was, but asked them to make a
point. Their answer was five loaves.  The number five, as we have said
before, means "grace".  This people would be fed by the grace of God.

     Mark 6:39 "And he commanded them to make all sit down by
companies upon the green grass."

     In St. Luke, we read that these companies were made up of fifty
people each. Possibly the green grass was mentioned to tell us that
this happened in the spring of the year.  Could this mean that this is
a good size for a church?

     Mark 6:40 "And they sat down in ranks, by hundreds, and by
fifties."

     In the Matthew account, it seems that just the men were numbered.
A rank here is, possibly, "one hundred".

     Mark 6:41 "And when he had taken the five loaves and the two
fishes, he looked up to heaven, and blessed, and brake the loaves, and
gave [them] to his disciples to set before them; and the two fishes
divided he among them all."  Mark 6:42 "And they did all eat, and were
filled."

     Jesus prayed over this food as He brake it and distributed it.
This reminds me so much of the widow who fed Elijah during the famine.
I Kings 17:9-16 tells the story.  Verse 14 pretty well tells how the
barrel of meal and the cruse of oil kept replenishing itself, even
though there was just enough meal, and oil for one meal when they
started going to the cupboard the first time.  Each time they went
back, God had placed enough for another meal; and this went on until
the famine was over.  I Kings 17:14 "For thus saith the LORD God of
Israel, The barrel of meal shall not waste, neither shall the cruse of
oil fail, until the day [that] the LORD sendeth rain upon the earth."
You see, in both instances, God multiplied the food until all the need
was met.

     Mark 6:43 "And they took up twelve baskets full of the fragments,
and of the fishes."  Mark 6:44 "And they that did eat of the loaves
were about five thousand men."

     This means that there were actually over 10,000 people who ate
counting the women and children.  Whether the twelve baskets had
something to do with the twelve disciples, I know not.  We see from
the amount of leftovers that all of these people were full with extra
left over.  We might, also, realize from this that Jesus is the Bread of
Life, and whosoever will can partake.  There is always enough for
more.

     Mark 6:45 "And straightway he constrained his disciples to get
into the ship, and to go to the other side before unto Bethsaida,
while he sent away the people."

     We see from this, that the Lord had sent them out on the sea so
that He could show them another type of miracle.  They could learn more of
His nature, and they could learn to have stronger faith in Him.

     Mark 6:46 "And when he had sent them away, he departed into a
mountain to pray."

     We see from this, the necessity to get alone and talk to God.
God wants us to have time alone with Him when there is no one there,
but Him and you.  In the hurry up life we live in, most people will
just not take time to pray alone.  This prayer is the most effective,
because God knows you are praying just for His benefit (no one else
hears).  If the Lord Jesus needed to pray, think how badly we need to
pray.

      Mark 6:47 "And when even was come, the ship was in the midst of
the sea, and he alone on the land."

     The scene was set for the great miracle.  Jesus would show them and
us (who are on the great sea of life struggling to make it), that our
strength is not in ourselves, but in Him.  They were paddling their
hearts out trying to make it to the other side.  We are struggling with
the trials (sea) of this life trying to somehow make it to the other
side (heaven).

     Mark 6:48 "And he saw them toiling in rowing; for the wind was
contrary unto them: and about the fourth watch of the night he cometh
unto them, walking upon the sea, and would have passed by them."  Mark
6:49 "But when they saw him walking upon the sea, they supposed it had
been a spirit, and cried out:" Mark 6:50 "For they all saw him, and
were troubled. And immediately he talked with them, and saith unto
them, Be of good cheer: it is I; be not afraid."

     We see a very stressful situation; they were rowing as hard as
they could, but the west wind was blowing so hard that they were
making no headway at all.  This fourth watch is the darkest of the
night, just before the dawn.  This, too, has great significance;
because in our darkest hour, the Lord will come to our rescue.  They
cried out for His help.  This is exactly when the Lord will help us,
as well.  He will help us when we realize that we need Him and cannot
do it by ourselves.  We know that they had never seen a person walking
on the water  before.  It frightened them.  He immediately told them
not to fear.  We studied in Matthew how at this same occasion, Peter
walked on the water.  He tells us, " Fear not, I am with thee even unto
the end of the earth".

     Mark 6:51 "And he went up unto them into the ship; and the wind
ceased: and they were sore amazed in themselves beyond measure, and
wondered." Mark 6:52 "For they considered not [the miracle] of the
loaves: for their heart was hardened."

     Just as in this ship tossed by the sea, we will find when we are
tossed by the sea of life and we ask Jesus to come aboard, it brings
peace.  A troubled life needs Jesus to step in and bring the peace
which passes understanding.

     It is amazing, to me, that these disciples so quickly had forgotten
about the miracle of the feeding of the 5000.  We, today in our church
forget so fast the miracles; and we tend to say, "Jesus, what have you
done for me in the last five minutes?"

     Mark 6:53 "And when they had passed over, they came into the land
of Gennesaret, and drew to the shore."  Mark 6:54 "And when they were
come out of the ship, straightway they knew him,"

     Gennesaret means a "fertile garden".  This was on the shore of
the sea of Galilee.  When Jesus got off the boat, the people already
knew Him.

     Mark 6:55 "And ran through that whole region round about, and
began to carry about in beds those that were sick, where they heard he
was." Mark 6:56 "And whithersoever he entered, into villages, or
cities, or country, they laid the sick in the streets, and besought
him that they might touch if it were but the border of his garment:
and as many as touched him were made whole."

     It seems that His fame had already spread throughout this region;
and now that He was here, people ran quickly and brought everyone who
was sick or crippled to Him.  They believed that even if they could
touch His garment, they would be healed; and that was just what
happened.  Their faith was activated as they touched His garment, and
He healed everyone who believed strong enough to reach out to Him.
Their faith touched Him, and He healed them.  All we must do is reach
out to Jesus and believe, and He will help us, too.

                                 Notes











                          Mark 13 Questions


1.  In V-31, what can we learn about ministers of God?
2.  When Jesus went to this desert place, what did the people do?
3.  When Jesus saw the multitude, how did He feel toward them?
4.  What did He see them as?
5.  Why were the scribes not called shepherds?
6.  Who is the great Shepherd?
7.  What two things did the disciples tell Jesus was the condition of
    the people before the miracle of the bread and fishes?
8.  How much money did the disciples have altogether?
9.  How many days work was this amount?
10. How much food did they find among the people?
11. The number five is symbolic of what?
12. Why was the green grass mentioned?
13. How were the people grouped?
14. What did Jesus do before He distributed the food?
15. Who, in I Kings, saw the food miraculously multiplied?
16. How many men were fed?
17. How much food was left over?
18. Where did Jesus send the disciples after the miracle feed?
19. Why had Jesus sent them away?
20. Where did Jesus go and why?
21. Why is a prayer, when you are alone with God, so effective?
22. What does this ship in the midst of the sea symbolize in our
    lives?
23. When is the fourth watch of the night?
24. When they saw Jesus walking on the water, what did they think?
25. When they were frightened, what two things did Jesus tell them?
26. When Jesus got into the ship, what happened?
27. What had the disciples forgotten?
28. What does Gennessaret mean?
29. What happened when Jesus and the disciples got to the shore?
30. Who did Jesus heal?

                                 Notes