MARK LESSON 16

     We will begin this lesson in Mark 8:1.

     Mark 8:1 "In those days the multitude being very great, and
having nothing to eat, Jesus called his disciples [unto him], and
saith unto them,"

     This seems like a repetition of the story in chapter 6; but if
you notice the details carefully, you will see this was two different
occasions.  We know this multitude was following the Lord, because of
the man who was healed of deafness and had his tongue loosed so he
could speak.

     Mark 8:2 "I have compassion on the multitude, because they have
now been with me three days, and have nothing to eat:"  Mark 8:3 "And
if I send them away fasting to their own houses, they will faint by
the way: for divers of them came from far."

     We could take a lesson from these followers of Jesus.  They had
been with Him three days listening and learning and many receiving
healing.  They seemed to have no regard for food or welfare, as long as
they could be with the Master.  It appears they could have been
fasting for three days and nights.  They were, possibly, afraid to
leave, because they might miss a blessing.  The Lord Jesus, we see, was
impressed with such faithfulness and cared that they might faint along
the way.  It appears that the fame of Jesus was so widespread that
many of these people had come from far away places.

     Mark 8:4 "And his disciples answered him, From whence can a man
satisfy these [men] with bread here in the wilderness?"

     The disciples forgot so quickly.  This was another incident.  This
was not the first incident with the five loaves.  Possibly, the point to
be made here was that God always supplies our needs (not our wants) if
we are His followers.  Perhaps this questioning from the disciples was
to drive home a point about just how great this miracle was.  The Lord
is always caring for His followers, but each of us can look back and
pinpoint a time when His care was more obvious than at other times.
In the prayer the Lord Jesus taught the disciples it says, "Give us
this day our daily bread".  You see, the miracle provision is not for
just one particular time, but is always available when we are totally
concentrated upon the Lord.  Perhaps, the mention of this type of
miracle (so close to the same miracle a few lessons back) was to show
God's continued concern for our necessities.

     Mark 8:5 "And he asked them, How many loaves have ye? And they
said, Seven."

     It really doesn't matter how many they started with.  The Lord could
multiply even one into any amount He desired.

     Mark 8:6 "And he commanded the people to sit down on the ground:
and he took the seven loaves, and gave thanks, and brake, and gave to
his disciples to set before [them]; and they did set [them] before the
people." Mark 8:7 "And they had a few small fishes: and he blessed,
and commanded to set them also before [them]."  Mark 8:8 "So they did
eat, and were filled: and they took up of the broken [meat] that was
left seven baskets." Mark 8:9 "And they that had eaten were about four
thousand: and he sent them away."

     Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John tell of the 5,000 fed with
the five loaves and two fishes.  Matthew and Mark tell of the 4,000
fed. These are definitely two separate times.  Several things were
different in detail.  In the first where the 5000 men were fed, 
started with five loaves of bread and two fishes and wound up with
leftovers of twelve baskets full.  When the 4000 were fed, there were
seven loaves and a few fishes and seven baskets full were left.  We
see that the Lord is not confined to one miracle of a kind.  The
amazing thing, to me, is how quickly the disciples forgot.

     Mark 8:10  "And straightway he entered into a ship with his
disciples, and came into the parts of Dalmanutha."

     Dalmanutha and the coasts of Magdala seem to be the same place.
Out of all of these disciples with Him, perhaps one had a boat
standing by for just this use: when He finished ministering to the
people.  Many times He would go aside with the disciples.  These were
the times He taught the disciples about the things they did not
understand.

     Mark 8:11 "And the Pharisees came forth, and began to question
with him, seeking of him a sign from heaven, tempting him."  Mark 8:12
"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."

     We see by this that the miracles Jesus had done throughout the
land were still not proof enough for these Pharisees to make them
believe He was the Son of God.  Whatever He had done would not have
been enough, no matter how great the miracle.  In Matthew 16:4, they
were not only called wicked, but adulterous, as well.  It grieved Jesus
deeply that they did not believe Him.  There had already been sign
enough.  Jesus told them again that no other sign would be given.

     Mark 8:13 "And he left them, and entering into the ship again
departed to the other side."

     There was no need to stay there and argue with these people who
would never believe, so He left.

     Mark 8:14  "Now [the disciples] had forgotten to take bread,
neither had they in the ship with them more than one loaf." Mark 8:15
"And he charged them, saying, Take heed, beware of the leaven of the
Pharisees, and [of] the leaven of Herod."

     Leaven, here, meant "evil doctrine".  Crossing by ship would
take a good little while,  and the disciples would, perhaps, become
hungry in the crossing.  There was no major food problem, however,
because they would be able to get food on the other side.  The Lord
was not warning about food, but not to get involved in the false
doctrine of the Pharisees.

     Mark 8:16 "And they reasoned among themselves, saying, [It is]
because we have no bread."

     Can you believe that they could ever be concerned about lack of
bread again when they had seen the miracle of the multiplied bread
twice already?

     Mark 8:17 "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?"  Mark 8:18 "Having eyes,
see ye not? and having ears, hear ye not?  and do ye not remember?"
Mark 8:19 "When I brake the five loaves among five thousand, how many
baskets full of fragments took ye up? They say unto him, Twelve."
Mark 8:20 "And when the seven among four thousand, how many baskets
full of fragments took ye up? And they said, Seven."  Mark 8:21 "And
he said unto them, How is it that ye do not understand?"

     This was actually a scold from Jesus.  He knew what they were
thinking.  They were worried about feeding their own bodies.  He said,
will you ever realize that I will provide your needs?  If there ever
was a doubt that Jesus miraculously fed two different groups, there
should be no doubt after verses 19 and 20.  This was a very good
question He asked them in verse 21.  It is almost unbelievable that
they were there for both miracles and still did not believe that He
would take care of their needs.  They had their eyes so fixed on their
physical needs that they mistook the leaven of the Pharisees for bread that 
had yeast.  The physical meaning of leaven is yeast, but the spiritual 
meaning is evil doctrine.  The Pharisees had not been worried about the 
needs of the disciples up to this point. My question is, why did the 
disciples think these Pharisees would give them bread now?  We, like the disciples, must look for and understand the spiritual, and not be so 
concerned about the physical.

















                           Mark 16 Questions

1.  In verse 1, Jesus saw that the multitude was great and that they
    had no ______________________________.
2.  Why was this multitude following Jesus?
3.  How many days had they been there?
4.  Why did Jesus not send them to their own homes?
5.  What lesson can Christians today learn from this?
6.  What impressed Jesus about these people?
7.  What ridiculous question did the disciples ask Jesus?
8.  If we are followers of the Lord Jesus, He will supply our
    ________not our ______________________.
9.  How many loaves did they have?
10. What two things did Jesus do before passing the food to the
    disciples?
11. How many baskets of leftovers did they pick up?
12. How many were fed?
13. Which Gospels tell of feeding the 5000?
14. Which Gospels tell of feeding the 4000?
15. What was the same area as Dalmanutha?
16. How did Jesus get there?
17. Who came forth and began to question Jesus?
18. What did they want?
19. How did Jesus feel about this?
20. Did He grant their wish?
21. What were these Pharisees called besides wicked?
22. What had the disciples forgotten to take with them?
23. What did Jesus tell the disciples to beware of?
24. What is leaven in this Scripture?
25. What did the disciples reason among themselves?
26. What did Jesus say had happened to their hearts?
27. What question did Jesus ask that we might ask, also?
28. Why did they not understand?
29. What is the author's question about the bread?
30. What must we learn to concentrate more on?

                                 Notes