Mar 8:2 | KingComments | STEP | It is not the disciples who come to the Lord to express their concern for the multitude, but the Lord takes the initiative here (cf. ). He acts here on the basis of His own loving thoughts. After the previous feeding, He here in grace provides additional proof of the fact that He is the Messiah Who satisfies His people with bread ( ). The first feeding ( ) is about the service of the disciples. There are five thousand men, five loaves of bread and twelve small baskets, numbers of which the first two point to responsibility. Here it is about God’s sovereign power. We see this in the numbers “seven” ( ) and “four thousand” ( ). In the first case it is mainly about Israel, which we see in the number twelve. Here it is about the earth, about all people, which we see in the number four. After the bread for Israel ( ) and the bread for the dogs, the unclean Gentiles ( ), we see in this story that there is bread for the world (cf. ). We also have here a testimony of the perfect grace of God, indicated in the number seven, which symbolizes perfection. We also see in this second feeding that those who follow Him will have no lack. In spite of His rejection, the Lord continues to show grace, for His mercy is Godly. He knows exactly how long the crowd has been with Him and that they have nothing to eat. He counts the days. What He says of the crowd also applies to Him. He’s also without food all this time, but He is thinking of the crowd. It seems a strange thing that we can be with the Lord for so long and still have nothing to eat. He creates such opportunities in order to show His compassion in this, which we would otherwise not be able to see. The three days also speak of His resurrection. God can only act in grace with the world on the basis of the death and resurrection of His Son. The Lord knows even more about them. He knows their limited powers and also where they come from and where they have to go. That is why He wants to take care of them.

‏ Mark 8:2

Compassion for the People

It is not the disciples who come to the Lord to express their concern for the multitude, but the Lord takes the initiative here (cf. Mk 6:35). He acts here on the basis of His own loving thoughts. After the previous feeding, He here in grace provides additional proof of the fact that He is the Messiah Who satisfies His people with bread (Psa 132:15).

The first feeding (Mk 6:34-44) is about the service of the disciples. There are five thousand men, five loaves of bread and twelve small baskets, numbers of which the first two point to responsibility. Here it is about God’s sovereign power. We see this in the numbers “seven” (Mk 8:8) and “four thousand” (Mk 8:9). In the first case it is mainly about Israel, which we see in the number twelve. Here it is about the earth, about all people, which we see in the number four. After the bread for Israel (Mk 6:41-44) and the bread for the dogs, the unclean Gentiles (Mk 7:28), we see in this story that there is bread for the world (cf. Jn 6:33).

We also have here a testimony of the perfect grace of God, indicated in the number seven, which symbolizes perfection. We also see in this second feeding that those who follow Him will have no lack.

In spite of His rejection, the Lord continues to show grace, for His mercy is Godly. He knows exactly how long the crowd has been with Him and that they have nothing to eat. He counts the days. What He says of the crowd also applies to Him. He’s also without food all this time, but He is thinking of the crowd.

It seems a strange thing that we can be with the Lord for so long and still have nothing to eat. He creates such opportunities in order to show His compassion in this, which we would otherwise not be able to see. The three days also speak of His resurrection. God can only act in grace with the world on the basis of the death and resurrection of His Son.

The Lord knows even more about them. He knows their limited powers and also where they come from and where they have to go. That is why He wants to take care of them.