Mark 8:1-21
DID YOU KNOW…
- The New Testament makes references to two kinds of baskets. Kophinos (Matthew 14:20, Mark 6:43, John 6:13) were large enough to be worn on one’s back to hold supplies and provisions. Twelve of these baskets were used to gather the food remaining after the feeding of the five thousand. The second type, the spuris, was much larger, and is the type used to lower Paul down from the wall at Damascus. (Acts 9:25) Seven of these baskets were used to gather the leftovers after the feeding of the four thousand in Matthew 16:9-10.
- Archaeologists found a mosaic of Jesus feeding the 5,000in a place dubbed the Burnt Church that overlooks the Sea of Galilee.
- Though all four gospels record the miracle, only Matthew records that the number 5000 resulted from a tally of men only. Jewish law prohibited women and children from eating with men in public, so they were no doubt fed in a separate area. Estimates vary, but the number fed could easily stretch to ten thousand or more.
- Jesus would have been traveling eastward, so the mountain mentioned would be in the general area of what is now the Golan Heights, bordering Syria.
- This remote area would have had little to no food resources and it’s unlikely that nearby villages could have met the need of a crowd that size.
- Bread was particularly significant to the Jews as it represented a gift from God and Jewish law required that scraps that fell during a meal be picked up. Gathering the leftovers was a spiritual exercise as well as practical, demonstrating gratitude for God’s gifts in abundance.
https://www.expectakeaway.com/more-than-more-jesus-can/
MARK 8:1-8
8 During those days another large crowd gathered. Since they had nothing to eat, Jesus called his disciples to him and said, 2 “I have compassion for these people; they have already been with me three days and have nothing to eat. 3 If I send them home hungry, they will collapse on the way, because some of them have come a long distance.”
4 His disciples answered, “But where in this remote place can anyone get enough bread to feed them?”
5 “How many loaves do you have?” Jesus asked.
“Seven,” they replied.
6 He told the crowd to sit down on the ground. When he had taken the seven loaves and given thanks, he broke them and gave them to his disciples to distribute to the people, and they did so. 7 They had a few small fish as well; he gave thanks for them also and told the disciples to distribute them. 8 The people ate and were satisfied. Afterward the disciples picked up seven basketfuls of broken pieces that were left over.
BREAD BLESSING
In religious areas of Jerusalem you can often see double plastic-wrapped bags of leftover bread or challah next to garbage dumpsters. Rather than throwing the bread in the bin, people prefer to place it where someone poor might come and take it.
There is a strong aversion to throwing out bread, and particularly challah, in Judaism. People will make it into French toast, use the crumbs for stuffing, put it out for the birds, leave for the poor or wait for it to go stale and mouldy before throwing it away. The traditional sources for this are quite thin. There’s a hint in Job 15:23 (“The wicked man… wanders abroad for bread, saying ‘Where is it?’”) and a story in Talmud Chullin 105a which suggests poverty can result from throwing bread on the ground.
Above all, the practice of not throwing away bread expresses a strong sense that bread, and particularly the bread we eat on Shabbat, represents God’s blessing to us. We want to treasure and show our gratitude for all of it and not waste or disrespect the slightest bit.
https://www.thejc.com/judaism/jewish-ways/not-throwing-out-bread-1.52108
MARK 8:
9 About four thousand were present. After he had sent them away, 10 he got into the boat with his disciples and went to the region of Dalmanutha.
11 The Pharisees came and began to question Jesus. To test him, they asked him for a sign from heaven. 12 He sighed deeply
and said, “Why does this generation ask for a sign? Truly I tell you, no sign will be given to it.” 13 Then he left them, got back into the boat and crossed to the other side.
-,Where is the sign from Heaven?
14 The disciples had forgotten to bring bread, except for one loaf they had with them in the boat. 15 “Be careful,” Jesus warned them. “Watch out for the yeast of the Pharisees and that of Herod.”
YEAST AND SOURDOUGH
The kingdom of heaven is like yeast that a woman took and mixed in
with three measures of flour until all of it was leavened.”
( 1 measure =13 liters)
Matthew 13:33b
Sourdough bread
Save out a small lump
Invisible
Everywhere
Abundant
Greek word is enkrypto, “to hide away.” Our English Bible translates it as “mixed in” — “yeast that a woman took and mixed in with three measures of flour” — but the parable’s literally saying the woman hid the yeast in the flour.
http://pointpresbyterian.org/multimedia-archive/leavening-the-world/
16 They discussed this with one another and said, “It is because we have no bread.”
17 Aware of their discussion, Jesus asked them: “Why are you talking about having no bread? Do you still not see or understand?Are your hearts hardened? 18 Do you have eyes but fail to see, and ears but fail to hear? And don’t you remember? 19 When I broke the five loaves for the five thousand, how many basketfuls of pieces did you pick up?”
“Twelve,” they replied.
20 “And when I broke the seven loaves for the four thousand, how many basketfuls of pieces did you pick up?”
They answered, “Seven.”
21 He said to them, “Do you still not understand?”
Recall last week :
Preceding acct :
“Lord, she replies, even the dogs under the table eat the children’s crumbs. “
– these are the leftovers gathered after the meal…..
– what did they start with?
– what did they end with?
1st FEEDING 5000
Kophinos(Matthew 14:20, Mark 6:43, John 6:13) were large enough to be worn on one’s back to hold supplies and provisions. Twelve of these baskets were used to gather the food remaining after the feeding of the five thousand.
12 x .6 bushels or (9 cubic ft)
2nd FEEDING 4000
The second type, the spuris, was much larger, and is the type used to lower Paul down from the wall at Damascus. (Acts 9:25) Seven of these baskets were used to gather the leftovers after the feeding of the four thousand
7 x 6.25 bushels = (54 cubic ft)
CONCLUSION
Why the replay ?
Season of abundance
We have been SO blessed….
Season of gratitude
- begins with “eyes that see and ears that hear.”
- Forces at work
Guard against
Yeast of Pharisees vs.
Invest In
Yeast of Kingdom of God