Sunday 19 July 2009

Background

These two short passages hold bigger bits of Mark's Gospeltogether. They are separated by two miracle stories: the feeding ofa large crowd with five loaves and two fish (verses 35-44), andJesus walking on the water of Lake Galilee (verses 45-52).

The first section is a link passage. The 12 disciples had been sentout in pairs to preach and heal (Mark 6:7-13) andnow they have come back. In the meantime, Mark has told us thestory of the death of John the Baptist (Mark 6:14-29). Thereturning men are called 'Apostles' - the only time this word isused in Mark's Gospel - meaning those who had been sent out to acton Jesus' behalf.

We are not told what they reported back to Jesus. Instead, theemphasis is on their need for rest. Jesus' ministry was evidentlyvery busy; getting peace and quiet was difficult. It also explainswhy they went to a deserted place, the setting for the miraculousfeeding which follows. Those of Mark's readers who had knowledge ofthe Jewish Scriptures would have seen a connection with themiraculous feeding of the ancient people of Israel in thewilderness (Exodus16:1-21) while they were escaping from slavery in Egypt.

Jesus' compassion for the crowds is striking despite their spoilingthe peace and quiet he and his friends sought.

The second section (verses 53-56) is a summary as well as anotherlink. Mark wants us to know that Jesus' ministry was very busy andvery popular. Lots of people were healed and they were brought fromall over. The detailed healing stories in the Gospel are onlyexamples; there were many many more. But Jesus' popularity with theordinary people was not shared by the Jewish leaders. The followingsection is about conflict with them (Mark7:1-13).

The "fringe of his cloak" was probably the blue tassel every maleJew had on the corners of his robe as required by the ancient Law.Whatever else he was, Jesus was a good Jew.

To Ponder

What do you think Jesus was doing while hisdisciples were away?

How important do you think it is for publicfigures to have some privacy and rest?

What do you make of people wanting to touch thefringe of Jesus' cloak? Is this superstition, or hero worship?