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Commentaries
English
Mark
  
16. Feeding the Four Thousand
(Mark 8:1-9)
1In those days, the multitude being very great and having nothing to eat, Jesus called His disciples to Him and said to them,2“I have compassion on the multitude, because they have now been with Me three days and have nothing to eat.3And if I send them away hungry to their own houses, they will faint on the way; for some of them have come from afar.”4Then His disciples answered Him, “How can one satisfy these people with bread here in the wilderness?”5He asked them, “How many loaves do you have?” And they said, “Seven.”6So He commanded the multitude to sit down on the ground. And He took the seven loaves and gave thanks, broke them and gave them to His disciples to set before them; and they set them before the multitude.7They also had a few small fish; and having blessed them, He said to set them also before them.8So they ate and were filled, and they took up seven large baskets of leftover fragments.9Now those who had eaten were about four thousand. And He sent them away.


The multitudes longed for the word of God. They came to Jesus to hear him for long hours. Each heart longs for pure love and God’s protection. Blessed is he who seeks his Lord, continuing in prayer before the Holy One, and penetrating deeply into his word, for his soul shall be filled with heavenly power and everlasting joy. Did you learn with certainty that Jesus is the fountain of divine wisdom and true knowledge? Come to the Savior, and spend hours hearing his gospel that you may get well, become refreshed and renewed, and fly joyfully.
Jesus Christ is the incarnate Word of God who is able to satisfy the hunger of our souls completely. Yet, he is also a true man, and subject to the common infirmities of the human nature.
His disciples wished to satisfy the hungry hearers, because they had been with him for three days and three nights and had nothing to eat. Now, having experienced his great miracle in satisfying the five thousand, the disciples did not ask their Lord to send the hungry multitudes away as they had already done, but waited for a new merciful miracle in this critical situation. Jesus does not only seek the salvation of our souls, but he also cares for our bodies and earthly needs. He was prepared to feed the multitudes by another miracle. So he accepted the few loaves and fish they had, and turned them into sufficient nourishment for four thousand persons. Christ did not bring down a table from heaven filled with delicious foods of fruits, milk, honey, and fowls, but he accepted the little and the lowly and was pleased with it. He came with it to his Father, thanked him heartily, and gave of this food to the multitudes. The food increased and multiplied because of his power, and it became an ocean of blessing to many.
Do you thank your Lord for the little you have? Do you satisfy yourself with it, and do you not complain craving for luxury and ease? Break your bread thankfully before God, praise your Savior at all times, and give the needy of the little you have, then you will wonder, and see how the blessings of the Most High flow through you to many. Do not forget to thank joyfully.

Prayer
O Holy God, forgive us our little faith. You are the Almighty who can satisfy our earth in spite of overpopulation, and unemployment in general. Teach all men to look to you and hear your word that they may be justified and sanctified, and that the windows of heaven may be opened showering us with your blessing. We thank you because you saved us, and you care for us at every moment of our life. Amen.
Question
Why and how did Jesus fill the four thousand hearers?