Mark 6:39-44 39Then he commanded them all to sit down in groups on the green grass. 40So they sat down in groups, by hundreds and by fifties. 41And taking the five loaves and the two fish, he looked up to heaven and said a blessing and broke the loaves and gave them to the disciples to set before the people. And he divided the two fish among them all. 42And they all ate and were satisfied. 43And they took up twelve baskets full of broken pieces and of the fish. 44And those who ate the loaves were five thousand men.
Upon the disciples’ return with five loaves and two fish, Jesus organized the crowd into groups of hundreds and fifties, making it easier to calculate how many people were fed. The loaves and fish recall Israel’s experience in the desert during the exodus from Egyptian slavery when God provided quail and manna in Exodus 16. It was late afternoon, and the green grass indicated it was spring. The natural scene must have been serene, yet the people were hungry and probably tired, like sheep without a shepherd.
Jesus took the little that the disciples had found, but little was just what was needed when the One through all was spoken into existence. The sequence prepares for and models another great meal of significance that Jesus would later share with his disciples “on the night he was betrayed.” Jesus took the bread, blessed it, broke it, and gave it to them (14:22). The disciples became the instruments through whom the blessing of the Father was extended. This was a great table, a feast, a prelude to the wedding supper of the Lamb (Revelation 18). The meal was nutritious and provided good carbohydrates and protein for the people, just what they needed. This meal was symbolic of the greater spiritual nourishment that all gathered there needed through Jesus, the Bread of Heaven.
Verse 42 highlights the miracle of the event. All who partook of this blessed meal ate all they wanted. Their stomachs were filled up. Verse 43 shows that when Jesus blesses, there is abundance. The number twelve continues to be a key idea in this Gospel since there was one basket full of bread pieces for each disciple. Each experienced the power of Jesus in a personal way. Jesus used this experience as a teaching tool. This story further reveals the compassion of Jesus. The people had a need, and Jesus challenged his disciples to meet that need. But they could not meet it without him. They were still having a difficult time understanding who he was. This event should have deeply impacted them after their journeys of faith in sharing the mission of Jesus. The miracles were not finished, however.
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