JESUS
FEEDS FIVE THOUSAND Jesus feeds five
thousand through the miracle of the loaves and fishes. Mark 6:30-44; Luke 9: 10.17 After completing His great Galilean Ministry, Jesus had sent out the twelve disciples in groups of twos to teach and to preach in The
event of our story very likely took place in the spring of 29 before the Passover. The Gospel accounts of Mark, Matthew
and John all note that "there was much green grass in the place"
where this story took place. The rainy
season had almost come to an end. The rains would account for much green grass
and very likely also a very beautiful array of flowers. Today, when the rainy
season ends and the dry or summer season has begun,
the flowers fade rather quickly and the grass becomes brown and burnt. Jesus was somewhere in the area of the THE The area of the Christ. The area is comparatively small. The At this time fishing was a
major industry in this area. Fish pickled in brine or dried were
"trucked" via donkey and camel back to the fish markets of Magdala, the home of Mary Magdalene
(Mary of Magdala) was a center for the fishing industry. It also
served as a seaport. Wheat from the fertile fields east of the "LET'S
GO AND REST" Jesus suggested to His disciples that they sail to the eastern shore
which was less populated. This would give them a chance to rest and relax
somewhat. Jesus would have the opportunity to hear what had been accomplished
by the twelve as they had traveled about teaching the people. The twelve also
had need for further instruction. The crowd of people saw Jesus
and His disciples enter a boat and sail toward the eastern shore. When they saw the direction
that the boat was taking, they began walking along the shore. At the A little to the south of this town is a quiet, lonely spot.
The area slopes upward to a high plateau. It was somewhere in this area that
the crowd awaited the coming of Jesus and His disciples. As the boat was coming to
shore, Jesus looked at the crowd of people waiting for Him. He felt sorry for
them, for they were as "sheep without a shepherd." Jesus knew that
they were looking for the Messiah, who, according to their view, would
establish a glorious, earthly kingdom. This Messiah would free When Jesus came to shore, He healed the sick. Then, He
walked up the slope and began to speak to the people. It must have been a
beautiful sight: the people sitting on the green grass amidst the spring
flowers and in the distance shimmered the blue waters
of the lovely The |