What Jesus Did

[After Jesus blessed the five loaves and two fish and had them distributed, the people] all ate as much as they wanted, and afterward, the disciples picked up twelve baskets of leftover bread and fish. A total of 5,000 men and their families were fed.

—Mark 6:42-44 NLT

Key Thought​

Mark made it clear that this was an incredible miracle of provision. People were satisfied. More than five thousand ate. Bread and fish were left over even though they started with only five loaves...

 

So the Pharisees and teachers of religious law asked [Jesus], "Why don't your disciples follow our age-old tradition? They eat without first performing the hand-washing ceremony."
Jesus replied, "You hypocrites! Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you, for he wrote,

'These people honor me with their lips,
but their hearts are far from me.
Their worship is a farce,
for they teach man-made ideas as commands from God.'

"For you ignore God's law and substitute your own tradition."...

 

One day some Pharisees and teachers of religious law arrived from Jerusalem to see Jesus. They noticed that some of his disciples failed to follow the Jewish ritual of hand washing before eating. (The Jews, especially the Pharisees, do not eat until they have poured water over their cupped hands, as required by their ancient traditions. Similarly, they don't eat anything from the market until they immerse their hands in water. This is but one of many traditions they have clung to — such as...

 

After [Jesus and the disciples] had crossed the lake, they landed at ###. They brought the boat to shore and climbed out. The people recognized Jesus at once, and they ran throughout the whole area, carrying sick people on mats to wherever they heard he was. Wherever he went — in villages, cities, or the countryside — they brought the sick out to the marketplaces. They begged him to let the sick touch at least the fringe of his robe, and all who touched him were healed.

—Mark 6:53-56...

 

Late that night, the disciples were in their boat in the middle of the lake, and Jesus was alone on land. He saw that they were in serious trouble, rowing hard and struggling against the wind and waves. About three o'clock in the morning Jesus came toward them, walking on the water. He intended to go past them, but when they saw him walking on the water, they cried out in terror, thinking he was a ghost. They were all terrified when they saw him.
But Jesus spoke to them at once. "Don't be...

 

Immediately after [feeding the crowd], Jesus insisted that his disciples get back into the boat and head across the lake to ###, while he sent the people home. After telling everyone good-bye, he went up into the hills by himself to pray.

—Mark 6:45-46 NLT

Key Thought​

This whole episode began with Jesus sensing that he and his disciples needed rest. Part of the signal for needing rest was the death of John the Baptist. [1] However, the people found Jesus and the disciples and...

 

Then Jesus told the disciples to have the people sit down in groups on the green grass. So they sat down in groups of fifty or a hundred.
Jesus took the five loaves and two fish, looked up toward heaven, and blessed them. Then, breaking the loaves into pieces, he kept giving the bread to the disciples so they could distribute it to the people. He also divided the fish for everyone to share. They all ate as much as they wanted, ...

—Mark 6:39-42 NLT

Key Thought​

Jesus'...

 

But Jesus said [to the apostles], "You feed [the crowd]."
"With what?" they asked. "We'd have to work for months to earn enough money to buy food for all these people!"

"How much bread do you have?" he asked. "Go and find out."

They came back and reported, "We have five loaves of bread and two fish."

—Mark 6:37-38 NLT

Key Thought​

In the previous verses, Jesus' disciples expressed their concern for the crowds following Jesus. Now Jesus challenges them to do the...

 

So [Jesus and the apostles] left by boat for a quiet place, where they could be alone. But many people recognized them and saw them leaving, and people from many towns ran ahead along the shore and got there ahead of them. Jesus saw the huge crowd as he stepped from the boat, and he had compassion on them because they were like sheep without a shepherd. So he began teaching them many things.

—Mark 6:32-34 NLT

Key Thought​

Jesus was tired, and the people were spiritually lost...

 

Late in the afternoon [when Jesus was teaching a huge crowd,] his disciples came to him and said, "This is a remote place, and it's already getting late. Send the crowds away so they can go to the nearby farms and villages and buy something to eat."

—Mark 6:35-36 NLT

Key Thought​

At first glance, and because we know the outcome of the story, we might miss the concern the disciples have for the crowd. They are genuinely concerned for the physical well-being of the folks who are...