27 August 2024

Preparing to feed the 5,000—in the synoptic gospels.

Mark 6.35-37, Matthew 14.15-16, Luke 9.12-13.

Though I’m going through John, and covering the Feeding Five Thousand Story from his POV, I pointed out all the gospels include this story: Both John, and the other three which we call synoptics, or synoptic gospels, ’cause they frequently share the same optics—they describe Jesus from the very same point of view. (Probably because Matthew and Luke are using Mark as source material. That’s the prevailing theory.)

John introduces the story with Jesus checking out the vast crowd, then asking his student Philip about buying bread for them Jn 6.5 —as a test, not because Jesus literally wanted him to buy bread, Jn 6.6 and to kinda give us an idea of the resources needed to feed such a crowd.

The other gospels approach it thisaway: It’s late, and the students think it’s high time Jesus’s audience went home.

Mark 6.35-37 KWL
35Since a late hour comes already,
Jesus’s students, coming to him, say,
“The place is wilderness
and it’s a late hour:
36Release them, so they go to the fields around, and villages;
they can buy themselves something they can eat.”
37AIn reply Jesus tells them,
You give them something to eat.”
Matthew 14.15-16 KWL
15Becoming evening,
the students come to Jesus, saying,
“The place is wilderness
and the hour comes:
Release the crowd, so going to the villages
they can buy themselves food.”
16Jesus tells them, “They have no need to go.
You give them something to eat.”
Luke 9.12-13 KWL
12The day begins to recline,
and the Twelve, coming up, tell Jesus,
“Release the crowd, so going to the villages around, and fields,
they can rest and can find provisions,
for here we are in a wilderness.”
13AJesus tells them,
You give them something to eat.”

This differing point of view presents a minor bible difficulty: Is it Jesus’s students who notice the people getting hungry, and figure it’s time for them to leave and get food, or is it Jesus who notices, and decides it’s time to feed them? I say minor bible difficulty because it’s not at all hard to recognize both Jesus and his kids would realize it was time for dinner; and it’s not at all hard to imagine Jesus might talk to Philip about feeding them before he spoke to the rest of the Twelve.

Stretching 200 denarii.

Philip speculated about how far 200 denarii might go to feed them, Jn 6.7 and in Mark the Twelve also quoted that figure:

Mark 6.37 KWL
37BThey tell him, “Ought we go away
to buy bread with 200 denarii?
We will give that to them to eat.”

Which is why I’m pretty sure 200 denarii was how much Jesus and his students had on them at the time. It was not worth half a year’s wages, like some bibles interpret it; Jn 6.7 NIV I dealt with that in the previous article. It’s worth $1,300 USD. It’s not nothing, but it’s not as much as you might’ve imagined. Still, it was meant to cover Jesus and his kids’ expenses for at least a month; not feed an audience.

People like to imagine Jesus’s students as dirt-poor, so how on earth did they happen to have 200 denarii on them? People forget: These kids used to have good-paying jobs. Fishermen made really good money. Jesus’s student Matthew used to be a taxman, y’know. And the students’ families consisted of fishermen, taxmen, and other people who were willing, even eager, to contribute to their kids’ expenses as they followed Jesus. Following Jesus meant the kids had to go without their incomes, but they still had some cash on them.

I should also mention: The way I usually hear preachers quote Mark 6.37, is to quote it as if the students are saying it to Jesus sarcastically. As if to tell their Master, “What, we should blow our last 200 denarii on these good-for-nothing people?”

Reflecting of course their own bad attitudes. Plenty of Christians will claim they’d do absolutely anything Jesus told ’em to. Not follow the Sermon on the Mount necessarily; they’re not talking about that. They’re thinking of when Jesus returns in his Second Coming; when the Son of Man stands on the earth and tells his followers he needs us to do this or that. Then, they’d like to imagine, they’ll eagerly do anything he tells us. Not so much now; they like to imagine he’s not telling us anything now. But then, they’ll obey.

NOW: Bad attitudes, plus a fair amount of sarcasm.
LATER: Enthusiasm!

You’ll excuse me if I’m a bit sarcastic about a change in their future attitudes, at their current rate of spiritual stagnation.

Anyway when I read the students’ response to Jesus in Mark, I don’t see sarcasm. I see a willingness to actually do as the Master commanded. “Wait, we’re to give them something to eat? Wow! Um… okay! How much silver do we have?… We’ll take the 200 denarii to the nearest town; we might have to borrow a horse and cart from someone though. Give us a few hours.”

Philip likewise, when Jesus floated the idea of buying bread in John, didn’t say, “Master, you’re nuts.” He said, “The bread of 200 denarii isn’t enough for them!” Jn 6.7 KWL It wasn’t, “What, waste all our silver?” but “We need more silver!”

Our attitudes oughta reflect the students’ attitudes. If our Lord hands us a problem to solve, I would say most of the time he also provides us a miraculous solution, same as he’s gonna solve feeding the 5,000. But if there’s a financial component to the solution—if we actually have to buy something—our attitude should likewise be, “Okay, we’ll do what we can,” not “What, waste all our money on that?”