The Gospel of Mark
Another Boat Trip: Mk 8,10-22a
Jesus and the Pharisees: 8,10-13
In verses 10 and 13 Jesus is in a boat going first to Dalmanutha. The disciples are specifically mentioned in verse 10 as being with him. Yet they do not feature again until verse 14. It is not clear if they are present while Jesus speaks with the Pharisees but this episode is primarily for the hearer of the Gospel.
The sudden appearance of the Pharisees in verses 11 and 12 in this unknown place reads like an insertion into the story by the evangelist.
The reason for this insertion is not far to seek: the evangelist needed this incident as preparation for the scene in the boat which follows. It could be that Mark placed this encounter with Jews on neutral territory so that the scene in the boat may be read as a commentary on Jesus' Gentile mission. Jesus will then be back in Jewish territory when he gets to Bethsaida (8,22).
This insertion is also part of the parallel arrangement of scenes (with 7,1-23) which we explored in the overview of this chapter.
The evangelist notes specifically this time (see 7,5) that the Pharisees wished to test Jesus. We might think that the Pharisees like the disciples have had plenty of signs already. Jesus' ministry of healing and teaching has been open and public.
At the same time the Pharisees are behaving like their ancestors out in the desert where they saw many signs (Numbers 14,11). This is recalled by Jesus speaking of "this generation" (Ps 95,10: "I loathed that generation".)
Jesus' sigh might well be one of anger and frustration. His refusal to give a sign (or any further sign) is blunt. There is ample evidence available already.
Mark makes no reference to Jonah as do Matthew and Luke.
We return to the main page.
Jesus and the Disciples: 8,13-21
This confrontation between Jesus and his disciples is far harsher than it is in Matthew. Matthew also eases the message by adding Mt 16,11-12 to make the message clearer and "they understood". Jesus's question at the end shows how they do not understand in Mark (6,21).
There was a boat scene after the first feeding (6,45) just as there is now after the second.
The bread theme comes to the fore in verse 14. This is the final scene of a whole series where bread has been a prominent theme as we have noted.
The one loaf may be a reminder that there was more than sufficent bread to feed the crowds in both feeding stories. Matthew omits this comment (Mt 16,5).
In verse 15, leaven is of course an essential ingredient for bread. Jesus though is taking the discussion to a deeper level.
Mark adds the leaven of Herod to that of the Pharisees. This recalls 3,6 where the Pharisees and the Herodians set out to destroy Jesus. This was an unlikely alliance between the extreme religious group and the extreme secular group.
The disciples, verse 16, just wonder what point Jesus is making. As in 4,13, they fail to understand Jesus. The disciples have the same evidence and more than have the Pharisees involved in the previous encounter (8,8).
A whole series of rhetorical questions now follow: understand not , hardened heart, see not, hear not, remember not.
Jesus then asks about the remains of the two feedings as questions to which the disciples reply correctly, twelve (verse 19) and seven (verse 20).
The final unanswered question comes in verse 21 is a repeated "do you not understand?". In 6,52 following the walking on the water, the comment was they did not understand because their hearts were hardened (Ps 95,8, we saw Ps 95,10 above). Here they were linked in verse 17. Harden hearts carries with it a sense of wilful obstinacy much like the Pharisees in the previous scene.
The understanding for us the hearers of the Gospel of all this suggests that the one loaf of verse 14 leads to both the Jewish and Gentile baskets at the end. Jesus' visit to Gentile territory means that Jews and Gentiles together form one loaf. That will be the challenge for the disciples and for the later Church. The boat itself can be seen as a symbol of the Church.
The questions therefore climax in verse 21 with do you not yet understand. That "yet" indicates that the search for understanding (8,21) must be a continuing quest.Now return to the main page.