Jesus Feeds the Multitude

Details: Category: Jesus and the Manna Principle

When the tempter challenges him to turn stones into bread as a means to prove himself worthy of the title of Caesar, Jesus flatly refuses him. But later we find him performing a miracle in the wilderness to feed a great multitude. Do we sense a contradiction in his behavior?

How did he make that miracle happen? Did he turn stones into bread in order to feed those people? Let us see how this incident unfolds.

It starts with Jesus taking his disciples to the wilderness to relax, rest and have a bite to eat in peace, away from the masses.

He said to them, “Come away to a deserted place all by yourselves and rest a while.” For many were coming and going, and they had no leisure even to eat. And they went away in the boat to a deserted place by themselves. Mark 6:31-32.

Things do not go according to plan, and they get noticed on their way. So, a great multitude follows them.

Now many saw them going and recognized them, and they hurried there on foot from all the towns and arrived ahead of them. As he went ashore, he saw a great crowd; and he had compassion for them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd; and he began to teach them many things. Mark 6:33-34.

Sheep without a Shepherd

It is worthwhile to note that this incident in the wilderness comes right after the Roman client king Herod executes John the Baptist (Mark 6:14-29), which adds special significance to a phrase Mark uses to describes the multitude. He calls them ‘sheep without a shepherd’, an expression that is typically used by biblical prophets to denote a people who have no righteous leader and are suffering under unjust rulers, especially oppressive kings who enrich themselves by exploiting their subjects instead of caring for them.

For instance, here is how Ezekiel cries out –

“Mortal, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel: prophesy, and say to them—to the shepherds: Thus, says the LORD God: Ah, you shepherds of Israel who have been feeding yourselves! Should not shepherds feed the sheep?
You eat the fat, you clothe yourselves with the wool, you slaughter the fatlings; but you do not feed the sheep.
You have not strengthened the weak, you have not healed the sick, you have not bound up the injured, you have not brought back the strayed, you have not sought the lost, but with force and harshness you have ruled them...
My sheep have become a prey, and my sheep have become food for all the wild animals, since there was no shepherd; and because my shepherds have not searched for my sheep, but the shepherds have fed themselves, and have not fed my sheep…”
Ezekiel 34:2-4,8.

The people are portrayed as sheep without a shepherd since their rulers have left them without food, hoarding all of it to fatten themselves. A similar analogy could also be found in Zechariah 11:4-17.

Mark’s employment of this phrase points to the suffering of the Israelite people under the predatory rule of Caesar and his proxy Herod. When Jesus sees those people, being the compassionate teacher he is, he foregoes his planned leisure break and teaches them about God’s kingdom that will eventually replace Caesar’s.

When the disciples alert Jesus of the late hour and the lack of any restaurants or soup kitchens in the wilderness, their proposal is to let the masses fend for themselves and find food on their own.

When it grew late, his disciples came to him and said, “This is a deserted place, and the hour is now very late; send them away so that they may go into the surrounding country and villages and buy something for themselves to eat.” Mark 6:35-36.

This also indicates an inherent problem widely prevalent in the imperial society under Rome. These villagers are not even in a position to eat what they produce in their own farms. They have lost everything and have ended up as laborers who have to earn money to buy food. Their plight seems no different from the pain the people in Egypt had to undergo under the Pharaoh in more ancient times. The ruling elite, be they may of Rome or of the local proxies, have sucked all the wealth and produce off the commoners and live off their misery. Sheep without a shepherd, indeed!

Five Loaves and Two Fish

Now we should pay close attention to Jesus’ response to his disciples. He does not offer to create food by magic or turn stones into bread. Rather he demands his disciples that they feed the masses. They of course point out that they have neither enough food nor the money to procure more, in order to cater to the thousands that have gathered.

But he answered them, “You give them something to eat.” They said to him, “Are we to go and buy two hundred denarii worth of bread, and give it to them to eat?” Mark 6:37.

We have to pay closer attention here. Jesus refuses to accept their helplessness and their claim that they do not have enough food to share with the people. He seems to imply that they should start sharing whatever little they have with their fellow countrymen.

And he said to them, “How many loaves have you? Go and see.” Mark 6:37-38.

And when they bring him the very little they have, he prays to Yahweh, blesses that food and then has them share it with the thousands of people. And whatever little they have, proves enough for one and all when they share with each other!

When they had found out, they said, “Five, and two fish.” ... Taking the five loaves and the two fish, he looked up to heaven, and blessed and broke the loaves, and gave them to his disciples to set before the people; and he divided the two fish among them all. And all ate and were filled. Mark 6:38, 41-42.

And that is how Jesus provides Manna to the people in the wilderness.

He does not claim to turn stones into bread as Caesar does in order to portray himself as the sole benefactor of the masses.
Rather he asks them to share with one another, even when only some of them have it, and even if what they have is very little! Yahweh will do the rest, but the community has to follow the Manna principle, take the initiative and show it cares for each and every one in it.

Thus, Jesus shows how Yahweh wants a community to operate and sustain itself - by loving one’s neighbor as oneself.

What If There’s Not Enough For Everyone?

None of the disciples thought of the five loaves and two fish being shareable among five thousand people. It was too little in their opinion. If they share it with others, they would not have enough to satisfy their own hunger. That would have been their obvious thought process.

Even today there are many who have the same view.

They say the world does not have enough resources for everyone to enjoy a good living. They use this to justify the predicament where only a few roll in luxury while the rest suffer in misery.
Interestingly, even many among the poor think that they are in poverty since the Earth does not have enough to satisfy everyone in it.
There is a view that one can only acquire something by taking it away from another human being. One man’s gain is another man’s loss, goes the popular saying.

This is what sets people against one another and turns them into a selfish “Everyone is on their own” mindset. It is a product of so many centuries of Empire-driven propaganda.

But Jesus teaches us a completely different lesson as he shows how Yahweh’s principles lead to a self-sustaining community where everyone shares with each other, which in turn actually multiplies and strengthens the resources of the community rather than reducing or diminishing any of it.