Mark 6: 32 34 God’s Love And Mercy

Target year level: Year Ten

Scripture text

Introduction

The text issituated ina section of Mark’s Gospel dealing with the Ministry of Jesus in Galilee (Mark 1:14-9:50). Specifically, the focus text occurs within Mark’s account of Feeding the Five Thousand (Mark 6:30-44), sometimes called First miracle of the loaves to distinguish it from a second miracle of the loaves at Mark 8:1-10.

For further information, see the The New American Bible, Revised Edition (NABRE), Introduction to Mark .

World behind the text

The authorship of the Gospel which bears the name of Mark is a matter of dispute. The Gospel writer was influenced by the stories, wisdom and leadership of Peter until Peter’s martyrdom sometime between 64 and 67 CE. The Gospel of Mark was probably written between 65 and 70 CE, after the death of Peter and towards or at the end of the four-year war between Israel and Rome. This was a time of turmoil, violence and great suffering. By 67 CE Nero, the Roman Emperor, had already killed many of the leaders of the Christian community in Rome.

Mark and many of his Christian contemporaries held strongly the early Christian apocalyptic hope for the end of the world and the imminent second coming of Jesus. Mark thinks of himself and his Christian community as caught up in events that indicate that the end of the world and the end of history is near at hand.

According to tradition, Mark’s Gospel was written in Rome. The Gospel of Mark was written for a Christian church that was made up for the most part of Gentile Christians. Scholars think that the people for whom Mark wrote needed to be strengthened and encouraged as members of a small, despised and persecuted community of Christians struggling to preserve identity and integrity amidst the cultural and religious pluralism and upheaval of the Greco-Roman World.

World of the text

Mark 6:32-34 highlights ‘withdrawal of Jesus and his disciples to a deserted place to rest’, ‘the pursuit of the crowds’ and Jesus’ compassion for the crowds who were like ‘sheep without a shepherd’. In situating this text within the Feeding the Five Thousand (Mark 6:30-44), Mark is connecting with the Feeding of the People of Israel with Manna in the Desert (Exodus 16:1-36) and with the Christian Eucharist celebrated in the Christian communities for whom Mark is writing.

The ‘desert’ signifies a place of liberation, rest, solitude and renewal. It is within this context that the People of God both in Exodus and in Mark’s Gospel are fed. From a Christian perspective, the Eucharist is the context in which Christians following the example of Jesus are fed and renewed so as to be available and able to show mercy, compassion and practical care towards their fellow human beings who are ‘like sheep without a shepherd’ v. 34 (cf. Matthew 9:36 ).

For a more detailed commentary on Mark 6:32-34 go to Michael Fallon 128-130 (pdf).

World in front of the text

Christians recognise that Jesus revealed God’s love and mercy towards human beings who are so often afflicted and like sheep without a shepherd. It requires great commitment and significant energy and selflessness to respond to the Christian call to be truly loving and merciful towards others in a variety of contexts such as personal and family life, work, ministry and public activity. The danger of over-extension and of burnout is real for those who seek to follow Jesus. In Mark 6:32-34 we sense the fatigue and need for rest and renewal that Jesus and his disciples experienced. For a Christian, times of retreat and solitude, times for prayer and worship are a potential source of spiritual renewal and nourishment. The Eucharist, in particular, is meant to provide spiritual food and nourishment and fortify Christians in following Jesus, the one who reveals God’s love and mercy.