Word Pictures in the New Testament - David Cox

Word Pictures in the NT [Mark: Chapter 6].
is not green in Palestine much of the year, mainly at the
passover time. So here the Synoptic Gospels have an indication of
more than a one-year ministry of Jesus (Gould). It is still one
year before the last passover when Jesus was crucified.
6:41 {Brake the loaves; and he gave to the disciples} (\kai apo
t•n ichthu•n\). Apparently the fishes were in excess of the
twelve baskets full of broken pieces of bread. See on ¯Mt 14:20
for discussion of \kophinos\ and \sphuris\, the two kinds of
baskets.
6:44 {Men} (\andres\). Men as different from women as in Mt
14:21. This remarkable miracle is recorded by all Four Gospels,
a nature miracle that only God can work. No talk about
accelerating natural processes will explain this miracle. And
three eyewitnesses report it: the Logia of Matthew, the eyes of
Peter in Mark, the witness of John the Beloved Disciple (Gould).
The evidence is overwhelming.
6:45 {To Bethsaida} (\pros B•thsaidan\). This is Bethsaida on the
Western side, not Bethsaida Julias on the Eastern side where they
had just been (Lu 9:10). {While he himself sendeth the
multitude away} (\he•s autos apoluei ton ochlon\). Mt 14:22 has
it "till he should send away" (\he•s hou apolus•i\) with the
aorist subjunctive of purpose. Mark with the present indicative
\apoluei\ pictures Jesus as personally engaged in persuading the
crowds to go away now. Joh 6:41f. explains this activity of
Jesus. The crowds had become so excited that they were in the
mood to start a revolution against the Roman government and
proclaim Jesus king. He had already forced in reality the
disciples to leave in a boat {to go before him} (\proagein\) in
order to get them out of this atmosphere of overwrought
excitement with a political twist to the whole conception of the
Messianic Kingdom. They were in grave danger of being swept off
their feet and falling heedlessly into the Pharisaic conception
and so defeating the whole teaching and training of Jesus with
them. See on ¯Mt 14:22,23. To this pass things had come one year
before the Crucifixion. He had done his best to help and bless
the crowds and lost his chance to rest. No one really understood
Jesus, not the crowds, not the disciples. Jesus needed the Father
to stay and steady him. The devil had come again to tempt him
with world dominion in league with the Pharisees, the populace,
and the devil in the background.
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