The Gospel of Mark 7:31 – 8:10 - Healing Those Who Can’t Hear and Speaking to Those Who are Hungry
After the Pharisaic challenge of eating with unwashed hands and Jesus traveling to the region of Tyre and Sidon He casts out a demon from a little Gentile girl. Jesus takes time for a journey, traveling from the region of Tyre to Sidon and then on to the Sea of Galilee, finally arrives in the region of the Decapolis. Perhaps He does this to let things cool down between the Pharisees and Himself, since He knows that “His time is not yet.” While in the Decapolis He heals a man who couldn’t hear or speak and then proceeds to feed four thousand people! Join us today as we dig into this amazing miracle!
Discussion:
“Then he returned from the region of Tyre and went through Sidon to the Sea of Galilee, in the region of the Decapolis.”
Mark 7:31 (ESV)
Region of the Decapolis
The Decapolis was a grouping of cities that had aligned themselves together, but should not be understood to refer to a defined area, since even the historical lists of cities that made up the Decapolis don’t always list the same cities (France 2002, 302). These cities had large communities of Jews living there, so we shouldn’t assume that the story revolves around Gentiles even though this was a Gentile region (Lane 1974, 266).
The journey Jesus embarked on, going from the region of Tyre, through Sidon, to the sea of Galilee and then to the area of the Decapolis wasn’t a straightforward trip. Sidon is about twenty-two miles north of Tyre (Strauss 2014, 320) which means that Jesus seems to have taken the long way, perhaps adding forty to fifty miles to their journey. However, there is no need to question the historical accurateness of this account (Stein 2008, 357). Some have pointed out that Jesus wanted to remove Himself from the Pharisees and Herod Antipas, thus He went a way less traveled (Edwards 2002, 224). While He was in this Gentile region there were many who came and were brought to Him for healing.
“And they brought to him a man who was deaf and had a speech impediment, and they begged him to lay his hand on him. And taking him aside from the crowd privately, he put his fingers into his ears, and after spitting touched his tongue. And looking up to heaven, he sighed and said to him, “Ephphatha,” that is, “Be opened.” And his ears were opened, his tongue was released, and he spoke plainly.”
Mark 7:32–35 (ESV)
Be opened
Scholars today debate the meaning of Jesus actions when He healed the man. Spit was viewed as having magical powers or even as being medicinal by some (Strauss 2014, 322), yet others point at the similarity to the supposed miracles of Vespasian (Collins and Attridge 2007, 371). The second point fails to convince, since it came after Jesus and in my opinion even after Mark was written. I do not believe spit is used because it is magical, and so I am left with the answer “I don’t know.” I do believe this is culturally significant but have not found a satisfactory answer to the question of what it means. It is a mystery to me.
Mark here adds the original word which was either said in Hebrew or more probably Aramaic, and translated into Greek. There seems to have been a belief that repeating the words of Jesus in their original language had greater effect, especially with exorcisms (Marcus 2008, 475). However, there is strong evidence that Mark (or John Mark) received his knowledge from the Apostle Peter (Strauss 2014, 29). It appears that Mark has large sections that were translated from an Aramaic source or sources (Casey 1998, 254). This makes sense if his source is Peter, a Galilean fishermen who would have spoken mostly Aramaic. Thus, the inclusion of the Aramaic words not only testifies to the credibility of this account, it also points to the source of the story being an eye witness.
After performing this miracle, Jesus commanded the people to remain silent and tell no one.
“And Jesus charged them to tell no one. But the more he charged them, the more zealously they proclaimed it. And they were astonished beyond measure, saying, “He has done all things well. He even makes the deaf hear and the mute speak.”
Mark 7:36-37 (ESV)
They proclaimed it
We have discussed before the culture of the New Testament world, especially the concepts of honor and shame, client and patronage. The information I am going to discuss I have learned mostly by reading Honor, Patronage, Kinship, and Purity: Unlocking New Testament Culture by David A. deSilva. I have read other books on the subject, however, that one was the most impactful and informative.
Jesus and the Apostles lived in Israel which was a province of Rome. They were Jews, who had a very Jewish culture. However, they would have looked different in some areas from those Jews who lived in Jerusalem, since they were from Galilee. It seems from their writings though, that they were all influenced by the cultural idea of client and patronage relationships.
I will try to give a very brief overview of the idea here. Most people didn’t have access to every good or service that they wanted to purchase. Because of this there was a system in place that allowed them to gain access to people who would help them.
Imagine that you needed to pay for a surgery for your child but didn’t have the money. You may know someone who knows someone who is very wealthy and so you ask them to make an introduction. You are introduced by your friend to the rich person and you then ask for money, explaining that you need to pay for a surgery. The wealthy person acquiesces your request, not only paying for the surgery but also connecting you with the best hospital in the area. Your sons surgery goes well.
You may think that you owe him something, and you would be right. However, he would never say this, and you would never ask. It went without saying that you owed him. One day you hear that the man who helped you is running for a public office. Without being asked, you immediately begin to speak up for him, telling everyone you know of his great deeds and his kindness and generosity. You do this because he is your patron, and you are his client. The patron-client relationship was created when he did this favor for you.
There are often times in the Gospels where Jesus is telling someone to be quiet about something he has done, especially in Mark. I think Jesus’ request was sincere. Often, we see that He was trying to go somewhere quietly, without drawing attention, and the news of Him would often hamper what He was trying to do.
However, we have to ask the question, why did the people often insist on spreading the word? Why didn’t they listen? I believe it was because of this cultural understanding of patron-client relations. They would believe that they owed Jesus, even though He clearly told them they did not, and that He did not expect anything in return. The problem is, no matter what He said, they would feel social pressure to spread the good news about Him as a way to support the man they saw as a kind of patron. I believe that is coming into play here. Jesus is sincerely asking the people to be quiet about Him. He has had much conflict with the Pharisees and is clearly traveling out of the way to avoid being seen. Perhaps He wants things to cool down so that He can continue His mission without being killed too early. Either way, the people don’t listen because the culture of the day demanded that they spread the news about Him. If they didn’t they would to appear to be ungrateful, something that was strongly looked down on.
And so because of people spreading the news about Him a great crowd gathered together again.
“In those days, when again a great crowd had gathered, and they had nothing to eat, he called his disciples to him and said to them, “I have compassion on the crowd, because they have been with me now three days and have nothing to eat. And if I send them away hungry to their homes, they will faint on the way. And some of them have come from far away.” And his disciples answered him, “How can one feed these people with bread here in this desolate place?” And he asked them, “How many loaves do you have?” They said, “Seven.”
Mark 8:1–5 (ESV)
Compassion because they have nothing to eat
This food miracle is much different from the first feeding of the five thousand, for in this one the people have remained there for three days and have run out of food (Collins and Attridge 2007, 378). They are truly hungry, so much so that Jesus is concerned that if they try to walk home they will faint on the way. There is a contrast here, for the first feeding was about Jesus being the spiritual Bread of Life, the manna, but this feeding is about a physical need (Guelich 1989, 404). This shows that Jesus is concerned not just with our spiritual health, but also for our physical health.
Some have come from far away
Coming from far away is probably a reference to them being Gentile, as the Septuagint often uses the same Greek phrase to refer to Gentiles from other nations (Strauss 2014, 331–332). If this is true, this miracle is quite different from the first, and seems to echo a future promise to Gentiles who would come into the Kingdom! God will provide for your needs just as He did the Jews! And so He had them sit down and performed this amazing miracle!
“And he directed the crowd to sit down on the ground. And he took the seven loaves, and having given thanks, he broke them and gave them to his disciples to set before the people; and they set them before the crowd. And they had a few small fish. And having blessed them, he said that these also should be set before them. And they ate and were satisfied. And they took up the broken pieces left over, seven baskets full. And there were about four thousand people. And he sent them away. And immediately he got into the boat with his disciples and went to the district of Dalmanutha.”
Mark 8:6–10 (ESV)
Seven loaves
When I first read about the number seven I thought there must be a significance. However, as Robert H. Stein points out, there is no way to show a consensus on what it would point to, no significant number of seven that quite matches, and the mention of a “few fish” cannot be synchronized with Biblical numerology, and because of all this the number is probably just a detail and not meant to be symbolic (Stein 2008, 370). This too lends credibility to the story! Indeed, so many today want to put the Gospels and the Bible itself into the realm of myth. However, the more I study the more I find that we can trust the Bible. One of the foundations of our faith, that we must hold to, is that the Bible is true! This does not mean that our opinion about what the Bible says is true, but that the Bible itself is true!
Ate and were satisfied
In today’s western world, where we have plenty to eat we have no concept of what it means to hunger. People speak of fasting if they have to skip one meal, yet in the ancient world most people only ate one or two meals a day. These men had probably gone a day or two without eating, which we would consider to be an extreme situation. It was not, however, if they had tried to walk a long way home, let’s say another 50 miles, they wouldn’t have made it.
Indeed, in America the struggle is more around eating too much, gluttony, than it is with not having enough. I have been losing weight, measuring my calories, weighing everything, in order to try to get healthier! The idea of having to do this would have been so foreign to this people. To them, hunger, not fullness was the norm. To them a bad harvest might mean extreme hunger for your family or even starvation. Many died during that time period of starvation. It was in this environment that the statement “they ate and were satisfied” was written. This was very extreme.
And yet this is how Jesus gives. He said that He came that we might have life, and have it more abundantly! He gives good things to His children because He loves us! This does not mean that we won’t suffer or go hungry, but it does mean that when He provides He will give us enough.
Life Application and Questions to Consider
It seems as if at the height of His fame Jesus is always stepping back, going away, or taking time to be alone. Yet for us I think it would be tempting to lean into this fame, to pursue fame or wealth or some other goal. Something that I have had to learn is that my goals aren’t always God’s, that my ideas may just be mine! We see Jesus take these pauses for different reasons, to seek the Father in prayer, to recover from extreme ministry (it can be exhausting), and perhaps to even let things calm down after a conflict. The point is that He didn’t put an earthly ministry first, He put the will of His father first!
Do you take time from life to recover with your family, with yourself, and with God?
Secondly we see that Jesus feeds the four thousand to provide for their physical needs. All too often in the church we can be so “spiritualized” that we think only the spirit matters and begin to neglect the physical. Yet we see that Jesus didn’t do that. When His disciples were overwhelmed He asked them to rest, when the people following Him and had a need for food He fed them. He cares not only about our spirit, but also about our body. Why? Because He created it! Our body and this world is also His creation, and He cares about all things He made.
What choices are you making to better your health and physical existence? Are there areas you need to adjust?
Connections
Matthew 15:29–39
Outline
Jesus heals a man who can’t hear or speak.
Jesus feeds 4,000 with bread and fish.
References-
R. T. France, The Gospel of Mark: A Commentary on the Greek Text, New International Greek Testament Commentary (Grand Rapids, MI; Carlisle: W.B. Eerdmans; Paternoster Press, 2002), 302.
William L. Lane, The Gospel of Mark, The New International Commentary on the New Testament (Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1974), 266.
Mark L. Strauss, Mark, ed. Clinton E. Arnold, Zondervan Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2014), 320.
James R. Edwards, The Gospel according to Mark, The Pillar New Testament Commentary (Grand Rapids, MI; Leicester, England: Eerdmans; Apollos, 2002), 224.
Robert H. Stein, Mark, Baker Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2008), 357.
“Jesus uses spittle in three healings in the gospel tradition: here, 8:23, and in John 9:6. The text does not say why Jesus spit or whether he spit into his hands before touching the man’s tongue (cf. 8:23, where he spits into the man’s eyes). Spittle was commonly viewed in the ancient world as having medicinal and/or magical powers,9 and the saliva of an important person was considered to be particularly powerful. Both Tacitus and Suetonius relate an account of a blind man who approached the emperor Vespasian in Alexandria, Egypt, and begged to be healed by his saliva.”
Mark L. Strauss, Mark, ed. Clinton E. Arnold, Zondervan Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2014), 322.
Adela Yarbro Collins and Harold W. Attridge, Mark: A Commentary on the Gospel of Mark, Hermeneia—a Critical and Historical Commentary on the Bible (Minneapolis, MN: Fortress Press, 2007), 371.
Joel Marcus, Mark 1–8: A New Translation with Introduction and Commentary, vol. 27, Anchor Yale Bible (New Haven; London: Yale University Press, 2008), 475.
Mark L. Strauss, Mark, ed. Clinton E. Arnold, Zondervan Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2014), 29.
Maurice Casey, Aramaic Sources of Mark’s Gospel, Society for New Testament Studies: Monograph Series 102 (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1998), 254.
Adela Yarbro Collins and Harold W. Attridge, Mark: A Commentary on the Gospel of Mark, Hermeneia—a Critical and Historical Commentary on the Bible (Minneapolis, MN: Fortress Press, 2007), 378.
Robert A. Guelich, Mark 1–8:26, vol. 34A, Word Biblical Commentary (Dallas: Word, Incorporated, 1989), 404.
Mark L. Strauss, Mark, ed. Clinton E. Arnold, Zondervan Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2014), 331–332.
Robert H. Stein, Mark, Baker Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2008), 370.
