And he commanded the people to sit down on the ground: and he took the seven loaves, and gave thanks, and brake, and gave to his disciples to set before them; and they did set them before the people.
//In my opinion, the story of Jesus feeding the multitude with loaves and fishes has a distinct aura of historicity about it. It is the central "sign" of John's Gospel, and it relates directly to the anticipation of a Messiah who would initiate an age of plenty. It is mentioned in all four gospels ... in fact, in Mark and Matthew, the story is told twice!
Which makes one wonder: Did Jesus feed the multitude twice, or are we reading two different interpretations of the same event? Matthew's Gospel is recognized as an update of Mark with a new theological direction; 90% of the verses in Mark find their way into Matthew, many almost word for word. So, it's probably not significant that Matthew sides with Mark about the event happening twice.
Luke also wrote his gospel with the book of Mark open in front of him. But Luke appears to have had more sources of the Christ story available to him than Matthew, and is less concerned about occasionally disagreeing with Mark. Luke presents only one miracle feeding.
John's Gospel, the most independent of the four, again relates the story only once.
So, then, to determine whether there were one or two miracle feedings, we're left with analyzing Mark. The two events in Mark (one in chapter 6, the other in chapter 8) have varying details: Jesus feeds 5,000 the first time, 4,000 the second time. He uses five loaves and two fishes the first time, and seven loaves and a few fishes the second time. He gathers twelve baskets of leftovers the first time, seven the second time. But the only fundamental differences in the story are the numbers, which surely derive from some theological significance in both stories, though scholars continue to argue about their meanings.
Would it be helpful to discuss the setting surrounding each story? This is where it gets interesting.
1. After both feedings, the meaning is misunderstood.
2. After the first feeding, Jesus crosses the sea to Bethsaida. After the second, he crosses to Dalmanutha, and a few verses later moves on to Bethsaida.
3. After both feedings, Jesus finds himself in a contest with the Pharisees.
4. After the first feeding, Jesus heals a deaf man with spittle. After the second feeding, Jesus heals a blind man with spittle.
What do you think? Are these really two separate events, or two stories Mark has collected of the same event?
It's an interesting question. The author of Mark is actually quite explicit that these were two separate events, rather than the same event told twice. In Mark 8:19-20, Jesus is discussing the feedings with the disciples, and he explicitly mentions them both as separate events.
ReplyDeleteThis means that if Mark's author really has just heard two different versions of the same event and included them both in his gospel, then he actually took the extra step of adding a completely new teaching (Mark 8:14-21) just to reconcile the two stories against each other. Which certainly doesn't prove anything, of course- it seems clear to me that there are several instances of gospel writers conjuring up extra teachings to support their own theology. Luke 19:27 is the first example that comes to mind.
Both are told in Matthew Chapters 15 and 16
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