Feeding the 5000 in context

serious props from RP to kim riddlebarger for this helpful overview of where we find ourselves as we come sunday to our King's feeding of the 5000

Who Is Jesus? King Herod wants to know, since
he’s heard about this miracle-worker exorcist preaching out in the hill country near Nazareth. Herod
has also heard the rumors that Jesus may be John the Baptist come back to life. This would explain
Jesus’ miraculous powers. The followers of John the Baptist think that Jesus is Elijah who must come
before the Day of the Lord. Many in Israel think that Jesus is one of Israel’s prophets who has returned
to call the nation to repentance. Members of the Sanhedrin–Israel’s ruling religious body in
Jerusalem–have accused Jesus of being demon possessed. The Pharisees think that Jesus is some sort of
magician/false teacher who refuses to acknowledge the distinction between clean and unclean. The
multitudes, who are seeking out Jesus, really don’t much care who Jesus is, they just want Jesus to heal
them or deliver them from demonic oppression. Meanwhile, slowly but surely, Jesus is lifting the veil as
to his true identity. His disciples have witnessed Jesus speak in parables, calm a storm, cast out a legion
of demons, and raise the dead. Now they will witness Jesus perform a miracle (feeding 5000) which ties him to many of the key events in Israel’s history. But in the end, everyone is asking the same question. Who is Jesus?
In Mark chapter 6, Mark describes a transitional phase in Jesus’ ministry. After beginning his messianic mission, Jesus had been primarily preaching in the area near Capernaum on the Sea of Galilee. But the time had
come for Jesus to preach to new audiences. Jesus also needed to escape from the huge crowds which had
been following him every where he went–to the point of hindering his mission. Jesus’ first trip out the
area was to return to his hometown of Nazareth. As yet another poignant indicator that his entire life was
one of humiliation, Jesus was mocked by his former friends and neighbors in Nazareth as “the carpenter,
the son of Mary.” In fact, things in Nazareth were so bad that Mark recounts how Jesus himself marveled
at the people’s lack of faith.
During this same point in his ministry, Jesus gave a temporary commission to his disciples to go
throughout the villages in the hill country near Nazareth to preach the gospel of the kingdom. Going out
two by two, the disciples reported to Jesus that many people were healed and that demons fled when the
gospel was proclaimed. It was during this time that Herod Antipas got wind of Jesus’ expanding
ministry. Herod heard some of the rumors rapidly spreading throughout Israel that Jesus might be John
the Baptist come back to life. This would have been especially frightening to Herod because it was he
who had put John the Baptist to death at the behest of his wife Herodias. If Jesus were indeed John, he
might seek revenge upon Herod. Mark uses Herod’s fear of Jesus to recount to his readers the sad fate of
John the Baptist. The death of the Baptist meant that John (not Jesus) was the promised Elijah, and that
although John was the greatest of men under the Old Covenant, his death was yet another, albeit tragic,
sign that the New Covenant age had dawned in the person of Jesus. As the messianic forerunner, John’s
work was completed. John must decrease so that Jesus might increase. ---Kim Riddlebarger