Mark 6 Footnotes

6:34 The feeding of the five thousand in the wilderness was a messianic act signaled here by an allusion to Nm 27:16-17. Moses prayed for someone to replace him after his death so the people would not be left as sheep without a shepherd. The motif is picked up in Ezekiel, where God promised that his servant David (i.e., the Messiah) will shepherd his people. Jn 6:14-15,26-34 makes it clear that the Galileans recognized the significance of the act (see note on Dt 18:15-19).

6:48 The feeding of the five thousand and Jesus walking on water are narrated in three of the four Gospels. These nature miracles, along with the stilling of the storm, are most difficult for critics to accept as historical, since no good naturalistic explanation can be provided for them. Here we come up against a fundamental point of contention. Either one believes that God can work through his creation in patterns that differ from the normal patterns or one does not. God’s usual ways of working we describe as laws of nature. The fact that John attests these miracles support their historicity.