Reading the Gospels Together The Multiplication of the Bread and Walking on Water – Part 2 In just a chapter or so Mark will tell a similar story of Jesus and his disciples encountering a crowd of people who are hungry and have no food. Once again Jesus has compassion for the people and tells his disciples to give them something to eat. Readers of Mark’s gospel ought to be amazed. It is as if the disciples had not experience the first feeding. They have no idea how Jesus will feed all these people. And so the story is repeated. And once again there are clear allusions to the Lord’s Supper. There is a debate among scholars of Mark’s gospel about whether or not there was one experience of the multiplication of loaves or two. Does Mark tell the same story twice to add emphasis and to highlight the ineptitude of Jesus’ disciples? Or did Jesus multiply the bread on two occasions? We really can’t answer that question and answering it is finally not very important. It is interesting that neither Luke nor John will tell of the second feeding. At any rate the second telling of the story does work for Mark to point out how unknowing and inept Jesus’ disciples are. They do not come off well and that may be Mark’s point. Following the second feeding Mark tells his readers that the Pharisees begin to argue with Jesus and demand a sign from him. This is incredible! Jesus has just given them a great and wonderful sign – he has provided bread in the wilderness just as God did through Moses but they did not recognize it! I mentioned earlier that there is symbolism at work in these stories and the main focus of that symbolism is how Jesus did for the people of his day what God had done for the people in the OT – bread is provided in the wilderness. Jesus will not give the people the sign they desire. They could not see the sign already completed so neither will they see another sign. And following this encounter between Jesus and the religious leaders Mark tells his readers that Jesus and his disciples are once again out in the boat on their way to Bethsaida. Jesus attempts to warn his disciples but they do not understand. And so, they receive some of the harshest words Jesus spoke to anyone. The frustration of Jesus abounds. The disciples have not understood. And so in Mark’s telling of the story Jesus will engage on another course attempting to teach them who he is and what the meaning of his coming will be.