Study Desk

He said to them, "How many loaves do you have? Go look!" And when they found out, they said, "Five [loaves], and two fish."

They sat down in groups of hundreds and of fifties [so that the crowd resembled an orderly arrangement of colorful garden plots].

They all ate and were satisfied.

But when they saw Him walking on the sea, they thought it was a ghost, and cried out [in horror];

for they all saw Him and were shaken and terrified. But He immediately spoke with them and said, "Take courage! It is I (I AM)! Stop being afraid."

Then He got into the boat with them, and the wind ceased [as if exhausted by its own activity]; and they were completely overwhelmed,

because they had not understood [the miracle of] the loaves [how it revealed the power and deity of Jesus]; but [in fact] their heart was hardened [being oblivious and indifferent to His amazing works].

When they had crossed over [the sea], they reached the land of Gennesaret and anchored at the shore.

They got out of the boat and immediately people recognized Him,

and ran throughout that surrounding countryside and began to carry around on their mats those who were sick, to any place where they heard He was.

And wherever He came into villages, or cities, or the countryside, they were laying the sick in the market places and pleading with Him [to allow them] just to touch the fringe (tassel with a blue cord) of His robe; and all who touched it were healed.

and they had seen that some of His disciples ate their bread with [ceremonially] impure hands, that is, unwashed [and defiled according to Jewish religious ritual].

(For the Pharisees and all of the Jews do not eat unless they carefully wash their hands, holding firmly to the traditions of the elders;

and when they come from the market place, they do not eat unless they cleanse themselves [completely according to ritual]; and there are many other things [oral, man-made laws and traditions handed down to them] which they follow diligently, such as the washing of cups and pitchers and copper utensils.)

-'THEY WORSHIP ME IN VAIN [their worship is meaningless and worthless, a pretense], TEACHING THE PRECEPTS OF MEN AS DOCTRINES [giving their traditions equal weight with the Scriptures].'

They brought to Him a man who was deaf and had difficulty speaking, and they begged Jesus to place His hand on him.

They were thoroughly astounded and completely overwhelmed, saying, "He has done everything well! He even makes the deaf hear and the mute speak!"

In those days, when there was again a large crowd [gathered before Him] and they had nothing to eat, Jesus called His disciples and told them,

"I feel compassion for the crowd; they have been with Me now for three days and have nothing [left] to eat.

He directed the people to sit down on the ground; and taking the seven loaves, He gave thanks and broke them, and [repeatedly] gave them to His disciples to set before them, and they served the crowd.