“Matthew 14; Mark 6; John 5–6,” Scripture Helps: New Testament (2024)
Scripture Helps
Matthew 14; Mark 6; John 5–6
Jesus healed a man at the pool of Bethesda. He taught about His relationship to the Father. When Jesus heard about the beheading of John the Baptist, He went to be alone. A large multitude found Him, and He healed their sick. He miraculously fed over five thousand people with only five loaves of bread and two fishes. Jesus taught that He is the Bread of Life. Some of His disciples rejected His teachings and walked away. The Savior walked on the Sea of Galilee and invited Peter to come to Him.
Resources
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Background and Context
Why was John the Baptist imprisoned by Herod?
(Compare to Mark 6:14–20.)
While visiting Rome, Herod Antipas became infatuated with Herodias, his half-brother Philip’s wife. Herod proposed that Herodias leave Philip. Herod then divorced his wife to marry Herodias. However, Herod’s marriage to his brother’s wife was a violation of the law of Moses. When John the Baptist condemned the marriage as unlawful, Herod had him put in prison.
Herod wanted to have John put to death, but he was afraid to do so because the people knew John was a prophet. The Joseph Smith Translation adds that Herod knew John to be “a holy man, and one who feared God and observed to worship him.”
How many people did Jesus miraculously feed?
(Compare to Mark 6:34–44.)
The Greek text of Mark 6:44 makes clear that the phrase “five thousand men” meant five thousand males. Matthew 14:21 makes this unmistakable by adding the statement “beside women and children.”
What is the fourth watch?
(Compare to Mark 6:48.)
The Romans divided the night hours into four watches, corresponding roughly as follows:
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first watch: 6:00–9:00 p.m.
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second watch: 9:00 p.m.–12:00 midnight
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third watch: 12:00 midnight–3:00 a.m.
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fourth watch: 3:00–6:00 a.m.
When the Savior came to the disciples in the fourth watch, they had been rowing all night against the wind.
Why was Jesus rejected at Nazareth?
What is the significance of laying on hands and anointing with oil?
The Gospel of Mark contains more references than the other Gospels to Jesus and His Apostles healing people by the laying on of hands. Mark is the only Gospel to mention that the Savior’s Apostles anointed the sick with oil.
President Dallin H. Oaks taught: “The Old Testament frequently mentions anointing with oil as part of a blessing conferred by priesthood authority. Anointings were declared to be for sanctification and perhaps can also be seen as symbolic of the blessings to be poured out from heaven as a result of this sacred act.
“In the New Testament we read that Jesus’s Apostles ‘anointed with oil many that were sick, and healed them’ (Mark 6:13). The book of James teaches the role of anointing in connection with the other elements in a healing blessing by priesthood authority:
“‘Is any sick among you? Let him call for the elders of the church; and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord:
“‘And the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up’ (James 5:14–15).
“… When elders anoint a sick person and seal the anointing, they open the windows of heaven for the Lord to pour forth the blessing He wills for the person afflicted.”
Who did Jesus Christ call to be His Apostles?
See “Matthew 10:1–5. Who did Jesus Christ call to be His Apostles?”
What did it mean to “shake off the dust under your feet”?
See “Matthew 10:14. What did it mean to ‘shake off the dust of your feet’?”
What is the symbolism of oil?
In ancient times, olive oil was burned in lamps for light. It was also used for flavoring and cooking food; making soap, perfumes, and incenses; and as an ointment for wounds. Ancient Israelites used olive oil to bless the sick and to anoint kings and priests. Anointing with oil was seen as a symbol of purity, holiness, and becoming free from sin. For example, Moses poured oil on Aaron’s head to anoint him a priest and to sanctify him.
Olive oil, which comes from crushed olives, can also be seen as a symbol of the atoning blood of Jesus Christ. President Russell M. Nelson stated: “In the garden bearing the Hebrew name of Gethsemane—meaning ‘oil-press’—olives had been beaten and pressed to provide oil and food. There at Gethsemane, the Lord ‘suffered the pain of all men, that all … might repent and come unto him’ [Doctrine and Covenants 18:11]. He took upon Himself the weight of the sins of all mankind, bearing its massive load that caused Him to bleed from every pore.”
What was the tradition about the pool of Bethesda?
Jesus traveled to Jerusalem to observe a Jewish feast, possibly the Passover. While in the city, He went to a pool of water near the temple. According to tradition, an angel sometimes came down and troubled the water. People believed that when the water moved or bubbled, the first person to enter the pool would be miraculously healed. It is possible that an underground spring caused the water to occasionally bubble.
The Savior invited the sick man to trust in Him rather than false tradition. Through the grace of Jesus Christ, the man found mercy and healing. It is fitting that Bethesda means “house of mercy” or “house of grace.”
What are the similarities between Jesus Christ and Moses?
When the Savior visited the Nephites, He told them that He was the prophet like Moses referred to in scripture. Significant similarities between the Savior and Moses are found throughout the Gospels. Many such parallels can be found in John 6. The events recorded in this chapter occurred at the time of the Passover, an event strongly associated with Moses and the Exodus. A few parallels are listed below:
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Jesus miraculously fed a large multitude with five loaves of bread and two fishes. Through Moses, the Lord miraculously fed the people with manna from heaven.
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Jesus left the multitude and miraculously walked that night across the Sea of Galilee to His disciples. The children of Israel, led by Moses, miraculously crossed through the Red Sea at night.
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Jesus declared Himself to be the bread come down from heaven, another similarity to the manna provided from heaven for Moses and the people.
Why did the people want Jesus to be their king?
After the feeding of the five thousand, the Savior was perhaps at the height of His public popularity. The Apostle John recorded that some tried to “take him by force, to make him a king.” What had elevated Him in the eyes of the people? God had miraculously fed ancient Israel manna from heaven while in the wilderness. The Jews of Jesus’s day believed that the coming Messiah would repeat the miracle and feed them with bread from heaven.
What is the symbolic importance of bread?
Bread was the basic food that people in Israel ate daily to sustain life. By declaring Himself “the bread of life,” Jesus used this symbol to teach that He is our essential spiritual nourishment and the only source of eternal life.
It may be significant that Jesus fed the five thousand and gave the Bread of Life sermon as the Jews were preparing for the Passover. During this celebration, Jews ate unleavened bread in memory of Israel’s deliverance from Egypt and the manna that God provided them in the wilderness. When the crowd Jesus taught referred to the manna provided for Israel in the days of Moses, the Savior reminded them that the same God who had provided that “bread from heaven” now offered to them His Son, the “true bread from heaven.”
What does it mean to eat the flesh and drink the blood of the Savior?
The Savior sacrificed His flesh and blood to atone for our sins and conquer death. To eat His flesh and drink His blood can represent receiving the blessings of His Atonement. It can also signify the need to internalize His teachings and attributes. Elder D. Todd Christofferson taught that to eat His flesh and drink His blood is a way to express “how completely we must bring the Savior into our life.” The Savior’s words also foreshadowed the sacrament, which He introduced during the Last Supper.
Learn More
Jesus Heals at the Pool of Bethesda
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Timothy J. Dyches, “Wilt Thou Be Made Whole?” Ensign or Liahona, Nov. 2013, 37–39
Jesus Walks on Water
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Alvin F. Meredith III, “Look down the Road,” Ensign or Liahona, Nov. 2021, 114–16
Jesus Is the Bread of Life
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D. Todd Christofferson, “The Living Bread Which Came Down from Heaven,” Ensign or Liahona, Nov. 2017, 36–39
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M. Russell Ballard, “To Whom Shall We Go?” Ensign or Liahona, Nov. 2016, 90–92
Media
Videos
“The Feeding of the 5,000” (2:53)
“Wherefore Didst Thou Doubt?” (2:10)
“I Am the Bread of Life” (6:52)
“Daily Bread: Change” (3:00)
Images
Wherefore Didst Thou Doubt?, by Robert T. Barrett
Learn about Jesus, by Dan Burr