Then Jesus directed them to have the people sit in groups on the green grass.
Parallel translations
- WEB He commanded them that everyone should sit down in groups on the green grass.
- KJV And he commanded them to make all sit down by companies upon the green grass.
- NKJV Then He commanded them to make them all sit down in groups on the green grass.
- NASB And He ordered them all to recline by groups on the green grass.
- NLT Then Jesus told the disciples to have the people sit down in groups on the green grass.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Jesus arranged the crowd in orderly groups on the grass. The detail shows His authority and the deliberate, public nature of the miracle.
Overview
Seating the multitude in groups allowed for orderly distribution and made the miracle unmistakable to all. The mention of green grass marks the springtime near Passover, the season of God's provision. The scene recalls the Lord who makes His sheep lie down in green pastures (Psalm 23:2).
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 5
- 1 Cor 14:40But everything must be done in a proper and orderly manner.
- 1 Cor 14:33For God is not a God of disorder, but of peace—as in all the churches of the saints.
- Matt 15:35And He instructed the crowd to sit down on the ground.
- Esth 1:5–6At the end of this time, in the garden court of the royal palace, the king held a seven-day feast for all the people in the citadel of Susa, from the least to the greatest.
- 1 Kgs 10:5the food at his table, the seating of his servants, the service and attire of his attendants and cupbearers, and the burnt offerings he presented at the house of the LORD, it took her breath away.
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Christ at the center
Mark drives urgently to the cross, showing Jesus the Son of God as the suffering Servant who 'came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.'
How Mark 6:39 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
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