Before we come to Mark 8:11–33, we need to be aware of two events that took place before the events described in our pericope.

• Mark 6:30–44. After Jesus’ disciples return from their preaching expedition in the Galilean countryside (Mark 6:6–13), they want to spend some time alone with Jesus (Mark 6:30–31). As they make their way to a secluded place where they can eat and talk, they are spotted by local people, and suddenly a whole crowd comes to meet Jesus. Jesus sees the crowd of people and has compassion on them, considering them to be like sheep without a shepherd (Mark 6:34). Being the good shepherd himself (Psalm 23:1–6), Jesus not only wants to teach the crowd, he also wants to provide for them. Using five loaves of bread and two fish, he miraculously multiplies the food so that he can feed five thousand people. There is so much food that twelve basketfuls of broken pieces of bread and fish are collected once everyone has eaten (Mark 6:44).

• Mark 8:1–10. Jesus and his disciples are in the area known as the Decapolis. This is an area where Gentiles lived. Jesus has recently performed a miracle, in which he healed a deaf and mute man (Mark 7:31–37) and now a large crowd gathers around him as a result (Mark 8:1). They spend three days listening to Jesus (Mark 8:2) and he is concerned about them, particularly their physical well being. As a result, Jesus uses his disciples seven loaves of bread and a few small fish to feed all the people (Mark 8:5–7). About 4,000 men are miraculously fed by Jesus in this way (Mark 8:9). Once he has finished feeding them, he crosses over the Sea of Galilee and goes back to Jewish territory, somewhere on the western coast. (Mark refers to the region of Dalmanutha. We do not know where this is but it must have been on the Western coast of the Sea of Galilee since the Pharisees come to him after he arrives (Mark 8:11). The Pharisees only lived in the Jewish areas.)