Sitting Down in Rank - Mark 6:40

Mark wrote, “when the day was now far spent, his disciples came unto him, and said, This is a desert place, and now the time is far passed: He answered and said unto them, Give you them to eat. And they say unto him, Shall we go and buy two hundred pennyworth of bread, and give them to eat? He said unto them, How many loaves have you? go and see. And when they knew, they said, Five, and two fishes. And he commanded them to make all sit down by companies upon the green grass”, and in chapter six and verse forty of his book, Mark wrote how Jesus all the people, “sat down in rank, by hundreds, and by fifties” where we read:

And they sat down in ranks, by hundreds, and by fifties.

The verse reads, “And they sat down in ranks, ...” Mark began with the words, “and they sat down” which means “and the people within the multitude were seated, reclined and leaning back” “in ranks” which means “in divisions like separate plots”. Mark shared how people within the multitude were seated in separate division or plots.

The verse goes on to say, “... by hundreds, and by fifties.” Mark continued with the words, “by hundreds” which means “by hundreds of people”, “and by fifties” or “and by fifties of people”. Mark shared how the people were separated in groups of “hundreds” and “fifties” as they sat upon the green grass.

When we consider Mark's words in this verse, we discover more of the way the people were separated into groups and plots upon the ground. Jesus had His disciples divide the people into groups of “hundreds and fifties” as they sat, and because He was going to do a miracle which required they be in order, He instructed His disciples to put them in these groups. God has a plan and order for all He does, and when He sent His Son Jesus to the earth to provide “salvation” for mankind, He knew every detail concerning their “redemption”. God loves people, and when He provides “order with design”, it is because He knows what is best for that which He is going to provide.

Next time Mark shares how Jesus, “divided” the “two fishes” and the “bread”, so read ahead, and we shall join together then.

Until tomorrow…there is more…

Look for the daily devotional book “Equipped for Battle – From Generation to Generation”, the marriage book “So, You Want to Be Married”, “One Year in the Sermon on the Mount” and the new poetry book "Random Mushrooms Volumes I and II" and the new novel "Elizabeth County" in all major bookstore sites, http://www.amazon.com ; http://www.barnesandnobles.com ; download to e-books, and find it locally at www.mrzlc.com/bookstore. All references are from "Strongs Concordance".