The feeding of the four thousand

Mark
The feeding of the four thousand is not discussed as frequently as the feeding of the five thousand.  I read something interesting about this story however.  William Barclay suggests the following.  The word used for 'basket' in Mark 8 refers to the kind of basket that Gentiles usually use, whereas the word for basket in Mark 6 refers to the basket that most Jews would carry with them.  Barclay suggests that perhaps these two events speak to the fact that Jesus came to give the bread of life to both Jews and Gentiles.  Further support is given to this hypothesis in that the crowd of four thousand was located in an area with a larger Gentile population.  With this in mind, we can take heart that God has come to rescue all mankind, and that his gift of life is open to all who would hear his voice.