The Gospel of the Kingdom - Matthew - A Hungry Crowd

 

TEXT: Matthew 15:21-28 –  “²⁹ Jesus departed from there, skirted the Sea of Galilee, and went up on the mountain and sat down there. ³⁰ Then great multitudes came to Him, having with them the lame, blind, mute, maimed, and many others; and they laid them down at Jesus’ feet, and He healed them. ³¹ So the multitude marveled when they saw the mute speaking, the maimed made whole, the lame walking, and the blind seeing; and they glorified the God of Israel. ³² Now Jesus called His disciples to Himself and said, “I have compassion on the multitude, because they have now continued with Me three days and have nothing to eat. And I do not want to send them away hungry, lest they faint on the way.” ³³ Then His disciples said to Him, “Where could we get enough bread in the wilderness to fill such a great multitude?” ³⁴ Jesus said to them, “How many loaves do you have?” And they said, “Seven, and a few little fish.” ³⁵ So He commanded the multitude to sit down on the ground. ³⁶ And He took the seven loaves and the fish and gave thanks, broke them and gave them to His disciples; and the disciples gave to the multitude. ³⁷ So they all ate and were filled, and they took up seven large baskets full of the fragments that were left. ³⁸ Now those who ate were four thousand men, besides women and children. ³⁹ And He sent away the multitude, got into the boat, and came to the region of Magdala.”

We are finishing our study in Chapter 15 today. In this chapter, we have seen Jesus confront the Pharisees, the crowds, and explains His teachings to Peter and the other disciples. We mused over how Matthew shares with us Jesus’ healing of the Canaanite woman’s daughter. And, today in the conclusion of this chapter, we see Jesus minister to a group of 4,000 men as he did previously with the 5,000 men.

As usual, we see Jesus meeting the physical needs of the lame, blind, crippled, and the mute in verses 29-31. He did this to teach that as He had power over the physical, He had power over the spiritual as well. In our account, we also see Him meeting the need of the hungry (vs.32-39). Matthew again gives the amount of food available (vs. 32-34) – seven loaves and a few small fish.  And he emphasizes the abundance of food (vs.35-39) – seven full baskets remain after all have eaten their fill!

So, what is the difference between this and the account of the 5,000? Are they the same or different events? What is different?

Obviously 1000 men. 

But seriously –

The feeding of the 4,000 is important because of where it took place. The feeding of the 5,000 took place near Bethsaida, close to the Sea of Galilee. In contrast, the feeding of the 4,000 took place in the region of the Gerasenes, in the region around the Decapolis.

Okay, so the two miracles took place in different regions, so what?  It’s important because the first region was Jewish (5,000) and the second region was Gentile (4,000). There are some numerical clues in the text which also point to this distinction (numbers in the Bible are rarely accidental)…

In the feeding of the 5,000, Jesus takes five loves and feeds five thousand, which is reminiscent of the five books of the Jewish Law (Genesis, Exodus, …).  Not only that, but when everyone had finished eating, twelve baskets of left-overs were collected, which was probably alluding to the twelve tribes of Israel.

In the feeding of the 4,000, seven loaves are used and seven baskets are collected. The number seven is symbolic of completeness (i.e. not just Jews but Gentiles too) and the number seven recalls the seven days of creation when God created all humanity.

So, what is the significance of two feedings of the multitudes?

Both miracles show the provision of the Lord, His love for all His people, both Jew and Gentile.  In these miracles, He feeds them with miraculous bread, in preparation for the day when they would be provided for by His shed blood and broken body on the Cross. His death was sufficient for all -  it is efficient for those who will accept Him.

So, how do we apply this account to ourselves today?

 God’s love is for ALL people – Jew and Gentile alike. It is available to any and all who will receive it. As His people today, we are responsible for sharing “the bread of life” with all who are in need. We have been called and commissioned to deliver the life-sustaining words of Jesus to all – Rich, poor, same as we are, different from us.

First, faith is the basis of all we receive from the hand of Jesus. And since God’s Love is for all people –we should also love all that He places in our lives. No matter who they are.