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.
In Matthew 14, Jesus fed 5000+ people miraculously. And now in Matthew 15, He feeds 4000+ people miraculously. It seems like a repeat of the same miracle but this time there is a huge difference. The first time Jesus fed predominantly, if not entirely, Jewish people. This time He feeds predominantly, if not entirely, Gentile people. Same miracle…vastly different audience.
We don’t realize how big of a deal this is.
The Gentiles were considered “unclean” to the average Jewish person in Jesus’ day. They were called “dogs.” To be a Gentile was to be separated from God. The only hope for a Gentile was to become a Jew. So the fact that Jesus enters Gentile territory is in itself a big deal. He begins near Tyre and Sidon and heals the Canaanite woman’s daughter. Then He takes a long trek to the area of the Decapolis and duplicates a great healing ministry and a great feeding miracle with a Gentile audience.
The “crumbs” of blessing turn into a downpour.
Simon the Zealot and Judas Iscariot have to be dying inside! The Gentiles are good for conquering, not for healing, feeding, and blessing. If the Samaritans (half-Jew) were bad, then the Gentiles were even worse.
It’s hard for me to totally “feel” the impact of this Gentile ministry on the psyche of the disciples. I know it will take Peter all the way until Acts 10 before he finally understands God’s heart for the Gentiles…and even then he has a relapse that Paul has to rebuke in Galatians 2. It would be like Jesus entering a black neighborhood in the racially charged days of the 60’s…or perhaps a Muslim territory or a “gay neighborhood” today. It is not what we are expecting. It is with people that we struggle to be around…much less that we want to bless.
I find it interesting that after three days, Jesus says, “I have compassion on the multitude…”
I almost wonder if Jesus was hoping that after three days the disciples would start to “get it,” that their hearts would start to open with compassion toward these needy, hungry people. But apparently they don’t.
In Matthew 14, it is the disciples who encourage Jesus to send the crowd away after one day so that they can eat. Even if they don’t understand Jesus’ power, they are at least concerned for their fellow countrymen’s lack of food. Here, after three days, they are still not too concerned. They just want to leave. They are ready for this little Gentile mission trip to end. “Are You ready to go yet, Jesus?”
I think that’s why the disciples have no idea how they are going to feed the crowd. Commentators sometimes wonder why the disciples would act so incredulous at feeding the multitude when Jesus had just done it a few months before. Did they forget that quickly? Were they that dense? Well, perhaps. Matthew 16 is going to confirm their cognitive density. But, on another level, I don’t think they had any idea that Jesus would duplicate His feeding miracle with Gentiles. When Jesus fed the 5000, it was a sign pointing back to God’s provision of manna in the wilderness. It was another validation of Jesus as the Jewish Messiah, as one greater than Moses. But that was for Jews. This is a crowd of Gentiles. Why would Jesus do the same thing here? He is not the Messiah of the Gentiles, is He?
Well, actually, He is the Jewish Messiah but He came down from heaven to give His own body, the bread of life, as a sacrifice for all mankind…Jew and Gentile, slave and free, male and female.
There’s another rich lesson in this passage. Not only does Jesus have a heart of compassion for all people, but He calls us to be involved in His ministry of compassion. He calls us to feed and minister to the multitudes, not just physically…but, more importantly, spiritually.
And the task is way too big for us.
As I look around this world, even around this city, I am overwhelmed. So many needs. So many hurting people. And I feel so inadequate, so powerless. I feel barely able to handle my own problems, much less bear the burdens of hundreds of individuals around me.
But that’s where God wants me…with a broken heart for people…and a recognition that only through His strength and power can I ever hope to minister to any of them. I take what little I have, bring it to Him, allow Him to break and multiply it, and then He gives it back to me so that I can use it to bless others. It may not be much…but in Christ’s hands it can have a far-reaching impact. I just have to keep coming back to Him.
I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing. (John 15:5)
