A Second Miraculous Feeding
TRANSLATION
(29) And Jesus went from there and came near the Sea of Galilee. Then he went up on the mountainside and sat down. (30) And a great crowd came there to him bringing with them the lame, the blind, the mute, the crippled and many others whom they laid at his feet. And he healed them (31) so that they were amazed when they saw the mute speaking, the crippled healthy, the lame walking, and the blind seeing. And they glorified the God of Israel.
(32) And Jesus called his disciples to him and said, “I have compassion on the crowd because they have been with me now three days and have had nothing to eat. I do not want to send them away hungry lest they faint on the way.” (33) And the disciples said to him, “Where would we get enough bread in a desert place to feed so great a crowd?” (34) And Jesus said to them, “How many loaves do you have?” And they said, “Seven, and a few small fish.” (35) And he commanded the crowd to sit down on the ground, (36) and he took the seven loaves and the fish and gave thanks and broke them and gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the crowd. (37) And they all ate and were satisfied. Then they gathered up seven baskets full of that which remained of the broken pieces. (38) And those who ate were four thousand men, besides women and children. (39) And after sending the crowd away, he got into the boat and went to the region of Magadan.
OBSERVATIONS
We find several important repetitions in this narrative describing Jesus’ second great miracle of feeding a multitude. The verb “went” is found three times in two verses (vss. 29 & 39). “Sit/sat down” was repeated (vss. 29 & 35) as were “seven” and “fish” (vss. 34 & 36). “Crowd(s)” occurred six times (vss. 30, 32, 33, 35, 36, & 39) while “disciples” is found four times (vss. 32, 33, & 36). Finally, “send(ing) away” is found twice (vss. 32 & 39).
OUTLINE
I. Jesus healed all who came to him on the mountainside. (29-31)
II. Jesus, having compassion on the crowd, again fed them miraculously. (32-38)
III. Jesus left for the region of Magadan. (39)
IDEA STATEMENT
Jesus extended his healing and feeding ministry to the Gentile regions north of Galilee.
APPLICATION
Many wonder why Matthew in successive chapters would give his readers two accounts of what, at first glance, looks like the same miracle (cf. Mt. 14:14-22 with Mt. 15:29-39). Only in this Gospel do we find similar accounts of these two feedings. It is the context of each miracle which helps us answer the question. Those gathered by the Sea of Galilee as described in Matthew 14 were mainly Jews from the surrounding areas of Galilee along the southwestern shores of the lake. However, by the time Jesus performed his second miracle of feeding the crowds, he had moved further north to the district near Tyre and Sidon, an area populated largely by Gentiles (Mt. 15:21).
Jesus’ encounter with the Canaanite woman (Mt. 15:21-28) helps us grasp the fact that the group that gathered along the northern shores of the Sea of Galilee was likely a mixed multitude. By adding the phrase, “And they glorified the God of Israel” (vs. 31), Matthew hinted that among those who had come for healing in this location were many Gentiles, for if the crowd had been Jewish, adding this detail would have been unnecessary. By feeding a large crowd that included non-Jewish followers, Jesus was not only giving these so-called “dogs” far more than crumbs, he was also signaling God’s intent, fleshed out in the Book of Acts, to include Gentile believers as “fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God” (Eph. 2:19).