MIRACLE 22. JESUS FEEDS FOUR THOUSAND PEOPLE.

 

THE MIRACLES OF JESUS

 

MIRACLE 22.  JESUS FEEDS FOUR THOUSAND PEOPLE.

 

Bible Reading: Matthew 15:30-38.  

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 marvelled 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.”

 

Bible Reading: Mark 8:1-9.

1. “In those days, the multitude being very great and having nothing to eat, Jesus called His disciples to Him and said to them.”

2. “I have compassion on the multitude, because they have now continued with Me three days and have nothing to eat.”

3. “And if I send them away hungry to their own houses, they will faint on the way; for some of them have come from afar.”

4. “Then His disciples answered Him, “How can one satisfy these people with bread here in the wilderness?”

5. “He asked them, “How many loaves do you have?” And they said, “Seven.”

6. “So He commanded the multitude to sit down on the ground. And He took the seven loaves and gave thanks, broke them and gave them to His disciples to set before them; and they set them before the multitude.”

7. “They also had a few small fish; and having blessed them, He said to set them also before them.”

8. “So they ate and were filled, and they took up seven large baskets of leftover fragments.”

9. “Now those who had eaten were about four thousand. And He sent them away.”

 

Here is the 22^ND recorded miracle of Jesus. Jesus miraculously provided food for another crowd, which had been with him for three days.

 

1.    Background of the miracle.

 

Some interpreters have assumed this account is not a separate miracle but a double, a repetition of the earlier story of the feeding of five thousand people (Matthew 14:21; Mark 6:44). There are similarities between these accounts:

1.    Both happened in the country.

2.    Both featured bread and fish.

3.    Both portrayed Jesus giving thanks and breaking bread.

4.    Both portrayed the disciples distributing the food.

5.    Both ended in a boat trip.

At the same time, there are important differences which indicate the two feedings were separate events.

1.    The numbers fed differ: five thousand and four thousand.

2.    The areas differ: northeast and southeast shores of the Sea of Galilee.

3.    The seasons differ: green grass is emphasized in the story of the five thousand.

4.    The original amounts of food differ.

5.    The number of baskets of food left over differs.

6.    Different baskets are precise in the story of the five thousand they are shallow woven trays; in the story of the four thousand the baskets are giant, hamper-sized containers.

7.    The length of time the people were with Jesus differs.

The two accounts not only report different events: they intentionally parallel the works of two of the Old Testament’s premier prophets, each of whom miraculously fed God’s people twice:

1.    Moses, Exodus 16; Numbers 11.

2.    Elisha, 2 Kings 4:1–7, 38–44.

 

2.    Parties to the miracle.

 

The miracle report featured Jesus, his disciples, and a hungry crowd.

 

A. Jesus.

Jesus expressed His concern for the crowds that had been with Him for some time. He took what little food the disciples could find and multiplied it to feed about four thousand men.

 

B. The disciples.

Although they had witnessed the earlier feeding of five thousand people, the disciples again expressed confusion about how this crowd could be fed. Again, they said “Where could we get enough bread” Matthew 15:33. We often forget what Jesus has done for us before, never thinking of turning to Him for help when faced by a new need.

 

C. The crowd.

“Great multitudes” followed Jesus into the wilderness to receive and witness His healing miracles (Matthew 15:30). According to how the Jews reckoned time, the “three days” the crowd was without food does not imply they had not eaten for 72 hours. An evening, the following day, and the next morning, as little as 30 hours, would be considered “three days.”

The four thousand counted were the men only. If women and children are added, the crowd may have been as large as twelve thousand to fifteen thousand.

3.    How the story unfolds.

 

Jesus had been performing healing miracles for a great crowd. On the third day, Jesus expressed compassion and concern. If sent away without being fed, some people might “faint on the way” Matthew 15:32. Jesus’ disciples were frustrated. Where could they find enough food in such an isolated spot to feed such a great crowd?

Jesus sent them to find out how much food was available. Then He seated the crowd, gave thanks for the bread and fish, and had the disciples distribute them to the crowd. After everyone had eaten, the disciples filled seven large baskets with leftover food.

 

A. “How many loaves do you have?” (Matthew 15:34).

In each account, Jesus took the little food His disciples had and multiplied it to supply thousands. If we give Jesus what we have, however small, He will use it to supply the deeper needs of many.

 

B. “Seven large baskets full” Matthew 15:37.

The “large baskets” in this account were spuridas, large woven baskets about the size of a large laundry hamper.

The apostle Paul was let down over the walls of Damascus in this kind of basket (Acts 9:25)! These baskets were much larger than those used (kophinoi) after collecting leftovers following the feeding of the five thousand.

What a reminder to the disciples, and to us, of the superabundance of Christ’s ability to satisfy our needs.

 

Conclusion:

 

We have looked at one of the recorded miracles of Jesus. Here was the 22^ND recorded miracle of Jesus.