Jesus Feeds the Five Thousand
Matthew 14:13-21; Mark 6:31-44; Luke 9:11-17; John 6:1-15
The account of The Feeding of the 5,000 is found in all four Gospels. The Holy Spirit inspired the writers to record them. Whereas the basic facts are quite similar, there are some differences as well in the detail that is included. Matthew, Mark and Luke do not tell us where the fish and loaves came from. It is in John, we learn of a lad who had brought them. This has led many to preach on the willingness of the lad to share his lunch. The Lord multiplied the lad’s generosity, but the miracle started with the lad. Unfortunately, the Scripture does not tell us of the lad’s attitude. So where this is a touching detail, we are missing the main point of the feeding of the 5,000, even in John. It is a non-issue in the other gospels.
There are several contexts that need to be established in order for us to receive the full richness of the account. The first context is where this occurs within the ministry of Jesus. All of the gospels place it in the middle of Jesus’ ministry. John provides the least historical context as he goes straight from the controversy in Jerusalem over the healing of the lame man on the Sabbath. The other gospels ground this event in sharper context. It happens after Jesus had sent out His disciples on a mission tour. He had charged them and warned them that their message would be rejected in some places and accepted in others. This was an early indication of what to expect. Even though the tour went well, and they seemed to have experienced euphoria over what they considered to be a great success in that they had power even over devils, Jesus had to gently correct them to rejoice that their name was in the Book. Jesus knew all of the road ahead, including His rejection and crucifixion as well as all the things the disciples would suffer for His name.
Sandwiched in between their going out and their return is the account of John the Baptist. John had been thrown into prison for His witness. Even though the disciples would not yet suffer for their testimony of Jesus, there was one who was already in prison. The rigors of imprisonment had shaken his faith, and he sent men to aks Jesus if he had got it right. Jesus reassures John. Soon afterward, John was beheaded in prison. Matthew also includes the account of Jesus’ rejection at Nazareth, which according to Luke, had occurred earlier in His ministry. If we understand that there are two ways the gospels are ordered. The first is chronological. There is a general tendency going from birth, death and resurrection. But there is also a logical order in which cause-effect relationships are placed next to each other. Matthew uses such in the anointing of Jesus for burial by Mary of Bethany. John and Mark keep the historical order by placing it at evening of what would become Palm Sunday. But Matthew groups it with Judas going to the chief priests to betray Jesus. Matthew wants us to know that the indignation Judas had for the waste of the spikenard was the cause of his going to betray him later in the week. John also relates this event to Judas’ betrayal in a different way. So I think this is why Matthew mentions the rejection of Jesus at Nazareth along with the execution of John the Baptist. The feeding of the 5,000 occurs in the midst of rejection in all four gospels, at least by the religious authorities.
We must also examine what happens after the feeding as well. Luke skips directly to Peter’s confession of Jesus as the Christ at Caesarea Philippi. After the waling on the water, John has a long discourse on the Bread of Life in which many would be offended and desert Jesus. But Peter makes the initial confession of Jesus as the Messiah. Mark and Matthew go on with Jesus going into Gentile territory and doing a mission there. Included in this was the feeding of the 4,000 in Gentile territory. Then the scene goes to Caesarea Philippi and Peter’s confession, followed by Jesus explicitly talking about His suffering and death in Jerusalem.
When we put these accounts together, we see the themes of suffering and rejection by many and acceptance by a few. We shall learn of other connections after we exegete the text.
The other context we must examine is the connection of the History of Israel and this account. John makes this connection explicit in His Bread of Life discourse. But there are many clues that tell us that all of the Gospel writers make this connection as well.
The first of these things is that this feeding occurred in a wilderness place. As it was across the lake, it was also across the Jordan as well. It was not the same as the harsh desert, at least at this time of year as there was still green grass to be found. But the Children of Israel spent 40 years wandering in the wilderness, because they had rejected Yahweh’s promise, even though He had fed them with the miraculous manna every day. It was in the wilderness where the men of fighting age were counted. In the feeding account, men were explicitly numbered, and the fact women and children were mentioned by some was extra detail. Mark mentions the men sitting in groups which would have made the counting easier. In Israel, there would become the LORD’s army to conquer Canaan. John records that the people must have been explicitly aware of the connection as they tried to seize Jesus and make Him King. Their idea of the Messiah was that this was the new Joshua. It we remember that the Hebrew “Yeshua,” the English “Joshua” and the Greek “Jesus” are one and the same. This is a sad commentary that you can always find soldiers to fight Holy Wars to kill and slay the enemies. But the next day, the soldiers of Jesus’ new army would be much easier to count. The glory of conquest is always more palatable to humans than patient suffering.
The feeding of the 5,000 occurs in a place where there was not enough food to eat. There were not many villages to buy food on that side of the lake. They people would have been very hungry at this point as they had walked several miles to get to the place. Then they had heard Jesus teach. No one had taken time to prepare food to take with them due to the spontaneousness of the event except what the lad had. This mitigates against Barclay’s interpretation that the real miracle was that there were many who had food but refused to share it. It was only when the lad shared his that everyone was touched to share theirs. They must have brought a lot of food then as there were 12 baskets of leftovers. This interpretation does not hold water. The five loaves of bread and two little fish was all there was to be had. Considering the crowd to have been as large as 10 thousand, one can see how futile there condition was. Being exhausted, many were in danger of death if they had to return hungry.
Jesus took what they had and blessed the loaves and fishes. He could have made food out of the stones if he had wished. The devil had tempted Jesus to do that for Himself. But it pleased the LORD to allow us to have a part in His great plan, even if our contribution is microscopically small in proportion to what He would have to supply. This is true for all our ministry as well. We cannot save anyone, but we can share the Gospel. We can nurture the believers. But it is truly God who increases our little contribution and makes it great. A human mother through the lad contributed the food. The disciples distributed the blessed food and took up the leftovers.
The Greek gives us the idea that the crowd gorged themselves with bread and fish. It has some similarities to the Children of Israel in the wilderness who gorged themselves to sickness on the quail. They ate more than they actually needed. What might this mean? People have a tendency to be selfish and to hoard things up for themselves. This is the opposite of the spirit of generosity which Barclay claims. In this, people can be worse than dogs. Dogs will gulp down massive quantities of food. In the wild, however, this excess is brought back to the den where it is coughed up and shared with pups and those who stayed behind to guard them. It is a good thing to have an insatiable appetite for the Word of God. Was it not Jesus who said that we do not live by bread alone, but every word of God? But this goodness is to be shared with others? This is where the twelve baskets of leftovers comes in. No one knows how these fragments were used, but we know they were not wasted. So we don’t have to be selfish. There is enough for all. Love is like this. The more you share, the more you have.
The twelve baskets of leftovers probably should be understood as representing the twelve tribes of Israel. Most of ten tribes had ben lost to history. We know they interbred with the Gentiles and disappeared, culturally and racially, from history. These need their portion, too. As far as the number of loaves and fish, there has been much speculation.
Now when we look at Matthew and Mark, we will see the same process happen again at the feeding of the 4000. This occurred in Gentile country. The feeding to the 5,000 was for the Jew first. The feeding of the 4,000 was also for the Greek. It was Jesus who started the Gentile mission. People have misunderstood the Gospel of Matthew, in particular, as being for Christian Jews. They see Luke as being the Gospel for the Gentiles. Yet Matthew does not mention circumcision, but Luke does. Matthew does not have the presentation, He mentions Gentile Magi. Matthew has the feeding of the 4,000, yet Luke admits it. Matthew records in the Great Commission to make disciples of the Gentile nations. The feeding of the 5,000 is a transition point in Matthew from to the Jew first to the Greeks also. He would begin a mission to Syrophoenicians, and eventually to Caesarea Philippi. It is when we realize that Matthew addresses all of a reunited Israel and not just Judah that we get a proper understanding of the Gospel. Matthew’s vision of Israel was quite different than the Pharisees who held to a racially and ethnically pure Israel which excluded most of the descendants of the 10 lost tribes who were somewhat represented in the Samaritans.
So, when we look how we can apply the Feeding of the 5,000 to our church today, we can draw several conclusions. God wants us to share what we have, even though it seems insignificant. God can bless it and make it great. What is impossible with us is possible with God. We are to feed upon God’s word so that we can share it with the world. It is to be shared to all people, small and great, Jew and Gentile. We must also remember to be thankful for what God has provided us and not grumble. This is especially true when conditions are harsh. We must remember that this feeding was in a harsh place. And this was not just physical harshness. There is the pain and harshness and rejection, even by the people who are closest to us. We need to be able to see the Lordship of Jesus in feast and famine. It is He who cares for us, regardless. The Holy Spirit reveals to us who Jesus is and not the world. He is Lord of all. He is Christ (Messiah) on his terms and not ours. He cannot be made king; He is king. So whether we are abased or abound, let us rejoice in Christ our Savior who laid down His life that we might have eternal life. There is a day coming when we can enjoy His eternal blessings without sorrows.
