Jesus Feeds Another Large Crowd
Scripture: Matthew 15:33-38; Mark 8:1-3
In the previous lesson we learned that Jesus had come to the Sea of Galilee, in the region of the Decapolis. Upon his arrival, a great crowd gathered, and many were brought and placed at the feet of Jesus to be healed, but there was no mention of Jesus teaching. I am sure he must have said something, but the focus of that piece of narrative was the many healings.
Mk 8:1 “In those days, when again a great crowd had gathered, and they had nothing to eat, [Jesus] called his disciples to him and said to them, 2 “I have compassion on the crowd, because they have been with me now three days and have nothing to eat. 3 And if I send them away hungry to their homes, they will faint on the way. And some of them have come from far away.”’
It appears that some time later, described as “in those days,” we find Jesus teaching a great crowd that had assembled. That teaching went on for three days, which reminds me of a three-day Bible conference that we might go to. By the end of three days, when it was time to leave, they had run out of food and people were hungry. Jesus was concerned about sending them away in this hungry condition, especially since some had come from far away.
Jesus called together his disciples and explains his concern to them. They should have recalled the feeding of the 5,000 plus woman and children and responded immediately with the statement, “Why don’t we feed them like we did before?” But they didn’t, and instead, Mt 15:33 “The disciples said to him, “Where are we to get enough bread in such a desolate place to feed so great a crowd?”
One begins to wonder if these disciples are suffering from dementia to not recall an event as powerful as the previous great feeding. If they did recall the feeding of the 5,000 then somehow, they are held captive to their own limited frame of reference. We see a similar condition expressed in Psalm 81:10 – 13 (ESV): 10 “I am the Lord your God, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt. Open your mouth wide, and I will fill it. 11 “But my people did not listen to my voice; Israel would not submit to me. 12 So I gave them over to their stubborn hearts, to follow their own counsels. 13 Oh, that my people would listen to me, that Israel would walk in my ways!”
Mt 15:34 “Jesus said to them, “How many loaves do you have?” They said, “Seven, and a few small fish.”’ When feeding the 5,000 they had five barley loaves and two fish.
Mt 15:35 “Directing the crowd to sit down on the ground, 36 [Jesus] took the seven loaves and the fish and having given thanks he broke them and gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the crowds. 37 And they all ate and were satisfied. And they took up seven baskets full of the broken pieces left over. 38 Those who ate were four thousand men, besides women and children.”
Conclusion
As the bread of life that came down from heaven, Jesus again demonstrates who he is in the presence of another large crowd. This time the narrative says nothing about the reaction of the crowd and so we will move on to the next event scheduled on our journey.
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