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Matthew Chapter 14 Feeding 5 Thousand

by Paul George  
8/11/2008 / Bible Studies

Matthew 14:13-21

The focal point of the miracle is meeting a need. The key word is "compassion." Compassion is one of the characteristic attributes of God. Compassion is also one of our characteristic attributes that we have been given in our nature and so must act upon. Compassion is that internal yearning of sympathy and concern for people with great needs. It is such a deep emotion that it cannot be easily ignored or we can easily walk away from. Here Jesus had compassion on the people, and so He began to heal them.

Note that Jesus' compassion moved Him to do things for the people. He did not stop to ask which were righteous and which were not, who squandered their finances and who did not, whether a person was Jew or Gentile. He had compassion on them all, and without making inquiry or setting conditions, He went about healing, and then fed them all.

The feeding of the five thousand was performed to meet a need. The conversation that leads up to it is significant to the interpretation of the miracle. Jesus does not simply do the miracle, but first instructs the disciples to give the people something to eat. They, of course, have nothing to give them. Therefore, Jesus gives to them, so that they might give to the people. Understanding that the miracles were to signify some truth about the person and work of Jesus, this little interchange before the miracle has greater significance than readily meets the eye, it reveals the responsibility of the ministry of the church, Jesus gives to the church and the church gives what is given to the people.

The motivation of the church is the compassion that Jesus had.

The lesson in this miracle for the church today

As the day wore on it became clear that the people needed something to eat. If you do not think the people do not need something to eat today, you have been living in outer space. Their greatest need is the spiritual food that comes from the Giver of life, Lord Jesus Christ.

The disciples came and advised Jesus to send the people away so that they could find food in the local villages and have something to eat. On the surface, this was simply a wise and practical bit of advice. They were concerned with the need to eat, the day was long gone, and Jesus would have to stop for the day eventually. However, there is something ironic in the disciples telling Jesus to send needy people away, when Jesus had been moved by compassion to help them. The disciples needed more of that compassion; they should have asked Jesus to do something, rather than tell him to send people away. Matthew does not tell us that Jesus was testing the disciples; he leaves it with the irony of the disciples offering advice to Jesus, who did not take their advice.

How sad it is when people come to church with a full stomach and a hungry spirit and leave with a hungry spirit.

What did Jesus tell the disciples, "Give them something to eat," Jesus is saying if you are so concerned for them feed them. The concern for their needs was fine; but now do something about it. They were right to see the need in the people for food; but they would have to be the ones who would feed the people. This is a brief preview of His commission for them: they are to meet the needs of the people. They may not have seen this deeper meaning at the time, but as the disciples, and all ministers, looked back on the event, they would see it, especially as Jesus had instructed Peter and the others to feed his sheep. The whole ministry is centered on feeding people, both the physical food, which is a part of the pastoral compassion and care, and the spiritual food, the word of God. However, they do not have it in and of themselves to meet these needs; they will first receive it from Jesus, and then will give it to the people. All ministry works this way.

The main point of the passage is the revelation of Jesus as the Messiah, and as the Messiah He can and will meet all the needs of His people Israel, before He meets the needs of Gentiles.

The primary application, then, is for Christians to have the same compassion that Jesus did. If we see the poor, the needy, the hungry, and are moved with compassion, then we must follow Jesus' instructions: Give them something to eat. We may not have much, but we may have more than the needy. We may reason that they will only squander what we give them or that we should not give because it will only encourage them to remain poor and dependent, but that is not what the Bible tells us to be concerned about. If we become more like Christ we will be moved by compassion, and we will start to meet people's needs, which may mean we will have to go to the Lord to ask for more to give them.

A secondary idea suggested by these things is that with the provision of food there has a spiritual message as well. The people would have had it in their thinking that man does not live by bread alone, or, that God provides things for people in order that they will listen to Him. We too have received the word from the Lord, and so must give it to the people. Any time God provides something for people it is a call for faith, a call for them to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, and that they need to trust in Him.

Therefore, the secondary application is to take the spiritual food that Christ gives us and give it to the spiritually needy people of the world. It may well be that in providing physical food for the hungry we will also have opportunity to tell them of the true food. For those who are spiritually needy, then the provision of life from Christ is always available.

Retired pastor,Church of the Nazarene

Author of web site Exploring God's Word

www.thewordofgodonline.net

New American Standard Bible

King James Version

The World English Bible

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