When I come to the Lord’s table to offer what I have in service to others, I find that I never have enough. If it were up to me—my ability to provide, my hermeneutical and homiletical prowess, my planning ability, or my heart for others—no one would be satisfied or get what they need. I simply don’t have enough to give them, and many people who looked to me for provision have been disappointed because they expected of me what was beyond my ability—the ability of a depraved wretch. Matthew is presenting Jesus’s identity in this section of His Gospel (14:1-17:27). Here, Jesus is revealed as the author and finisher of the work He has called His people to.
Matthew 14:13-21
Now when Jesus heard about John, He withdrew from there in a boat to a secluded place by Himself; and when the people heard of this, they followed Him on foot from the cities. When He went ashore, He saw a large crowd, and felt compassion for them and healed their sick.
When it was evening, the disciples came to Him and said, “This place is desolate and the hour is already late; so send the crowds away, that they may go into the villages and buy food for themselves.”
But Jesus said to them, “They do not need to go away; you give them something to eat!”
They said to Him, “We have here only five loaves and two fish.”
And He said, “Bring them here to Me.”
Ordering the people to sit down on the grass, He took the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up toward heaven, He blessed the food, and breaking the loaves He gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the crowds, and they all ate and were satisfied. They picked up what was left over of the broken pieces, twelve full baskets. There were about five thousand men who ate, besides women and children.
The disciples’ plan (v. 13-15)
Now when Jesus heard about John, He withdrew from there in a boat to a secluded place by Himself; and when the people heard of this, they followed Him on foot from the cities. When He went ashore, He saw a large crowd, and felt compassion for them and healed their sick.
Jesus goes to be by Himself after hearing that John the Baptist had been murdered. Matthew does not tell us why Jesus goes to be by Himself. We can speculate as to the reasons and as to Jesus’s emotions on that day, but Matthew simply does not give us a reason. All we know is that upon hearing about His cousin’s death, Jesus withdraws to a secluded place.
When the people hear, they follow. Jesus is not angry with them. He does not ask them to give Him His space. He feels compassion for them and heals their sick. Why do you think this detail is so important? Matthew is not in the habit of describing Jesus’s emotional responses in great detail unless it involves His compassion, particularly His compassion for the Jews (Cf. 15:24-26). The Old Testament is filled with promises for national Israel and those who are ethnic Jews; Nearly every Old Testament promise is particular to national Israel. Though they might apply generally, God’s Old Testament promises are particularly for the Jews. When God delivered Israel from the Gentile nations and their false gods, He explained to Israel that He delivered and provided for her because of His compassion—not because the nation was worthy (Cf. Exodus 3:6-9; 34:6; Psalm 78:38-39; 2 Kings 13:23; Isaiah 14:1; 49:13; Lamentations 3:32; Zechariah 10:6). Israel had nothing to offer God; He chose Israel as a holy nation because of His own word (Cf. Deuteronomy 7:6-8). When Matthew shares this detail, Jesus is compassionate on the Jews, he claims that Jesus is the Messiah promised in Zechariah 10:4-6—the compassionate God who takes the infirmities of His people, the Jews. Recall, Matthew wrote his Gospel to his fellow Jews. We don’t yet see how this relationship between Jesus and the Jewish people works out among the Gentile nations. The text is not giving that to us yet, but will in Chapter 15 and verse 24. Before Jesus, though, God winked at Gentile ignorance concerning who He is and now reveals Himself and calls Gentiles to repent of their ignorance (Acts 17:30-31; Matthew 28:18-20; Romans 1:16).
What if we were like Jesus? What if, instead of thinking about what we could gain from people who come to us, we have compassion and give of ourselves because we care about others. Many of those for whom Jesus feels compassion will leave Him much like Israel did through the Old Testament (Cf. John 6:66), yet He feels compassion for them and heals them. May we become more like Jesus Christ, our Lord.
When it was evening, the disciples came to Him and said, “This place is desolate and the hour is already late; so send the crowds away, that they may go into the villages and buy food for themselves.”
The crowd is probably not needy. The disciples are concerned that the crowds might be hungry. They give Jesus advice about how to best care for others based on what they perceive. Jesus has already shown that He cares for the crowd. He is already miraculously healing those in the crowd who are sick. We are often like the disciples, here. We consider what we have and determine how we can most effectively care for others based on what we have. After all, we only have what we have and we are unable to give more than we have—time, energy, money, food. Some people try to overextend themselves; No matter how we try, it is impossible for us to give more than we have or more than we are. We forget that we follow Jesus, who has compassion and does miracles and provides all things. We might be limited by our limitations, but Jesus is not. We do not follow our limitations but Jesus who has all authority, power, and compassion. We often try to inform God on what is possible and what He should do. We tell God what we think is doable. We inform God about when and where we think He ought to do miracles or provide. We instruct God about how He should build His church. We tell God what we think is best for others and beg Him to take our advice. But, God sees more than we do; He is more able and thoughtful than we are.
The disciples’ limitation (v. 16-17)
But Jesus said to them, “They do not need to go away; you give them something to eat!”
The exclamation point, here, is not present in the Greek. Translators must discern which punctuation marks to use in English—no matter which translation we are reading. An exclamation point almost causes the text to read like Jesus is reprimanding His disciples for caring about the crowd. According to the disciples’ perception and ability to provide, the crowd did need to go buy food if they wanted to be fed. Jesus asserts that they actually do not need to go buy food and instructs His disciples to give them something to eat. Before, Christ had not given this instruction; Now He has.
They said to Him, “We have here only five loaves and two fish.”
The disciples, it seems, are willing, but they don’t know how they can possibly do what Jesus has asked them to do. They only have enough for a couple people, not 5,000 men and their families. So, they describe to Jesus, their teacher, how much food they have available to disperse. Even if they would love to provide food for the crowd, they simply don’t have enough to give. Jesus does not correct their lack of faith; They might not lack the faith at this point. Jesus is going to do something that His disciples are incapable of.
The sufficiency of Christ (v. 18-21)
And He said, “Bring them here to Me.”
Ordering the people to sit down on the grass, He took the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up toward heaven, He blessed the food, and breaking the loaves He gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the crowds, and they all ate and were satisfied. They picked up what was left over of the broken pieces, twelve full baskets. There were about five thousand men who ate, besides women and children.
Is it a miracle or providence? Matthew is unclear about whether Jesus is performing a miracle or inspiring others to share. Depending on which theologian we read, we will see both of these perspectives. In this instance, it benefits us to read about the feeding of the 5,000 in John’s Gospel. There, we see that Jesus is indeed performing a miracle; the purpose of His miracle is to prove He is “the Prophet who is to come into the world” (John 6:14). It is more likely that Matthew is recording a miracle than a mere inspiring work. Christ’s disciples are unable to perform this kind of miracle. They are not the sustaining bread of life Jesus will claim to be (Cf. John 6:35). Jesus’s disciples were more concerned about what they were able to do than about seeking Christ’s will and the work He might do through them despite their insufficiencies. Jesus, because He is the compassionate provider for Israel who was prophesied, miraculously multiplies the fish and the loaves, and there is more than can be eaten by the crowd. God’s compassion and the compassion of His Messiah is more than sufficient for the Jews—there are leftovers that we will consider when we get to Chapter 15, verse 27.
By way of application: When God calls His people to do something, He doesn’t need us to have much money or stuff. He is the multiplier and provider, not us. We can trust Him to provide everything necessary to accomplish the work He has started in and through His people, Jew and Gentile. Jesus is the one who called His disciples to feed the 5,000. Then, Jesus was the one who accomplished the work. We will feel inadequate to accomplish the things of God and do what God has called us to do. I think that’s the point. We rest in God’s ability, not our own. We trust that God has the means to accomplish His work even though we fall short. If we are able to rest in our own ability or resources, we probably are not following after Christ but ourselves. Jesus Christ is the author and finisher of our faith and consequent works (Hebrews 12:2).
Jesus’s Identity According to Matthew 14-17:
| Who Jesus is: | Who Jesus is not: |
| The expected Messiah (Isaiah 35:4-5; 61:1-2): The one who would heal His people, take their infirmities, raise the dead, and restore justice to the earth. | John the Baptist; the new Elijah (Malachi 4:5-6): Not merely a prophet, teacher, or good person. |
| Compassionate provider; Israel’s Messiah (Cf. Exodus 3:6-9; 34:6; Psalm 78:38-39; 2 Kings 13:23; Isaiah 14:1; 49:13; Lamentations 3:32; Zechariah 10:6). | Not merely an inspirational figure or brilliant strategist. Not limited by human means. |
Questions:
- Why did Jesus feel compassion for the Jews?
- Why is Matthew taking such pangs to show that Jesus is the Messiah particularly for the Jews?
- Does this discourse indicate that Jesus did not come for Gentiles?
This question is a teaser. We will talk about this when we get to Chapter 15, verse 24.