Matthew 15:32

The miracle recorded here - the feeding of the four thousand - took place on a mountain near the Sea of Galilee. The same account is recorded in Mar 8:1-10. The circumstances of the miracle are so similar to the one recorded in Mat 14:14-21, as to need little additional explanation.

Mat 15:32

Three days, and have nothing to eat - This is not, perhaps, to be taken literally, but only that during that time they had been deprived of their ordinary or regular food.

They had had only a very scanty supply, and on the third day even that began to fail.

Mat 15:39

Coasts of Magdala - Mark says, “The parts of Dalmanutha.” Magdala was probably the same place which was formerly called Migdol, Jos 19:38. It is now called Mejdel, and is situated a few miles north of the city of Tiberias, in the land of Gennesaret, on the western side of the Sea of Tiberias, and directly east of Cana of Galilee. “It is a wretched hamlet of a dozen low huts huddled into one, and the whole ready to tumble into a dismal heap of black basaltic rubbish.” - The Land and the Book (Thomson), vol. ii. p. 108. This was the birthplace of Mary Magdalene, out of whom the Saviour cast seven devils, Mar 16:9. Dalmanutha was probably a small village near to Magdala, of which no remains have been discovered. There is no contradiction in the statements of the two evangelists here, for they do not say that Jesus went to either of these towns, but only to the coasts or parts where they were situated.

Remarks On Matthew 15

We learn from this chapter:

That people are often far more attached to traditions and the commandments of human beings than to the Law of God, Mat 15:1-6. That people are strongly disposed to explain away the law of God, if possible. It is too strict for them, and too spiritual. They dare not often attack it directly, but they will explain it and dilute it so as to make it mean nothing. Wicked people do not love God’s law, Mat 15:4-6. People are prone to introduce foolish rites into religion. They do not love what God has commanded, and they attempt to compensate for not loving his doctrines by being great sticklers for their own, Mat 15:2; Mar 7:3-4. All addition to the law of God is evil, Mat 15:3. All ceremonies in religion which are not authorized by the New Testament are wrong. Man has no right to ordain rites to bind the conscience where God has commanded none, Col 2:23. People come the nearest to that which is right when they live nearest to just what God has commanded in the Bible. Hypocrites should be unmasked and detected, Mat 15:7. He does a great service to people who detects their hypocrisy. That close and faithful preaching which lays open the heart, and shows people what they are, is that which comes nearest to the example of Christ. It may pain them, but the wounds of a friend are faithful Pro 27:6; and we should honor and love the man that, by the grace of God, can show us our own hearts. We always honor most the physician of the body that is most skilled in detecting and curing disease, and so should we the physician of the soul. We should be exceedingly cautious in avoiding formality in worship, Mat 15:8-9. It is hypocrisy. God requires the heart. To render to him only the service of the lips is to mock him. Nothing can be acceptable but true piety, genuine love, and hearty obedience; nothing more hateful than an appearance of worshipping God, while the heart is in sin and the world. The duty of honoring parents, Mat 15:4-6. Nothing can explain away this duty. It is binding on all. Parents should be obeyed, loved, respected. God requires it and we cannot be free from the duty. Under age, a child is bound always to obey a parent where the parent does not command anything contrary to the Bible; but when the parent commands anything contrary to the Bible, the child is not bound to obey, Act 5:29. After the child is of age, he is to respect, love, and honor the parent; and, if poor and needy, to provide for his wants until he dies. It is certainly proper that we should do all that we can to comfort those in old age who did so much for us in childhood. A child can never repay a parent for his kindness to him. We are not at liberty to give to anything else not even to religious uses - what is necessary to render our parents comfortable, Mat 15:4-6. They have the first claim on us. And though it is our duty to do much in the cause of benevolence, yet our first duty should be to see that our parents do not suffer. People easily take offence when they are faithfully reproved, and especially when their hypocrisy is exposed; and especially if this exposure is about some small matter on which they have greatly set their hearts some ceremony in worship or some foolish rite, Mat 15:12. Every false doctrine is to be opposed and should be rooted up, Mat 15:13. It is to be opposed by arguments and candid investigation, and not by abuse and misrepresentation. Christ never misrepresented any man’s doctrine. He always stated it just as it was - just as they held it; and then, by argument and the word of God, he showed it was wrong. This is the proper way to manage all controversies. It is of great importance to search the heart, Mat 15:19-20. It is a fountain of evil. It is the source of all crime. External conduct is comparatively of little importance. In the sight of God, the heart is of more importance; and if that were pure, all would be well. The doctrine of man’s depravity is true, Mat 15:19. If the heart produces those things which are specified by the Saviour it cannot be pure. And yet who is there from whose heart, at some time, these things have not proceeded? Alas, the world is full of instances that prove that the human heart may produce all these things. In our distress, and the distress of our children and friends, we should go to Jesus. We should, indeed, use all proper means to restore our friends when they are sick; but we should feel that God only can grant returning health and life, Mat 15:22. We should not be discouraged that our prayers are not immediately answered. God knows the proper time to answer them, and it may be of great importance to us that the answer should be deferred, Mat 15:23. We should still persevere, Mat 15:24-27. We should not be discouraged. We should not be disheartened even by the appearance of neglect or unkind treatment. Our prayers will be answered if we persevere, Mat 15:28. They that seek shall find. In due time - in the best and most proper time - a gracious God will lend an ear to our request, and grant the thing we need. We should come with humility and faith, Mat 15:27. We can never think too little of ourselves, or too much of the mercy and faithfulness of Christ. Prayers of humility and faith only are answered. Christ will take care of his poor and needy followers. We may be assured that he has power to give us all we need, and that in times of necessity he will supply our wants, Mat 15:32-38. The great number of poor in the world is no reason why he should not supply them, Mat 15:38. He daily supplies the wants of nine hundred millions of human beings, besides countless numbers of the beasts of the field, of the fowls of heaven, and the fishes of the sea. It is a small thing to supply the needs of the few poor people on the earth, and He who feeds the world will take care of us in the time of need. We should be grateful to God for our daily food. We should render to him proper thanksgiving, Mat 15:36.

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

Mat_15:32; Mat_15:39

And Jesus said unto them, How many loaves have ye?

The miracle of the loaves and fishes; or, continuity and economy

Want in men moves Christs whole nature. His help leaves no injury. Here generosity and frugality meet. Observe in this miracle two principles.

I. Continuity. That which is comes out of that which has been.

II. Frugality. There is no waste.

1. These two principles are exhibited in nature. Mere spontaneity nature disowns. The field says, Give me seed, and I will give you back harvest. Nature disowns waste, all things are utilized.

2. These principles are found in history. God does not fling loaves from the sky; they are growths. Not one life is lost.

3. These principles are seen in the moral world. There is no dropping of truths than of great men from heaven. Hence out of the few loaves grow the feast. He who holds in sincerity a little truth has the promise of all.

In applying the truth of the text we learn-

1. To hope. The less will become more.

2. The effect of this law upon character. Your future must come out of your past.

3. A lesson in helping others. We help by bringing the better out of some good in men. How many loaves have you? One has a feeble resolution; that, with the blessing of God, may be sufficient. (P. Brooks, D. D.)

The miraculous feeding of four thousand

I. The features by which this miracle was distinguished.

1. It was a miracle of mercy.

2. Its publicity is another feature worthy of notice.

3. The scale on which it was wrought was most extensive.

4. It was the result of no previous arrangement, but was done in order to meet a pressing emergency.

5. The consciousness He evinced that His resources were adequate to the occasion.

II. The lessons which this miracle enforces.

1. Reliance.

2. Gratitude.

3. Charity.

4. Economy. (Expository Outlines.)

The necessities of man and the all-sufficiency of Christ

I. That circumstances are continually reminding man of his necessitous condition. Man can go but a short way into lifes wilderness without feeling that his is a craving nature. Life-long dependence should teach life-long humility.

II. That mans necessitous condition is fully met by Christs sufficiency. Christ knows the necessities of our human constitution. In Christ dwells all fulness. Man needs pardon, purity, freedom, peace.

III. That if man will not avail himself of Christs sufficiency he will be chargeable with the ruin of his own soul. These men did not refuse to eat because they could not understand the mystery by which the bread was multiplied, Refuse to eat and they die. (J. Parker.)

The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Mat 15:32-39. Jesus called his disciples, and said, I have compassion, &c. — For some observations on the contents of these verses, see the notes on Mar 8:1-9.

Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

CRITICAL NOTES

Mat_15:29. A mountain.—Rather, the mountain country; the high land, as distinguished from the low land, which He had left (Carr). From Mar_7:31 R.V., it would appear that His journey led Him actually through Sidon.

Mat_15:30. Cast them down at Jesus’ feet.—Indicating, according to Bengel and Meyer, their haste; according to Fitzsche and de Wette, implicit confidence; and according to Baumgarten-Crusius, the helplessness of the persons who were afflicted. But may it not at the same time indicate both the rudeness of these mountaineers and their confidence, boldness, and their rapid movements in order to bring to the feet of Jesus all who were diseased (Lange).

Mat_15:37. Baskets.—Not the kophinoi or hand-baskets of Mat_14:20, but spurides, denoting somewhat larger baskets. The word was often used to denote a basket or hamper for holding provisions, and in particular for holding fish (see Wetstein in loo.). Carr says the spuris was “probably a larger basket made of rope-net.” Dr. Morison suggests that on this occasion the baskets may have been extemporised from the shrubs that were growing around. See on Mat_14:20.

Mat_15:39. Magdala.—Magadan (R.V.). The MSS. vary between “Magdala” and “Magadan”; but the latter reading has by far the highest authority in its favour. Probably an altered form of the Hebrew Migdol = a tower. Usually identified with the modern village of El Mejdel, about three miles north of Tiberias. Dean Plumptre says: “On the assumption that “Mary called Magdalene” derived her name from a town of that name, we may think of our Lord’s visit as having been in some way connected with her presence.”

MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH.—Mat_15:32-39

Jesus repeating Himself.—If we may judge from Mat_15:39 of this chapter, and from Mar_8:10, as well as from the omission of any mention of removal on the part of the Saviour, we may suppose Him to be still on the eastern side of the lake. If so, we find Him doing on that side what He had previously done on the other side; or done previously, it may be, at its northernmost end (see on Mat_14:13, etc.). Anyway, we have here a repetition of the original miracle of the loaves (Mat_14:13-21). We believe that we shall find that the occurrence of this second miracle at once gave greater certainty and greater importance to both.

I. Greater certainty.—This evidently would be the case at the time, and in the case of the disciples themselves. If ever tempted to think of that first miracle, because of its exceeding wondrousness, as a dream, this second specimen of similar wondrousness would be just the thing to prevent them. It would be very much with them, indeed, as it is with a man who hears himself called by name by some one whom he cannot see, both a first time and a second. Even if he doubts the first time he believes the second. If he says, Can it be? when he hears it once; he says, It must be! when he hears it twice. That second blow drives the nail of conviction into a wellhigh immovable place. The special differentiations also of this second miracle would have a like effect on the mind. They are all such as would not have eventuated had not both stories been true. The differences in numbers, e.g. in the two cases respectively, and that both as to need and supply—the fact also that these differences are not such as to make the second miracle appear the more marvellous of the two, the feeding of four thousand persons with seven loaves being palpably not so surprising a thing as the feeding of five thousand with two—and the yet further fact that the “baskets” spoken of in the two accounts, and in all subsequent references to them, are always distinguished by names which signify something like “hampers” in the one case and “hand-baskets” in the other—are all peculiarities which agree better with the supposition of truth than with that of falsehood, or even with that of inaccuracy or mistake. Stories so like and yet not identical—stories so like and yet so curiously different—stories so like and yet so consistently different—are stories which can be accounted for best—if not accounted for only—by supposing them to be built upon facts. It is not easy indeed to conceive of their standing on anything else. Had they been fictions the differentiations would have been of a very different kind.

II. Greater importance.—The occurrence of this second miracle brings out, e.g. in a greater degree than ever, the the inexhaustible fulness of Christ. His abundance, if we may say so, is not confined to one side of the lake. Not only in Galilee are the “words of His mouth” more than their “necessary food” to mankind (Job_23:12). Not only there can He do that which is beyond the dreams of His disciples (Joh_6:9). Wherever there is need, on the contrary, and whatever its amount, He has a full supply within reach. What indeed can He not do who has done such a thing twice? Who can doubt of the immensity of His power after such a double witness as this? (2Co_13:1). Also it shows, on the other hand, the holy consistency of the Lord Jesus Christ as a Saviour. “Cœlum non animum mutant qui trans mare currunt.” Wherever He is (so this repetition shows us), there is the same depth and spontaneity of compassion; the same discrimination and considerateness of affection; the same recollection as well of the temporal as of the spiritual needs of His hearers; the same marked disapprobation also (with all His fulness) of waste; and the same resolute avoidance, also, when the wants of the multitude have been fully met, of idle wonder and fame. When He has done sufficient for them He has done wholly with them, as on the other side of the lake (cf. Mat_14:13-21 with the present passage passim).

Happy those who, observing these things, are taught thereby to trust Christ to the full, and are anxious for nothing except to be sure that they leave all in His hands. How impressively this double witness teaches us the fulness and depth of His knowledge! How convincingly it shows us also that for Him to know our needs is enough! (cf. Mat_6:32; see also Php_4:6; 2Ti_1:12)

Happy those also who, as a means to this end, put full trust in His word. What we know of the Saviour we know, in the first instance, from what His Evangelists tell us. Do we not see here with what singular wisdom their story is told? As also that the source of this wisdom lies in the fact that they tell us simply what was actually done? In portraying wisdom there can be nothing wiser than to be as faithful as possible in reproducing it just as it was.

HOMILIES ON THE VERSES

Mat_15:32-39. The multitude fed.—This miracle:—

I. Illustrates Christ’s care for the bodies of men.—We must not tempt men to adopt religion by bribery; we should thus encourage hypocrisy, promote indolence, give a premium to iniquity. But as Christians we should relieve temporal want, and with due caution and discretion use this as a means of imparting spiritual good. Our Lord fed the multitude on this occasion though He well knew that their motives in following Him were far from being pure. We should distinguish between vulgar bribery and Christian benevolence. In any case it were better to do good to men’s bodies than do no good at all.

II. Illustrates what St. Paul calls “the fulness of the blessing of the gospel of Christ.”—Much as was eaten of the miraculous bread, much still remained. The more we feed upon Christ, the Bread of Life, the more there is to feed upon. This multitude, fed and satisfied, went forth out of the abundance of their hearts to trumpet Christ’s fame, to tell of His love. If there be fulness in Christ, there should be accompanying fulness in us.

III. Suggests the need of daily feeding upon Christ.—The miracle falls short here. To feed once for all not sufficient.—R. W. Forrest, M.A.

Subsidiary lessons.—I. A lesson in generosity.—Jesus made His disciples bring out their seven loaves and small fishes, and give thus their all away. No doubt some of them wondered why. It is our common plea for withholding from the cause of charity or of religion that what we have we shall need for ourselves. At least there is a fear that we may. But as our household commentator has it, “Niggardliness for to-day, arising out of thoughtfulness for to-morrow, is a complication of corrupt affections that ought to be mortified” (M. Henry).

II. A lesson of thankfulness.—First, Jesus took the seven loaves, and brake them, and gave to His disciples, and the disciples to the multitude. Then, as if they had overlooked the few small fishes, Mark relates that they also were brought to Him, and He blessed and commanded to set them also before them. Two words are used, “gave thanks” and “blessed”—one in connection with the first part of the meal, and the other with the second. With such words He turned these poor materials into a royal feast. Let us also learn that giving of thanks is a blessing upon our daily food.—Prof. Laidlaw, D.D.

Mat_15:34-38. Feeding the four thousand.—

1. Ere the Lord work, He will have it seen how little ground He hath to work upon; therefore by asking His disciples He draweth forth how few loaves and fishes for such a work were to be had.

2. He will not despise His own ordinary appointed means for so far as they can reach, nor will He do anything extraordinary further than is necessary; for, He could have fed them without these seven loaves, but He will take them and make use of them, seeing they may be had.

3. Christ shames the misbelief of His servants, by making them, actors in the work, which they could not believe to see, for He gave to the disciples, and they to the multitude.

4. There is no scant when the Lord giveth the banquet, for all are filled when He inviteth His guests.

5. His manifold wisdom will glorify Himself as He pleaseth, but ever in a way sufficient to manifest His Divine power.—David Dickson.

Mat_15:34. How many loaves have ye?—This question of Christ’s is wonderfully suggestive for those who are tempted to be content with doing nothing for Christ, because they cannot do much for Him, and who honestly, though ignorantly, suppose that an acceptable excuse for their standing all the day idle, is that no man hath hired them.

I. The first condition of usefulness absolutely indispensable for every one is to see the need of it and to observe the scope of it.

II. The next condition is to recognise that the opportunity of usefulness is ever at hand, if we are only willing to perceive it.

III. Another condition of usefulness is to be perfectly sure that every duty is possible; and that if we will take the trouble to inquire, each and all of us have resources as well as opportunities for diminishing the anguish of the world.

IV. We must not be daunted or baffled by the insignificance of the help it may be in our power to give, or the poverty, even the scantiness, of our resources.

V. The great thing is to brush away difficulties, to remember that waiting, and trembling, and reasoning, and putting off, never yet made a duty easier, or lightened a soul with a burden on its back. Most of all learn that the great thing is to begin.

VI. The Lord would not do it all Himself, nor would He summon angels to do it for Him.—Bishop Thorold.

The Preacher's Complete Homiletical Commentary (gen. ed. Joseph S. Exell; Funk & Wagnalls, c. 1892) — public domain (pre-1929). A full-Bible homiletical/sermon-outline anthology covering 65 of 66 books (2 John is absent from the source module). Text from a community e-Sword module.

FEEDING THE MULTITUDES AGAIN

Mat 15:32-38; Mar 8:1-9. “During these days [i.e., His sojourn in Decapolis], the multitude being very great, and not having what they may eat, Jesus, calling to Him His disciples, says to them, I sympathize with the multitude, because already three days transpire to Me, and they have nothing which they may eat. If I shall send them away to their home fasting, they will faint by the way; for some of them have come from afar. And His disciples responded to Him, Whence will any one be able to feed so many with bread, here, in a destitute place? And He asked them, How many loaves have you? And they said, Seven. And He proclaimed to the multitude to sit down upon the ground; and taking the seven loaves, giving thanks, He broke them, and gave them to His disciples, that they may distribute them; and they dispensed them to the multitude. They also had a few small fishes; blessing, He commanded that they should also distribute these.” Mat 15:37 : “And they all ate and were filled; and they took up the remainder of the fragments, seven baskets full. And those eating were four thousand men, besides women and children.” The Jews especially, as well as the Orientals generally, in that day and at the present, are in the habit of going, by whole families, on foot, taking a few donkeys or camels to carry burdens. We hear much said about feeding the five thousand and the four thousand, only giving the estimate at about one-half, as Matthew certifies that, in the one instance, there were “five thousand men, besides women and children;” and in the other, “four thousand men, besides women and children;” thus giving the estimate at ten thousand in one case, and eight thousand in the other, at the minimum; as in all probability the women and children far outnumbered the men, which is the case in our campmeetings and other religious gatherings, and would be even more so in Israel, where, from time immemorial, it was customary for whole families to go to their great religious convocations, leaving the home without a keeper, as God had assured them that He would protect their domestic interests during their absence to attend the periodical national solemnities. On this occasion, from the seven loaves and a few small fishes, after feeding the eight thousand, they gathered up seven baskets full of fragments, evidently those great baskets, in which they now carry merchantable produce to market, holding several bushels; i.e., the fragments amounting to about one hundred times the original quantity. So, if you would be a millionaire in the kingdom of God, start now, run with all of your might, and do your best to give away all you have, resting assured God will multiply you a hundred-fold. If you can only rake up a few loaves and fishes, and pitch a holiness camp-meeting, you will have plenty to feed the thronging multitudes, and fragments enough, if gathered up and utilized, to inaugurate at least ten new camps next year.

William B. Godbey, Commentary on the New Testament (1896–1900) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

15:32-39 The previous feeding miracle (see 14:13-21) was for Jews, whereas this one extended to Gentiles; it thus develops the theme of 15:27. Through this miracle Jesus demonstrated that he is the true bread of life (see 16:5-12; John 6).

Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Mat 15:32. Σπλαγχνίζομαι, I have compassion) Whilst the people forget hunger in admiration, Jesus pities them, and is not affected by their praise of His miracles. Glory and mercy elsewhere seldom meet.—προσμένουσί Μοι, they remain with Me[702]) It was the interest of the people to remain with Jesus; and yet He embraces that as a reason for conferring a fresh benefit upon them. The people were ready to remain longer.—τί, what) for ὁ, that which, see the LXX. in Gen 38:25.—νήστεις, fasting) Our Lord never dismissed any one without relieving their necessities.

[702] Fresh patients being ever and anon laid down in the midst, one after the other.—V. g.

Bengel's Gnomon of the New Testament — English translation (T&T Clark, Edinburgh, 1860) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Mat_15:32. In this second instance of feeding the multitude, and which is likewise recorded in Mar_8:1 ff. (and that in a more authentic form), Jesus takes the initiative, as in Joh_6:5; not so in Mat_14:15.

ἡμέραι τρεῖς] because they have remained with me, it is now three days, and, and so on. For this elliptical way of inserting the time in the nominative, see Winer, p. 523 [E. T. 704]; Buttmann, neut. Gr. p. 122 [E. T. 139]; Fritzsche, ad Marc. p. 310 f.

καὶ οὐκ ἔχουσι. κ.τ.λ.] for in the course of the three days they had consumed the provisions they had brought along with them.

Meyer — Critical and Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament — English translation by Peter Christie, edited by Frederick Crombie (T&T Clark, 1880) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Mat 15:32-38 . Second feeding (Mar 8:1-9 ).

Mat 15:32 . σπλαγχνίζομαι , with ἐπὶ as in Mat 14:14 , Mar 8:2 , with περὶ in Mat 9:36 . In the first feeding Christ’s compassion is moved by the sickness among the multitude, here by their hunger. ἡμέραι τρεῖς : that this is the true reading is guaranteed by the unusual construction, the accusative being what one expects. The reading of [94] adopted by Fritzsche, which inserts εἰσι καὶ after τρεῖς , though not to be accepted as the true reading, may be viewed as a solution of the problem presented by the true reading vide Winer, § 62, 2. νήστεις , fasting ( νη , ἐσθίω similar to νήπιος from νη , ἔπος ), here and in parallel text in Mk. only. The motive of the miracle is not the distance from supplies but the exhausted condition of the people after staying three days with Jesus with quite inadequate provision of food. Mk. states that some were far from home (Mat 8:3 ), implying that most were not. But even those whose homes were near might faint ( ἐκλυθῶσι , Gal 6:9 ) by the way through long fasting.

[94] Codex Bezae

The Expositor's Greek Testament, edited by W. Robertson Nicoll (1897–1910) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

By doing again this miracle, Christ showeth that he will never be wanting to them that follow him, no not in the wilderness.

Go not from my side.

Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain. Text via Bolls.life.

Verse 32. I have compassion, &c.] See a similar transaction explained, Mt 14:14-22.

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

(32) I have compassion on the multitude.—The obvious resemblance between the details of this narrative and that of the feeding of the Five Thousand has led the schools of critics, who do not regard either as the record of a fact, to treat this as only another version of the same incident, or rather, from their point of view, of the same legend. The notes of distinctness are, however, too numerous to admit of that explanation. The number of the people fed, their three days’ waiting till their food was exhausted, the number of the loaves at hand, and of the baskets in which the fragments were collected after the meal, are all different. More than this, the words rendered in both narratives by “basket” in the Authorised version are not the same in the Greek. Here the word is σπνρις (spuris), the hamper in which provisions were packed as for a party travelling together, large enough, as in St. Paul’s escape from Damascus (Act_9:25), to hold a man; while in the other it was the κόφινος (cophinus), or smaller basket, which a man carried in his hand. Lastly, our Lord’s words in Mat_16:9-10, distinctly recognise the two miracles, and connect the close of each with the word which was thus specially appropriate to it. Unless we adopt the incredible hypothesis that the one narrative was first so disguised that it lost the marks of its identity, and that the Evangelists, having combined the two, then invented our Lord’s words, with all their apparent freshness and adaptation to the special circumstances of the hour, they must be admitted to be decisive as proving that there had been two events, like in kind, to which He thus referred. It is significant that here, as so often before, the display of miraculous power in its highest form originates not in answer to a challenge, or as being offered as a proof of a divine mission, but simply from compassion. Three days had passed, and still the crowds hung on His words and waited for His loving acts, and now they began to show signs of exhaustion that moved His sympathy.

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

32–38. Four thousand Men, besides women and children, are miraculously fed

Mar_8:1-9

36. gave to his disciples] St Matthew uses the aorist, St Mark the more vivid imperfect “kept giving.”

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Then Jesus called his disciples unto him,.... Who were at some little distance from him, to impart his mind unto them, whom he had made, and used, as his familiar friends; and to try their faith, and raise their attention, and prepare them for the following miracle; as well as to teach them by his example, and accustom them to show bowels of mercy and compassion to persons in any kind of want and distress:

and said, I have compassion on the multitude; which must be understood of him as man, whose bowels yearned towards them, having been so long without any food for their bodies, or very little; as he had compassion on the sick, and diseased, and healed them, so on the sound and whole, and was willing to feed them. Christ, our high priest, is a merciful one, and is touched with the feeling of the infirmities of men, of every sort, both of soul and body:

because they continue now with me three days; which time had been spent in healing their bodily disorders, and in preaching to them for the good of their souls; which shows the diligence and indefatigableness of Christ, as well as the attachment of the people to him; who were so struck with his miracles and ministry, that though they had been so long from their habitations and families, knew not how to leave him; nor did they talk, or show any signs of departing from him, and returning to their houses, and business of life;

and have nothing to eat; not that they had been so long without eating anything, though very likely it was but little, and what they brought with them, and was now expended; nor could they provide themselves in a desert place, and many of them were a great way off from home:

and I will not send them away fasting; he might have done it, nor did the multitude ask any food of him; but he could not bear the thoughts of dismissing them in such a condition; having had but very little sustenance all this while, and so might be said to be in a manner fasting during this time, at least now:

lest they faint by the way; to their own houses, not having strength and spirit enough to travel, and get home: for "divers of them", as Mark says, "came from far".

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

32 Then Jesus called his disciples unto him, and said, I have compassion on the multitude, because they continue with me now three days, and have nothing to eat: and I will not send them away fasting, lest they faint in the way.

Ver. 32. I have compassion on the multitude] My bowels yearn towards them. Neither is he less loving, now that he is in heaven, towards his poor penniless, necessitous people on earth; but when they are hardest put to it, and haply have not a cross to bless themselves with, as the proverb is, he so graciously provides, that though the young lions (or the strong ones, as the Septuagint have it) do lack and suffer hunger, yet they that seek the Lord want nothing that’s good for them, Psa 34:10. Aaron, though he might not bewail the death of his two sons, Lev 10:3; Lev 10:6-7; Lev 10:19, because he was high priest, yet his bowels of fatherly affection towards them could not be restrained. Christ retaineth still compassion, Heb 4:5, though free from personal passion; and, though freed from feeling, hath still yet a fallow feeling, Act 9:5; Mat 25:35; " Manet compassio etiam cum impassibilitate, " saith Bernard.

Because they continue with me now three days] The Lord takes punctual and particular notice of all circumstances, how far they came, how long they had been there, how little able they were to hold out fasting to their own homes, &c. And so he doth still recount how many years, days, hours we have spent with him; what straits, losses, heats, colds, dangers, difficulties we have encountered with and passed through; all is exactly registered in his book of remembrance; "I know thy work, and thy labour," saith he, Rev 2:19. Men take much pains many times, and none regard it, reward it. But Christ takes notice, not of his people’s works only, but of their labour in doing them, that he may fully recompence their labour of love, their loss of goods, &c. The godly shall know in themselves, not only in others, in books, &c., that they have "a better and an enduring substance," Heb 10:34.

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

They continue with me now three days, eager to hear his divine instructions, and to witness the greatness of his miracles. The disciples, as if not remembering what Jesus had done on a similar emergency, (see Matthew, xiv. 16,) expressed their solicitude and uneasiness for the hungered multitude. (Haydock)

George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).

Mark gives us an account of this miracle, Mar 8:1-10. There is very little difference in their relations, only Mark saith, our Saviour went into the parts of Dalmanutha; Matthew saith,

into the coasts of Magdala: most think that it was the same place, which had two names: some think one was the name of the country, the other of the city or town; others, that they were two towns near together. There are no difficulties in this history. Some question how they could fast three days; but the text doth not say so, only that at that time they had nothing to eat, having spent what they brought with them, probably in their baskets, which answers another question also, how they could get baskets in the wilderness. The miracle was of the same nature with that which we met with Mat 14:15-22; only there were five thousand men fed with five loaves and two fishes, here four thousand were fed with seven loaves and a few fishes; there they took up twelve, here but seven baskets full. Our Lord worketh sometimes without means, sometimes by means, and those differently proportions to his end, as it pleaseth him. The miraculous operations of our Saviour are amongst his miranda et adoranda, not his imitanda. These actions of his, which we are in reading to admire and adore, but are not concerned to imitate, yet something we may observe from them, both for our instruction and imitation. For our instruction, we may from this history observe the extent of Christ’s compassion to his disciples, which though it is most eminently seen in what he doth for their souls, yet reacheth also to their bodies and more external wants. It also teacheth us to trust God in the doing of our duty. Those that are in a wilderness hearing Christ, shall not faint by the way before they get home. His course of giving thanks before he brake and made use of the bread, (which we observed before in the other miracle), commendeth to us the religious custom of begging a blessing before our meat, and giving thanks to God for good things of that nature, when we have received them.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

32. Compassion on the multitude — Some faith had they shown in attending his word and works. The tenderness of our Lord suggests all the pitiableness of their case. What they would have thought of had they framed a prayer for succour, he has thought of before them. So does our merciful Lord know what we need before we ask him; and we have need to ask him only in order to make ourselves in the right position to receive the spiritual blessings he would confer.

Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Called his disciples unto him. Seeing the necessities of the multitude, Jesus, as it were, takes his disciples into council, treating them not as servants, but as friends. They were doubtless dispersed among the crowd, and Jesus summons them around him, and puts before them the special point to which his attention is turned. Thus he tries their faith, and shows that there were no human means available for feeding these famishing people. Thus God, so to speak, takes Abraham into his confidence before visiting the iniquity of Sodom: "Shall I hide from Abraham that thing which I do?". (Gen_18:17) I have compassion (spalagcnizomai) on the multitude. The human heart of Jesus felt for these distressed followers; his perfect sympathy was aroused in their behalf. We observe references to this tender feeling in many other instances. (see Mat_9:36 Mat_14:14 Mat_20:34 Mar_1:41 5:19 Luk_7:13. And in the Old Testament, e.g. Isa_49:15 Jer_12:15 Mic_7:19) They continue with me now three days. The verb used here (prosmenein) implies close attendance persevered in against obstacles; it is used in Act_11:23 in a spiritual sense, "He exhorted them all that with purpose of heart they would cleave (prosmenein) unto the Lord." The three days, according to the Hebrew formula of computation, would consist of one whole day and parts of two others. Thus constantly employed in healing and teaching, Jesus thinks not of himself; his whole care is centred on the people who, in their anxiety to see and hear him, forget their own necessities. There would be nothing strange in the people camping out for a night in Palestine. Men and women ordinarily lie down to rest in the clothes which they have worn during the day, and need no special preparation for sleeping. Thus a man covers himself with his heavy outer garment, lies on the dry ground, like Jacob at Bethel, with a stone or his arm for a pillow, and sleeps comfortably and safely till awakened by the morning sun. I wilt not send them away fasting. Like a good master of a household, in his tender pity, Christ takes the circumstances of the multitude into consideration, and cannot endure the idea of dismissing them wearied and unfed to find their way to their own homes, which, as St. Mark adds, were, in the case of many of them, at a long distance. Faint . Travellers tell us that out of the motley crowd of pilgrims that flock to Jerusalem at Easter-tide, many run short of provisions and perish on the road. Christ"s thoughtful care regards the possibility of such disaster, and prepares the remedy. He had treated the sicknesses of the multitude; he had instructed their ignorance; now he will feed their bodies. They had sought nothing from him, nor begged for food; probably they had no idea of looking to him to supply their want. But they who follow Jesus shall never lack. They were seeking first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and temporal blessings were added to them.

Vers. 32-39. The compassion of Jesus.

Having let fall that crumb under the table, in the parts of Tyre and Sidon, Jesus returns to make a full feast for the children. When he had here performed miracles of healing, he proceeds to the performance of a miracle of feeding. The removal of evil is a prelude to the communication of good.

I THE COMPASSION OF JESUS IS READY.

1. Quick to discern a need.

(1) "I have compassion on the multitude, because they continue with me now three days, and have nothing to eat." Three hours, under ordinary conditions, would be a long service; especially so should the dinner hour be invaded. But here is a service of three days, in which dinner is the last thought with the congregation. The Minister, however, able, and withal considerate.

(2) "They have nothing to eat." This world is a desert, where nothing can be found to satisfy the soul of man, but the salvation which Christ has purchased.

(3) Christ suffered the multitude to hunger, as Israel of old, to teach them great lessons. (see Deu_8:3) That is sweet to the hungry soul which the full soul loathes. Fasting precedes feasting. Hungering and thirsting after righteousness is the prelude to being satisfied with the bounties of God"s table.

2. Quick to provide against calamity.

(1) "They may faint in the way." Note: It is fitting and religious to give due attention to the wants of the body. "Our prayers should be for a sound mind in a sound body" (Juvenal).

(2) The wants of the body restrain the desires of the spirit. "The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak." Jesus still, from the loftier elevation of the mount of glory, compassionately sees.

(3) The compassion of Jesus provides for the everlasting future. Through his merciful provisions we may avoid the hungering and thirsting of perdition. The spiritual body of the better resurrection will have no wants to impair the desires of the spirit. "They hunger no more, neither thirst any more". (see Re 7) So can they "serve God day and night in his temple.

II THE COMPASSION OF JESUS IS POTENT.

1. Its potency had been evinced. Within the year or two of his public ministry how many miracles had Jesus wrought! Yet how few that were not miracles of mercy!

2. Some of these were recent. Within these "three days" how numerous were the "lame, blind, dumb, maimed, and many others," the healing of whom "astonished" this multitude (see vers. 30, 31).

3. The potency of the compassion of Jesus was now to receive additional illustration. Here are eight thousand hungry people. Four thousand men, "besides women and children," who were probably as many more. For the nourishment of these there are "seven loaves, and a few small fishes." But "they did all eat, and were filled;" and moreover of the fragments left there were seven hampers. The spyris was larger than the cophinus of the miracle. It seems to have been a load for a porter. (see Act_9:25) A hamper of fragments for every loaf.

III THE COMPASSION OF JESUS IS DISCRIMINATING.

1. The circumstances of the miracle are instructive.

(1) "He gave thanks." In the former miracle with the five loaves "he blessed." It comes to the same. Giving thanks to God is a proper way to ask the blessing of God. Thanks given before taking food (see Act_27:35) acknowledges his past bounty, craves his blessing upon the present, anticipates the future. All good comes from God. His blessing makes little go far.

(2) He used all the provision he had. God works miracles only, and in so far as there is necessity. So are we to use the means Providence sets before us. When these fail, then trust God. What his ordinary providence denies his miraculous power will supply. All spiritual blessings are immediately from God, so miraculous.

(3) The multitude sat down in faith. They saw but little. Yet took advice and prepared themselves for a banquet. So they were all "filled." Those whom Jesus feeds he fills. (see Psa_65:4 Isa_55:2) Not only was Jesus from Bethlehem; he is Bethlehem himself, the House of bread.

(4) He then "sent the multitude away." Though he had twice fed them, they must not expect miracles to give them daily food. Meanwhile he himself entered the boat and came to Magdala. He generally withdrew after working a miracle, lest the people should attempt to raise a sedition and make him a King. (cf. Mat_14:22Jo Mat_6:15) How different from the conduct of a pseudo-Messiah!

2. There are lessons in the service of the disciples.

(1) To them he first expressed his tender sympathy for the people. This was a mark of his friendship. The disciples of Christ know most of his goodness. "The secret of the Lord is with them that fear him". (cf. Gen_18:17-19 Psa_25:14 Amo_3:7 Joh_7:17 Joh_15:15)

(2) The communication was also intended to quicken their compassions, to teach them generosity, and to strengthen their faith. Their answer showed that they needed the lesson, "Whence should we have so many loaves." etc.? (ver. 33). "They walked in a world of wonders, spiritual and physical, where they felt strange, until the Holy Ghost came and brought to their minds all that Christ had done". (Olshausen, Joh_14:26) Forgetting former experience leaves us in present doubt. Here is no niggardliness of today in forethought for tomorrow.

(3) The disciples had the custody of the provisions. To them also is committed the custody of the bread of God"s Word. They have had to shield it. from the vigilance of the anti-Christian destroyer.

(4) They are the dispensers of the Word of grace for the nourishment of the world. In their hands it multiplies both in the dispensing and in the store. J.A.M.

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

They continue with me now three days - It was now the third day since they came. Mark viii, 1.

John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.

The great need of the people:

v. 32. Then Jesus called His disciples unto Him and said, I have compassion on the multitude, because they continue with Me now three days, and have nothing to eat; and I will not send them away fasting, lest they faint in the way.

v. 33. And His disciples say unto Him, Whence should we have so much bread in the wilderness as to fill so great a multitude?

v. 34. And Jesus said unto them, How many loaves have ye? And they said, Seven, and a few little fishes.

There was a certain faithfulness about the multitudes which caused the people to remain in the uninhabited places along the eastern shore with the Lord. Their wonder as one miracle was followed by another kept them alive and expectant. But in the meantime all the supplies which they might have brought along had been consumed, and there were indications of real distress and suffering among them. Christ’s tender heart was again deeply touched. Calling His disciples together. He lays the matter before them, making them feel the responsibility for these hungry people. A beautiful word: And dismiss them hungry I will not. "Let us but learn to believe that we have the same Christ who takes an interest in us, even in our physical suffering, and always shows that these words: I have compassion on the poor people, are written in His heart with living letters; that He also would like us to know this and to hear the word of the Gospel in such a way as though He in this hour and daily were speaking to us, whenever we feel our trouble, yea, long before we ourselves begin to complain of it. For He is still, and will remain in eternity, the same Christ and has the same heart, thoughts, and words toward us that He was and had at that time, and has never, neither yesterday or ever, become different, nor will He today or tomorrow become a different Christ."

But the disciples had forgotten the miracles of a few short weeks before. In absolute helplessness they cast about for some way of meeting the emergency. They discuss ways and means of procuring and transporting a sufficient amount of food way out here into the meadows on the lake shore. The great size of the multitude appalls them. The Lord cuts the discussion short by His inquiry as to the amount of food available, and receives the answer.

Paul E. Kretzmann, Popular Commentary of the Bible (1921–1924) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Here we have the second miracle of Christ’s compassionate feeding the hungry multitude. In Mat 14:15-21 we read of five thousand fed with five loaves and two fishes; here Christ feeds four thousand with seven loaves and a few small fishes.

Where observe, That Christ had fewest, when he had most provision; when he had seven loaves, he fed but four thousand; when he had five loaves, he fed five thousand. Thus the wisdom and power of Christ is glorified by him as he pleases. The feeding of one thousand with one loaf, was as true a miracle as the feeding seven thousand. Our Saviour did put forth the power of his godhead in working miracles, after what manner seemed best to his own wisdom.

Observe farther, A double action performed by our Saviour.

1. He gave thanks: that is, he prayed for a blessing upon the food. Teaching us our duty, That if the Son of God did look up to heaven, and bless his food, we should not sit down to our food as a beast to his fodder, without craving a blessing upon it.

The next action was, He gave to his disciples.

But why did he distribute the loaves by the hands of his disciples?

Answ. Because the disciples questioned, through the weakness of their faith, whether such a multitude as four thousand could be fed with so small a provision as seven loaves.

Now our Saviour, to convince them how easily he could do that thing which they had judged impossible, distributes the bread by them: making use of their own eyes and hands, for their conviction and satisfaction.

Thus Christ, to shame the unbelief of his disciples, makes them not only spectators but actors in that work which they judged impossible to be effected.

William Burkitt's Expository Notes on the New Testament (1700–1703) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

32. I have compassion on the multitude. Because while seeking him in his mountain solitude many of them had been for three days without regular food.

B. W. Johnson's The People's New Testament with Notes (1889–1891) — public domain. Electronic text from the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (CCEL) ThML edition.

Connecting Statement:

This begins the account of Jesus feeding four thousand people with seven loaves of bread and a few small fish.

without eating, or they may faint on the way

"without eating because they might faint on the way"

Where can we get enough loaves of bread in such a deserted place to satisfy so large a crowd?

The disciples use a question to state that there is nowhere to get food for the crowd. AT: "There is nowhere nearby that we can get enough bread for such a large crowd." (See: Rhetorical Question)

Seven, and a few small fish

The understood information can be made clear. AT: "Seven loaves of bread, and a few small fish" (See: Ellipsis)

sit down on the ground

Use your language's word for how people customarily eat when there is no table, whether sitting or lying down.

translationWords

Jesus

disciple

compassion

day

bread

command

unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.

32–38. FOUR THOUSAND MEN, BESIDES WOMEN AND CHILDREN, ARE MIRACULOUSLY FED

Mar 8:1-9

32. ἡμέραι τρεῖς. For this parenthetical introduction of the nominative see Winer, p. 704, § 2 and note 3.

Cambridge Greek Testament for Schools and Colleges (Cambridge University Press, 1896; 21 vols, various authors incl. Carr, Maclear, Plummer, Farrar, Lumby, Moule, M. R. James, Simcox) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

32.] The modern German interpreters assume the identity of this miracle with that narrated in ch. 14:14 ff. If this be so, then our Evangelists must have forged the speech attributed to our Lord in ch. 16:9, 10. But, as Ebrard justly remarks (Evangelienkritik, p. 532), every circumstance which could vary, does vary, in the two accounts. The situation in the wilderness, the kind of food at hand, the blessing and breaking, and distributing by means of the disciples, these are common to the two accounts, and were likely to be so: but here the matter is introduced by our Lord Himself with an expression of pity for the multitudes who had continued with Him three days: here also the provision is greater, the numbers are less than on the former occasion. But there is one small token of authenticity which marks these two accounts as referring to two distinct events, even had we not such direct testimony as that of ch. 16:9, 10. It is, that whereas the baskets in which the fragments were collected on the other occasion are called by all four Evangelists κόφινοι, those used for that purpose after this miracle are in both Matt. and Mark σπυρίδες. And when our Lord refers to the two miracles, the same distinction is observed; a particularity which could not have arisen except as pointing to a matter of fact, that, whatever the distinction be, which is uncertain, different kinds of baskets were used on the two occasions. Perhaps the strangest reason for supposing the two identical (given by De Wette, Schleiermacher, and others) is an imagined difficulty in the question of the disciples, πόθεν ἡμῖν κ.τ.λ., so soon after the former miracle; as if the same slowness to believe and trust in divine power were not repeatedly found among men, and instanced in Scripture itself;—compare Exo 16:13 with Num 11:21, Num 11:22; and read in Exo 17:1-7 the murmurings of the Israelites immediately after their deliverance at the Red Sea. And even could we recognize this as a difficulty, it is not necessarily implied in the text. Our Lord puts the matter to them as a question, without the slightest intimation of His intention to supply the want supernaturally. They make answer in the same spirit, without venturing (as indeed it would have been most unbecoming in them to do, see Joh 2:3, Joh 2:4) to suggest the working of a miracle. De Wette’s assumption that the usage of κόφινοι and σπυρίδες shews two different traditional sources used by the author, would make it necessary to suppose that the forger of ch. 16:9, 10 has been skilful enough to preserve this distinction; an accuracy seldom found in interpolations of early Christian times.

On ἡμέρια τρεῖς see reff. and Winer, § 62. 2, note.

Henry Alford, The Greek Testament (1849–1861) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

32. And Jesus called His disciples, and said, I have compassion on the multitude, because already three days they are present with Me, and have nothing to eat: and to send them away fasting I am not willing, lest they faint on the road.]—ὁ δὲ Ἰησοῦς] Mk. has a longer introduction: “In those days again there being a great multitude, and they not having anything to eat, having called the disciples, He saith to them,” etc.—εἶπεν] as usual for λέγει.—σπλαγχίζεσθαι] See on 9:36.—ὅτι ἤδη ἡμέραι τρεῖς προσμένουσί μοι] The same phrase occurs in Mk. For the nominative standing in a parenthesis interrupting the construction, see Blass, p. 85; Moulton, p. 70; and cf. Est 4:11 οὐ κέκλημαι—εἰσίν αὗται ἡμέραι τριάκοντα. But the accusative would be so much more natural, that the nominative in Mt. and Mk. must be regarded as a proof of dependence of one Evangelist upon the other.—καὶ ἀπολῦσαι] Mk. has: “And if I send them away fasting to their homes, they will faint on the road: and some of them are from a distance.” The change of ἐὰν ἀπολύσω into ἀπολῦσαι—οὐ θέλω, like other alterations of Mk. by Mt., heightens the note of mastery and dignity of Christ’s words. The idea of His sending away the people to faint on the way home was to be avoided.

(M)

32-39. In these vv. Mt. has here and there assimilated the language to that of the feeding of the five thousand.

Cf. 14:19 καὶ τοὺς—ἰχθύας with 15:36.

19 οἱ δὲ μαθηταὶ τοῖς ὄχλοις with 15:36.

20 καὶ ἔφαγον πάντες with 15:37.

20 καὶ ἦραν τὸ περισσεῦον τῶν κλασμάτων δώδεκα κοφίνους πλήρεις with 15:37 καί τὸ περισσεῦον τῶν κλασμάτων ἦραν ἑπτὰ σφυρίδας πλήρεις.

21 οἱ δὲ ἐσθίοντες ἦσαν ἄνδρες ὡσεὶ πεντακισχίλιοι χωρὶς γυναικῶν καὶ παιδίων with 15:38 οἱ δὲ ἐσθίοντες ἦσαν τετρακισχίλιοι ἄνδρες χωρὶς γυναικῶν καὶ παιδίων.

International Critical Commentary — older volumes (1896–1929), various authors — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

I will not [ου θελω] . The A. V. might easily be mistaken for the simple future of the verb send. But two verbs are used : the verb I will expressing Jesus ' feeling or disposition. The Greek order is, and to send them away fasting I am not willing. Therefore Rev. is better : I would not. Faint (ejkluqwsin). Lit., be unstrung or relaxed.

Marvin R. Vincent, Word Studies in the New Testament (1887–1900) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.