Miracle 7 Feeding 5,000
Preaching
Preaching the Miracles
Series II, Cycle A
1. Text
Now when Jesus heard this, he withdrew from there in a boat to a deserted place by himself. But when the crowds heard it, they followed him on foot from the towns.13 When he went ashore, he saw a great crowd; and he had compassion for them and cured their sick.14
When it was evening, the disciples came to him and said, "This is a deserted place, and the hour is now late; send the crowds away so that they may go into the villages and buy food for themselves."15 Jesus said to them, "They need not go away; you give them something to eat."16 They replied, "We have nothing here but five loaves and two fish."17 And he said, "Bring them here to me."18 Then he ordered the crowds to sit down on the grass. Taking the five loaves and the two fish, he looked up to heaven, and blessed and broke the loaves, and gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the crowds.19 And all ate and were filled; and they took up what was left over of the broken pieces, twelve baskets full.20 And those who ate were about five thousand men, besides women and children.21
2. What's Happening?
This is the first of a series of three successive miracles closely influencing each other. One grows out of another. (See Cycle A, Miracle 8, "Walking On Water," and Cycle A, Miracle 9, "The Demon--Possessed Child.")
First Point Of Action
When Jesus hears that Herod has beheaded John the Baptist, he withdraws by boat to a deserted place. The crowds find out, rush there on foot ahead of Jesus, and meet him as he goes ashore. Compassionate, he heals their sick.
Second Point Of Action
That evening, the disciples, reminding Jesus of the late hour and the deserted place, urge him to send the crowds to return to their villages and buy food for themselves.
Third Point Of Action
In conversation with the disciples, Jesus tells them the crowds need not go away. He directs them to get the crowds something to eat. When the disciples tell Jesus they have only five loaves and two fishes, Jesus instructs them to bring the food to him.
Fourth Point Of Action
Jesus orders the crowds to sit on the grass. He takes the loaves and the fish, looks heavenward, blesses, and breaks the loaves.
Fifth Point Of Action
Jesus gives the food to the disciples, who distribute it to the crowds.
Sixth Point Of Action
Everyone eats. All, about five thousand people not counting women and children, are filled.
Seventh Point Of Action
They fill twelve baskets with broken, leftover pieces.
3. Connecting Points - Conversations
Interviewing A Woman In The Crowd
Asker: The crowd following Jesus represented more than mass religious entertainment.
Woman In The Crowd: We were no mindless throng. In the energy of some five thousand men besides us women and the children lay a miracle. The crowd embraced enough drive to walk the long way into the wilderness to find Jesus. When you sense something of deepest value to you, inconveniences become insignificant. I can still see the crowd growing, gathering momentum. We were whom Herod feared because we followed Jesus as a prophet. As we waited for Jesus to come ashore, our collected emotion was intense. Of course, some were curiosity seekers. I feared Jesus would be the next killed after John the Baptist. Many would have protected him. Some wanted only to be healed before he too was gone.
You inquire about our crowds. Ponder the nature of the crowds of your day. Who are they? Where do they gather? At a celebrity concert? To spend at the mall? At peaceful demonstrations? To see the AIDS quilt? The Vietnam War Memorial, the Holocaust Memorial? Is their destination worthy of your journey? For whom do your crowds gather? Whom would you follow? Consider where people who need compassion are drawn for healing.
To what type of crowd are you drawn? Why? Do the throngs of your day consist of individuals crowding the Internet? Are today's crowds privately and safely hurrahing celebrities from the television in the great room?
How can you be generous when none gather to avail themselves of your generosity? How can you show hospitality to a stranger who comes to your door when you fear opening it?
Interviewing A Man From The Crowd
Asker: Talk to us about the meal you and the others ate with Jesus.
Man In The Crowd: Well, for such a crowd you can do little with five loaves and two fish. You talk about our hospitality. Three loaves of bread was a minimal meal for one person. Still, all in this multitude ate. The food did not merely tide us over. We felt satisfied. Leftovers were shared with others.
Asker: How much food was required to meet the need?
Man In The Crowd: I never noticed how much I ate. Perhaps the miracle lay also in the satisfaction. A little piece of bread and a taste of juice at your Holy Communion carries the spiritual sustenance of a full meal.
Asker: Was food really left over?
Man In The Crowd: It was. I helped pass the basket. We were not a greedy assembly. We had come with spiritual hunger. Jesus' hospitality for us wanderers extended far beyond the established customs. The new hospitality lay in caring for the soul. Jesus had fed us all day.
Asker: It inconveniences us when wanderers come to our door. We could save the local relief fund by providing a hot meal ourselves. We would feed them from our table but were planning the leftovers for Thursday's meal. Freezer food is for the kids coming home next month. A peanut butter and jelly sandwich? At least a drink of water. I could wash their grungy clothes while they showered and ate. The spare bedroom for a night. Drugs? They could look things over and walk away with anything. I really should not let them in the door while I am here alone.
These thoughts wave through our heads in a second. Still, we say, "I am sorry, travellers must check in at our police station. We are authorized to provide money for gas, a restaurant meal, or a motel room." So much for modern hospitality. How did you do it?
Man In The Crowd: We were not so holy, either. The rule of the region required us to provide shelter, support, and sustenance - enough to appease thoughts of being harmed. However, the call of the heart required generosity - a measure of the best flour, the best calf, and ample water for hot, dusty feet.
Asker: Then Jesus could do no less than feed the crowd?
Man In The Crowd: "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you." "Whatsoever you do to the least of these, my brothers and sisters, do you also to me." Jesus' words were full. He knew what it meant to be beholden to others. He travelled all over in his ministry. He had no home but many homes.
Asker: Times have changed, or have they? Disingenuity also existed in Jesus' day. Transcending fear and giving people the benefit of the doubt defined the new hospitality.
Man In The Crowd: It is the relationship of being as brother to brother and as sister to sister. If Jesus had sent off the crowd, what would that have taught them about his teaching to that point? Jesus redefined the "why" of caring.
Interviewing A Disciple
Asker: Sometimes reaching out to others is untimely. You disciples both lamented the lack of food and gathered up leftovers.
Disciple: Let us put it this way. Another crowd of people was the last thing either Jesus or I wanted to see. I was shaken after burying John. Anything could happen in a crowd that huge. In my head, I heard, "Jesus is next. Jesus is next." You know. You had Martin Luther King and President Kennedy and his brother. There Jesus was, thinking about feeding the crowd. Not only were we disciples the protectors of what Jesus preached, we also sheltered his person.
Asker: Why did you not insist that Jesus leave the crowd to its own resources?
Disciple: Do you know Jesus? "Impossible" was our human response, not Jesus' answer. Jesus found a way to stretch the food with some to spare. After this feast, I have begun to grasp the meaning of my call to be an apostle of Christ.
Interviewing Jesus
Asker: When you heard about John's murder, you withdrew to a deserted place. But when the crowds heard about it, they followed you on foot from neighboring towns. You responded with compassion and spent the day healing their sick.
Jesus: My wanting to withdraw and go to a deserted place alone speaks for itself. My grief was acute. When things get out of hand, I take care of myself with a time of solitude. Even so, this miracle is not about my restoration alone but about the nourishment of strangers who dare to enter the desert in faith.
Asker: Were you disgruntled with the disciples? When the writer of Matthew relates this story, he shows little of the upset that you and the disciples must have felt after John's beheading. Why did you say to the disciples, you give them something to eat? Did you have too much else to do? Were you worn out? You almost offhandedly told the disciples to feed the crowd. Then, realizing what you had asked, you told them to bring what food they had to you.
On the other hand, I could also hear you speaking to the disciples quietly and with encouragement. You did not dismiss them but worked with them so they had food to distribute.
Jesus: This is a story of beginnings. The beginning of the disciples' carrying on without me: "You give them something to eat." The beginning of Holy Communion and the words of institution: I looked heavenward and blessed the bread. Then I broke the bread and gave it with the fish to the disciples to distribute. The beginning of the disciples' expanding the ministry among Gentiles. Even though the crowds had followed us, people gathered from nearby towns. We fed non--Jews. I would not leave the disciples empty--handed. Twelve baskets were left over for reaching out with missionary faith.1
Asker: The writer of Matthew saw you as the prophet fulfilling the words of Isaiah. Earlier, Matthew ended his quotation of the Isaiah servant passage with these words: "And in his name the Gentiles [the other nations] will hope" (Matthew 12:21). By feeding everyone, were you teaching those near you as well as signaling to the Pharisees who were watching you?
Jesus: We must not limit God to the people of Israel. We must reach beyond the easy and the convenient.
4. Words
Apostle
In the synoptic Gospels, Matthew uses the term "apostle" once in Jesus' naming of the twelve apostles. (See Matthew 10:2.) In addition to the Mark 6:30 parallel, the writer of Mark refers to the apostles in Mark 3:14: "And he appointed twelve, whom he also named apostles, to be with him, and to be sent out to proclaim the message."
"Apostle" appears six times in Luke. Luke 6:13 confirms a distinction between apostle and disciple: "And when day came, he called his disciples and chose twelve of them, whom he also named apostles." (See also Luke 9:10, 11:49, 17:5, 22:14, and 24:10.)
An apostle is a commissioned messenger or ambassador. In Christian usage, "apostle" carries two colors. The term refers to certain first generation Christians and to those who are to spread the gospel. The favored term of the early Christian community, apostle appears twenty times in the singular and then only in the epistle writings of the first century Christians. In the plural, it occurs 53 times - nine times in the Synoptics, 25 times in Acts, and 19 times in other New Testament writings.
An apostle is one of the twelve disciples Christ chose to preach his gospel. A disciple is a follower, one who subscribes to the teachings of a leader and then assists in spreading them. Must one be chosen to be an apostle? Must one simply believe to be a disciple? How are we apostles now? How are we disciples now?
Disciple
With 186 of the 221 New Testament references to "disciple[s]" occurring in the Gospels, disciple rather than apostle was the word choice of those in Jesus' day. A disciple is a learner or a pupil who accepts and follows a given doctrine or teacher. The term includes the original twelve disciples but is not limited to them.
Today, we also must choose to what or to whom we will be disciples. What is discipleship all about? Is it blind adherence? Is it following the crowd? Is it open--eyed choice?
Crowd
Except for an Exodus reference, all other 102 references to "crowd" are in the New Testament. Additionally, "crowds" occurs 52 times in the New Testament. To feel crowded in, a large number of persons gathered together, the common people, to congregate in a close place, to put pressure on - any of these definitions might describe the people gathering around Jesus.
The Gospel writers describe the crowd as large: "[T]he crowd gathered by the thousands" (Luke 12:1, 9:37) and his mother and his brothers "could not reach him because of the crowd" (Luke 8:19).
[Jesus] stood on a level place, with a great crowd of his disciples and a great multitude of people from all Judea, Jerusalem, and the coast of Tyre and Sidon ... And all in the crowd were trying to touch him, for power came out from him and healed all of them (Luke 6:17, 19).
Witnessing Jesus' work, the people in the crowd protected and supported him:
... [T]he crowd was amazed when they saw the mute speaking, the maimed whole, the lame walking, and the blind seeing. And they praised the God of Israel (Matthew 15:31).
And the large crowd was listening to him with delight (Mark 12:37).
When he said this, all his opponents were put to shame; and the entire crowd was rejoicing at all the wonderful things that he was doing (Luke 13:17).
The crowd sternly ordered [the two noisy blind men beside the road] to be quiet (Matthew 20:31).
A very large crowd spread their cloaks on the road, and others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road (Matthew 21:8).
The crowd followed Jesus:
Jesus went out again beside the sea; the whole crowd gathered around him, and he taught them (Mark 2:13).
So [Jesus] went with [Jairus]. And a large crowd followed him and pressed in on him (Mark 5:24).
At times, Jesus wanted privacy from the crowd for his own quiet or for a healing. (See Mark 7:17, Matthew 9:25 [the healing of Jairus' daughter], and Mark 7:33 [the healing of the deaf man].) At times, the crowd appeared to overburden Jesus so that he left them. (See Matthew 13:2.) However, Jesus' main public attitude toward the crowd was empathic:
When he went ashore, he saw a great crowd; and he had compassion for them and cured their sick (Matthew 14:14).
Then Jesus called his disciples to him and said, "I have compassion for the crowd, because they have been with me now for three days and have nothing to eat; and I do not want to send them away hungry, for they might faint on the way" (Matthew 15:32). (See also Mark 8:1, 8:2, and 8:6.)
As he went ashore, he saw a great crowd; and he had compassion for them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd; and he began to teach them many things (Mark 6:34).
Rather than preach at the crowd, Jesus spoke to them with both deep concern and respect. He found them teachable:
He called the crowd with his disciples, and said to them, "If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me" (Mark 8:34).
Then he called the crowd again and said to them, "Listen to me, all of you, and understand" (Mark 7:14).
A crowd was sitting around him; and they said to him, "Your mother and your brothers and sisters are outside, asking for you." And he replied, "Who are my mother and my brothers?" And looking at those who sat around him, he said, "Here are my mother and my brothers! Whoever does the will of God is my brother and sister and mother" (Mark 3:32--35).
For Jesus, the crowd was a gathering of individuals who counted one by one. He responded to individuals. (See the healing of the hemorrhaging woman [Mark 5:27ff].)
Their perspective differing, the disciples appeared to view the crowd impersonally, even as a pressing nuisance from which they had to shield Jesus:
The disciples said to [Jesus], "Where are we to get enough bread in the desert to feed so great a crowd?" (Matthew 15:33).
And leaving the crowd behind, [the disciples] took [Jesus] with them in the boat, just as he was (Mark 4:36).
The crowd carried power. The writer of Matthew reported earlier in Chapter 14 that Herod feared the crowd or its mass psychology. They regarded Jesus as a prophet. (See Matthew 14:5. Pilate played to the crowd. See Matthew 27:15 and 27:24. See also Mark 15:8, 15:11, and 15:15.)
While [Jesus] was still speaking, Judas, one of the twelve, arrived; with him was a large crowd with swords and clubs, from the chief priests and the elders of the people. (Matthew 26:47).
And when the chief priests and the scribes heard [about Jesus' teaching at the temple], they kept looking for a way to kill him; for they were afraid of him, because the whole crowd was spellbound by his teaching (Mark 11:18).
Hospitality
Those in the Mediterranean area took seriously the duty of offering hospitality. They treated sojourners as guests. Because in nomadic life strangers might be enemies, the showing of hospitality stemmed as much from fear as from generosity. This protection of a guest lasted for three days and 36 hours after eating with a host.2
This standard of hospitality appears early in Old Testament stories. Bread was relatively scarce because of nomadic baggage limits. The absence of this staple signaled extreme poverty or distress. After Abram saved his nephew Lot, King Melchizedek offered "bread and wine." (See Genesis 14:18.)
Later in Genesis 18:1--8, God appeared to Abraham as three men. Abraham went out "from the tent entrance to meet them." He "bowed down to the ground." Abraham ordered "a little water" for their feet. He invited them to rest under a tree, then instructed Sarah to make "three measures of choice flour." Further, Abraham selected from his herd a "tender and good" calf. With it, they served curds and milk. Abraham did not eat with the men but "stood by them under the tree."
Similarly, in Genesis 19:1--22, Lot rose to meet two angels who came to him. Lot "bowed down with his face to the ground." Assuring an early rising, he invited them to wash their feet and to spend the night. When they declined, Lot pressed them, then made a feast. He offered unleavened bread. Later saving Lot's life, the angels sent him out of Sodom.
This first of 37 Old Testament references to unleavened bread precedes the Exodus 12:39 passage. Destruction of Sodom was imminent. There was no time for yeast to rise.
Jesus chose to feed the hungry crowd. Perhaps the core of New Testament hospitality grew not only from fear or respect. Jesus also recognized the triangle of relationships between a person, God, and a neighbor, with the resulting responsibility of being a brother or sister in the faith: "Then he will answer them, 'Truly I tell you, just as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me' " (Matthew 25:45) and "Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for by doing that some have entertained angels without knowing it" (Hebrews 13:2). The Golden Rule is a rule of hospitality.
Jesus depended on the goodwill and hospitality of others for his lodging and daily care. He said, "[T]he Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head" (Matthew 8:20b). Many provided housing and sustenance for him and for his disciples:
Soon afterwards he went on through cities and villages, proclaiming and bringing the good news of the kingdom of God. The twelve were with him, as well as some women who had been cured of evil spirits and infirmities: Mary, called Magdalene, from whom seven demons had gone out, and Joanna, the wife of Herod's steward Chuza, and Susanna, and many others, who provided for them out of their resources (Luke 8:1--3).
Jesus ate in the house of the tax collector Matthew. (See Matthew 9:9,10.) Martha welcomed him into her home. (See Luke 10:38.) Leaving the region of Tyre, Jesus took refuge in someone's house. (See Mark 7:24.) In Bethany before the Passover, he sat at Simon's table. (See Mark 14:3.) A Pharisee invited him to eat at his house. (See Luke 7:36 and Luke 14:1.) Jesus invited himself to Zaccheus' house. (See Luke 19:5.)
Desert Wilderness
"A deserted place" carries a play on the word "desert" but is not necessarily a desert. The Revised Standard Version of the Bible translates "a deserted place" as "a lonely place." Compared to an oasis, a dry, barren, and often sandy region that can support little or no vegetation may seem forbidding. However, strength lives in the survival adaptations of desert plants and animals. Beauty persists in the stark simplicity and in the honesty of feelings.
Deserts included pasture lands, plains, and oases where springs and occasional rains plus careful water conservation made possible villages and caravan routes. With similar care, deserts of the spirit can be fed and nurtured into renewed courage.
Jesus was alone in the desert, but God did not desert him. Present in the desert, God sustains Jesus and provides the miracle of nourishment:
Some wandered in desert wastes, finding no way to an inhabited town; hungry and thirsty, their soul fainted within them. Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble, and he delivered them from their distress ... For he satisfies the thirsty, and the hungry he fills with good things (Psalm 107:4--6, 107:9).
Just as Jesus had not deserted the suffering earlier in the day, he also refused to desert the hungry crowd that evening. The verb "desert" means to leave when one is most needed, to abandon, to forsake one's duty or post, or to run away. The disciples must have sensed the unprotected nature of the situation as they urged Jesus to distance himself from the crowd in the late hour of the deserted place.
Wilderness is a devastated or destroyed region, unsettled and uncultivated. A piece of land set aside to grow wild, wilderness also offers space for wild, turbulent thoughts and privacy for intense, unrestrained emotion.
5. Gospel Parallels
The Disciples' Report
The earlier verses of Matthew 14 tell of the beheading of John the Baptist and the disciples' burial of him. (See Matthew 14:12: "His disciples came and took the body and buried it; then they went and told Jesus.") Saying, "On their return, the apostles told" (Luke 9:10), the Lukan parallel puts slightly less emphasis than the writer of Matthew on the directness of the disciples informing Jesus.
The writer of Luke focuses on their telling Jesus "all they had done" (Luke 9:10a). The writer of Mark uses these same words but adds "and taught" (Mark 6:30). Mark also lifts up the closeness that Jesus and the disciples shared: "The apostles gathered around Jesus, and told him all that they had done and taught" (Mark 6:30).
In the aforementioned verses, Mark and Luke refer to the disciples as apostles. Not until later in the reportings do they refer to them again as disciples. (See Mark 6:35 and Luke 9:14.)
Jesus' Withdrawal
In all three tellings, Jesus responds to the disciples' report by withdrawing to a secluded place. Matthew tells us he wanted to be alone: "Now when Jesus heard this, he withdrew from there in a boat to a deserted place by himself" (Matthew 14:13).
The writers of Luke and Mark emphasize Jesus' inclusion of the disciples. Jesus pays attention to their needs after the trauma of John's murder and to the healing the deserted place would offer them. Luke says Jesus "took them with him and withdrew privately to a city called Bethsaida" (Luke 9:10b).
Mark quotes Jesus: "He said to them, 'Come away to a deserted place all by yourselves and rest a while.'" Mark adds, "For many were coming and going, and they had no leisure even to eat" (Mark 6:31). In the following verse, Mark restates the action: "And they went away in the boat to a deserted place by themselves" (Mark 6:32).
The Crowds
All three writers mention overwhelming crowds, an important part of this miracle. Mark consistently calls them "many." "For many were coming and going, and they had no leisure even to eat" (Mark 6:31). "Now many saw them going and recognized them, and they hurried there on foot from all the towns and arrived ahead of them" (Mark 6:33).
Matthew refers to the crowds five times in this passage. "But when the crowds heard it, they followed him on foot from the towns" (Matthew 13:13). "When he went ashore, he saw a great crowd ..." (Matthew 13:14). "[S]end the crowds away so that they may go into the villages and buy food for themselves" (Matthew 13:15). "Then he ordered the crowds ... and the disciples gave them to the crowds" (Matthew 19:19).
Luke mentions them three times: "When the crowds found out about it, they followed him; and he welcomed them, and spoke to them about the kingdom of God, and healed those who needed to be cured" (Luke 9:11). "The day was drawing to a close, and the twelve came to him and said, 'Send the crowd away, so that they may go into the surrounding villages and countryside, to lodge and get provisions; for we are here in a deserted place' " (Luke 9:12). "And taking the five loaves and the two fish, he looked up to heaven, and blessed and broke them, and gave them to the disciples to set before the crowd" (Luke 9:16).
Jesus' Response To The Crowds
"When he went ashore, he saw a great crowd; and he had compassion for them and cured their sick" (Matthew 13:14). Mark says, "As he went ashore ..." (Mark 6:34a). Mark augments Jesus' sense of compassion. He adds, "[B]ecause they were like sheep without a shepherd" (Mark 6:34). Mark does not say Jesus cured the sick in the crowd but that "Jesus began to teach them many things" (Mark 6:34).
Luke notes that Jesus "welcomed" the crowds (see Luke 9:11).
Unlike Matthew, the physician avoids using the word "sick." He says Jesus "healed those who needed to be cured" (Luke 9:11). Like Mark, Luke refers to Jesus' teaching among the crowds: "and spoke to them about the kingdom of God" (Luke 9:11).
Sending Away The Crowds
Matthew and Mark's tellings are close. Matthew says, "When it was evening, the disciples came to him and said ..." (Matthew 14:15), while Mark says, "When it grew late, his disciples came to him and said" (Mark 6:35).
Both say, "This is a deserted place" (Matthew 14:15 and Mark 6:36). Matthew says, "[A]nd the hour is now late" (Matthew 14:16), while Mark says "[A]nd the hour is very late" (Mark 6:36). Matthew says, "[S]end the crowds away" (Matthew 14:16), while Mark says, "[S]end them away" (Mark 6:37).
Matthew reports, "[S]o that they may go into the villages" (Matthew 14:16), while Mark says, "[S]o that they may go into the surrounding country and villages" (Mark 6:37). Matthew says, "[A]nd buy food for themselves" (Matthew 14:16), while Mark says, "[A]nd buy something for themselves to eat" (Mark 6:37).
Luke's report reads from a greater distance and refinement: "The day was drawing to a close, and the twelve came to him and said, 'Send the crowd away, so that they may go into the surrounding villages and countryside, to lodge and get provisions; for we are here in a deserted place' " (Luke 9:12).
Jesus' Words With The Disciples
"Jesus said to them, 'They need not go away; you give them something to eat' " (Matthew 14:16). According to Mark and Luke, Jesus' response to the disciples is abrupt: "But he answered them, 'You give them something to eat' " (Mark 6:37). Luke says, "But he said to them" (Luke 9:13a).
In Matthew, the disciples state the facts: "They replied, 'We have nothing here but five loaves and two fish' " (Matthew 14:17). In Mark, the testy disciples "said to him, 'Are we to go and buy two hundred denarii worth of bread, and give it to them to eat?' " (Mark 6:37). The disciples also speak to the point in Luke and, as in Mark, suggest the absurdity of their purchasing food for the crowd. "They said, 'We have no more than five loaves and two fish - unless we are to go and buy food for all these people' " (Luke 9:13).
Is Jesus' question in Mark to clarify for himself or to emphasize to the disciples how little food they had? "And he said to them, 'How many loaves have you? Go and see.' When they had found out, they said, 'Five, and two fish' " (Mark 6:38). In Matthew, Jesus responds simply: "And he said, 'Bring them here to me' " (Matthew 14:18). According to Luke, Jesus also refuses to argue with the disciples but instructs them to seat the people. (See Luke 9:15.)
Instructing The Crowd
In the present narrative, Jesus himself "ordered the crowds to sit down" (Matthew 14:19). The writer of Mark reports that "[Jesus] ordered [the disciples] to get all the people to sit down" (Mark 6:39). Again in Luke, Jesus instructs the disciples to "[m]ake them sit down" (Luke 9:14).
In Matthew, the crowds are to sit down "on the grass" (Matthew 14:19). In Mark, they are to sit down "in groups" on the green grass (Mark 6:40). In Luke, they are to sit down "in groups of about fifty each" (Luke 9:14).
The Size Of The Crowd
Matthew does not tell the number of people until after he reports their having eaten. Then he says, "And those who ate were about five thousand men, besides women and children" (Matthew 14:21). Mark reports that "they sat down in groups of hundreds and of fifties" (Mark 6:40). As an afterthought, Mark adds, "those who had eaten the loaves numbered five thousand men" (Mark 6:44).
Luke reports the number before he reports Jesus' instructions to the disciples: "For there were about five thousand men" (Luke 9:14). Luke adds, "They did so and made them all sit down" (Luke 9:15).
The Feeding
Matthew and Mark's words are identical: "Taking the five loaves and the two fish, he looked up to heaven, and blessed and broke the loaves, and gave them to ..." (Matthew 14:19 and Mark 6:41). Luke starts the sentence with "And" (Luke 9:16). He and Matthew report that Jesus gave the loaves to "the" disciples, while Mark says "his" disciples. Matthew says, "[A]nd the disciples gave them to the crowds" (Matthew 14:19). Luke tells it, "[T]o set before the crowd" (Luke 9:16). Mark says, "[T]o set before the people; and he divided the two fish among them all" (Mark 6:41).
This text is identical in all three narratives: "And all ate and were filled" (Matthew 14:20, Mark 6:42, and Luke 9:17). All agree that "twelve pieces" were leftover. Matthew reports, "[A]nd they took up what was left over of the broken pieces, twelve baskets full" (Matthew 14:20). Mark says, "[T]hey took up twelve baskets full of broken pieces and of the fish" (Mark 6:43). Luke reports, "What was left over was gathered up, twelve baskets of broken pieces" (Luke 9:17).
____________
1. Read Acts 6:1--6. For further comments, see Howard Clark Kee, Understanding The New Testament 4th Edition (Englewood Cliffs, N.J.: Prentice Hall, Inc., 1983).
2. See The Interpreter's Dictionary Of The Bible, Volume 2.
Now when Jesus heard this, he withdrew from there in a boat to a deserted place by himself. But when the crowds heard it, they followed him on foot from the towns.13 When he went ashore, he saw a great crowd; and he had compassion for them and cured their sick.14
When it was evening, the disciples came to him and said, "This is a deserted place, and the hour is now late; send the crowds away so that they may go into the villages and buy food for themselves."15 Jesus said to them, "They need not go away; you give them something to eat."16 They replied, "We have nothing here but five loaves and two fish."17 And he said, "Bring them here to me."18 Then he ordered the crowds to sit down on the grass. Taking the five loaves and the two fish, he looked up to heaven, and blessed and broke the loaves, and gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the crowds.19 And all ate and were filled; and they took up what was left over of the broken pieces, twelve baskets full.20 And those who ate were about five thousand men, besides women and children.21
2. What's Happening?
This is the first of a series of three successive miracles closely influencing each other. One grows out of another. (See Cycle A, Miracle 8, "Walking On Water," and Cycle A, Miracle 9, "The Demon--Possessed Child.")
First Point Of Action
When Jesus hears that Herod has beheaded John the Baptist, he withdraws by boat to a deserted place. The crowds find out, rush there on foot ahead of Jesus, and meet him as he goes ashore. Compassionate, he heals their sick.
Second Point Of Action
That evening, the disciples, reminding Jesus of the late hour and the deserted place, urge him to send the crowds to return to their villages and buy food for themselves.
Third Point Of Action
In conversation with the disciples, Jesus tells them the crowds need not go away. He directs them to get the crowds something to eat. When the disciples tell Jesus they have only five loaves and two fishes, Jesus instructs them to bring the food to him.
Fourth Point Of Action
Jesus orders the crowds to sit on the grass. He takes the loaves and the fish, looks heavenward, blesses, and breaks the loaves.
Fifth Point Of Action
Jesus gives the food to the disciples, who distribute it to the crowds.
Sixth Point Of Action
Everyone eats. All, about five thousand people not counting women and children, are filled.
Seventh Point Of Action
They fill twelve baskets with broken, leftover pieces.
3. Connecting Points - Conversations
Interviewing A Woman In The Crowd
Asker: The crowd following Jesus represented more than mass religious entertainment.
Woman In The Crowd: We were no mindless throng. In the energy of some five thousand men besides us women and the children lay a miracle. The crowd embraced enough drive to walk the long way into the wilderness to find Jesus. When you sense something of deepest value to you, inconveniences become insignificant. I can still see the crowd growing, gathering momentum. We were whom Herod feared because we followed Jesus as a prophet. As we waited for Jesus to come ashore, our collected emotion was intense. Of course, some were curiosity seekers. I feared Jesus would be the next killed after John the Baptist. Many would have protected him. Some wanted only to be healed before he too was gone.
You inquire about our crowds. Ponder the nature of the crowds of your day. Who are they? Where do they gather? At a celebrity concert? To spend at the mall? At peaceful demonstrations? To see the AIDS quilt? The Vietnam War Memorial, the Holocaust Memorial? Is their destination worthy of your journey? For whom do your crowds gather? Whom would you follow? Consider where people who need compassion are drawn for healing.
To what type of crowd are you drawn? Why? Do the throngs of your day consist of individuals crowding the Internet? Are today's crowds privately and safely hurrahing celebrities from the television in the great room?
How can you be generous when none gather to avail themselves of your generosity? How can you show hospitality to a stranger who comes to your door when you fear opening it?
Interviewing A Man From The Crowd
Asker: Talk to us about the meal you and the others ate with Jesus.
Man In The Crowd: Well, for such a crowd you can do little with five loaves and two fish. You talk about our hospitality. Three loaves of bread was a minimal meal for one person. Still, all in this multitude ate. The food did not merely tide us over. We felt satisfied. Leftovers were shared with others.
Asker: How much food was required to meet the need?
Man In The Crowd: I never noticed how much I ate. Perhaps the miracle lay also in the satisfaction. A little piece of bread and a taste of juice at your Holy Communion carries the spiritual sustenance of a full meal.
Asker: Was food really left over?
Man In The Crowd: It was. I helped pass the basket. We were not a greedy assembly. We had come with spiritual hunger. Jesus' hospitality for us wanderers extended far beyond the established customs. The new hospitality lay in caring for the soul. Jesus had fed us all day.
Asker: It inconveniences us when wanderers come to our door. We could save the local relief fund by providing a hot meal ourselves. We would feed them from our table but were planning the leftovers for Thursday's meal. Freezer food is for the kids coming home next month. A peanut butter and jelly sandwich? At least a drink of water. I could wash their grungy clothes while they showered and ate. The spare bedroom for a night. Drugs? They could look things over and walk away with anything. I really should not let them in the door while I am here alone.
These thoughts wave through our heads in a second. Still, we say, "I am sorry, travellers must check in at our police station. We are authorized to provide money for gas, a restaurant meal, or a motel room." So much for modern hospitality. How did you do it?
Man In The Crowd: We were not so holy, either. The rule of the region required us to provide shelter, support, and sustenance - enough to appease thoughts of being harmed. However, the call of the heart required generosity - a measure of the best flour, the best calf, and ample water for hot, dusty feet.
Asker: Then Jesus could do no less than feed the crowd?
Man In The Crowd: "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you." "Whatsoever you do to the least of these, my brothers and sisters, do you also to me." Jesus' words were full. He knew what it meant to be beholden to others. He travelled all over in his ministry. He had no home but many homes.
Asker: Times have changed, or have they? Disingenuity also existed in Jesus' day. Transcending fear and giving people the benefit of the doubt defined the new hospitality.
Man In The Crowd: It is the relationship of being as brother to brother and as sister to sister. If Jesus had sent off the crowd, what would that have taught them about his teaching to that point? Jesus redefined the "why" of caring.
Interviewing A Disciple
Asker: Sometimes reaching out to others is untimely. You disciples both lamented the lack of food and gathered up leftovers.
Disciple: Let us put it this way. Another crowd of people was the last thing either Jesus or I wanted to see. I was shaken after burying John. Anything could happen in a crowd that huge. In my head, I heard, "Jesus is next. Jesus is next." You know. You had Martin Luther King and President Kennedy and his brother. There Jesus was, thinking about feeding the crowd. Not only were we disciples the protectors of what Jesus preached, we also sheltered his person.
Asker: Why did you not insist that Jesus leave the crowd to its own resources?
Disciple: Do you know Jesus? "Impossible" was our human response, not Jesus' answer. Jesus found a way to stretch the food with some to spare. After this feast, I have begun to grasp the meaning of my call to be an apostle of Christ.
Interviewing Jesus
Asker: When you heard about John's murder, you withdrew to a deserted place. But when the crowds heard about it, they followed you on foot from neighboring towns. You responded with compassion and spent the day healing their sick.
Jesus: My wanting to withdraw and go to a deserted place alone speaks for itself. My grief was acute. When things get out of hand, I take care of myself with a time of solitude. Even so, this miracle is not about my restoration alone but about the nourishment of strangers who dare to enter the desert in faith.
Asker: Were you disgruntled with the disciples? When the writer of Matthew relates this story, he shows little of the upset that you and the disciples must have felt after John's beheading. Why did you say to the disciples, you give them something to eat? Did you have too much else to do? Were you worn out? You almost offhandedly told the disciples to feed the crowd. Then, realizing what you had asked, you told them to bring what food they had to you.
On the other hand, I could also hear you speaking to the disciples quietly and with encouragement. You did not dismiss them but worked with them so they had food to distribute.
Jesus: This is a story of beginnings. The beginning of the disciples' carrying on without me: "You give them something to eat." The beginning of Holy Communion and the words of institution: I looked heavenward and blessed the bread. Then I broke the bread and gave it with the fish to the disciples to distribute. The beginning of the disciples' expanding the ministry among Gentiles. Even though the crowds had followed us, people gathered from nearby towns. We fed non--Jews. I would not leave the disciples empty--handed. Twelve baskets were left over for reaching out with missionary faith.1
Asker: The writer of Matthew saw you as the prophet fulfilling the words of Isaiah. Earlier, Matthew ended his quotation of the Isaiah servant passage with these words: "And in his name the Gentiles [the other nations] will hope" (Matthew 12:21). By feeding everyone, were you teaching those near you as well as signaling to the Pharisees who were watching you?
Jesus: We must not limit God to the people of Israel. We must reach beyond the easy and the convenient.
4. Words
Apostle
In the synoptic Gospels, Matthew uses the term "apostle" once in Jesus' naming of the twelve apostles. (See Matthew 10:2.) In addition to the Mark 6:30 parallel, the writer of Mark refers to the apostles in Mark 3:14: "And he appointed twelve, whom he also named apostles, to be with him, and to be sent out to proclaim the message."
"Apostle" appears six times in Luke. Luke 6:13 confirms a distinction between apostle and disciple: "And when day came, he called his disciples and chose twelve of them, whom he also named apostles." (See also Luke 9:10, 11:49, 17:5, 22:14, and 24:10.)
An apostle is a commissioned messenger or ambassador. In Christian usage, "apostle" carries two colors. The term refers to certain first generation Christians and to those who are to spread the gospel. The favored term of the early Christian community, apostle appears twenty times in the singular and then only in the epistle writings of the first century Christians. In the plural, it occurs 53 times - nine times in the Synoptics, 25 times in Acts, and 19 times in other New Testament writings.
An apostle is one of the twelve disciples Christ chose to preach his gospel. A disciple is a follower, one who subscribes to the teachings of a leader and then assists in spreading them. Must one be chosen to be an apostle? Must one simply believe to be a disciple? How are we apostles now? How are we disciples now?
Disciple
With 186 of the 221 New Testament references to "disciple[s]" occurring in the Gospels, disciple rather than apostle was the word choice of those in Jesus' day. A disciple is a learner or a pupil who accepts and follows a given doctrine or teacher. The term includes the original twelve disciples but is not limited to them.
Today, we also must choose to what or to whom we will be disciples. What is discipleship all about? Is it blind adherence? Is it following the crowd? Is it open--eyed choice?
Crowd
Except for an Exodus reference, all other 102 references to "crowd" are in the New Testament. Additionally, "crowds" occurs 52 times in the New Testament. To feel crowded in, a large number of persons gathered together, the common people, to congregate in a close place, to put pressure on - any of these definitions might describe the people gathering around Jesus.
The Gospel writers describe the crowd as large: "[T]he crowd gathered by the thousands" (Luke 12:1, 9:37) and his mother and his brothers "could not reach him because of the crowd" (Luke 8:19).
[Jesus] stood on a level place, with a great crowd of his disciples and a great multitude of people from all Judea, Jerusalem, and the coast of Tyre and Sidon ... And all in the crowd were trying to touch him, for power came out from him and healed all of them (Luke 6:17, 19).
Witnessing Jesus' work, the people in the crowd protected and supported him:
... [T]he crowd was amazed when they saw the mute speaking, the maimed whole, the lame walking, and the blind seeing. And they praised the God of Israel (Matthew 15:31).
And the large crowd was listening to him with delight (Mark 12:37).
When he said this, all his opponents were put to shame; and the entire crowd was rejoicing at all the wonderful things that he was doing (Luke 13:17).
The crowd sternly ordered [the two noisy blind men beside the road] to be quiet (Matthew 20:31).
A very large crowd spread their cloaks on the road, and others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road (Matthew 21:8).
The crowd followed Jesus:
Jesus went out again beside the sea; the whole crowd gathered around him, and he taught them (Mark 2:13).
So [Jesus] went with [Jairus]. And a large crowd followed him and pressed in on him (Mark 5:24).
At times, Jesus wanted privacy from the crowd for his own quiet or for a healing. (See Mark 7:17, Matthew 9:25 [the healing of Jairus' daughter], and Mark 7:33 [the healing of the deaf man].) At times, the crowd appeared to overburden Jesus so that he left them. (See Matthew 13:2.) However, Jesus' main public attitude toward the crowd was empathic:
When he went ashore, he saw a great crowd; and he had compassion for them and cured their sick (Matthew 14:14).
Then Jesus called his disciples to him and said, "I have compassion for the crowd, because they have been with me now for three days and have nothing to eat; and I do not want to send them away hungry, for they might faint on the way" (Matthew 15:32). (See also Mark 8:1, 8:2, and 8:6.)
As he went ashore, he saw a great crowd; and he had compassion for them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd; and he began to teach them many things (Mark 6:34).
Rather than preach at the crowd, Jesus spoke to them with both deep concern and respect. He found them teachable:
He called the crowd with his disciples, and said to them, "If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me" (Mark 8:34).
Then he called the crowd again and said to them, "Listen to me, all of you, and understand" (Mark 7:14).
A crowd was sitting around him; and they said to him, "Your mother and your brothers and sisters are outside, asking for you." And he replied, "Who are my mother and my brothers?" And looking at those who sat around him, he said, "Here are my mother and my brothers! Whoever does the will of God is my brother and sister and mother" (Mark 3:32--35).
For Jesus, the crowd was a gathering of individuals who counted one by one. He responded to individuals. (See the healing of the hemorrhaging woman [Mark 5:27ff].)
Their perspective differing, the disciples appeared to view the crowd impersonally, even as a pressing nuisance from which they had to shield Jesus:
The disciples said to [Jesus], "Where are we to get enough bread in the desert to feed so great a crowd?" (Matthew 15:33).
And leaving the crowd behind, [the disciples] took [Jesus] with them in the boat, just as he was (Mark 4:36).
The crowd carried power. The writer of Matthew reported earlier in Chapter 14 that Herod feared the crowd or its mass psychology. They regarded Jesus as a prophet. (See Matthew 14:5. Pilate played to the crowd. See Matthew 27:15 and 27:24. See also Mark 15:8, 15:11, and 15:15.)
While [Jesus] was still speaking, Judas, one of the twelve, arrived; with him was a large crowd with swords and clubs, from the chief priests and the elders of the people. (Matthew 26:47).
And when the chief priests and the scribes heard [about Jesus' teaching at the temple], they kept looking for a way to kill him; for they were afraid of him, because the whole crowd was spellbound by his teaching (Mark 11:18).
Hospitality
Those in the Mediterranean area took seriously the duty of offering hospitality. They treated sojourners as guests. Because in nomadic life strangers might be enemies, the showing of hospitality stemmed as much from fear as from generosity. This protection of a guest lasted for three days and 36 hours after eating with a host.2
This standard of hospitality appears early in Old Testament stories. Bread was relatively scarce because of nomadic baggage limits. The absence of this staple signaled extreme poverty or distress. After Abram saved his nephew Lot, King Melchizedek offered "bread and wine." (See Genesis 14:18.)
Later in Genesis 18:1--8, God appeared to Abraham as three men. Abraham went out "from the tent entrance to meet them." He "bowed down to the ground." Abraham ordered "a little water" for their feet. He invited them to rest under a tree, then instructed Sarah to make "three measures of choice flour." Further, Abraham selected from his herd a "tender and good" calf. With it, they served curds and milk. Abraham did not eat with the men but "stood by them under the tree."
Similarly, in Genesis 19:1--22, Lot rose to meet two angels who came to him. Lot "bowed down with his face to the ground." Assuring an early rising, he invited them to wash their feet and to spend the night. When they declined, Lot pressed them, then made a feast. He offered unleavened bread. Later saving Lot's life, the angels sent him out of Sodom.
This first of 37 Old Testament references to unleavened bread precedes the Exodus 12:39 passage. Destruction of Sodom was imminent. There was no time for yeast to rise.
Jesus chose to feed the hungry crowd. Perhaps the core of New Testament hospitality grew not only from fear or respect. Jesus also recognized the triangle of relationships between a person, God, and a neighbor, with the resulting responsibility of being a brother or sister in the faith: "Then he will answer them, 'Truly I tell you, just as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me' " (Matthew 25:45) and "Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for by doing that some have entertained angels without knowing it" (Hebrews 13:2). The Golden Rule is a rule of hospitality.
Jesus depended on the goodwill and hospitality of others for his lodging and daily care. He said, "[T]he Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head" (Matthew 8:20b). Many provided housing and sustenance for him and for his disciples:
Soon afterwards he went on through cities and villages, proclaiming and bringing the good news of the kingdom of God. The twelve were with him, as well as some women who had been cured of evil spirits and infirmities: Mary, called Magdalene, from whom seven demons had gone out, and Joanna, the wife of Herod's steward Chuza, and Susanna, and many others, who provided for them out of their resources (Luke 8:1--3).
Jesus ate in the house of the tax collector Matthew. (See Matthew 9:9,10.) Martha welcomed him into her home. (See Luke 10:38.) Leaving the region of Tyre, Jesus took refuge in someone's house. (See Mark 7:24.) In Bethany before the Passover, he sat at Simon's table. (See Mark 14:3.) A Pharisee invited him to eat at his house. (See Luke 7:36 and Luke 14:1.) Jesus invited himself to Zaccheus' house. (See Luke 19:5.)
Desert Wilderness
"A deserted place" carries a play on the word "desert" but is not necessarily a desert. The Revised Standard Version of the Bible translates "a deserted place" as "a lonely place." Compared to an oasis, a dry, barren, and often sandy region that can support little or no vegetation may seem forbidding. However, strength lives in the survival adaptations of desert plants and animals. Beauty persists in the stark simplicity and in the honesty of feelings.
Deserts included pasture lands, plains, and oases where springs and occasional rains plus careful water conservation made possible villages and caravan routes. With similar care, deserts of the spirit can be fed and nurtured into renewed courage.
Jesus was alone in the desert, but God did not desert him. Present in the desert, God sustains Jesus and provides the miracle of nourishment:
Some wandered in desert wastes, finding no way to an inhabited town; hungry and thirsty, their soul fainted within them. Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble, and he delivered them from their distress ... For he satisfies the thirsty, and the hungry he fills with good things (Psalm 107:4--6, 107:9).
Just as Jesus had not deserted the suffering earlier in the day, he also refused to desert the hungry crowd that evening. The verb "desert" means to leave when one is most needed, to abandon, to forsake one's duty or post, or to run away. The disciples must have sensed the unprotected nature of the situation as they urged Jesus to distance himself from the crowd in the late hour of the deserted place.
Wilderness is a devastated or destroyed region, unsettled and uncultivated. A piece of land set aside to grow wild, wilderness also offers space for wild, turbulent thoughts and privacy for intense, unrestrained emotion.
5. Gospel Parallels
The Disciples' Report
The earlier verses of Matthew 14 tell of the beheading of John the Baptist and the disciples' burial of him. (See Matthew 14:12: "His disciples came and took the body and buried it; then they went and told Jesus.") Saying, "On their return, the apostles told" (Luke 9:10), the Lukan parallel puts slightly less emphasis than the writer of Matthew on the directness of the disciples informing Jesus.
The writer of Luke focuses on their telling Jesus "all they had done" (Luke 9:10a). The writer of Mark uses these same words but adds "and taught" (Mark 6:30). Mark also lifts up the closeness that Jesus and the disciples shared: "The apostles gathered around Jesus, and told him all that they had done and taught" (Mark 6:30).
In the aforementioned verses, Mark and Luke refer to the disciples as apostles. Not until later in the reportings do they refer to them again as disciples. (See Mark 6:35 and Luke 9:14.)
Jesus' Withdrawal
In all three tellings, Jesus responds to the disciples' report by withdrawing to a secluded place. Matthew tells us he wanted to be alone: "Now when Jesus heard this, he withdrew from there in a boat to a deserted place by himself" (Matthew 14:13).
The writers of Luke and Mark emphasize Jesus' inclusion of the disciples. Jesus pays attention to their needs after the trauma of John's murder and to the healing the deserted place would offer them. Luke says Jesus "took them with him and withdrew privately to a city called Bethsaida" (Luke 9:10b).
Mark quotes Jesus: "He said to them, 'Come away to a deserted place all by yourselves and rest a while.'" Mark adds, "For many were coming and going, and they had no leisure even to eat" (Mark 6:31). In the following verse, Mark restates the action: "And they went away in the boat to a deserted place by themselves" (Mark 6:32).
The Crowds
All three writers mention overwhelming crowds, an important part of this miracle. Mark consistently calls them "many." "For many were coming and going, and they had no leisure even to eat" (Mark 6:31). "Now many saw them going and recognized them, and they hurried there on foot from all the towns and arrived ahead of them" (Mark 6:33).
Matthew refers to the crowds five times in this passage. "But when the crowds heard it, they followed him on foot from the towns" (Matthew 13:13). "When he went ashore, he saw a great crowd ..." (Matthew 13:14). "[S]end the crowds away so that they may go into the villages and buy food for themselves" (Matthew 13:15). "Then he ordered the crowds ... and the disciples gave them to the crowds" (Matthew 19:19).
Luke mentions them three times: "When the crowds found out about it, they followed him; and he welcomed them, and spoke to them about the kingdom of God, and healed those who needed to be cured" (Luke 9:11). "The day was drawing to a close, and the twelve came to him and said, 'Send the crowd away, so that they may go into the surrounding villages and countryside, to lodge and get provisions; for we are here in a deserted place' " (Luke 9:12). "And taking the five loaves and the two fish, he looked up to heaven, and blessed and broke them, and gave them to the disciples to set before the crowd" (Luke 9:16).
Jesus' Response To The Crowds
"When he went ashore, he saw a great crowd; and he had compassion for them and cured their sick" (Matthew 13:14). Mark says, "As he went ashore ..." (Mark 6:34a). Mark augments Jesus' sense of compassion. He adds, "[B]ecause they were like sheep without a shepherd" (Mark 6:34). Mark does not say Jesus cured the sick in the crowd but that "Jesus began to teach them many things" (Mark 6:34).
Luke notes that Jesus "welcomed" the crowds (see Luke 9:11).
Unlike Matthew, the physician avoids using the word "sick." He says Jesus "healed those who needed to be cured" (Luke 9:11). Like Mark, Luke refers to Jesus' teaching among the crowds: "and spoke to them about the kingdom of God" (Luke 9:11).
Sending Away The Crowds
Matthew and Mark's tellings are close. Matthew says, "When it was evening, the disciples came to him and said ..." (Matthew 14:15), while Mark says, "When it grew late, his disciples came to him and said" (Mark 6:35).
Both say, "This is a deserted place" (Matthew 14:15 and Mark 6:36). Matthew says, "[A]nd the hour is now late" (Matthew 14:16), while Mark says "[A]nd the hour is very late" (Mark 6:36). Matthew says, "[S]end the crowds away" (Matthew 14:16), while Mark says, "[S]end them away" (Mark 6:37).
Matthew reports, "[S]o that they may go into the villages" (Matthew 14:16), while Mark says, "[S]o that they may go into the surrounding country and villages" (Mark 6:37). Matthew says, "[A]nd buy food for themselves" (Matthew 14:16), while Mark says, "[A]nd buy something for themselves to eat" (Mark 6:37).
Luke's report reads from a greater distance and refinement: "The day was drawing to a close, and the twelve came to him and said, 'Send the crowd away, so that they may go into the surrounding villages and countryside, to lodge and get provisions; for we are here in a deserted place' " (Luke 9:12).
Jesus' Words With The Disciples
"Jesus said to them, 'They need not go away; you give them something to eat' " (Matthew 14:16). According to Mark and Luke, Jesus' response to the disciples is abrupt: "But he answered them, 'You give them something to eat' " (Mark 6:37). Luke says, "But he said to them" (Luke 9:13a).
In Matthew, the disciples state the facts: "They replied, 'We have nothing here but five loaves and two fish' " (Matthew 14:17). In Mark, the testy disciples "said to him, 'Are we to go and buy two hundred denarii worth of bread, and give it to them to eat?' " (Mark 6:37). The disciples also speak to the point in Luke and, as in Mark, suggest the absurdity of their purchasing food for the crowd. "They said, 'We have no more than five loaves and two fish - unless we are to go and buy food for all these people' " (Luke 9:13).
Is Jesus' question in Mark to clarify for himself or to emphasize to the disciples how little food they had? "And he said to them, 'How many loaves have you? Go and see.' When they had found out, they said, 'Five, and two fish' " (Mark 6:38). In Matthew, Jesus responds simply: "And he said, 'Bring them here to me' " (Matthew 14:18). According to Luke, Jesus also refuses to argue with the disciples but instructs them to seat the people. (See Luke 9:15.)
Instructing The Crowd
In the present narrative, Jesus himself "ordered the crowds to sit down" (Matthew 14:19). The writer of Mark reports that "[Jesus] ordered [the disciples] to get all the people to sit down" (Mark 6:39). Again in Luke, Jesus instructs the disciples to "[m]ake them sit down" (Luke 9:14).
In Matthew, the crowds are to sit down "on the grass" (Matthew 14:19). In Mark, they are to sit down "in groups" on the green grass (Mark 6:40). In Luke, they are to sit down "in groups of about fifty each" (Luke 9:14).
The Size Of The Crowd
Matthew does not tell the number of people until after he reports their having eaten. Then he says, "And those who ate were about five thousand men, besides women and children" (Matthew 14:21). Mark reports that "they sat down in groups of hundreds and of fifties" (Mark 6:40). As an afterthought, Mark adds, "those who had eaten the loaves numbered five thousand men" (Mark 6:44).
Luke reports the number before he reports Jesus' instructions to the disciples: "For there were about five thousand men" (Luke 9:14). Luke adds, "They did so and made them all sit down" (Luke 9:15).
The Feeding
Matthew and Mark's words are identical: "Taking the five loaves and the two fish, he looked up to heaven, and blessed and broke the loaves, and gave them to ..." (Matthew 14:19 and Mark 6:41). Luke starts the sentence with "And" (Luke 9:16). He and Matthew report that Jesus gave the loaves to "the" disciples, while Mark says "his" disciples. Matthew says, "[A]nd the disciples gave them to the crowds" (Matthew 14:19). Luke tells it, "[T]o set before the crowd" (Luke 9:16). Mark says, "[T]o set before the people; and he divided the two fish among them all" (Mark 6:41).
This text is identical in all three narratives: "And all ate and were filled" (Matthew 14:20, Mark 6:42, and Luke 9:17). All agree that "twelve pieces" were leftover. Matthew reports, "[A]nd they took up what was left over of the broken pieces, twelve baskets full" (Matthew 14:20). Mark says, "[T]hey took up twelve baskets full of broken pieces and of the fish" (Mark 6:43). Luke reports, "What was left over was gathered up, twelve baskets of broken pieces" (Luke 9:17).
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1. Read Acts 6:1--6. For further comments, see Howard Clark Kee, Understanding The New Testament 4th Edition (Englewood Cliffs, N.J.: Prentice Hall, Inc., 1983).
2. See The Interpreter's Dictionary Of The Bible, Volume 2.
