Feeding 4000 - Matt 15:29-39; Mark 8:1-10

Leaving the Decapolis area, Jesus and his followers “came nigh unto the sea of Galilee.” Great multitudes of people followed Him, “having with them those that were lame, blind, dumb, maimed, and many others, and cast them down at Jesus’ feet; and he healed them.” The people are astonished at these miracles, “and they glorified the God of Israel.” Apparently these people had been following the Savior for the last three days when Jesus told his disciples, “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.” Something that I think is interesting is that the Savior isn’t just concerned about how they feel in that moment, whether or not they are hungry, He is concerned with the journey that they still have to take. I guess that that is a fitting commentary on our lives as well, Jesus isn’t just concerned with what we have going on at the time, or what we’ve dealt in the past, he’s also concerned with what we’re going to face in the future. The people who have injuries from the past, he heals them when they come to him, those who are with him at the current time, he feeds them so that they can be prepared for what’s to come. I guess that’s the lesson that I need to learn today, He’s preparing me for what’s coming, even if it’s hard and I’m tired.

The disciples have heard this type of statement before, where Jesus desires to feed thousands of people but they don’t have enough food for them. They ask, “Whence should we have so much bread in the wilderness, as to fill so great a multitude?” The way that this is worded, is makes it sound like the disciples weren’t remembering that the Lord fed more than 5,000 people just a few weeks previously, but surely that hadn’t slipped their mind. I’m going to chalk this up to it being difficult to determine speech patterns from text. I’m going to assume that they weren’t like “what are you talking about?” and instead believe that they were more asking “what do you have in mind?” Because you can’t just ask Jesus, “hey do you think you can feed all these people and us with a miracle please?” I would imagine that he has to be the one to voice the option first.

First, we have to consider one thing, The IM quotes Elder Bruce R. McConkie as teaching, “This miraculous feeding of the four thousand is not a mere duplication or repetition of the feeding of the five thousand which took place a short time before near Bethsaida. Then our Lord was mingling with his own kindred of Israel; now he is teaching other hosts who in substantial part, being inhabitants of Decapolis, are presumed to be Gentile. Then he was laying the foundation for his incomparable sermon on the Bread of Life; not he is prefiguring the future presentation of the living bread to the Gentile nations.” The IM also suggests that the possible reason for the disciples question was because “they were still somewhat weak in their faith. The Savior reproved them on this occasion for their lack ofperception and hardness of heart. The disciples also may not have known whether the Savior would perform such a miracle for Gentiles, and, as Elder James E. Talmage of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles proposed, they may have ‘deemed it beyond their duty of privilege to suggest a repetition of the miracle.”

 Jesus asks “how many loaves have ye?” And they answer, “seven, and a few little fishes.” Jesus took the small amount of food that they had available “and gave thanks, and brake them, and gave to his disciples, and the disciples to the multitude.” The IM quotes President Thomas S. Monson as teaching, “(The Savior0 took the seven loaves and the fishes, and gave thanks, and brake them, and gave to his disciples, and then disciples to the multitude.’ Notice that the Savior gave thanks for what they had- and a miracle followed… Regardless of our circumstances, each of us has much for which to be grateful if we will but pause and contemplate our blessings… To live with gratitude ever in our hearts is to touch heaven.” I love that last part so much that I’m going to find a way to put in on some wood and put it on my wall as a constant reminder.

Interestingly, it is very possible that Jesus could have given the food to the people, he didn’t need to have the disciples give it to them, but there is a pattern set forth here that shows the path way from Jesus to his designated servants to the people.  All the people there “did all eat, and were filled: and they took up the broken mean that was left seven baskets full. And they that did eat were four thousand men, beside women and children.”