The Bible Book

THE GOSPELS 231

Feeding of

the 4,000

Feeding of

the 5,000

Featured in

Matthew/Mark

Five loaves and

two fish

Featured in

Luke/John

Location

The people

being fed

Number of loaves/

fish before miracle

Remaining food

after miracle

Twelve baskets’ worth

Jews

Bethsaida

Yes

Yes

Seven loaves and

several fish

Seven baskets’ worth

Gentiles

Near the Decapolis,

in the Gerasenes

No

Yes

Jesus as the king

of the Jews

Since the prophet Isaiah, the

Jewish people had waited for

a king from the line of David

to deliver them from their

enemies and preside over an

era of economic prosperity

and international influence.

Throughout His ministry,

Jesus, a descendant of David,

proves Himself to be this very

savior. He preaches the word

of God to the multitudes, heals

the sick, and provides them

with food. Not concerned

with earthly kingdoms, Jesus

performs acts that show Him

to be divine, leading many

who hear Him to accept Him

as the promised Messiah. The

crowds that gather to listen to

Him speak are testament to

His growing support among

both Jews and Gentiles.

Jesus’s following, of course,

eventually becomes so great

that enemies of His decide

that He poses too much of a

threat. As Jesus undergoes

questioning at His trial, it is

no wonder that Pilate refers to

Him as the “king of the Jews,”

a title that also appears on the

cross on which He is crucified.

Baptist, Matthew 15 goes on to

describe Jesus and the disciples

feeding a crowd in a region of the

Gerasenes, near the Decapolis, a

cluster of ten allied cities east of

the Sea of Galilee. The narrative is

similar to that in Matthew 14, except

for two key details: the numbers and

the type of people who were fed.

Some Bible scholars have

questioned why the Gospel writers

would include two such similar

miracles so close together in their

accounts of Jesus’s life. However,

both the numbers cited and the

audiences are important. While

the crowd at Bethsaida was

predominantly Jewish, scholars

suggest that those gathered in the

“feeding of the 4,000” were more

likely to be Gentiles. This feeding

of the multitudes, therefore, was

proof that God would provide for

all people, Jews and Gentiles.

Doubting disciples

It is notable that when Jesus tells

His disciples in the Gerasenes that

He plans to feed the multitude, they

express doubts. They ask Him

“where could we get enough bread

in this remote place to feed such

a crowd?” (Matthew 15:33). They

either do not quite believe He will

work in this “remote place” or they

have forgotten how Jesus recently

performed this very miracle for the

5,000 gathered at Bethsaida. Some

scholars have taken this skepticism

to show that the disciples are, at

this point, still learning: they do not

yet possess an unwavering faith

in the power of God to do what,

to humans, seems impossible. ■

I [the Lord] will bless

[Israel] with abundant

provisions; her poor I

will satisfy with food.

Psalms 132:13–15

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