Jesus is once again moved with compassion for the people who follow Him and feeds 4000 people with little food in Matthew 15:32-39. As a reminder, this is a separate event than the feeding of the 5000 plus people we recently discussed in Matthew 14.
32 Then Jesus called his disciples and told them, “I feel sorry for these people. They have been here with me for three days, and they have nothing left to eat. I don’t want to send them away hungry, or they will faint along the way.”
33 The disciples replied, “Where would we get enough food here in the wilderness for such a huge crowd?”
34 Jesus asked, “How much bread do you have?”
They replied, “Seven loaves, and a few small fish.”
35 So Jesus told all the people to sit down on the ground. 36 Then he took the seven loaves and the fish, thanked God for them, and broke them into pieces. He gave them to the disciples, who distributed the food to the crowd.
37 They all ate as much as they wanted. Afterward, the disciples picked up seven large baskets of leftover food. 38 There were 4,000 men who were fed that day, in addition to all the women and children. 39 Then Jesus sent the people home, and he got into a boat and crossed over to the region of Magadan.
This scripture shows us once again that Jesus is moved with compassion for those who genuinely seek Him. Having recently fed 5000 plus with a few loaves and fish, we find the disciples responding the same way they did before when Jesus says He wants to feed the crowd. They start by asking where they will get the food for such a crowd.
While some may chastise the disciples as foolish for not remembering the last time, I prefer to reflect on it slightly differently. The miracle of feeding the 5000 plus was so amazing and unusual, that even the disciples who were there and witnessed it could still not consider it as an obvious and common solution to feeding the crowds. Let’s give the disciples their due respect… they obeyed Jesus and distributed the food even when it clearly appeared that there would not be enough to go around. They did not require Jesus to make all the food appear first in a pile before they agreed to pass it out.
I can think in my own life how many times when God asks me to do something I start by recognizing the obstacles that would prevent me from doing this on my own, by my normal abilities and actions. The difference is that when Jesus asks us to do something, He will provide the ability and resources to do it. We can focus on trying simply to obey. We can start even without seeing and knowing exactly how it will be completed.
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