Mathew 15:32-39 Four Thousand are Fed - Literature review Example

College: Mathew 15:32-39 Four Thousand are Fed This is the second feeding in the book of Matthew and in this instance Matthew takes from Mark 8:1-10 and is regarded as a doublet in history for the same occurrence. The Bible records the famous miracle known as "feeding the 4,000" in two books of the Gospels: Matthew 15:32-39 and Mark 8:1-13. Jesus Christ was busy healing people as a large crowd was following him around as he and his disciples traveled. Jesus knew that many people in the crowd were fighting of hunger because they did not want to leave him given they would find something to eat (Saunders pg 239). Jesus had preached to the people for a better part of the day and before he left them to go back to their homes, he realized how hungry they were. His love and compassion could not allow him to send the people back to their respective homes on an empty stomach. He had no option as he had the urge through his compassion and sympathy given the people had spent three days with him praying and without food (Rudolf pg. 84). In this regard, Jesus decided to multiply the food that his disciples had with them -- seven loaves of bread and a few fish -- to feed 4,000 men, plus many women and children who were there. Unlike Mark: Matthew attaches the feeding of the multitudes directly to; the healings of the sick as seen earlier in Matthew 15 on how Jesus had just healed the daughter of a woman who had asked him to free her from the suffering from demon possession. This was when he traveled to the Sea of Galilee and followed up that spiritual healing with physical healing for many of the people who came to him for help. Nevertheless, Jesus knew that the people were dealing with a more basic physical need than healing from their injuries and diseases: their hunger. Through Mark, it was directed at the Gentiles. By feeding the crowd, Jesus is seen as the merciful savior of the people (Saunders pg 329). Earlier, the Bible records a separate event at which Jesus performed a similar miracle for a different hungry crowd. For that miracle, Jesus multiplied the food using a lunch that a boy had packed and offered to him to use to feed the hungry crowd. In this situation Jesus, compassion is shown by the great length of time in which people had managed to hold out in the desert and the danger that they may collapse on their way home. The Three days symbolically represent the practice of fasting or the same time Jesus would be in the Tomb. This helps connect this story to the messianic feeding and God’s vindication of the Messiah (Saunders pg. 285). Matthew stresses the intent by Jesus to send the people home in good health. He however fails to mention as indicated in the book of Mark, “…some had come from a great distance.” To him they are all from a vicinity to the lake. The disciples are included in the preparation of the feeding only incidentally when they asked Jesus “Where are we to get enough bread?” which is a narrative figure to show Jesus as the provider. We get very important information from this scripture of the ability of Jesus to take over our crippled life and instead straighten it for us (Rudolf pg. 127). Matthew has rewritten the disciples questions as to how they will find sufficient bread but they still misunderstand on how the crowd is fed. The disciples are again revealing as men of little faith. We are reminded through the varied miracles performed such as feeding thousands using manner in the deserts, whipping a giant through a shepherd boy, being able to extract water from a rock, making the sun stand still, transforming a terrorist named Saul into a preacher named Paul; then we have no reason whatsoever not to believe in such a person. They fail to trust God’s action through Jesus in the face of Physical Deprivation and danger (Saunders pg. 296). Yet they have the assurance of multiplications of loaves that Jesus has provided to the needs of the Community. The blessings of the bread, the distribution to the people by the disciples, everyone having their fill and the leftovers are all recounted as from the first feeding. In listing the participants, Matthew again mentions Men, Women and children. For him the image is of the whole community gathering around Jesus and receiving his gifts (Twelftree pg. 109). Matthew associates the power of Jesus with compassion. In the first feeding story, the disciples suggested Jesus send the crowd away to buy food for them. However, in this instance Jesus noted that the crowds were growing hungry, so hungry so much, so that if he was to send them away to get their own food they may collapse on their way home (Rudolf pg. 172). Mark does not mention the fish until the bread has been distributed. Mathew manages to condense the story by mentioning both the availability of both fish and bread. The mentioning of both together could also be to make the feeding nearly parallel to the Eucharist. To the crowd that shows repentance to the Messiah, Jesus extends the messianic banquet (Saunders pg. 142). The same Eucharistic we saw in the feeding of the five thousand in Matthew 14:13-21 is witnessed here. Matthew shows perhaps the idea that the Jews who are willing to call the Israel’s God the Messiah is still invited to share the messiah’s meal. Although the invitation to the messianic banquet is an open invitation to an individual Jew, it does not indicate any rapprochement to the Pharisees Magnesium (Kurt pg. 124). It is wise noting that Jesus was always able to know what people needed even before they mentioned it. In addition, he was always planning to meet such need in a compassionate way. Its is not the first time he is feeding a multitude from nothing much as it had been witnessed before, Jesus feeding thousand from a boy’s lunch (Rudolf pg. 302). Its key to note that Jesus knew what the people needed, food before they ever expressed their needs to him, and he was already planning to meet their needs in a compassionate way. Just as in the first feeding where Jesus multiplied the food from a boys lunch to feed thousands here too, he created such an abundance of food that some remained. Bible scholars believe the leftover food is symbolic in both cases: The Twelve baskets that remained over when Jesus fed the 5,000, 12 represents both the 12 tribes of Israel from the Old Testament and Jesus 12 apostles from the New Testament (Twelftree pg. 145). Seven baskets were left over when Jesus fed the 4,000, and the number seven symbolizes the spiritual completion and perfection in the Bible. This is symbolic of the abundance that is likely to be experienced in the presence of the messiah. Mark tells the same story as Matthew does, but adds some more information onto the ending that gives readers more insight into how Jesus decided whether to perform miracles for people. Mark 8:9-13 says: the performance of miracles by the messiah was non-predictable. This magnifiecient man did things without a mention to anyone (Twelftree pg. 182). After he had sent them away, he got into the boat with his disciples and went to the region of Dalmanutha. The Pharisees came and began to question Jesus. To test him, they asked him for a sign from heaven indicating the performance of the miracles he performed. He sighed deeply and said, Why does this generation ask for a sign? Truly I tell you, no sign will be given to it(Kurt pg. 256). Then he left them, got back into the boat, and crossed to the other side. Jesus performed miracles to people who had not even asked but in this instance, he refused to do so. Different people had different motives that while the hungry crowd wanted to learn from Jesus and came to him with faith, the Pharisees wanted to test him and they came to him with criticism. Jesus makes it clear in the bible that using miracles to test God corrupts the purity of the purpose and is supposed to help grow faith among His people (Rudolf pg. 75). Uncertainty is portrayed in this case, under which the platform is created to facilitate and justify the occurrences. Such a miracle points towards the Creation story because what is in existence is being so incredibly multiplied that a new creation of physical objects is taking place where only a certain quantity of them was in existence. It has not about what wheat is being milled or baked and being given to those present but that, from a few resources, bread comes into existence despite the fact that it could not have been made to exist through normal means (Twelftree pg. 232). The miracle, thus, points towards the influence of the Creator in a way that the healing of the sick would not. Jesus is viewed as a man dependent upon God for every miracle. He does not operate independently due to his own will or His own power, but what is being seen here is that the Creator must in some way be present for such a miracle to take place because it parallels His initial work in bringing everything to existence (Twelftree). Miracles a supernatural powers and it does not happen under any given predictable circumstance. The fact that 4000 are fed and left over realized is a unique fact in itself. In all the instances, scholars believe the leftovers are symbolic: the 12 baskets left over when he fed 5000 people symbolized the 12 tribes of Israel in the Old Testament and the 12 disciples in the New Testament (Twelftree pg. 256). Works Cited Rudolf Schnackenburg, The Gospel of Matthew, Wm.B.Eerdmans Publishing Co. Saunders, Stanley P. Preaching the Gospel of Matthew: Proclaiming Gods Presence,Westminster John Knox Press Twelftree, Graham H, Jesus the Miracle Worker: A Historical and Theological Study, Intervarsity Press Kurt Aland, 1982 Synopsis of the Four Gospels United Bible Societies Read More