Jesus Feeds the Five Thousand

(Matthew 14:13–21)

From the Exegetical Commentary on Matthew, AMG Publishers, 2006.

[13] When Jesus heard these things, He went to a “desert (érēmon [2048]) place for Himself” (a.t.), but a crowd of people followed Him from several cities.

We can surmise that Jesus, having been told of the murder of John the Baptist, wanted a private place to pray and recover from grief over this personal loss. Mark explains that He was accompanied by His disciples, telling them to “rest a while” in the context of “many coming and going” (Mark 6:31). On other occasions, Jesus separated Himself from the hustle and bustle of crowds (Matt. 17:1; Mark 4:34; etc.).

[14] But as Jesus observed many coming and going, “[He] was moved with compassion (esplagchnísthē, the aorist passive of splagchnízomai [4697], to show compassion) toward them, and he healed (etherápeusen, the aorist tense of therapeúō [2323], to heal with compassion) their sick.”

Derived from splágchnon (4698), intestine, the verb splagchnízomai is frequently associated with action; that is, it is not a passive emotion that “feels but does nothing.” Because we can feel the pain of others as if it were deep within our own bodies (our “bowels”) and since we always do what we can about our own pain, the verb includes the complex idea of sympathetic action. The frenzy of people—here their “coming and going”—often moved Jesus as He thought of them as “faint[ed]…scattered abroad, as sheep having no shepherd” (Matt. 9:36).

The word “sick,” used here for the first time, is arrōstous (the accusative plural of árrōstos [732], from the privative a [1], without; and rhōnnumi [4517], to strengthen). The adjectival noun árrōstos means “without natural strength,” having some form of chronic illness. The sick here suffered from various chronic sicknesses that disabled them one way or another. The Lord was moved by both the sicknesses and the handicaps they produced.

The work of a therápōn moves beyond the work of an iatrós ([2395], a physician) in his attempt to restore the soul as well as the body. By analogy today, a physical therapist (therápōn) seeks to restore a person to wholeness through a customized regimen of physical and motivational exercises, following the skilled procedures of a physician (iatrós). The therapist combines coaching with encouragement using both commands and incentives.

In his account of this scene, to emphasize the miraculous physics of healing, “Luke, the beloved physician [iatrós]” (Col. 4:14), replaces Matthew’s therapeúō with iátō (healed from sickness; Luke 9:11). John adds that the multitude grew in numbers as “they saw (heōrōn, the imperfect tense of horáō [3708], to see and perceive) His miracles which he did on them that were diseased (asthenoúntōn, the present participle of asthenéō [770], to be feeble, sick)” (John 6:2).

[15] The disciples, as usual, were long on advice and short on faith. Their suggestion here, however, was not unrealistic. Since no stores or markets were in the immediate vicinity, they suggested that Jesus send the people to nearby villages in order to buy food (brōmata, the plural of the noun brōma [1033], food).

[16] Jesus immediately responded by saying, “They have no need to depart; you give (dóte, the aorist imperative of dídōmi [1325], to voluntarily give) to them something to eat” (a.t.). Jesus wanted to teach His disciples two lessons. First, He can provide anything anywhere; and second, when He provides, He does so through His people. This applies to both physical and spiritual needs, immediate and remote, temporary and eternal. When we are tempted to think that we have to go somewhere else at some other time to find the Lord’s will, these words remind us to “Stand still, and see the salvation of the Lord, which he will show to you today” (Ex. 14:13).

[17] The first English word “and” is actually a translation of the Greek adversative dé ([1161], “but”). We always use “but” when our scope of God’s sovereignty is too narrow. The verse summarizes the recurring alibi of the Lord’s disciples throughout the church age: “We don’t have enough!”

So it seemed to me, when the Lord challenged me at sixteen years of age to advertise the gospel message in secular Greek magazines and in Muslim, Hindu, Buddhist, and Communist magazines and newspapers throughout the world. Today, we at AMG International can point to former notorious enemies of the gospel who are now witnessing to a persecuting majority in their native countries.

John tells us that the five barley loaves and two fish mentioned here belonged to a “small child” (paidárion [3808]) and were most probably his lunch (John 6:8-9). We know that bread made from barley was cheaper than that of wheat, so the child was carrying little of any value. John adds that Andrew asked, “But (allá [235], an adversative like dé) what are they among so many?” Allá is sometimes used as a continuative having one of the following meanings: but now, but further, moreover, or but indeed. In this verse, allá probably means the latter: “But indeed, how could so many be fed from so little?”

Jesus Christ can take the naturally insufficient and make it supernaturally sufficient-plus. If all the insufficient resources of a local congregation were put on the altar of God, how much more would God grant sufficiency plus to physically and spiritually feed numbers far beyond five thousand (John 14:12–14)? Let us have faith in His ability “to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think” (Eph. 3:20).

In the phrase, “but five loaves, and two fishes,” the “but” (ei [1487], the “if” of supposition; and mē [3361], the relative “not”) highlights the inadequacy of the food to match the overwhelming need.

[18] The present tense of “bring” (phérete, the present imperative of phérō [5342], to carry) means to keep bringing, that is, continue bringing to God what you think is insufficient. What a blessed invitation this is!

The “here” (hōde [5602]), coupled with the unqualified, present imperative, implies “now.” It is important for us to put what we have in the hands of the Lord Jesus immediately. To delay is disobedience.

[19] Jesus immediately blessed what was brought to Him, “Having looked up to heaven, He blessed (eulógēse, the aorist indicative of eulogéō [2127], to speak well to) [the food] and having broken (klásas, the aorist participle of kláō [2806]) [the food], He gave (édoken, the aorist indicative of dídōmi [1325]) the loaves to His disciples” (a.t.).

The blessing must be taken as a divine command. Jesus did not “speak well of” bread and fish. Rather, He “spoke well to” the bread and fish; that is, He determined the multiplication of the bread and fish. Contrary to those who think Jesus fed the crowd with miniscule portions of food, the disciples later gathered twelve baskets of fragments. That many baskets could not be filled with scraps from a small original volume that would not occupy such space. As the record stands, the Lord did many miracles that no human could do (see Matt. 15:32-38; Luke 5:1-9; John 2:1-11).

[20] The multitude, we read, “…ate and were filled to satiety (echortásthēsan, the aorist tense of chortázō [5526], to satisfy), and they took up of the fragments that remained (perisseúon, the present participle of perisseúō [4052]) twelve baskets full (kophínous, the accusative of kóphinos [2894], a small wicker basket used by women for shopping)” (a.t.). Note the present participle perisseúon, “the abounding remains,” which characterizes God’s grace. God always provides a surplus, and He tells us to gather up the remainder, since He does not want us to waste His gifts.

[21] The word “about” translates hōseí ([5616], approximately), and gives an estimate of the crowd size—5,000 men, in addition to women and children (the total size of the crowd could have been quite significantly larger). The Gospels accurately record this detail to show unequivocally that feeding this massive crowd was an act of God.

Dr. Spiros Zodhiates (1922-2009) served as president of AMG International in Chattanooga, Tenn. for over 30 years, was the founding editor of Pulpit Helps Magazine, and authored dozens of exegetical books.