Jesus Feeds the Four Thousand: Signs and Hypocrisy

(Matthew 15:32–16:4)

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

[32] Jesus became concerned about the needs of the multitudes, “Then Jesus called His disciples to Him and said, I have compassion (splagchnízomai [4697] from splágchnon [4698], bowel, intestine; to feel pity at the deepest level) on the multitude, because they continue with Me now three days and have nothing to eat. I do not (ou, the absolute “not”) desire to send them away hungry, lest they faint (ekluthōsin, the aorist tense of eklúomai [1590] from ek, out of; lúō [3089], break up, dissolve) on the way” (a.t.).

The Lord is concerned with our physical well-beings. In His human nature (splagchnízomai does not apply to His deity) at the deepest level, He groans under the burden of our suffering. Here the threat of people collapsing from hunger stirred Him to provide for their immediate needs. Sometimes the Lord does not want us to fast—not if it produces a collapse so we cannot effectively serve Him.

[33] Five thousand had been fed a short time before (see Matt. 14:15–21), yet the disciples, walking by sight and not by faith, asked, “Whence should we have so much bread in the wilderness, as to fill (chortásai, the aorist infinitive of chortázō [5526], to satisfy) so great a multitude?”

The disciples knew the crowd could not be satisfied with just a little food. Yet their incredulity as to where Jesus could find bread in the wilderness to again feed literally thousands when He had done so previously is utterly amazing.

[34] Jesus, ever patient, did not rebuke them but asked, “How many loaves have ye?” He already knew the count, and He could have created bread ex nihilo (out of nothing). But in this instance He revealed His providence over things already in existence, no doubt to remind us that He will increase whatever we place on His altar for His service. This was necessary, for the number of loaves and fishes was insufficient to feed the great crowd. Moreover, it was not just a small number of fish, but they were “little fishes.”

Mary’s Magnificat celebrates the redemption history of Israel as one in which the Lord repeatedly “filled (enéplēsen, the aorist tense of empíplēmi [1705], to fill) the hungry with good things (agathōn, the genitive plural of agathós [18], goods); and the rich He hath sent away empty (kenoús, the plural of kenós [2756], empty, vain)” (Luke 1:53; a.t.).

[35] Now Jesus “commanded [them] to sit down (anapeseín, the aorist infinitive of anapíptō [377], to lean back) on the ground” (a.t.). They had been standing and were fatigued to the point of passing out.

[36] Following this, Jesus blessed the available food. “And He took the seven loaves and the fish and having thanked (eucharistēsas, the aorist participle of eucharistéō [2168], to thank) [His Father, implicitly], He broke them and gave to His disciples, and the disciples to the multitude” (a.t.).

This looks like a large-scale Eucharist and the proper order for the Church: first, the giving of thanks, then the breaking, then distribution to the elders, and from the elders to the people of God. Each loaf represents the body of Christ, broken on our behalf. Paul speaks of the one body of the Lord from which we symbolically partake and eat in remembrance of Him (1 Cor. 11:24).

In John 6, the Lord Jesus spoke of Himself as the bread (always singular, never “breads”) of life coming down from heaven (vv. 32–35, 41, 48, etc.). The physical bread represents His sinless body that was sacrificed for sin (Heb. 10:12). Note that while the verb éklase ([2806], broke) is an aorist tense, the verb edídou (UBS, Nestle’s Text), giving, is imperfect, meaning “He kept giving.”

[37] As a result, “They all (pántes, the nominative plural of pás) ate and were filled (echortásthēsan, the aorist passive of chortázō): and they took up of the abundance of the pieces that were left seven baskets (spurídas [4711]) full” (a.t.). Jesus had produced a “surplus (perisseúon, the present participle of perisseúō [4052], an amount beyond what is necessary) of fragments” (a.t.). A Greek synonym for perisseúō is pleonázō ([4121], to have more than enough). But perisseúō has a sense of good and duty that is missing from pleonázō. The latter term is sometimes associated with greed (pleonexía [4124]), which is a sin (Mark 7:22, Luke 12:15, Rom. 1:29, etc.).

The word translated “baskets” here is spurídas, a small shopping basket, while in Matthew 14:20; 16:9; Mark 6:43; 8:19; Luke 9:17; and John 6:13, “baskets” translates kophínous, the accusative of kóphinos ([2894], a wicker basket, a larger basket made of ropes or entwined twigs). In both instances, the surplus was not wasted. It was probably put to good use, perhaps to feed the needy. The Lord’s grace never runs short and never goes to waste.

[38] Here and in Matthew 14, the numbers of thousands fed excluded (chōrís [5565], apart from, besides) women and children, a common custom of counting in those days. This means the total number fed was actually much greater.

[39] After this great miracle, Jesus, “having dismissed (apolúsas, the aorist participle of apolúō, to loose from, dismiss, release) the multitudes, went into a boat and came to the borders of Magdala” (a.t.).

Interesting but without explanation is the fact that the reaction of the crowd following this miracle was tame compared with the stirring created at the feeding of the five thousand when the crowd was prepared to declare Jesus king (John 6:15). Then He compelled His disciples to depart before He dismissed the crowds. This time, the crowd appeared to be less zealous.

Shortly after this, The Pharisees and Sadducees again came to test Jesus. He did not hesitate to call the Pharisees and Sadducees “hypocrites” (16:3). The reason is clear enough; He had given them ample evidence that He was able to do what no person had ever done. Who had ever multiplied a few fish and loaves of bread to feed thousands of persons on two occasions? Who had healed the sick and raised the dead? Instead of acknowledging Jesus as the Son of God—the natural response to such miracles—they came “tempting” (peirázontes, the present participle of peirázō ([3985], to tempt or test) Him.

[16:1] The word peirázō in the Bible can have two meanings: either a temptation to sin or a test of righteousness, and it depends on the motive. God tests His people to strengthen their faith. Unbelievers and particularly hypocrites, on the other hand, tempt people to sin.

James 1:13 tells us that God is not the responsible cause of sin: “Let no person (mēdeís [3367], not even one; from mē{3361}, the relative not; dé [1161], even; and heís [1520], one), when he is tempted (peirazómenos, the present passive participle of peirázō) say, I am tempted of God: for God is untemptable (apeírastos [551] from the privative a and peirázō) by evil (kakōn, the genitive plural of kakós [2556]), neither does He tempt anyone” (a.t.).

James 1:14 amplifies this thought by teaching that the responsible cause of sin is not an external agent at all but rather the internal state of lust: “But every man (hékastos [1538], each, every one) is tempted (peirázetai, the present passive indicative of peirázō), when he is drawn away (exelkómenos, the present passive participle of exélkō [1828], to draw away) of his own lust (epithumías [1939]), and enticed (deleazómenos, the present middle/passive participle of deleázō [1185], to entrap).”

The Pharisees were not inclined toward good; rather, they wanted to thoroughly discredit Jesus’ words and miracles by baiting Him to “show (epideíxai, the aorist active infinitive of epideíknumi [1925], to show off, to exhibit) them a sign from the heaven (toú ouranoú, the genitive of ouranós [3772]; “the heaven” is the place where God’s special presence dwells) (a.t.)”

[2, 3] In response, Jesus chided the Pharisees and Sadducees for their inability to discern “the signs of the times (kairōn, the plural of kairós [2540], seasons),” though they could frequently predict weather based on current weather conditions: “When it is evening, ye say, ‘It will be fair weather: for the sky is red.’ And in the morning, ‘It will be foul weather today: for the sky is red and lowering.’”

They had been given prophecies concerning the first appearance of their Messiah, even the birthplace (Mic. 5:2) and time (Dan. 9:24–26) of His birth. Yet they ignored God’s revelation because of their hypocrisy (hupokritaí [5273] from hupó [5259], under, implying secrecy; and krísis [2920], judgment), wickedness, and adultery (v. 4).

[4] Earnestly seeking signs is not a neutral endeavor. Non-Christians believe they are unbiased before the Spirit of God removes their hearts of stone and replaces them with hearts of flesh, one promise of the new covenant (Ezek. 11:19; 36:26). Jesus called a generation that looked for signs both “wicked” (ponērá [4190], malevolent) and “adulterous” (moichalís [3428]).

Jesus’ response to this desire for proof was emphatic: “There shall no (ou) sign be given unto it, but the sign of the prophet Jonah.” This did not mean that the other signs Jesus did in His lifetime were insufficient. Jesus’ primary sign to Israel at that time would be His resurrection after three days in the grave, corresponding to Jonah’s release from the belly of the large fish, following three days of confinement. That sign would be sufficient to bring Israel to the level of accountability to determine the fate of the nation. Indeed, Israel rejected this sign, and God destroyed Jerusalem and its temple in a.d. 70, according to Jesus’ prophecies in Matthew 21:40–43; 22:7.

This section closes with the phrase “And he left (katalipōn, the aorist participle of kataleípō [2641], to leave behind, forsake) them, and departed.” Jesus had had enough of their unrepentant wickedness and adultery.

Dr. Spiros Zodhiates (1922-2009) served as president of AMG International in Chattanooga, Tennessee for over 40 years, was the founding editor of Pulpit Helps Magazine, and authored dozens of exegetical books.