Matthew 15:32-39 And Jesus called His disciples to Him, and said, “I feel compassion for the people, because they have remained with Me now three days and have nothing to eat; and I do not want to send them away hungry, for they might faint on the way.” 33 The disciples said to Him, “Where would we get so many loaves in this desolate place to satisfy such a large crowd?” 34 And Jesus said to them, “How many loaves do you have?” And they said, “Seven, and a few small fish.” 35 And He directed the people to sit down on the ground; 36 and He took the seven loaves and the fish; and giving thanks, He broke them and started giving them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the people. 37 And they all ate and were satisfied, and they picked up what was left over of the broken pieces, seven large baskets full. 38 And those who ate were four thousand men, besides women and children. 39 And sending away the crowds, Jesus got into the boat and came to the region of Magadan. (NAS)
As some of us plan menus and think about getting together with family this Thanksgiving, our reading today reminds us that God cares for both the spiritual and the physical health of the body. The previous passage details Jesus doing what He frequently is seen doing in the Bible caring for the needs of people. He spent three days healing the sick and teaching them the things of God, so He calls the disciples and announces His compassion for the people.
This passage is governed by two verbs both given in verse 32. The first is the expression of His feeling for the people I feel compassion and the second I do not want to send them away hungry (literally I will not send them away…)
He explains His reason why in verse 32 “because” they had remained with Him and He was not willing to send them away with no food to eat for their journey home. The people had shown great interest in seeing Jesus, being healed, and listening to Him. They had stayed so long that they ate any food that was with them and were reluctant to leave Jesus.
Jesus has compassion for people
Jesus states His deep feelings for the mass of people who had come to see Him. He had compassion for their spiritual needs and physical needs as well.
This verb σπλαγχνίζομαι splagchnizomai means to experience a deep visceral feeling for someone, to feel compassion for, to feel sympathy, to take pity on someone. (Used 12x in NT – Matt. 9:36; Matt. 14:14; Matt. 15:32; Matt. 18:27; Matt. 20:34; Mar. 1:41; Mar. 6:34; Mar. 8:2; Mar. 9:22; Luk. 7:13; Luk. 10:33; Luk. 15:20)
Thayer’s Greek Lexicon: “properly, to be moved as to one’s bowels, hence, to be moved with compassion, have compassion (for the bowels were thought to be the seat of love and pity).”
To be compassionate toward others is the opposite of our natural tendency to be self-focused, or self-centered. In eight of the twelve uses of this word in the New Testament it describes the emotion of Jesus Christ. He had deep seated sympathy and compassion for people who were suffering.
J.C Ryle noted: “It is a curious and striking fact that of all the feelings expressed by our Lord upon earth, there is none so often mentioned as compassion. His joy, his sorrow, his thankfulness, his anger, his wonder, his zeal, are all occasionally recorded. But none of these feelings are so frequently mentioned as compassion.”
Compassion is a common theme of the New Testament from the mouth of Jesus.
Matthew 9:36 Seeing the people, He felt compassion for them, because they were distressed and dispirited like sheep without a shepherd. (NAS)
Matthew 14:14 When He went ashore, He saw a large crowd, and felt compassion for them and healed their sick. (NAS)
Matthew 18:27 “And the lord of that slave felt compassion and released him and forgave him the debt. (Parable told by Jesus: NAS)
Matthew 20:34 Moved with compassion, Jesus touched their eyes; and immediately they regained their sight and followed Him (Mat 20:34 NAU)
(see also; Mark 1:41, 6:34, 8:2, 9:22; Luke 7:13, 10:33, 15:20)
What a great and glorious Savior we have! His every action and teaching was focused upon His sympathy and compassion for suffering humanity. His whole life was characterized by love, kindness, compassion, and understanding. In all that He said or did was immersed in the deepest emotion for the good of human beings.
We see in the apostle Paul, one who imitated Jesus. Paul describes his ministry in this way “from house to house with many tears” (Acts 20:19-20, 31). And to the church at Corinth, “For out of much affliction and anguish of heart I wrote to you with many tears; not so that you would be made sorrowful, but that you might know the love which I have especially for you.” (2 Corinthians 2:4 NAS)
The Lord Jesus Christ felt the needs of the people deeply and He spoke and acted upon that compassion. I have noticed in certain theological circles that any mention of emotion to be forbidden. Many deeply educated and scholarly people seek to abolish feeling and emotion from the Christian religion. But if we are to be like Jesus, we must be people who develop a deep seated compassion for suffering like our Lord. The emotion that Jesus displayed is not some out of control, thoughtless, reactionary type that these academics decry, and that is the difference. Not all emotion should be declared as unchristian.
Obviously, Jesus had already dealt with their greatest need, spiritual food, but Jesus compassion extends to their physical needs as well. Compassionate deeds may indeed open the door to giving the Gospel. Even though the order is reversed in the account before us, addressing physical needs will give us opportunity to preach the salvation of the Lord.
There are some critics of the Bible that believe that the feeding of the 4,000 was an invention of Matthew and Mark, and that it is actually an example of a biblical contradiction. They claim that this incident was just a rehashing of the feeding of the 5,000, but with different numbers. The feeding of the 5,000 was recorded in all the Gospel accounts (Matthew 14:14-22; Mark 6:34-45; Luke 9:10-17; John 6:1-13), however the feeding of the 4,000 is given in Mark (8:1-10) and Matthew.
There are several similarities and differences between the two feedings.
Similarities:
• Both miracles involved large crowds who were hungry.
• Jesus used a small amount of bread and fish to feed a lot of people.
• The disciples doubted the Lord’s ability to provide but were also involved in distributing the food.
• In both miracles, Jesus took the little they had, gave thanks, and multiplied it.
• The crowds ate and were completely satisfied and a large amount of food was left over.
Differences:
• The first miracle involved feeding 5,000 men compared to 4,000 here.
• The amount of bread He started with was different: 5 loaves versus 7 loaves.
• The leftovers: 12 small baskets in the first feeding and 7 large baskets in the second.
• There are two different Greek words: smaller baskets (kophinos) and larger baskets (spuris).
• The first meal came after a day of teaching and this one follows three days of teaching.
• The first miracle took place among Jewish people and this one happens among Gentiles.
Finally, if that was not enough to prove that these are two separate incidents Matthew 16:6-12 confirms that this was a second miraculous feeding, and not a repetition of the first, as some have charged. In Matthew 16, Jesus begins by warning them (verse 6) about the teaching “the leaven” of the Pharisees. They misunderstand and think that Jesus is speaking about them not bringing bread.
8 But Jesus, aware of this, said, “You men of little faith, why do you discuss among yourselves that you have no bread? 9 “Do you not yet understand or remember the five loaves of the five thousand, and how many baskets full you picked up? 10 “Or the seven loaves of the four thousand, and how many large baskets full you picked up? 11 “How is it that you do not understand that I did not speak to you concerning bread? But beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees.” 12 Then they understood that He did not say to beware of the leaven of bread, but of the teaching of the Pharisees and Sadducees. (Matthew 16:8-12 NAS)
And they all ate and were satisfied… (Matthew 15:37 NAS)
They were satisfied χορτάζω chortazo meaning ‘to cause to eat one’s fill, to satisfy with food’ (Louw-Nida). This word is used of feeding of animals until they were full. They would eat until they were completely satisfied. Chortazo is used figuratively by Jesus to refer to experiencing inward satisfaction, or being fully satisfied.
Matthew 5:6 “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied (chortazo). (NAS)
Those who have believed in Jesus will be declared righteous and will be completely satisfied with Him.
So you may be thinking at this point, that was an interesting lesson on this feeding of the four thousand, but what does this have to with thanksgiving? I started the article mentioning thanksgiving, if you forgot. I have yet to mention that there is a word that is used for the first time in the New Testament in this text: “giving thanks.”
The first use of this word is by our Lord Jesus, He gave thanks to God for the loaves and the fish.
36 and He took the seven loaves and the fish; and giving thanks, He broke them and started giving them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the people. (Matthew 15:36 NAS)
The word is εὐχαριστέω eucharisteo it means to express gratitude for benefits or blessings. We are to give thanks, to be full of thankfulness, and to give thanksgiving for what we have. The fact that this word is first used by Jesus is significant because we have more to be thankful for then mere food to eat.
Jesus declares His compassion for people, lest they faint on the way home. Jesus’ love flows from His compassionate heart for people suffering from great trials, from perishing in the way, but the Lord Jesus intervened that His people may live. Believers are on a journey to our heavenly home, but with Jesus strengthening us we will not fall faint on our way. He is not just showing compassion to the people of His day, but He acts in compassion every day of our lives. The Lord has intervened that the troubles of this life, that we may bear them. He has pulled us out of danger, and made His light shine in our hearts.
2 Corinthians 4:6 For God, who said, “Light shall shine out of darkness,” is the One who has shone in our hearts to give the Light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ. (NAS)
When you read the words of our Lord Jesus, you read the words of life! You will never find in Him a cold, detached, uncaring theologian, but a soul who sought to heal our deepest human needs. When you think about His mission in life, it all was all motivated by an eternal love for us. Out of a compassionate heart He came into the world to Redeem sinners (Hebrews 10:4-14). In compassion He did weep with the sorrowful (John 11:33-35). And out of the depths of compassion for hopeless sinners He died for us (Romans 5:8, 8:34; 1 Corinthians 15:3; 2 Corinthians 5:14; 1 Thessalonians 5:10; 1 Peter 3:18).
And even now He has compassion for us from heaven, and intercedes for us (Isaiah 53:12; Hebrews 7:25; Romans 8:34)
We could not get a greater sign of Jesus’ love and compassion then His arms outstretched upon the cross. At this very moment He prepares a place for us. He is our understanding, sympathetic and compassionate Savior! Oh how we ought to express our thanksgiving to such a God as Him. So as we gather around our thanksgiving meal, let us remember how truly thankful people we should be.
37 And they all ate and were satisfied, (Matthew 15:37 NAS)
The Lord has more than mere food to give you, He satisfies our greatest needs. Are you satisfied in the Lord? Have you known the grace of God, and have you been blessed and filled with the Lord’s forgiveness? If you have, then whatever may happen in your life this year or the years to come, you may come to the table already satisfied by the goodness of God.
Many of us have experienced many unique challenges this year, maybe your family get together may be smaller because of concerns about the Covid-19 virus, or perhaps you are not getting together at all. But if you know the Lord Jesus; you have experienced the satisfaction of the Lord. The apostle Paul wrote;
11 Not that I speak from want, for I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am.12 I know how to get along with humble means, and I also know how to live in prosperity; in any and every circumstance I have learned the secret of being filled and going hungry, both of having abundance and suffering need. 13 I can do all things through Him who strengthens me. (Phillipians 4:11-13 NAS)
Some of us are not there yet, where we have learned to be content in any circumstance. By the way these words are not meant to condemn us, but to direct us to where our hope should stand. Our hope should be upon the God “who strengthens me” (v 13). All other sources of strength will fail, but trust in the Lord and lean not on your own understanding.
Proverbs 3:5-6 Trust in the LORD with all your heart And do not lean on your own understanding. 6 In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He will make your paths straight. (NAS)
Give thanks to Jesus Christ, the Compassionate One!
In Christ,
Jeremy Murphy
Delivered by Christ 