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Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Matthew 15:29

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And Jesus departed from thence, and came nigh unto the sea of Galilee; and went up into a mountain, and sat down there.

29. a mountain ] Rather, the mountain country; the high land, as distinguished from the low land, which He had left.

Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges

29 31. Jesus returns to the high land of Galilee, and cures many Blind, Dumb, and Lame

Mar 7:31-37, where, not content with the general statement, the Evangelist describes one special case of healing.

Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges

Sea of Galilee – That is, the Lake of Gennesaret. For an account of the principal diseases mentioned here, see the notes at Mat 4:24.

Maimed – Those to whom a hand or foot was wanting. See Mat 18:8. To cure them – that is, to restore a hand or foot – was a direct act of creative power. It is no wonder, therefore, that the people wondered.

And they glorified the God of Israel – To glorify here means to praise; to acknowledge his power and goodness. The God of Israel was the God that the Israelites or Jews worshipped.

Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible

Verse 29. Went up into a mountain] , THE mountain. “Meaning,” says Wakefield, “some particular mountain which he was accustomed to frequent; for, whenever it is spoken of at a time when Jesus is in Galilee, it is always discriminated by the article. Compare Mt 4:18, with Mt 5:1; and Mt 13:54, with Mt 14:23; and Mt 28:16. I suppose it was mount Tabor.”

Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible

And Jesus departed from thence,…. From the coasts of Tyre and Sidon, where he would have been private and retired; but being discovered, and knowing that the fame of this last miracle would make him more public in those parts, he removed, and passed through the midst of the coast of Decapolis, as Mark says, “and came nigh unto the sea of Galilee”: the same with the sea of Tiberias. Joh 6:1, that is, he came to those parts of Galilee, which lay near the sea side,

and went into a mountain: which was very usual with him, either for solitude, or for prayer, and sometimes, for better conveniency, to preach to the people:

and sat down there: to take some rest, being weary with his journey, and as waiting for the multitude to come to him, both for instruction and healing.

Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible

Four Thousand Men Fed.

29 And Jesus departed from thence, and came nigh unto the sea of Galilee; and went up into a mountain, and sat down there. 30 And great multitudes came unto him, having with them those that were lame, blind, dumb, maimed, and many others, and cast them down at Jesus’ feet; and he healed them: 31 Insomuch that the multitude wondered, when they saw the dumb to speak, the maimed to be whole, the lame to walk, and the blind to see: and they glorified the God of Israel. 32 Then Jesus called his disciples unto him, and said, I have compassion on the multitude, because they continue with me now three days, and have nothing to eat: and I will not send them away fasting, lest they faint in the way. 33 And his disciples say unto him, Whence should we have so much bread in the wilderness, as to fill so great a multitude? 34 And Jesus saith unto them, How many loaves have ye? And they said, Seven, and a few little fishes. 35 And he commanded the multitude to sit down on the ground. 36 And he took the seven loaves and the fishes, and gave thanks, and brake them, and gave to his disciples, and the disciples to the multitude. 37 And they did all eat, and were filled: and they took up of the broken meat that was left seven baskets full. 38 And they that did eat were four thousand men, beside women and children. 39 And he sent away the multitude, and took ship, and came into the coasts of Magdala.

Here is, I. A general account of Christ’s cures, his curing by wholesale. The tokens of Christ’s power and goodness are neither scarce nor scanty; for there is in him an overflowing fulness. Now observe,

1. The place where these cures were wrought; it was near the sea of Galilee, a part of the country Christ was much conversant with. We read not of any thing he did in the coasts of Tyre and Sidon, but the casting of the devil out of the woman of Canaan’s daughter, as if he took that journey on purpose, with that in prospect. Let not ministers grudge their pains to do good, though but to few. He that knows the worth of souls, would go a great way to help to save one from death and Satan’s power.

But Jesus departed thence. Having let fall that crumb under table, he here returns to make a full feast for the children. We may do that occasionally for one, which we may not make a constant practice of. Christ steps into the coast of Tyre and Sidon, but he sits down by the sea of Galilee (v. 29), sits down not on a stately throne, or tribunal of judgment, but on a mountain: so mean and homely were his most solemn appearances in the days of his flesh! He sat down on a mountain, that all might see him, and have free access to him; for he is an open Saviour. He sat down there, as one tired with his journey, and willing to have a little rest; or rather, as one waiting to be gracious. He sat, expecting patients, as Abraham at his tent-door, ready to entertain strangers. He settled himself to this good work.

2. The multitudes and maladies that were healed by him (v. 30); Great multitudes came to him; that the scripture might be fulfilled, Unto him shall the gathering of the people be, Gen. xlix. 10. If Christ’s ministers could cure bodily diseases as Christ did, there would be more flocking to them than there is; we are soon sensible of bodily pain and sickness, but few are concerned about their souls and their spiritual diseases.

Now, (1.) Such was the goodness of Christ, that he admitted all sorts of people; the poor as well as the rich are welcome to Christ, and with him there is room enough for all comers. He never complained of crowds or throngs of seekers, or looked with contempt upon the vulgar, the herd, as they are called; for the souls of peasants are as precious with him as the souls of princes.

(2.) Such was the power of Christ, that he healed all sorts of diseases; those that came to him, brought their sick relations and friends along with them, and cast them down at Jesus’ feet, v. 30. We read not of any thing they said to him, but they laid them down before him as objects of pity, to be looked upon by him. Their calamities spake more for them than the tongue of the most eloquent orator could. David showed before God his trouble, that was enough, he then left it with him, Ps. cxlii. 2. Whatever our case is, the only way to find ease and relief, is, to lay it at Christ’s feet, to spread it before him, and refer it to his cognizance, and then submit it to him, and refer it to his disposal. Those that would have spiritual healing from Christ, must lay themselves at his feet, to be ruled and ordered as he pleaseth.

Here were lame, blind, dumb, maimed, and many others, brought to Christ. See what work sin has made! It has turned the world into a hospital: what various diseases are human bodies subject to! See what work the Saviour makes! He conquers those hosts of enemies to mankind. Here were such diseases as a flame of fancy could contribute neither to the cause of nor to the cure of; as lying not in the humours, but in the members of the body; and yet these were subject to the commands of Christ. He sent his word, and healed them. Note, All diseases are at the command of Christ, to go and come as he bids them. This is an instance of Christ’s power, which may comfort us in all our weaknesses; and of his pity, which may comfort us in all our miseries.

3. The influence that this had upon the people, v. 31.

(1.) They wondered, and well they might. Christ’s works should be our wonder. It is the Lord’s doing, and it is marvellous, Ps. cxviii. 23. The spiritual cures that Christ works are wonderful. When blind souls are made to see by faith, the dumb to speak in prayer, the lame to walk in holy obedience, it is to be wondered at. Sing unto the Lord a new song, for thus he has done marvellous things.

(2.) They glorified the God of Israel, whom the Pharisees, when they saw these things, blasphemed. Miracles, which are the matter of our wonder, must be the matter of our praise; and mercies, which are the matter of our rejoicing, must be the matter of our thanksgiving. Those that were healed, glorified God; if he heal our diseases, all that is within us must bless his holy name; and if we have been graciously preserved from blindness, and lameness, and dumbness, we have as much reason to bless God as if we had been cured of them; nay, and the standers-by glorified God. Note, God must be acknowledged with praise and thankfulness in the mercies of others as in our own. They glorified him as the God of Israel, his church’s God, a God in covenant with his people, who hath sent the Messiah promised; and this is he. See Luke i. 68. Blessed be the Lord God of Israel. This was done by the power of the God of Israel, and no other could do it.

II. Here is a particular account of his feeding four thousand men with seven loaves, and a few little fishes, as he had lately fed five thousand with five loaves. The guests indeed were now not quite so many as then, and the provision a little more; which does not intimate that Christ’s arm was shortened, but that he wrought his miracles as the occasion required, and not for ostentation, and therefore he suited them to the occasion: both then and now he took as many as were to be fed, and made use of all that was at hand to feed them with. When once the utmost powers of nature are exceeded, we must say, This is the finger of God; and it is neither here nor there how far they are outdone; so that this is no less a miracle than the former.

Here is, 1. Christ’s pity (v. 32); I have compassion on the multitude. He tells his disciples this, both to try and to excite their compassion. When he was about to work this miracle, he called them to him, and made them acquainted with his purpose, and discoursed with them about it; not because he needed their advice, but because he would give an instance of his condescending love to them. He called them not servants, for the servant knows not what his Lord doeth, but treated them as his friends and counsellors. Shall I hide from Abraham the thing that I do? Gen. xviii. 17. In what he said to them, Observe,

(1.) The case of the multitude; They continue with me now three days, and have nothing to eat. This is an instance of their zeal, and the strength of their affection to Christ and his word, that they not only left their callings, to attend upon him on week-days, but underwent a deal of hardship, to continue with him; they wanted their natural rest, and, for aught that appeared, lay like soldiers in the field; they wanted necessary food, and had scarcely enough to keep life and soul together. In those hotter countries they could better bear long fasting than we can in these colder climates: but though it could not but be grievous to the body, and might endanger their health, yet the zeal of God’s house thus ate them up, and they esteemed the words of Christ more than their necessary food. We think three hours too much to attend upon public ordinances; but these people staid together three days, and yet snuffed not at it, nor said, Behold, what a weariness is it! Observe, With what tenderness Christ spoke of it; I have compassion on them. It had become them to have compassion on him, who took so much pains with them for three days together, and was so indefatigable in teaching and healing; so much virtue had gone out of him, and yet for aught that appears he was fasting too: but he prevented them with his compassion. Note, Our Lord Jesus keeps an account how long his followers continue their attendance on him, and takes notice of the difficulty they sustain in it (Rev. ii. 2); I know thy works, and thy labour, and thy patience: and it shall in no wise lose its reward.

Now the exigence the people were reduced to serves to magnify. [1.] The mercy of their supply: he fed them when they were hungry; and then food was doubly welcome. He treated them as he did Israel of old; he suffered them to hunger, and then fed them (Deut. viii. 3); for that is sweet to the hungry soul, which the full soul loathes. [2.] The miracle of their supply: having been so long fasting, their appetites were the more craving. If two hungry meals make the third a glutton, what would three hungry days do? And yet they did all eat and were filled. Note, There are mercy and grace enough with Christ, to give the most earnest and enlarged desire an abundant satisfaction; Open thy mouth wide, and I will fill it. He replenisheth even the hungry soul.

(2.) The care of our master concerning them; I will not send them away fasting, lest they should faint by the way; which would be a discredit to Christ and his family, and a discouragement both to them and to others. Note, It is the unhappiness of our present state, that when our souls are in some measure elevated and enlarged, our bodies cannot keep pace with them in good duties. The weakness of the flesh is a great grievance to the willingness of the spirit. It will not be so in heaven, where the body shall be made spiritual, where they rest not, day and night, from praising God, and yet faint not; where they hunger no more, nor thirst any more, Rev. vii. 16.

Here is, 2. Christ’s power. His pity of their wants sets his power on work for their supply. Now observe,

(1.) How his power was distrusted by his disciples (v. 23); whence should we have so much bread in the wilderness? A proper question, one would think, like that of Moses (Num. xi. 22). Shall the flocks and the herds be slain to suffice them? But it was here an improper question, considering not only the general assurance the disciples had of the power of Christ, but the particular experience they lately had of a seasonable and sufficient provision by miracle in a like case; they had been not only the witnesses, but the ministers, of the former miracle; the multiplied bread went through their hands; so that it was an instance of great weakness for them to ask, Whence shall we have bread? Could they be at a loss, while they had their Master with them? Note, Forgetting former experiences leaves us under present doubts.

Christ knew how slender the provision was, but he would know it from them (v. 34); How many loaves have ye? Before he would work, he would have it seen how little he had to work on, that his power might shine the brighter. What they had, they had for themselves, and it was little enough for their own family; but Christ would have them bestow it all upon the multitude, and trust Providence for more. Note, it becomes Christ’s disciples to be generous, their Master was so: what we have, we should be free of, as there is occasion; given to hospitality; not like Nabal (1 Sam. xxv. 11), but like Elisha, 2 Kings iv. 42. Niggardliness to-day, out of thoughtfulness for to-morrow, is a complication of corrupt affection that ought to be mortified. If we be prudently kind and charitable with what we have, we may piously hope that God will send more. Jehovah-jireh, The Lord will provide. The disciples asked, Whence should we have bread? Christ asked, How many loaves have ye? Note, When we cannot have what we would, we must make the best of what we have, and do good with it as far as it will go; we must not think so much of our wants as of our havings. Christ herein went according to the rule he gave to Martha, not to be troubled about many things, nor cumbered about much serving. Nature is content with little, grace with less, but lust with nothing.

(2.) How his power was discovered to the multitude, in the plentiful provision he made for them; the manner of which is much the same as before, ch. xiv. 18, c. Observe here,

[1.] The provision that was at hand seven loaves, and a few fishes: the fish not proportionable to the bread, for bread is the staff of life. It is probable that the fish was such as they had themselves taken; for they were fishers, and were now near the sea. Note, It is comfortable to eat the labour of our hands (Ps. cxxviii. 2), and to enjoy that which is any way the product of our own industry, Prov. xii. 27. And what we have got by God’s blessing on our labour we should be free of; for therefore we must labour, that we may have to give, Eph. iv. 28.

[2.] The putting of the people in a posture to receive it (v. 35); He commanded the multitude to sit down on the ground. They saw but very little provision, yet they must sit down, in faith that they should have a meal’s meat out of it. They who would have spiritual food from Christ, must sit down at his feet, to hear his word, and expect it to come in an unseen way.

[3.] The distributing of the provision among them. He first gave thanks—eucharistesas. The word used in the former miracle was eulogese—he blessed. It comes all to one; giving thanks to God is a proper way of craving a blessing from God. And when we come to ask and receive further mercy, we ought to give thanks for the mercies we have received. He then broke the loaves (for it was in the breaking that the bread multiplied) and gave to his disciples, and they to the multitude. Though the disciples had distrusted Christ’s power, yet he made use of them now as before; he is not provoked, as he might be, by the weakness and infirmities of his ministers, to lay them aside; but still he gives to them, and they to his people, of the word of life.

[4.] The plenty there was among them (v. 37). They did all eat, and were filled. Note, Those whom Christ feeds, he fills. While we labour for the world, we labour for that which satisfieth not (Isa. lv. 2); but those that duly wait on Christ shall be abundantly satisfied with the goodness of his house, Ps. lxv. 4. Christ thus fed people once and again, to intimate that though he was called Jesus of Nazareth, yet he was of Bethlehem, the house of bread; or rather, that he was himself the Bread of Life.

To show that they had all enough, there was a great deal left–seven baskets full of broken meat; not so much as there was before, because they did not gather after so many eaters, but enough to show that with Christ there is bread enough, and to spare; supplies of grace for more than seek it, and for those that seek more.

[5.] The account taken of the guests; not that they might pay their share (here was no reckoning to be discharged, they were fed gratis), but that they might be witnesses to the power and goodness of Christ, and that this might be some resemblance of that universal providence that gives food to all flesh, Ps. cxxxvi. 25. Here were four thousand men fed; but what were they to that great family which is provided for by the divine care every day? God is a great Housekeeper, on whom the eyes of all the creatures wait, and he giveth them their food in due season,Psa 104:27; Psa 145:15.

[6.] The dismission of the multitude, and Christ’s departure to another place (v. 39). He sent away the people. Though he had fed them twice, they must not expect miracles to be their daily bread. Let them now go home to their callings, and to their own tables. And he himself departed by ship to another place; for, being the Light of the world, he must be still in motion, and go about to do good.

Fuente: Matthew Henry’s Whole Bible Commentary

And sat there ( ). “Was sitting there” on the mountain side near the sea of Galilee, possibly to rest and to enjoy the view or more likely to teach.

Fuente: Robertson’s Word Pictures in the New Testament

Mat 15:29

. And Jesus departing thence. Though it is unquestionably the same journey of Christ, on his return from the neighborhood of Sidon, that is related by Matthew and by Mark, yet in some points they do not quite agree. It is of little moment that the one says he came to the borders of Magdala, and the other, that he came to the coasts of Dalmanutha; for the cities were adjacent, being situated on the lake of Gennesareth, and we need not wonder that the district which lay between them received both names. (422)

Decapolis was so called from its containing ( δέκα πόλεις) ten cities; and as it was contiguous to Phenicia and to that part of Galilee which lay towards the sea, Christ must have passed through it, when he returned from Phenicia into Galilee of Judea. There is a greater appearance of contradiction in another part of the narrative, where Matthew says that our Lord cured many who labored under various diseases, while Mark takes no notice of any but of one deaf man. But this difficulty need not detain us; for Mark selected for description a miracle which was performed during the journey, and the report of which was no sooner circulated than it aroused the inhabitants of every part of that country to bring many persons to Christ to be cured. Now we know that the Evangelists are not anxious to relate all that Christ did, and are so far from dwelling largely on miracles, that they only glance at a few by way of example. Besides, Mark was satisfied with producing one instance, in which the power of Christ is as brightly displayed as in others of the same sort which followed shortly afterwards.

(422) “ Est nomme maintenant de l’une, maintenant de l’autre ville;” — “was named sometimes from the one, and sometimes from the other town.”

Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary

MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH.Mat. 15:29-31

Jesus still from home.We gather, from Mar. 7:31, that the scene of this story lay on that side of the sea of Galilee (Mat. 15:29) where the cities of Decapolis were situated; and, therefore, in a country which was hardly, if at all, within the proper borders of Israel. Here as before, therefore, and most probably, also, for the same reasons as before, we find the Saviour away from His home. If He was not to cut short His ministry before His time was come (Joh. 7:6) He must still keep away from those neighbourhoods where His enemies would expect Him. Anywhere, now, except where He had usually been. The precise locality now specified, also, has its importance. On the one hand, it seems to lend greater significance to the miracles wrought; on the other hand, it seems to account for the great effect they produced.

I. The miracles wrought.For they were wrought in a neighbourhood from which, in the first place, He had been previously banished. Somewhere near here it was, in this semi-Gentile region of Decapolis that those keepers of swine who had lost their property through the cure of the demoniacs that had so long been a terror to the whole country-side, had prevailed upon all their neighbours, when they saw Jesus, to entreat Him to leave them. All they ask is that they may see Him no more (Mat. 8:34). It was for this same neighbourhood, also, notwithstanding this, that the blessed Saviour, in going away, had shown so much love, by carefully arranging that, even so, they should not be without some witness about Him. Doing this, also, by the adoption of a method which was unusual indeed on His part; the method, viz., of sending the man out of whom He had cast the legion of devils (notwithstanding his earnest desire to be allowed to go away with Him), back again to his old neighbours and friends for the express purpose of telling them himself what God had done for him (Luk. 8:38-39, contrast Mat. 9:30-31, etc.). It would seem, therefore, that this grace of the Saviour had had its due effect on these men; and that this is the reason why we now find them as anxious to see Jesus as before they were not; and why we now read of such great multitudes in these parts coming unto Him; and having with them the lame, blind, dumb, maimed, and many others; and then finally casting them down at His feet, as though exhausted by the efforts they had made in bringing them there, and feeling also that in doing that they had done the very best in their power. It was a marvellous change, if so, on their part. And it was responded to, apparently, by an equally marvellous manifestation of power on the part of the Saviour. He healed them (Mat. 15:30)He healed them allwhosoever they were. He gladly welcomed their change of mind, however tardy and late. He forgets the ingratitude of the past in the need of the present. And almost seems, in a word, to have done more abundantly now because of the fact that He could do nothing before.

II. The effect produced.The effect, on the one hand, of even prodigious surprise. To the people on the other side of the lake, the dwellers in Capernaum and its environs, miracles such as these had by this time become almost ordinary occurrences. They beheld them, therefore, if not quite without wonder, at any rate without note. To the people of this side of the lake who had previously driven the Saviour away, they come now with the vividness of a flash. See what it is of which we have been depriving ourselves all this long time (see Mat. 15:31). Also the language of St. Mark in reference, apparently, to one especially complicated case of affliction and of equally complete deliverance from it, marking this particular time (Mar. 7:31-37). The effect, on the other, of very fervent and singularly discriminate praise. They glorified Godso it is saidas well they might, for these things. They saw what was meant by such miraculous doings, especially when accompanied, as these were, by such equally miraculous love. It was Gods power, and nothing less, that lay behind all. Also, in these things, they saw that, which to these half-heathenised dwellers in Decapolis would probably come home with much power, if not, indeed, with a pang. After all salvation was of the Jews. It is not only to God thereforebut to the God of Israel that they offer their praise (end of Mat. 15:31). A happy ending indeed to what had seemed at first so exceedingly unpromising a beginning (see again Mat. 8:34).

Let the backslider, from all this, learn to return. What is gainedwhat is not lostby sending Jesus away? Who, again, can be more ready than He is to return? Or can possibly bring back with Him such an abundance of gifts?

Let the doubter, from all this, learn to believe. Why we believe is not because of His miracles only, though there are none like them elsewhere; nor yet of His character only, though there is nothing elsewhere like it; but because of His miracles and His mercy combined. Nothing but Deity couldnothing but Deity wouldhave done as He did!

HOMILIES ON THE VERSES

Mat. 15:29-30. Christs grace.

1. When Christ hath done His work in one place, He followeth His work in another place.
2. Many may come to Christ at once, without impeding one another; it is not so among men, where one must wait till another be despatched.
3. Christ standeth not how many and how desperate the cures there be that are presented unto Him. He healed them all, blind, dumb, lame, etc.
4. It is sufficient to lay our miseries before Christ; our miseries will speak for us, and He will answer us by helping us. They did but cast down the miserable at His feet, and He healed them.David Dickson.

Mat. 15:30. At the feet of Jesus.

1. These lame, blind, maimed, and many others cast down at Jesus feet, and lying there, remind us that Jesus is the well-defined centre of an undefined circumference. Many others indicate a vast number; we are glad not to know exactly how many. At the feet of Jesus is the place for helpless miseryyours and mine, and many others.

2. Jesus came to be the ingatherer of all misery.That which man most of all avoids, He most of all sought.

3. He healed them all.His only alternative was to go away, or to send the people away unhealed.

4. We cannot plead in prayer as some, is often urged as an excuse. In answer to this we read of multitudes simply lying at His feetand He healed them all. To lie at the feet of Jesus is itself prayer.P. B. Power, M.A.

Fuente: The Preacher’s Complete Homiletical Commentary Edited by Joseph S. Exell

Section 38

JESUS HEALS MANY IN DECAPOLIS AND FEEDS FOUR THOUSAND (Parallel: Mar. 7:31 to Mar. 8:9)

TEXT: 15:2939

29 And Jesus departed then, and came nigh unto the sea of Galilee; and he went up into the mountain, and sat there. 30 And there came unto him great multitudes, having with them the lame, blind, dumb, maimed, and many others, and they cast them down at his feet; and he healed them: 31 insomuch that the multitude wondered, when they saw the dumb speaking, the maimed whole, and the lame walking, and the blind seeing: and they glorified the God of Israel.
32 And Jesus called unto him his disciples, and said, I have compassion on the multitude, because they continue with me now three days and have nothing to eat: and I would not send them away fasting, lest haply they faint on the way. 33 And the disciples say unto him, Whence should we have so many loaves in a desert place as to fill so great a multitude? 34 And Jesus said unto them, How many loaves have ye? And they said, Seven, and a few small fishes. 35 And he commanded the multitude to sit down on the ground; 36 and he took the seven loaves and the fishes; and he gave thanks and brake, and gave to the disciples, and the disciples to the multitudes. 37 And they all ate, and were filled: and they took up that which remained over of the broken pieces, seven baskets full. 38 And they that did eat were four thousand men, besides women and children. 39 And he sent away the multitudes, and entered into the boat, and came into the borders of Magadan.

THOUGHT QUESTIONS

Why do you think Jesus spends so much time outside of Palestine on this trip without even beginning a special ministry among Gentiles? How could Jesus, the Savior of the world, refuse to teach any part of the worlds people? Yet, in this section, He obviously and deliberately intends to hide from the Gentiles in Phoenicia and Syria through which He travelled. How do you justify this omission?

Earlier when Jesus went to the Decapolis and cast demons out of the Gadarene demoniacs, out of fear the countrymen of the demoniacs flatly asked Jesus to leave. Here, however, the people in this same area welcome Jesus joyfully. How do you account for this change in reception?

Why does Matthew completely omit the mention of the healing of the deaf mute, as recorded by Mark? Or is there any evidence in Matthew that shows that he knew about it and just chose not to record it?

Why do you think Jesus took the deaf mute aside for a more or less private healing? Why do you think Jesus used the method to heal the deaf mute that He did? Could He not have simply spoken a word to cure Him? Why all the pantomime? (See parallel in Mark.)

How could Jesus hope for privacy and silence from the cured deaf mute, with more than four thousand people in the immediate vicinity? Does not His demand that the immediate friends or family of the man, as well as the man himself, not tell anyone seem rather futile, if not foolish, in view of the crowds? If Jesus is not doing something useless or stupid, then, what is the meaning or purpose of His charge to the healed that they should not tell anyone?

Why did people stay with Jesus so long that they ran out of groceries? Had they not brought any along with them?

Why had not the Apostles yet learned that Jesus has power to feed multitudes in a wilderness with only scant provisions? How many times must they see the evidence before they will be certain that Jesus can and will do it? How many times did you hear about Jesus wonderful power before you were compelled to accept it as a matter of fact? If you feel that the Apostles were not unbelieving in His power, what evidences do you see in the text that indicate to you that they had really learned?

PARAPHRASE AND HARMONY

Soon after the incident involving the Syrophoenician woman, Jesus traveled on north from the neighborhood of Tyre, passed through Sidon then turned eastward to the area east of the Sea of Galilee known as the Decapolis. Skirting the Sea of Galilee, He climbed up one of the hillsides and sat down.
Great crowds began to flock to Him, bringing with them their lame, their crippled, their blind folk. those who could not hear, as well as many others. They lay them before Jesus at His feet and He healed them.
They brought Him, for instance, a man who was deaf and had a speech impediment. They requested Jesus to lay His hand on him to heal him. The Lord took the man aside, away from the crowd. Jesus put His fingers into the mans ears, spat and touched the mans tongue. Then, looking up into the sky, He sighed. Next He said to the man in Aramaic Ephphatha, a word which means, Be opened!
With that he began to hear and, at the same time, the speech defect was removed and the man spoke normally. Jesus gave him and his friends strict instructions not to tell any one about this incident. But the more He forbade them, the more they broadcast it.
The crowd was absolutely amazed. They kept saying, All that He does, He does well! Why He even makes the deaf people to hear again and the dumb speak. Consequently, the people were simply astonished at seeing the formerly dumb people speaking, the maimed now whole, the crippled walking naturally and the blind seeing. They gave the credit to the God of Israel.
During that same period of Jesus Decapolis ministry, another huge crowd had gathered around Jesus, but they ran out of food. It was then that Jesus called His disciples over to Him to inform them, I feel sorry for all these people, inasmuch as they have been with me three days now and are completely out of food. I am unwilling to send them away to their homes hungry; they might just not make it there. In fact, some of them have come a long distance.
How and where can we find enough food in this forsaken place to feed all this crowd? was the answer the disciples gave Him.
Jesus insisted, How many loaves of bread do you have?
Seven, they counted, and a few small fish.
Then Jesus told the people to sit down on the ground. He took the seven loaves of bread in His hands along with the fish and gave thanks for them. Next He broke them and distributed them to His followers for distribution to the crowd. Everybody ate all he wanted and still they collected seven hampers full of scraps left over. That day there were about four thousand men in the crowd that ate, not counting the women and children too.
After dismissing the multitudes of people to return home, Jesus Himself immediately boarded a boat with His men and sailed toward the area of Magadan-Dalmanutha.

SUMMARY

After casting the demon out of the daughter of the Syrophoenician woman, Jesus and the Twelve followed a round-about route to reenter Palestine, concluding their journey in the Decapolis area east of the Sea of Galilee, Great crowds gathered around Him for healing. Three days they stayed, during which time Jesus healed a deaf and dumb man thus amazing the crowds who glorified Israels God. When the food shortage became acute, Jesus miraculously fed at least four thousand men, not counting women and children, with only seven buns and some little fish. Then He and the Twelve sailed southwest to Magadan-Dalmanutha.

NOTES
THE CRITICAL IMPORTANCE OF THIS ACCOUNT

The key position of this account in the argumentation of Matthew is worthy of notice. Although his introductory geographical notes are less precise than Marks, anyone familiar with Marks Gospel could know that the incidents recorded in this section took place on the Decapolis side of the Galilean Lake. (Cf. Mat. 15:29 with Mar. 7:31) But even without this valuable piece of information offered his readers, had Matthew really intended to describe nothing more than a series of miracles worked for a strictly Jewish group, he could have shown more caution against misunderstanding. Instead, he drops clues that help the reader to decide that the Messiah is ministering to a mixed Jewish-Gentile group:

The response of the multitudes to Jesus miracles now differs from that recorded when Jesus fed the five thousand. The latter, a predominantly (if not entirely) Jewish group, immediately express a Jewish reaction by identifying Jesus as the Prophet who is to come into the world (Joh. 6:14). Contrarily, the present crowd express their marvel at Jesus miracles by glorifying the God of Israel, a fact that suggests the predominantly Gentile character of this group, (See on Mat. 15:31.)

The baskets are different. For the five thousand, they were food baskets considered typical of the Jews, because they carried kosher food when on journeys through Gentile country (kfinoi; Arndt-Gingrich, 448). For the four thousand, however, they were big wicker baskets, or hampers (spurdas; see ISBE, 413; however see on Mat. 15:37.) This distinction is maintained even in Jesus rehearsal of the two miracles. (Mat. 16:9 f; Mar. 8:18 f) Were the latter baskets typical of Gentiles merely because they were not specifically typically of Jews?

Jesus handling of the situation is relaxed and natural, without the tensions and pressure noticed during the feeding of the five thousand Galileans. (See Jesus Problem and Plan, Mat. 14:13.) Unless some radical transformation has taken place in those politically volatile Galileans, there is no adequate explanation for Jesus unforced decision to feed these people now gathered, unless it be that He is dealing with completely different people. In fact, He is probably standing in Decapolis, surrounded by a crowd well-mixed with a heavy pagan constituency, among whom He can freely move without involuntarily inciting Zealots to riot against Rome.

Whereas we are unable to identify Magadan-Dalmanutha with certainty, to which Jesus sailed after the miraculous multiplication of food for the four thousand, this would have been less a problem for the original readers who could easily deduce where Jesus would have been, and conclude that He had been among the half-heathen population of the Decapolis.

It is also a temptation to follow Edersheims suggestion (Life, I, 684; II, 65) that notes Jesus two prayers for the loaves and the fish (Mar. 8:6 f) on this occasion, but only for the bread at the feeding of the five thousand because it was the main article of food, a typically Jewish distinction. Nevertheless, while solidly based on Johns wording (see Joh. 6:11), the Synoptic evidence is not so clearly unequivocal, since they indicate that Jesus had both bread and fish in His hands when He blessed them. (Cf. Mat. 14:19 and par.) Even so, why did Jesus pray once for each item now?

Admittedly no single factor mentioned above, taken alone, is convincing, but seen in combination with the others, might be understood as leading to the conviction that Matthew is describing a series of miracles done by the Messiah for people less than 100% Hebrew.

Now, if Jesus is pictured here as ministering to a mixed Jewish-Gentile group, where JEW AND GENTILE SIT DOWN TOGETHER TO EAT A COMMON MEAL IN FELLOWSHIP WITH THE MESSIAH AND PROVIDED BY HIM, then Matthews purpose for recording this incident in precisely this chapter becomes acid-clear. In effect, he teaches that standard Jewish ceremonial separatism is finished as a useful concept. Purity, which had been fundamental motivation for national separation and personal holiness, is now decided by quite different criteria such as human need, the condition of mens hearts, and their relative distance from God. Israel, says Matthew, transgressed Gods commandment to keep human rules and so was liable for all the impurities that came out of Israels heart (Mat. 15:1-20), Genuine faith in Israels Messiah can be found even among Canaanites (Mat. 15:21-28), and, finally, Gentiles can sit down with Israel to feast on the Messiahs bounty even in this world (Mat. 15:29-39). What a challenge to a lot of Jewish theology this chapter must have been! Although Matthew has written pro-Gentile statements before (see on Mat. 12:21), this enacted lesson must have struck home to Hebrews hearts with sledge-hammer force, especially as this event stands out in startling contrast to standard Jewish apocalyptic views of what the Messianic banquet should be.

Even if that half-heathenish population could hardly have perceived it, Matthews attentive reader must certainly feel that when this Son of David goes beyond the geographical and spiritual borders of Israel and becomes a blessing to all nationsafter all, to the Jews, ANY move beyond Israel practically opens things up to just everyone!He is moving toward the fulfillment of Gods intention that His Christ reach out to all nations, making it possible that in Abrahams true Son all the families of the earth be blessed. (Cf. Mat. 1:1; Gen. 12:3; Gen. 22:17 f; Gal. 3:16)

A. SITUATION: JOURNEY THROUGH DECAPOLIS FROM PHOENICIA TO GALILEE (Mat. 15:29; Mar. 7:31)

Mat. 15:29 And Jesus departed thence, i.e. from the district of Tyre, passing north through Sidon by a circuitous route which took the group east over the Lebanon mountains, across the Beqaa Valley (= Leontes River), then south through the region of the Decapolis in the tetrarchy of Philip. He would thus approach the Sea of Galilee on its east side. (Mar. 7:31) He deliberately followed this round-about route in order to skirt Galilee and avoid inevitable clashes there, deliberately lengthening this trip as much as possible to gain maximum opportunity to be with His men before the final skirmishes that would precede the crisis in Jerusalem. He came nigh unto the Sea of Galilee: how nigh is not told, because this may be only a relative geographical notice, not intending to affirm that He was even then seated on a hill overlooking the lake. At the conclusion of the feeding of the four thousand, true, He embarked to sail for Magadan-Dalmanutha, but this need not be conclusive in determining how far from the lake and how far into the Decapolis region Jesus was during the intervening period before sailing. And he went up into the mountain, and sat there. Which mountain (t ros) is not identifiable, because the area east of the Sea of Galilee, and standing out in contrast with it, is marked by heights rising to 10002000 feet. (Cf. Golan Heights)

The Decapolis area is essentially pagan country, consisting of ten free Greek cities within the territory of ancient Israel, mostly located east of the Jordan Valley. (See note on Mat. 4:25 and map, Vol. I, p. 181.) Why, them, should Jesus be so ready to help people among that not strictly Hebrew population, especially after His rigid stance on helping Gentiles in Phoenicia? Two factors help solve this puzzle:

Because this mixed Jewish-Gentile population dwelt in at least a nominally Israelite territory, there would be less confusion about the primary goal of His mission.

Having clarified once for all His truly Jewish Messiahship and mission, the Lord now generously illustrates its intended ramifications by blessing both Jews and Gentiles together. Because of the mixed character of the Decapolis population, Jesus can easily carry out the Syrophoenician womans principle without compromise, even if on the drastically limited scale we see here. He can let the children first be fed, while the puppies under the table eat the childrens crumbs.

Although the commentators are undoubtedly correct in imagining this period as one of great training and strengthening for the Twelve, yet Matthew and Mark relate nothing of their lessons, pausing only to tell, in this terser summary fashion, about His ministry among the bi-racial dwellers of the Decapolis.

NOTE: It just may be that these non-Jewish or mixed racial situations furnished opportunity for precisely those lessons that the congenitally biased Apostles needed in order to appreciate even distantly a Kingdom of God in which Jews and Gentiles alike could receive one another for Christs sake. To put it another way, our Gospel writers, rather than omit any mention of the training of the Twelve during this long journey abroad, may be actually intending to communicate the content of the lessons learned, using the recorded events as illustrations. That is, was the Lord slowly but deliberately exposing His narrow-minded Jewish followers to the reality of human need beyond the borders of Israel? If it seems that the texts of the events that transpired abroad hardly justify such an emphasis, let it be remembered how gently the Lord would have to move to remove long-standing, deep-rooted prejudices against any consideration of Gentiles as possible candidates for the Kingdom.

While there were many pagans who dwelt in the independent Greek cities of the Decapolis, it should not be thought that there were no Jews at all. Nevertheless, even these Hebrews, whose daily business brought them into constant contact with their pagan neighbors, probably tended to be far less rigid than their more fervent Galilean compatriots, who in turn were despised by their Judean coreligionists as ignorant and unworthy representatives of purer Judaism.

In fact, the importance of the events in this section is best seen by the way it contrasts with the unbelief and rejection that Jesus had experienced among the Jews of Galilee and the religious bigots from Jerusalem. Morgan (Matthew, 202) comments graphically:

All the difficulties were in Jerusalem among those men who were always washing their hands! Christ has no difficulty with the man who is polluted with sin, when that man signs his soul to Him in faith. But He has a good deal of difficulty with the traditional ritualist. It is the man who comes with the great burden, who in faith commits his need to the King, that feels all the virtue of His healing pass into his life. There is no difficulty with these people when they believe.

Although Jesus had been rejected in the Decapolis area earlier (see notes on Mat. 8:28; Mat. 8:34), yet in mercy He forgives and forgets their past ingratitude and welcomes their change of heart, however late it comes.

B. MANY MIRACLES OF HEALING (Mat. 15:30 f; Mar. 7:32-37)

Mat. 15:30 And there came unto him great multitudes. Where did all these people come from?

Was it the news of Jesus presence heralded by those who knew of the Syrophoenician womans daughters deliverance? The distance is great enough to render this possibility less likely. Also, her understanding of His Jewish mission and the exceptional nature of His blessing this one Gentile would probably have counselled her silence, even if He had never so requested.

Is the deaf stammerer (Mar. 7:32-37), because of his disobedience to Jesus injunction to silence, not merely one example of the great number healed, but also one of the sparks that ignited the excitement that swelled the crowd? If so, it is not all his fault, since, to be healed, he was taken aside from the multitude already present. (Mar. 7:33)

Hardly a year before, Jesus sent one of the former demoniacs at Gergesa (Gedara, Gerasa, see Mat. 8:28; Mar. 5:1) throughout this district, telling what great things God had done for him. But the ex-demoniac, whose very life was a living monument to Christs compassion and power, had proclaimed not only in his home city, but throughout the Decapolis, how much JESUS had done for him. It may be that many of those people he influenced, upon hearing about the personal arrival in the Decapolis of a Person so wonderful as that described by the former demoniac, immediately flocked to Him. In this case, the Lord is merely taking advantage of the excellent advance publicity provided by His humble servant.

The very Gerasenes (or Gadarenes), also inhabitants of the Decapolis, are perhaps just as glad to see Jesus back as they had been for Him to leave earlier. (See notes on Mat. 8:34.)

The subjective reason for their coming was their faith in Jesus:

Not a theoretical conviction crushed by traditionalism and ritual;

Nor a creed to be received, recited and promptly forgotten;

But trust in a Person whose ability was unlimited. Their act of bringing their sick folk to the Lord was a venture of faith.

Having with them the lame, blind, dumb, maimed, and many others. (Cf. notes on Mat. 11:4; Mat. 4:23 f; Mat. 8:16) And they cast them down at his feet: this surprising verb cast them down (rhpto) may also be used with no connotation of violence in the sense of to put or lay down (Arndt-Gingrich, 744), which is probably the nuance intended here. (Cf. its synonym bllo in Mat. 9:2; Mat. 8:6; Mat. 8:14; cf. LXX: Gen. 21:15) This, because of the very slight probability that the sick accepted their being tossed around without complaint, and because the tender concern of their kinfolk already manifest in bringing them to Jesus probably would not permit them to treat them in a manner incongruous with that concern. And he healed them. Jesus generously responded to their enthusiasm and concern to bring their sick to Him: whoever they wereJew or Gentile, He healed them. What glorious completeness: everyone laid at Jesus feet felt the power of His own healing energy surge through their body, making them well again! How Jesus time would have been occupied in these three days, otherwise in healing sick foLk. neither Evangelist tells us. Is it possible that the Savior could stay three days with people and NOT teach them? This would be determined in each case not only by the urgent needs of the people, but more especially, as here, by the schedule and planning of Jesus. If He saw that popular preaching to that group could cause no serious interruption of His timing, there is no compelling motive to prohibit Him from so doing. Foster (Middle Period, 203ff) imaginatively suggests that Jesus led a three-day summer camp meeting with typically Jewish crowd participation. However, if we have correctly guessed the large pagan character of this group, then total group participation in Jewish Psalms and other expressions of popular worship would necessarily be limited.

Mat. 15:31 The results of Jesus work: the multitude wondered, and well they should, when they saw the dumb speaking. Whereas Matthew passed over the healing of the deaf stammerer (Mar. 7:32-37), he evidently knew about it, even mentioning such cases first in his summary. They saw . . . the maimed whole: deformed cripples now enjoyed the normal use of their limbs. Two excellent results occurred when Jesus worked:

Astonished crowds: He has done all things well! (Mar. 7:37) Contrast the commonplaceness with which Jesus miracles would be seen over in Galilee around Capernaum. The extraordinary nature of Jesus wonders is still fresh, still news here in the Decapolis. Contrast this reaction with that of roughly the same populace after the liberation of the Gadarene demoniacs. (Mat. 8:34 and par.) Their reaction seems almost self-accusatory: Look what weve been missing all this time! Every human weakness to which He turned His attention became strength. Not only did He succeed in curing brilliantly every case brought to Him, but the humble, generous, personally tender way He went about it set Him worlds apart from all others.

God was glorified: They glorified the God of Israel. Contrast the repeatedly fruitless prayers of many of these benighted Gentiles offered to Greek or Syrian deities. Here, without fanfare or blustering argumentation, Jesus sounds the defeat of idolatry on a practical level that anyone can verify, and He causes men to rejoice in the undoubted victory of Jehovah! These humble people discern the evidential value of Jesus miracles combined with His forgiving, generous love, and conclude that such rich gifts can come only from the God of Israel. What a contrast to those venomous critics who could see no more than Satans power behind all that He did!

Is McGarvey (Fourfold Gospel, 404) right to believe that the people whom Jesus healed were Jews, but daily intercourse with the heathen of Decapolis had tended to cool their religious ardor. The works of Jesus revived this ardor and caused them to praise the God whose prophet they esteemed Jesus to be? Regarding the probability that Jesus stirred the ancient fervor of the Jews themselves, yes, however, it may be too much to believe that He healed ONLY Jews. In fact, although the God of Israel be a common title for Jawh (Luk. 1:68; Act. 13:17), it instantly distinguishes Him from the gods of the gentiles. (Cf. Exo. 5:1; 1Ki. 11:9 et al.)

This implied contrast is not without profound theological implications, when penned in this context by a Matthew. Whereas an orthodox reader might tend to be scandalized by the undifferentiated banqueting together by Gentiles and Jews, Matthew shouts that the evident psychological result of Jesus miracles was definitely not undifferentiated, but gloriously specific and theologically correct: men glorified the GOD OF ISRAEL! Salvation IS of the JEWS! (Joh. 4:22) But even so, Matthews emphasis is not triumphalistic nor boastful of his nations glories. Rather, he draws the readers mind to his nations God who is busy lowering segregation barriers without compromising His own high holiness, since it was the God of Israel who was at work in Jesus of Nazareth.

C. JESUS FEEDS THE FOUR THOUSAND (Mat. 15:32-39; Mar. 8:1-10)

The similarities between this miraculous multiplication of food and that of the feeding of the five thousand are so many that it is not necessary to repeat what has been written about the essential features. Comments on analogous features are limited to a reference to the earlier notes. Differences in details become important as we respond to cynical students who believe both Evangelists to have fallen prey to two confused accounts of but one incident garbled in oral transmission. Beyond the formal differences involved in the numbers (i.e. 5000 versus 4000 men; 5 loaves as against 7 loaves; 12 baskets in contrast to 7 baskets), there are other evidences that this is not the same event as the former miracle:

Matthew (Mat. 16:9) and Mark (Mat. 8:19 f) both affirm indirectly the differentiation of the two events by quoting Jesus use of the two separate miracles as the basis for His argument. If there were but one event, not only would Jesus Himself be pictured as confused, but both Evangelists could be reprimanded for gross oversight, since they both cite His words.

While the geographic location is somewhat the same, the circumstances that convoke the multitudes are quite dissimilar. The five thousand came over from Galilee to the eastern side of the Lake of Tiberias, and returned there after the miracle. (Cf. Notes on Mat. 14:13-14; and Joh. 6:1-5; Joh. 6:22-25) The four thousand, on the other hand, are residents of the Decapolis region.

Whereas the five thousand sat upon the grass around Passover time (Joh. 6:4; Joh. 6:10; Mar. 6:39), the four thousand sit on the ground, a fact possibly indicative of a later period when the grass would have been dried up in the summer heat.

Consider also the differences mentioned earlier under The Critical Importance of this Account, where clues to the mixed half-Jewish, half-pagan character of this episode are noticed.

Objectors may ask why Jesus should repeat a multiple miraculous feeding, since, after all, had He not already demonstrated once and for all His power to do this? Would not a repetition tend to cast doubt on, rather than confirm, His mastery? No, Jesus chose to repeat this miracle for several reasons:

Because of His own compassion for the human weakness of these people. (Mat. 15:32)

Because it could serve as a test of His disciples learning by probing their memory and comprehension. This repeated miracle and the lessons it carried with it would serve to drive the disciples to an unshakeable conviction of Jesus power. (But see Mat. 16:4 ff.) As they reflected on it later, it became the second solid hammer-blow that drove home the nail of conviction.

Because, if there were many Gentiles present, perhaps even more then Jews, He could unobtrusively give them a liberal demonstration of the power and tender consideration of the God of Israel.

Because the repetition of a miracle just does not weaken the force of its first manifestation, any more than the raising of Lazarus should somehow be thought to adumbrate or undermine the raising of Jairus daughter.

Mat. 15:32 Cf. notes on Mat. 14:14. Again Jesus initiates the move to solve the crowds food needs, but this time, rather than put pressure on the Twelve to solve the problem, His decision grows out of His own feeling for them: I have compassion on the multitude. When people hurt or have needs, the Lord responds with the strength, the kindness and the thoughtfulness of a gentleman. These people He helps are not Christians, as we would esteem them, but just frail human beings many of whom are outside the limits of revealed religion. Nevertheless, He shared with them His bounty, not stopping to check their synagogue attendance record or ask to see their baptismal certificate before providing them a crust of bread and some fish tidbits. They had not even asked for food, just help and healing; He lovingly gave them more than they imagined He had!

Because they continue with me now three days and have nothing to eat: and I would not send them away fasting, lest haply they faint on the way. With me now three days, by the usual Jewish reckoning, means since the day before yesterday. Since He does not affirm that they had fasted three days, it appears that the people had dined on the first day, picknicked on the second, but now find themselves without provisions. Their continuance with Jesus is explicable on the basis of the many miracles He worked on their behalf, even if the entire time had not been consumed in healings.

The unusual Greek nominative hemrai tres (three days), which is not the grammatical subject of prosmnousn moi (they have been with me), is not unknown in Biblical literature. (Cf. LXX: Jos. 1:11; Jon. 3:4)

Mat. 15:33 And the disciples say unto him, whence should we have so many loaves in a desert place as to fill so great a multitude? (Cf. notes on Mat. 14:16) The repetition of the disciples lack of believing certainty in so analogous a circumstance and consequent to such a grand miracle as the feeding of the five thousand such a relatively short time before, is not so shocking as it would appear on the surface. Rather, it is but evidence of the authenticity of the narrative, in that it is so psychologically true to life in the straightforward manner it depicts their hesitation, How frequently is a crisis met with forget-fulness of past blessings which should have taught men to know God and never falter or hesitate where He is in charge? (Cf. Moses reaction, Num. 11:21-23; Israels, Psa. 78:19 f, Psa. 78:32) Why did not the Twelve expect Jesus to supply food miraculously as before?

They may have considered Jesus prudent limitation of His supernatural power, because He had not supplied miraculous bread for their travels either before or after the feeding of the five thousand, Farrar (Life, 362) reasons thus:

But surely here there is a touch of delicacy and truth. They knew that there was in Him no prodigality of the supernatural, no lavish and needless exercise of miraculous power. Many and many a time had they been with multitudes before, and yet on one occasion only had He fed them; and moreover, after He had done so, He had most sternly rebuked those who came to Him in expectation of a repeated offer of such gifts, and had uttered a discourse so searching and strange that it alienated from Him many even of His friends. For them to suggest to Him a repetition of the feeding of the five thousand would be a presumption which their ever-deepening reverence forbade. . . . But no sooner had He given them the signal of His intention, than with perfect faith they become His ready ministers.

Further, having noticed the Gentile character of a significant portion of the crowd, especially after spending the better part of three days with these people, the Apostles may have wondered whether He would provide miraculous bread to be eaten together by Jew and Gentile at the same table.

But even their own question does not necessarily express doubt about Jesus power, rather, merely about their own incapacity to supply food themselves. Note their emphasis: Where are WE to get bread? (Pthen hemn en erema rtoi tosotoi k.t.l.) They may well have remembered their past failure, so phrased this question so as to leave Jesus entirely free to choose His course of action.

Lenski (Matthew, 604) justly warns: To say that the reply of the disciples gives no evidence of the knowledge of a previous miraculous feeding and betrays nothing but complete perplexity, is to misread not only this reply but also all that precedes this reply. In fact, Jesus is not recorded as having scolded them for lack of faith or foresight. Although Scriptures silence can never offer positive testimony, yet in the absence of a firm word to the contrary, we may assume that the Evangelists intend to convey the impression that He did not reproach them for failure to trust His power.

Mat. 15:34 And Jesus said unto them, How many loaves have ye? And they said, Seven and a few small fishes. (Cf. Mar. 6:38 and notes on Mat. 14:16) This time, rather than appeal to others, they apparently check their own food stock left from their provisions for the journey just completed outside Palestine.

Mat. 15:35-37 Cf. Notes on Mat. 14:17-20. Seven baskets full: Much ado is made over the size and significance of the baskets used to collect the left-overs, without asking the insoluble, but vital, question: to whom did the baskets belong? If these hamper baskets (spridas) belong to the people in the crowd, they may indicate the non-Jewish character of the people who ate. On the other hand, if these baskets were specially acquired by the Twelve for their long journey into Gentile territory, then the baskets themselves tell nothing about the multitude. Or would the Twelve have only carried kosher food wallets (kfinoi)? If so, then these baskets (spurdas) may belong to the multitude.

Whereas there is a fine discrimination in words at Mat. 16:9 f (= Mar. 8:19 f) that carefully retains the distinctions in baskets for the five thousand and the four thousand respectively, this distinction should not be pushed too far, because Rocci, (1696) cities illustrations of basket dinners in connection with spurs: e.g. spursi deipnzein, dine . . ., Arriano Epictetus 4, 10, 21; ap spurdos depna: dinners from the basket. Ateneo, 365.

Mat. 15:38 Cf. notes on Mat. 14:21. Four thousand: Is the argument airtight to say that, had this incident been born out of mythical and unhistorical traditions, the miraculous details of this second miraculous feeding of the multitudes would certainly have surpassed those of the first? In fact, would not a clever forger foresee this argument and deliberately reduce the second myth to more believable proportions to promote an intentional fraud? Granted, the psychological impact of a second, somehow less spectacular miracle is to us anticlimactic. It is not, however, more or less believable because of that fact. Rather, for Matthew and his Hebrew readers, this miracle may have been ANYTHING BUT ANTI-CLIMACTIC! In fact, if Jesus fed Jews and Gentiles that day at the same banquet in the desert, this is an exciting climax, even more glorious than the feeding of the five thousand that ended in the Capernaum synagogue debacle. (John 6)

Mat. 15:39 See notes on Mat. 14:22. And he sent away the multitudes, because it is not Jesus purpose now to begin a wide-ranging, popular public ministry in the Decapolis, and because of the live possibility that His own popularity should become the involuntary means of its untimely realization. He entered into the boat (enbe eis t ploon): whose boat? Did they watch for Zebedees fishing group to cross to the east side in order to seek passage across the Galilean Lake? (Cf. Mar. 1:20) Might the boat, so definitely indicated by the article, have been Peters, having been sent for earlier? He came into the borders of Magadan, a locality that must be sought on the west side of the lake, because they embark on the Decapolis, or eastern, shore. After the later encounter with the Pharisees (Mat. 16:1-4), they sail for the other side arriving at Bethsaida (Julias? Mar. 8:13; Mar. 8:22), when they travel to Caesarea Philippi (Mat. 16:13). When Mark (Mar. 8:10) says Dalmanutha in place of Magadan, we may assume that these different names are but two ways of referring to the same locality, or perhaps two nearby towns in the same district, or one a place name and the other a descriptive as yet undeciphered.

SIMILARITIES TO THE FEEDING THE FIVE THOUSAND:

This text shows the holy consistency of Jesus as Savior. PHC (Vol. XXII, 389) comments:

Wherever He is (so this repetition shows us) there is the same depth and spontaneity of compassion; the same discrimination and considerateness of affection; the same recollection as well of the temporal as of the spiritual needs of His hearers; the same marked disapprobation also (with all His fulness) of waste; and the same resolute avoidance, also, when the multitudes have been fully met, of idle wonder and fame.

Foster (Middle Period, 206) argues brilliantly that Jesus objective for this repeated miracle was two-fold, i.e. not merely to minister to the body by restoring health and strength, but also to meet the spirits needs by producing faith:

Is faith demanded before miracles, but not afterward? Is lack of faith in the hearts of men not a human need to which miracles may minister? The repetition of miracles to bring faith to the hearts of men is as logical as repetition of teaching to bring understanding.

LESSONS

Jesus challenges those who are content with doing nothing merely because they have little with which to work. How many loaves do you HAVE?

Jesus would not do all this work Himself, nor would He summon even one of the angels in heaven to do what His human helpers could.

Jesus did not use heavenly means to provide the need until the full extent of earthly provision could be ascertained and provided.

Jesus taught by practical demonstration that Jews and Gentiles can sit down in peace to eat bread together in His Kingdom, their only points of common interest being their own deep need and His invitation and provision.

If we see the Gospels as living lessons on What It Means to Be the Body of Jesus Christ on Earth Today, the Church, then, must express the compassion of the Lord for people, not by sentimentalities more or less hypocritical, but by swift action to correct the needs of people in each situation faced. Jesus always left men with strength for the way: does the Church do as well?

PHC (Vol. XXII, 390):

We must not tempt men to adopt religion by bribery; we should thus encourage hypocrisy, promote indolence, give a premium to iniquity. But as Christians we should relieve temporal want, and with due caution and discretion use this as a means of imparting spiritual good. Our Lord fed the multitude on this occasion though He well knew that their motives in following Him were far from being pure. We should distinguish between vulgar bribery and Christian benevolence. In any case it were better to do good to mens bodies than do no good at all.

Even as those who had earlier rejected Jesus help and hurried Him away now gladly receive His help, we may learn that there is mercy with the Lord, even though we ignorantly and temporarily send Him away. Let us thank Him for the privilege of repentance, because He longs to return to us with an abundance of rich gifts.

Fuente: College Press Bible Study Textbook Series

(29) Jesus departed from thence.As St. Mark (in the better MSS.) gives the narrative, His journey led Him actually through Sidon. It was the one instance in which He visited a distinctly heathen city, and walked by the shore of the Great Sea, and looked out towards the isles of Chittim, the isles of the Gentiles, to which His name was to come in after years as the message of joy and peace and life. It is significant, as Sidon lay to the north of Tyre, that He thus extended His journey, as though seeking for Himself and His disciples a longer period of rest for prayer and meditation. His return to Galilee must have been through some of the mountain passes of the Hermon range, bringing Him down upon the eastern shore of the lake.

Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)

29. Departed thence unto the sea of Galilee From the northwest to the northeastern part of Galilee. The probable reason of these sudden movements is given in note on Mat 15:21. Our Lord seems to pass by Capernaum without a visit, as he had lately abruptly left there after the altercation with the Pharisees who came from Jerusalem to assault him. Went up into a mountain A mountain range on the east side of Lake Gennesaret: It was in the dominions of Herod Philip. See note on Mat 14:13. Sat down there He seated himself like a rabbi to teach on the slope of the mountain.

Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments

‘And Jesus departed from there, and came alongside the sea of Galilee, and he went up into the mountain, and sat there.’

Having gone northwards through the regions of Sidon, Jesus then moved eastwards and made for the northern end of the Sea of Galilee, where He again ‘went up into the mountain’. Possibly His aim had been to circumvent Galilee. Going up into ‘the mountain’ always signifies in Matthew a deeply spiritual time, compare Mat 5:1; Mat 14:23; Mat 28:16; and see also Mat 17:1. And there He ‘sat down’, to teach.

Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett

Ministry in Gentile Territory (15:29-31).

There is every reason to think that this is in Gentile territory, for Matthew usually makes a return to Jewish territory clear, and that does not occur until Mat 15:39. Mar 7:31 also confirms that this return to the Sea of Galilee was via the environs of Sidon ‘through the midst of the borders of Decapolis’. This suggests a detour, first going northwards towards Sidon, then eastwards, going past the northern end of the Sea of Galilee, through Gaulanitis, and into Decapolis, a semi-independent group of ten Greek cities. Furthermore it must be seen as significant that the crowds ‘glorify the God of Israel’, a phrase found only here. In the light of what has happened previously and the general context this gives the impression of Gentile response. Like the Canaanite woman they too acknowledge the God of Israel as their healer.

This may also be seen as confirmed in the account that follows of the feeding of four thousand. Whereas five thousand spoke of the covenant people, four thousand speaks of the nations of the world, for ‘four’ is the number that depicts the world. It is further confirmed by the seven loaves and the seven baskets. These contrast with the five loaves and the twelve baskets. Seven was a sacred number in all nations, five and twelve had special significance for Israel. There were four rivers that watered the world from Eden (Gen 2:10-14). Four ‘world’ kings who came against the five who were in covenant with Abraham in the land (Gen 14:9). Four wild beasts signified world empires (Daniel 2; Daniel 7). There are four directions, north, south, east and west (Gen 28:14; Deu 3:27; Psa 107:3; Isa 43:5-6); four winds of Heaven (Dan 8:8; Dan 11:4, and compare Mat 24:31); four corners of the earth (Isa 11:12; Rev 7:1).

So we have good reason for seeing that Matthew is indicating that all this activity is taking place in Gentile territory, including the feeding of the four thousand. We do not know how many disciples had been with Jesus prior to this time, perhaps a good number, but this period of travel would clearly have given the opportunity for much solid teaching, and also the opportunity for these disciples to experience a deeper personal relationship with Jesus. They had seen and experienced much. Jesus now wanted them to enter more deeply into Who He is.

Analysis.

a Jesus departed from there, and came alongside the sea of Galilee, and He went up into the mountain, and sat there (Mat 15:29).

b And there came to Him great crowds, having with them the lame, blind (Mat 15:30 a).

c Dumb, maimed, and many others (Mat 15:30 b).

d And they cast them down at His feet, and He healed them (Mat 15:30 b).

c Insomuch that the crowd wondered, when they saw the dumb speaking, the maimed whole (Mat 15:31 a)

b And lame walking, and the blind seeing (Mat 15:31 b).

a And they glorified the God of Israel (Mat 15:31 c).

Note how in ‘a’ Jesus went up into the mountain and sat there, and in the parallel they glorified the God of Israel. In ‘b’ the lame and blind were healed, and in the parallel they were seen to be healed. In ‘c’ the dumb and maimed were healed, and in the parallel the dumb and maimed were seen to be healed. Centrally in ‘d’ is the fact that they cast them down at His feet and He healed them.

Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett

Christ Teaches and Feeds Four Thousand.

The return to Galilee:

v. 29. And Jesus departed from thence, and came nigh unto the Sea of Galilee, and went up into a mountain, and sat down there.

After the healing of the Greek girl, Jesus continued His journey northward, and then turned east, along the boundaries of Coele-Syria, and into Gaulanitis, into the northern section of the region of Decapolis. From the neighborhood of Caesarea Philippi He turned southward, and thus finally returned to the eastern shore of the Sea of Galilee, in the middle of the region known as Decapolis. Here it was that He again ascended a mountain and sat down. It was His usual way of preparing for a long discussion with His disciples.

Fuente: The Popular Commentary on the Bible by Kretzmann

Mat 15:29-31. And Jesus departed from thence Jesus at length departing from the coasts of Tyre and Sidon, returned to the sea of Galilee through the region of Decapolis, on the east side of Jordan. See Mar 7:31. Having continued in Decapolis a considerable time, the fame of his being in the country reached every corner; wherefore, to avoid the crowds, he retired into a desert mountain beside the sea of Galilee. Here the sick, the lame, the dumb, the blind, and the maimed, were brought to him from all quarters, and laid down around him by their friends who followed him thither. The sight of so many people in distress moved the compassion of the Son of God exceedingly; for he graciously healed them all; particularly the dumb, who are commonly deaf also. He not only conferred the faculty of hearing and pronouncing articulate sounds, but he conveyed into their mind at once the whole language of their country, making them perfectly acquainted with all the words in it, their significations, their forms, their powers, and their uses, so as to comprehend the whole distinctly in their memories; and at the same time he gave them the habit of speaking it both fluently and copiously! This was a kind of miracle very astonishing; but the change produced in the bodies of men was but the least part of it: what passed in their minds was the grand and principal thing, being an effect so extensive, that nothing inferior to infinite power could have produced it. With respect to the blind restored to sight by this great Light of the world, they saw every object distinctly, and immediately bore, without any inconvenience, the fullforce of unaccustomed light! A most wonderful circumstance, but which was universally the case, so far as we can judge by all the accounts of the blind restored to sight which occur in the Gospels.

And with respect to the maimed, , that is, persons who had lost their legs and arms, and who are here distinguished from the lame or crippled (see Mar 9:43.), Jesus gave new members in their stead; but when he thus created such parts of their bodies as were wanting, without having any thing at all as a subject to work upon, the spectators could not have been more surprised, had they seen him form a whole human body out of the dust of the earth. The Jewish multitudes seem to have apprehended the greatness of these miracles more distinctly than the generality of Christian; for we are told, ch. Mat 9:33 when Jesus opened the mouth of the dumb man, the multitude marvelled, saying, It was never so seen in Israel. See also ch. Mat 12:22-23. On this occasion likewise they were not silent nor unaffected: They glorified the God of Israel; acknowledging that in this event was fulfilled the prophesy of Isaiah, Isa 35:5. This clause makes it probable, that many heathens were now present with our Lord, beheld his miracles, and formed a just notion of them. It seems, hisfamespreadingitselfintotheneighbouringcountrieshadmadesuch an impression even upon the idolatrous nations, that numbers of them came from far to hear and see the wonderful man of whom such things were reported, and if possible to experience his healing goodness; wherefore, when they beheld these effects of his power, they were exceedingly struck with them, and broke forth in praises of the God, by whose assistance and authority they considered him as acting: and it may be also, from that time forth devoted themselves to his worship. See Macknight, Beza, and Elsne

Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke

Mat 15:29 ff. . . .] according to Mar 7:31 , the eastern shore.

] the mountain just at hand. See notes on Mat 5:1 , Mat 14:22 .

] deformed, lame , without specifying further; but the word is used not merely with reference to the hands or arms (comp. as evidence to the contrary, the well-known nickname of Vulcan: , Hom. Il . xviii. 371, xxi. 331), but also to the feet.

] The flinging down is to be taken, not as indicating the careless confidence (Fritzsche, de Wette, Bleek), but rather the haste of the people, in consequence of so many sick being brought to Jesus. Comp. Er. Schmid, Bengel. The reference to the helplessness of the sick (Baumgarten-Crusius) would be suited only to the case of the and .

. ] for as it behoved them to prostrate themselves before Him.

Mat 15:31 . .] who shows His care for His people by communicating to them, through Jesus, such extraordinary blessings. . is added in the consciousness of the advantages they possessed over the neighbouring Gentiles.

Fuente: Heinrich August Wilhelm Meyer’s New Testament Commentary

3. The Second Miraculous Feeding. Mat 15:29-38

29And Jesus departed from thence, and came nigh unto the Sea of Galilee.; and [he] went up into a mountain, and sat down there. 30And great multitudes came unto him, having with them those that were lame, blind, dumb, maimed,13 and many others, and 31cast them down at Jesus [his] feet;14 and he healed them: Insomuch [so] that the multitude [multitudes, ] wondered, when they saw the dumb to speak [speaking, ], the maimed to be whole [whole], the lame to walk [walking], and the blind to see [seeing]: and they glorified the God of Israel. 32Then Jesus called his disciples unto him, and said, I have compassion on the multitude, because they continue with me now three days, and have nothing to eat: and I will not send them away fasting, lest they faint in the way. 33And his disciples say unto him, Whence should we have so much bread in the wilderness, as to fill so great a multitude? 34And Jesus saith unto 35them, How many loaves have ye? And they said, Seven, and a few little fishes. And he commanded the multitude [multitudes, ] to sit [lie] down on the ground. 36And he took the seven loaves and the fishes, and gave thanks, and brake them, and gave to his disciples, and the disciples to the multitude. 37And they did all eat [all ate], and were filled: and they took up of the broken meat [of the fragments] that was [were] left seven baskets full. 38And they that did eat [ate] were four thousand men, besides women and children.

EXEGETICAL AND CRITICAL

Mat 15:29. From thence,further on; . See above.

And sat down there.He must needs return to His people. Accordingly, after having passed round the sources of Jordan, He again arrived at the eastern shore of the sea, and sat down there, or settled on the mountain,i.e., continued His solitary communing in prayer. But He could not remain unknown.

Mat 15:30.The text here introduces a new description of sufferers, the , or maimed in hands or feet. Perhaps the term may allude to cretins.The people cast them down at His feet,indicating, according to Bengel and Meyer, their haste; according to Fritzsche and de Wette, implicit confidence; and according to Baumgarten-Crusius, the helplessness of the persons who were afflicted. But may it not at the same time indicate both the rudeness of these mountaineers, and their confidence, boldness, and their rapid movements in order to bring to the feet of Jesus all who were diseased? Among these cures Mark specially instances that of a deaf and dumb person (Mark 7:32).

Mat 15:31. They glorified the God of Israel.These remote mountaineers knew little of the Messianic character of Jesus. Probably they had adopted many heathen notions, and were wont to compare other gods with the God of Israel. Hence they now glorified the God of Israel, in consequence of the miracles of Him whom they acknowledged as His prophet.

Mat 15:32-38. But Jesus called His disciples to Him.The case was much more urgent than on the former occasion. The multitude had followed Him from the mountains, and not, as formerly, gathered in preparation for the festival of Easter. For three days they had continued with Him, partly forgetful of the wants of nature. Such scanty provision as they had brought with them was consumed. There was no possibility of either going into neighboring towns, or quickly returning across the lake. They could only retire to their mountain homes through the passes by which they had followed Him. They might therefore readily faint by the way. Similarly, the case was one of much greater difficulty than formerly. The multitudes here collected were more ignorant of the extent of Christs power. On the other hand, the supply of the disciples was somewhat largerseven loaves and a few fishes; whilst the multitude was smaller, at least by a thousand men. These circumstances will explain why the disciples in their discouragement designated their fishes as , and why Christ here commanded () the multitude to sit down.

From the similarity of this narrative to that of the first feeding of the people, and from the evident perplexity of the disciples, Schleiermacher and others have erroneously inferred that Matthew had here a second time reported one and the same fact. Krabbe, Hoffmann, Ebrard, and others controvert this view. Meyer thinks that the two events were different; but that the narratives had, in the course of tradition, become more like each other than the facts themselves. But the difference between them appears even in the terms for the baskets (, baskets for provisions) in which the fragments were gathered, and in the circumstance that there were seven of them. Meyer: The seven baskets correspond to the number of the loaves; the twelve baskets to that of the Apostles. If it be asked why less was left over when the provision had been originally greater, and the number of guests smaller, we might, perhaps, in reply, point to the difference in the baskets. But if the twelve baskets implied that the Lord would make abundant provision for all the Apostles if they surrendered everything for Him, the seven baskets may indicate both that He would richly reward their sacrifices (seven baskets for seven loaves), and that their requirements were diminishing since their pilgrimage was nearing its end.

DOCTRINAL AND ETHICAL

As above in the account of the first feeding of the multitude, Mat 14:14-21.

HOMILETICAL AND PRACTICAL

They cast those who were afflicted at Jesus feet.Cast all your care upon Him.How the gracious help of the Lord should incite us to compassion.Christ and His cures: 1. The variety of sufferings (the maimed also); 2. the rude attendants; 3. the Saviour always ready to help.The repetition of the miraculous feeding of the multitude reminding us of the words of the Lord, The poor ye have always with you.Comparison between the two occasions on which the multitudes were fed: 1. The second occasion was seemingly less distinguished than the first (seven loaves, five loaves; five thousand, four thousand; twelve baskets, seven baskets). 2. In reality, it was greater. (On the first occasion the people knew Him well, while on the second they were ignorant mountaineers from the utmost boundaries of the land; on the first occasion the crowd was preparing to go up to the feast, while on the second it was gathered from the mountains; on the first occasion the miracle took place at the close of the first day, but on the second after they had continued for three days with Jesus.) Similarly, the results were different. (On the first occasion they would have made Him their king, while on the second they glorified the God of Israel.)What lessons the Lord here imparts for Christian households. He teaches them: 1. Confidence in His own superabundant riches; 2. carefulness in the use of the blessings which He bestows on them.Provision is always made for the women and children along with the men.The circumstance that the women and children are not specially mentioned, implying a promise for their provision.

Starke: See how obtuse our reason is when we continue to harbor doubts and unbelief, although we have so many evidences of the power and goodness of our God, Num 11:18-23.Osiander: When God bestows His blessing, that which seemeth little becometh much.Cramer: Nature is satisfied with plain fare (bread and fishes).To eat and be satisfied are always combined when God spreads the table for His children.Carefulness turns everything to account.Quesnel: The more liberally we employ the gifts of God in a manner pleasing to Him, the more abundantly shall we receive of them, Gal 6:9.Luther: Let us frequently think of the great multitude of peoples who daily sit down at Gods table, and are satisfied. This will help us to glorify the love and power of our God.Quesnel: Let heads of houses rely upon the divine provision, however numerous their families, Psa 37:25.

Lisco:Erroneously: This event occurred near Magdala, a city by the Lake of Galilee.Gerlach: Magdala, a city by the Lake of Galilee, not far from Gadara.This mistake seems to have originated with Lightfoot and Wetstein.

Heubner:The less the people thought about eating and drinking, the more did Christ care for their wants.Many children, many prayers.Christ the spiritual Head of the house.The Christian parent after the example of Christ.

Footnotes:

[13] Mat 15:30.The order in the enumeration of the sick varies in the critical authorities. The one followed in the text is supported by E., G.. R., etc., Lachmann.

[14] Mat 15:30.[For the text. rec.: , all the critical editions read , His feet. So also Lange in his version.P. S.]

Fuente: A Commentary on the Holy Scriptures, Critical, Doctrinal, and Homiletical by Lange

“And Jesus departed from thence, and came nigh unto the sea of Galilee; and went up into a mountain, and sat down there. (30) And great multitudes came unto him, having with them those that were lame, blind, dumb, maimed, and many others, and cast them down at Jesus’ feet; and he healed them: (31) Insomuch that the multitude wondered, when they saw the dumb to speak, the maimed to be whole, the lame to walk, and the blind to see: and they glorified the God of Israel. (32) Then Jesus called his disciples unto him, and said, I have compassion on the multitude, because they continue with me now three days, and have nothing to eat: and I will not send them away fasting, lest they faint in the way. (33) And his disciples say unto him, Whence should we have so much bread in the wilderness, as to fill so great a multitude? (34) And Jesus saith unto them, How many loaves have ye? And they said, Seven, and a few little fishes. (35) And he commanded the multitude to sit down on the ground. (36) And he took the seven loaves and the fishes, and gave thanks, and brake them, and gave to his disciples, and the disciples to the multitude. (37) And they did all eat, and were filled: and they took up of the broken meat that was left seven baskets full. (38) And they that did eat were four thousand men, beside women and children. (39) And he sent away the multitude, and took ship, and came into the coasts of Magdala.”

We have here renewed instance of Jesus’ grace, both to the souls and bodies of men. He manifested his power and Godhead, and proved his being the Messiah in fulfilling what had been prophesied of him. Isa_35:5-6; Isa_61:1 , etc. But it would swell this work of the “Poor Man’s Commentary” much beyond the limits proposed, to notice every miracle of the Lord Jesus, with observations, in a way of improvement. Of the Lord it must be truly said, as said the Psalmist ages before, who contemplated his coming; his greatness is unsearchable. Psa 114:3 .

Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)

29 And Jesus departed from thence, and came nigh unto the sea of Galilee; and went up into a mountain, and sat down there.

Ver. 29. And came nigh to the sea of Galilee ] Where, though he had lately been tired out, yet he will try again. Ministers must have patience with a perverse people, not resolving, as Jeremiah once in a pet, to speak no more to them in the name of the Lord, but proving if at any time God will give them repentance to the acknowledging of the truth, &c., 2Ti 2:25 . I beseech you (said Mr Bradford to one with whom he had taken great pains, but to no great purpose), I pray you, I desire you, I crave at your hands with all my very heart; I ask of you with hand, pen, tongue, and mind, in Christ, for Christ, through Christ, for his name, blood, mercy, power and truth’s sake, my most entirely beloved, that you admit no doubting of God’s final mercies toward you, howsoever you feel yourself, &c. Of this good martyr it is said, that in travailing with his own heart he would never give over till he had made somewhat of it; as in confession, till his heart melted; in seeking pardon, till quieted; in begging grace, till warmed and quickened: so in dealing with others he practised that which St Austin persuadeth every preacher to do, so long to beat upon and repeat the same point, till by the countenance, but especially by the conversation, of his hearers, he perceive that they resent and relish it. “Knowing the terror of the Lord,” saith Paul, “we persuade men,” 2Co 5:11 ; we give them not over till we have prevailed with them and subdued them, though never so knotty and knorly.

And went up into a mountain ] Either to pray, or to preach, or to rest and repose himself; but that would not be, for great multitudes resorted to him. The sun set on high cannot he hidden, no more can Christ in the mount.

Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)

29 39. ] HEALING BY THE SEA OF GALILEE. Peculiar to Matthew (see Mar 7:31-37 ). FEEDING OF THE FOUR THOUSAND. Mar 8:1-10 .

Fuente: Henry Alford’s Greek Testament

29. ] is the high land on the coast of the lake, not any particular mountain. From this account it is uncertain to which side of the lake our Lord came; from Mar 7:31 we learn that it was to the eastern side, .

Fuente: Henry Alford’s Greek Testament

Mat 15:29-31 . Return to the Sea of Galilee (Mar 7:31-37 ).

Fuente: The Expositors Greek Testament by Robertson

Mat 15:29 . . . . ., to the neighbourhood of the Sea of Galilee; on which side? According to Mk., the eastern, approached by a circuitous journey through Sidon and Decapolis. Weiss contends that Mt. means the western shore. The truth seems to be that he leaves it vague. His account is a meagre colourless reproduction of Mk.’s. He takes no interest in the route, but only in the incidents at the two termini. He takes Jesus north to the borders of Tyre to meet the woman of Canaan, and back to Galilee to feed the multitude a second time. , as in Mat 5:1 , and apparently for the same purpose: ., sat down there to teach. This ascent of the hill bordering the lake is not in Mk.

Fuente: The Expositors Greek Testament by Robertson

NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: Mat 15:29-31

29Departing from there, Jesus went along by the Sea of Galilee, and having gone up on the mountain, He was sitting there. 30And large crowds came to Him, bringing with them those who were lame, crippled, blind, mute, and many others, and they laid them down at His feet; and He healed them. 31So the crowd marveled as they saw the mute speaking, the crippled restored, and the lame walking, and the blind seeing; and they glorified the God of Israel.

Mat 15:30 “large crowds” These large crowds were made up of the curious, the committed, the religious leaders, and the sick.

“He healed them” This was a Messianic sign (cf. Mat 11:5) which showed the heart of God.

Fuente: You Can Understand the Bible: Study Guide Commentary Series by Bob Utley

nigh unto = beside. Greek. para. App-104.

a = the, as in Mat 14:23.

sat down = was sitting down.

Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics

29-39.] HEALING BY THE SEA OF GALILEE. Peculiar to Matthew (see Mar 7:31-37). FEEDING OF THE FOUR THOUSAND. Mar 8:1-10.

Fuente: The Greek Testament

Mat 15:29. , sat) He did not take the initiative and command the multitudes to approach, but He awaited them.

Fuente: Gnomon of the New Testament

Mat15:29-39

17. THE FEEDING OF FOUR THOUSAND

Mat 15:29-39

29-31 And Jesus departed thence.-He departed from the northwest to the northeastern part of Galilee. He may have passed by Capernaum without stopping as he had lately abruptly left there after the altercation with the Pharisees. He went up into the mountain “and there came unto him great multitudes.” He went through the region of Decapolis on the east side of the sea. The people of this region took advantage of his visit and brought to him “the lame, blind, dumb, maimed, and many others, and they cast them down at his feet and he healed them.” He had visited this region once before and they knew of him. He healed all manner of diseases. “The maimed” were those who had broken limbs or crippled. (Act 3:2.) The people were greatly astonished “when they saw the dumb speaking, the maimed whole, and the lame walking, and the blind seeing.” These miracles caused them to glorify “the God of Israel.” The people on the east side of the Jordan were Jews, but they had fallen into great errors with respect to the law. The people naturally attributed the power of working these miracles to “the God of Israel”; they attributed the power to the right source, and should have accepted Jesus on his claim to be the Son of God, which many of them did.

32-39 And Jesus called unto him his disciples.-The multitude had witnessed the healing of many of their fellow citizens, and had remained there with him “now three days” and Jesus had “compassion on the multitude” because they had “nothing to eat.” He would not send the multitude away without feeding the people “lest hapy they faint on the way.” It is not necessary to infer that the multitude had fasted three days, but had been with Jesus three days and had exhausted all their supplies for food and were now suffering from hunger. (Mark 8:110.) The only difference between this miracle and that recorded in Matt. 14:1421 is the number fed. The place was the same, the plain near the mount where the beatitudes were spoken, close to the sea; the cause of it the same; the manner the same. The persons receiving support in this miraculous manner were not the same, as those who had been fed with the five thousand came from the western shore, and those of the four thousand came from the region of Decapolis. It is not necessary to infer that these were Gentiles as some have done; they were Jews who lived in that region of country.

And the disciples say unto him, Whence should we have so many loaves in a desert place as to fill so great a multitude? -It seems that his disciples had forgotten that he had power to feed the multitude. It had not been long since the multitude of five thousand men had been fed. Perhaps they believed he had the power to feed the multitude, but they were not sure he would repeat the miracle. They did not have the boldness to ask him to perform a miracle, hence they just asked, “Whence should we have so many loaves in a desert place as to fill so great a multitude?” They then watched every movement that was made. Jesus inquired, “How many loaves have ye?” And he received in reply, “Seven, and a few small fishes.” The multitude was commanded to sit down on the ground and Jesus, as on the former occasion, “gave thanks and brake, and gave to the disciples, and the disciples to the multitudes.” In like manner he took the “few small fishes” and “blessed” them and had his disciples to serve the multitude. After they had eaten “and were filled” they gathered up “that which remained over of the broken pieces, seven baskets full.” There were “four thousand men, besides women and children.” Twice in the same general region of country, and under the same general necessity, did Jesus supply “bread in the wilderness” to the needy multitudes who, far from their homes, stayed to listen to his word. This multitude did not think of making him king as did the other multitude that he fed; so he quietly departed with his disciples.

“And he sent away the multitudes” and he with his disciples “entered into the boat, and came into the borders of Magadan.” This is the place from which Mary Magdalene received her name. Mark says that Jesus and his disciples left and “came into the parts of Dalmanutha.” (Mar 8:10.) The great moral lessons of the feeding of the five thousand and of the four thousand are the same; the circumstances call for a supply of food by a miracle; the same power here as before was equal to the emergency; the same love and wisdom provided it.

Fuente: Old and New Testaments Restoration Commentary

Ministering to the Multitudes

Mat 15:29-39

Our Lords mission of grace and truth was at its height. His help was sought with the utmost eagerness. Large numbers of sick were cast at His feet in hot haste. The crumb was given to the woman of Canaan, but whole loaves were distributed to the crowds of Jews, because it was befitting that they should have a full chance to appreciate and accept Christ. For a brief moment they glorified the God of Israel, but the spasm of gratitude was transient. His own rejected Jesus. They would have His miracles, but would not own His claims. Take care that you do not become content with getting His help; love Him for Himself.

Do not suppose that these miracles were confined to His earthly life. He is still the great storehouse of divine and healing energy. He is still moved with compassion, and longs to help each weary and sin-sick soul. His thought still is lest they faint by the way. The wilderness can place no bar on the saving strength of His right hand. Disciples especially are meant to be intermediaries and mediators. They take and give.

Fuente: F.B. Meyer’s Through the Bible Commentary

Chapter 39

I will not send them away.

And Jesus departed from thence, and came nigh unto the sea of Galilee; and went up into a mountain, and sat down there. And great multitudes came unto him, having with them those that were lame, blind, dumb, maimed, and many others, and cast them down at Jesus feet; and he healed them: Insomuch that the multitude wondered, when they saw the dumb to speak, the maimed to be whole, the lame to walk, and the blind to see: and they glorified the God of Israel. Then Jesus called his disciples unto him, and said, I have compassion on the multitude, because they continue with me now three days, and have nothing to eat: and I will not send them away fasting, lest they faint in the way. And his disciples say unto him, Whence should we have so much bread in the wilderness, as to fill so great a multitude? And Jesus saith unto them, How many loaves have ye? And they said, Seven, and a few little fishes. And he commanded the multitude to sit down on the ground. And he took the seven loaves and the fishes, and gave thanks, and brake them, and gave to his disciples, and the disciples to the multitude. And they did all eat, and were filled: and they took up of the broken meat that was left seven baskets full. And they that did eat were four thousand men, beside women and children. And he sent away the multitude, and took ship, and came into the coasts of Magdala.

(Mat 15:29-39)

We have here another display of our Saviors great compassion and grace, both to the souls and bodies of men. He manifested his power and Godhead and proved himself the Messiah, fulfilling that which had been prophesied of him (Isa 35:5-6; Isa 61:1). Here was a great throng of people gathered around the Lord Jesus. They had been with him for three days. He performed miracle after miracle, healing the sick, diseased, and impotent souls that were brought before him. His miracles were so astounding that all these thousands of people were utterly astonished by the power and grace of God. And they glorified the God of Israel.

This great crowd of people, twenty thousand or more strong, was so taken up with Christ, his miraculous power, his infinite goodness, and his gracious word that they lost all track of other things. Three days had passed before they knew it. Now they were all hungry and faint. Having received great, great mercy and blessings, one on top of another, they were yet in great need. They needed food and strength.

Notice our Lords response to their need in Mat 15:32. He says to his disciples I will not send them away! Oh, how I love the sound of these words falling from the lips of the Son of God! He says, Him that cometh unto me I will in no wise cast out (Joh 6:37). That means there is nothing in any sinner in all the world that will keep Christ from receiving him, if he does but come to him. Come then to Christ! Come just like you are! Just come to Christ; and he will receive you.

Just as I am, without one plea,

But that Thy blood was shed for me,

And that thou bidst me come to Thee,

O Lamb of God, I come!

Then, regarding those who have come to him, our Savior says, I will not send them away! That means, having come to Christ, there is nothing in us that will cause him to send us away, and no need that might arise that can necessitate our going away from our Savior.

Christ is all I need! Christ is all I need!

He is all I need. For me He died.

He was crucified. And He is all I need!

Come to Christ and he will never send you away, for this is his promise. I will not send them away!

Needy Souls

In Mat 15:29-30 we see great multitudes of needy souls coming to Christ. And Jesus departed from thence, and came nigh unto the sea of Galilee; and went up into a mountain, and sat down there. And great multitudes came unto him, having with them those that were lame, blind, dumb, maimed, and many others, and cast them down at Jesus feet; and he healed them.

What could be more difficult and troublesome than moving sick, impotent, diseased people, especially in those days? They had to be literally carried to the Savior. But the hope of being healed was in sight. Such a hope inspired these needy souls and those who cared for them. No obstacle was considered. No cost was calculated.

When people are in desperate need, nothing will prevent them from seeking relief, if there is any hope. For bodily health, people will wait in a crowded doctors office for hours, move from one state to another for purer air, give up jobs, and pay any price. But few are even slightly concerned about their souls health. Yet, the Word of God teaches us that any sinner who knows his souls need, will allow nothing to keep him from Christ, who alone can meet his souls needs. And anyone who knows the power of Christ and cares for the souls of others will do whatever he can to get sin sick souls to the Savior. We saw that in the story of the Canaanite woman (Mat 15:21-28).

I have been under a doctors care for many years. He treats me for glaucoma. A while back, I got a little weary of going to his office every two months and paying the fees connected with his constant examination. So I asked if I might not be able to cut back on the number of visits. My doctors reply was, They are your eyes. Youre the one that has glaucoma. I was embarrassed and immediately decided that the inconvenience and cost was far less significant than the possibility of losing my eyes! But that is nothing compared with losing my soul, and nothing compared with the thought of others perishing. Let all who value their souls make it their lifes business to seek Christ. Let all who value the souls of others make it their lifes business to bring sinners to the Savior. Every believer ought to be like those four men who are described by Mark (Mar 2:1-4), who carried their needy friend up to the roof and tore the roof off, so they could get their friend to the Master.

Omnipotent Mercy

Mat 15:31 displays the omnipotence of Gods mercy. The multitude wondered, when they saw the dumb to speak, the maimed to be whole, the lame to walk, and the blind to see: and they glorified the God of Israel.

Our Lord Jesus was not one of our modern false healers. He healed people with real infirmities. The word maimed means mutilated or cut off, as one whose limb had been cut off in an accident. What we have before us is a tremendous picture of our Lords power to heal sin-sick souls. There is no plague of the heart that he cannot cure. There is no deformity of soul that he cannot overcome. There is no fever of lust that he cannot stop, no palsy of worldliness that he cannot heal, no cancer of indolence that he cannot remove. When the Son of God sends his Spirit, omnipotent grace is healing grace for our souls. He opens blind eyes, causes the dumb to sing his praise, the deaf to hear his Word, the blind to see his glory, and the lame to walk in paths of righteousness for his names sake.

I have no hesitance in asserting that those who claim apostolic gifts of tongues and healing are deceitful workers. But do not imagine that the time of miracles has passed. Every conversion is a miracle of omnipotent mercy.

If you would be saved, go to Christ by faith. Cast your soul down before him. Call upon him for relief. He is still the same today as he was two thousand years ago. He is still the great physician. He still receiveth sinners. He is still mighty to save.

Our Compassionate Savior

Mat 15:32 shows us the compassionate character of our God and Savior. Then Jesus called his disciples unto him, and said, I have compassion on the multitude, because they continue with me now three days, and have nothing to eat: and I will not send them away fasting, lest they faint in the way.

It is striking to me that this word compassion is used more often in the four gospels to describe our Savior than any other. Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John show us much about our Redeemers feelings of joy and sorrow, thanksgiving and anger, holiness and zeal. But the word they most often use to describe him is this word compassion. The word means, to be moved from within. Our English word means, co-passion, or to suffer with. It is a feeling of deep sympathy and sorrow, accompanied with a strong desire to alleviate the pain and remove its cause.

Our Lords compassion for his elect extends to every aspect of our lives. Our spiritual and eternal needs are of indescribable importance to him, and so are our immediate, temporal needs. Let us never imagine that our Savior is less concerned for our welfare than we are for the welfare of our own families!

And let no sinner question the tenderness and compassion of Christ. He will graciously receive all who come to him. He will freely, fully, and forever forgive all the sins of all who trust him. He will forever supply all the needs of all who call upon him. Gods mercy in Christ is an infinitely vast, bottomless ocean. Though countless multitudes draw from it incessantly, its boundless fulness is never diminished.

What comfort there is for our souls in this great attribute of our God. His compassions fail not (Lam 3:22). He knows the world in which we live. He knows our temptations. He knows Satans devices. He knows our frailties. He remembers that we are dust. And he pities us. If the Lord Jesus is full of compassion toward us, how much more compassionate we ought to be toward the needs of men (Eph 4:32 to Eph 5:1; Jas 1:27; 1Jn 3:17; Gal 6:10).

Human Instrumentality

Our Saviors employment of his disciples in the distribution of the loaves and fish teaches us something about the sphere of human instrumentality. Certainly the sovereign God does not need us for anything. Our Savior does not need to use us. He could have distributed the loaves and fish far more easily and much, much faster than the disciples. But he chose not to do what they were perfectly capable of doing. What a privilege it was for the disciples to be allowed to pass out the bread and fish as he multiplied it! Serving Christ by serving the needs of others is the highest honor and greatest privilege in this world (Mat 10:40-42; Eph 3:8).

Faith and Usefulness

And his disciples say unto him, Whence should we have so much bread in the wilderness, as to fill so great a multitude? (Mat 15:33) The disciples reply to the Savior was not, as I see it, a matter of unbelief. They had not forgotten what happened in chapter 14. They were simply saying, Lord, if this crowd is going to be fed, you will have to feed them. We do not have any bread and have no way of getting any bread. We are most useful, when we acknowledge that we are useless. We are most sufficient when we acknowledge our insufficiency. God never gives us a task to do without giving us the means and the ability to do (Act 1:8). If we would serve our Savior, if we would be useful to the generation in which we live, we must constantly acknowledge that we have nothing with which to serve him, except that with which he supplies us. Our sufficiency is of God.

Gods Glory

When I read the last line of Mat 15:31, I am reminded that the glory of God, only the glory of God, must be our motive in all things. When our Lord Jesus healed the multitudes, they glorified the God of Israel. The object and goal of everything we do in the service of Christ must be to bring eternity bound souls to glorify and worship the God of Israel. The goal of the preacher, the church, and the individual believer must never be success, fame, popularity, or the approval of men, but the glory of our God.

The Blessedness of Giving

Read Mat 15:34-37 and learn something about the blessedness of giving. And Jesus saith unto them, How many loaves have ye? And they said, Seven, and a few little fishes. And he commanded the multitude to sit down on the ground. And he took the seven loaves and the fishes, and gave thanks, and brake them, and gave to his disciples, and the disciples to the multitude. And they did all eat, and were filled: and they took up of the broken meat that was left seven baskets full.

The word baskets here is not little lunch baskets as in Mat 14:20, but huge baskets, the kind used by people carrying goods to the market, the kind that was used to lower Paul over the city wall in Damascus (Act 9:25). These disciples handed the Lord Jesus just seven loaves and a few small fish. With that insignificant lunch, sufficient only to feed one or two men by us, the Son of God fed over 20,000 people; and the disciples gathered up seven grocery carts full of the Masters leftovers!

What an honor it is to give to Christ! What an honor for our great, glorious, all-sufficient God to take our loaves and fishes and use them! Let us leave this great display of Christs goodness being convinced that it is impossible for anyone to impoverish himself by giving (Pro 3:9-10; Mal 3:10; Luk 6:38; 2Co 9:6).

Fuente: Discovering Christ In Selected Books of the Bible

The King gives another Banquet

Mat 15:29. And Jesus departed from thence, and came nigh unto the sea of Galilee; and went up into a mountain, and sat down there.

He was always on the move: he “went about doing good.” He had gone to the border of the land: he was soon back again to headquarters. He wastes not a moment. He does not stay to be congratulated upon his success, but hastens to other work; and so we often read, “And Jesus departed from thence”

How he loved the mountains and the sea! By the lake of Galilee he again chooses out a rising knoll, selects a standing place with ground around it for an assembly, and opens another session of his ministry of mercy. Se sat down there, for he had set his heart upon blessing the people on that convenient spot. In imagination we see him taking his seat, and then speaking ex cathedra, from the rising ground, “nigh unto the sea of Galilee.” The mountain’s side was free to all, and none could complain of trespass, and it was far enough from busy towns to escape the noise of necessary labour. See how the people crowd! Our Lord’s presence will not long be unnoticed, though no sound of church-going bell gave notice of a service. As a preacher he never lacked a congregation. Where he sat down the people came: if he “went up into a mountain” they climbed after him. If we preach Jesus in the most out-of-the-way village, in a region almost inaccessible, we shall not be left without hearers.

Mat 15:30-31. And great multitudes came unto him, having with them those that were lame, blind, dumb, maimed, and many others, and cast them down at Jesus’ feet; and he healed them: insomuch that the multitude wondered, when they saw the dumb to speak, the maimed to be whole, the lame to walk, and the blind to see: and they glorified the God of Israel.

Still the same story. The magnet always attracts. The crowd is increased in volume. “Great multitudes came unto him.” They seem to spring up from the earth, and swarm from the sea: they are so soon about our Lord that there is no interval wherein he might rest. The sickness which they bring before him is still more varied than in former times. What a list of patients! What a gathering of miseries to one spot! The expectation of the people remains at flood-tide; they have the sick with them, and they “cast them down at Jesus’ feet “: leaving them with him in full confidence. The healing power continues to flow in full force: that one sentence is a grand summary of his marvellous cures: “Me healed them.” This time the result is a greater degree of wonder among the crowd, attended by a gracious savour of praise to Israel’s God: “They glorified the God of Israel.” It was evident to them that Jehovah had. remembered and visited his people, and was healing their sicknesses, and so for the moment they gave him glory. What must it have been to be an eye-witness of such a scene of healing and of worship! What an education for the apostles! What a stay for their faith in trying days after their Master was taken from them!

Lord, when we experience a revival of true religion, we behold the greatness of thy healing power in the spiritual world, and we, therefore, glorify the God of Israel-the God of the covenant, the God of wrestling prayer, the God of all grace.

Mat 15:32. Then Jesus called his disciples unto him, and said, I have compassion on the multitude, because they continue with me now three days, and have nothing to eat; and I will not send them away fasting, lest they faint in the way.

History repeats itself. We shall be wise to note the variations. What Jesus has done once he can and will do again and again, should need arise. In fact, one mercy is the promise of another. Our Lord is here the first to speak upon the way of dealing with the vast famishing crowd: the disciples do not come to him about the business, but he begins the conversation. In every case his heart is first, and in this case his speech is so. “Then Jesus called his disciples unto him.” They are to be co-workers, and so he consults them, making them members of his privy-council. He has all tenderness, and can truly say, “I have compassion on the multitude.” Whether he moves in a matter of distress or not, his heart is always compassionate, and he thinks of the people’s present fasting, and possible fainting. His compassion is the spring which sets his power in motion. The crowds had continued following him, and he could not but pity the need which arose out of their perseverance in listening to his teaching. These people had endured a three days’ fast, or at least scantiness of food, to hear him preach. What preaching it must have been! But the great Teacher cares for their bodies as well as for their souls, and will not feel content to feed their minds only. From the usual point of view their lack of provision was their own concern: they had gathered of their own accord, and they could not reasonably look to him to give them both board and instruction for nothing; but his great heart could not consent to let them faint: he would not even innocently be the cause of injury to one of them. He solemnly declares, “I will not send them away fasting” He would not have his servants indifferent to the sufferings of the poor, even as to the bread which perisheth. We may be doubly sure that he will not long allow any earnest hearer to faint through spiritual hunger. He may make us wait to awaken appetite; but he will not in the end dismiss us unfed. He loves not to let the hungry famish; he fears “lest they faint in the way.” If any of us are coming near to that state, he perceives it, and will interpose. Let us cultivate an appetite for heavenly food, and Jesus will supply its cravings.

Mat 15:33. And his disciples say unto him, Whence should we have so much bread in the wilderness, as to fill so great a multitude?

On this second occasion we might have hoped for better things from the disciples; but they are in the old rut; as doubtful as ever, and as much guilty of forgetting their Lord’s power. He said, ” I will not send them away fasting”, and they answer his gracious declaration with a hard and chilling question. Note how they forget what HE would do, and dote upon what they cannot do. “Whence should we have so much bread?” Who said anything about “We”? The only good point in their speech is their associating themselves with their Lord at all; but even there they take too prominent a place. They think of their own poverty, of the wilderness, of the “so much bread,” and of the “so great a multitude “; and they forget their “so great” Lord. Are we not too much like them? Are we sure that we are even as wise as they were? We fear not.

Mat 15:34. And Jesus saith unto them, How many loaves have ye? And they said, Seven, and a few little fishes.

The Lord accepts their association, and says, “How many haves have ye?” Small as their store was, and utterly insignificant for the work proposed, he allows them to contribute it towards his grand design. They make a rapid inventory, and they speak of it in mournful tones: “Seven loaves, and a few-little fishes.” Much like our own poor stock-in-trade for holy service. The haves were by no means such masses of food as we intend by the English word; they were merely thin cakes. The fishes were few and little; more bones than anything else. So are our abilities slender, and marred with many disabilities; yet we must put all that we have into the common stock, and it will be enough in the hands of him who worketh all things.

Mat 15:35. And he commanded the multitude to sit down on the ground.

The people are prepared for the festival by willingness to obey. What they had seen of our Lord’s miraculous power awakened expectation, and created readiness to follow his lead. There is generally a preparedness of mind when Jesus is about to work his wonders of grace. Lord, cause our people to be ready “to sit down on the ground” at thy feast of grace!

Mat 15:36. And he took the seven loaves and the fishes, and gave thanks, and brake them, and gave to his disciples, and the disciples to the multitude.

He did as aforetime. His way is perfect, and so there was no need for altering it. “He took the seven loaves and the fishes.” They only made one handful for him. This shows us that our slender abilities must be placed at his disposal, and in his wonderworking hands. He does not disdain to carry the bread and the fish, though he bears up both heaven and earth. His giving thanks at an outdoor meal should teach us not to eat without thanksgiving. The breaking teaches that there must be expenditure of talent, and that there should be a crumbing down of truth to suit human mouths. His giving the provision into many hands shows that nothing is to be retained in store, but all must be distributed among the many. Our Lord Jesus again honoured his disciples by making them the servitors by whom he reached the multitude. Lord, use us: for if we have neither loaf nor fish, we have willing hands.

Mat 15:37. And they did all eat, and were filled: and they took up of the broken meat that was left seven baskets full.

The feast was carried out in a manner so orderly, and with provision so bountiful, that all ate to satisfaction: even little children had their bread and fish. The remainder, the broken food, was too good to waste, and so it was taken up in baskets for future use. The God of abundance is yet the God of frugality. We. want not, but also we waste not. Baskets are always to be had: the difficulty is to fill them. Here the baskets corresponded to the number of the loaves; in the former banquet they corresponded to the number of the apostles. The blessing which rewards service may bear a relation to the workers or to the original supply which they contributed, according to the manner of comparison. In both cases of feeding the multitude, that which was in store after use was greater than that which was at first possessed. The more we give the more we have. May not some of us be poor because we have given so little away? Might not the most gifted have had more gifts by this time if they had unselfishly laid out what they have for the good of others?

Mat 15:38. And they that did eat were four thousand men, beside women and children.

Here is no desire to swell out the number, to make the wonder greater. In some religious statistics the tale would be soon told if the women and children were left out, for they are the bulk of the attendants. In the Bible we find the people counted by the number of the males, and Matthew when he took taxes was accustomed so to levy them: that plan is followed here. There is no reason why the women and children should be omitted in our enumerations nowadays, since the whole method of census taking has been altered, and both sexes are now included. As the men were the greatest caters, and the most conspicuous persons, they are counted; and though the rest of the guests were not numbered they were all nourished, which is the main matter.

Mat 15:39. And he sent away the multitude, and took ship, and came into the coasts of Magdala.

Our Lord was ever earnest to send the crowds home: he desired not to detain them from their daily labour. He does not want them to attend him as a guard of honour, or as enthusiastic processionists: he speeds away from their praises. He took ship. Like a shuttle through the loom, he crosses and recrosses the lake. He comes “into the coasts of Magdala.” Was he seeking out Mary of Magdala? He had some errand of mercy there. It was soon accomplished, for he was off to sea again. Our Lord was largely a seafaring man. Let sailors run up Christ’s colours, and sail under his command. O Lord Jesus, I would traverse the sea of life with thee as my pilot, owner, and captain!

Fuente: Spurgeon’s The Gospel of the Kingdom

and came: Mar 7:31

unto: Mat 4:18, Jos 12:3, Chinneroth, Isa 9:1, Mar 1:16, Luk 5:1, lake of Gennesaret, Joh 6:1, Joh 6:23, Joh 21:1, Tiberias

went: Mat 5:1, Mat 13:2

Reciprocal: Mar 6:33 – General Joh 6:3 – General

Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge

5:29

The region of Tyre and Sidon where Jesus was teaching and working bordered on the Sea of Galilee but was an area a mile wide and several miles long. He now came nearer to the sea and went up into a mountain where he received the multitudes.

Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary

THE beginning of this passage contains three points which deserve our special attention. For the present let us dwell exclusively on them.

In the first place, let us remark, how much more pains people take about the relief of their bodily diseases, than about their souls. We read, that “great multitudes came to Jesus, having with them those that were lame, blind, dumb, maimed, and many others.” Many of them, no doubt, had journeyed many miles, and gone through great fatigues. Nothing is so difficult and troublesome, as to move sick people. But the hope of being healed was in sight. Such hope is everything to a sick man.

We know little of human nature, if we wonder at the conduct of these people. We need not wonder at all. They felt that health was the greatest of earthly blessings. They felt that pain was the hardest of all trials to bear. There is no arguing against sense. A man feels his strength failing. He sees his body wasting, and his face becoming pale. He is sensible that his appetite is leaving him. He knows, in short, that he is ill, and needs a physician. Show him a physician within reach, who is said never to fail in working cures, and he will go to him without delay.

Let us however not forget that our souls are far more diseased than our bodies, and learn a lesson from the conduct of these people. Our souls are afflicted with a malady far more deep-seated, far more complicated, far more hard to cure than any ailment that flesh is heir to. They are in fact plague-stricken by sin. They must be healed, and healed effectually, or perish everlastingly. Do we really know this? Do we feel it? Are we alive to our spiritual disease? Alas! there is but one answer to these questions. The bulk of mankind do not feel it at all. Their eyes are blinded. They are utterly insensible to their danger. For bodily health they crowd the waiting-rooms of doctors. For bodily health they take long journeys to find purer air. But for their soul’s health they take no thought at all. Happy indeed is that man or woman who has found out his soul’s disease! Such an one will never rest till he has found Jesus. Troubles will seem nothing to him. Life, life, eternal life is at stake. He will count all things loss that he may win Christ, and be healed.

In the second place, let us remark the marvelous ease and power with which our Lord healed all who were brought to Him. We read that “the multitude wondered when they saw the dumb to speak, the maimed to be whole, the lame to walk, and the blind to see; and they glorified the God of Israel.”

Behold in these words a lively emblem of our Lord Jesus Christ’s power to heal sin-diseased souls! There is no ailment of heart that He cannot cure. There is no form of spiritual complaint that He cannot overcome. The fever of lust, the palsy of the love of the world, the slow consumption of indolence and sloth, the heart-disease of unbelief, all, all give way when he sends forth His Spirit on any one of the children of men. He can put a new song in a sinner’s mouth, and make him speak with love of that Gospel which he once ridiculed and blasphemed. He can open the eyes of a man’s understanding and make him see the kingdom of God. He can open the ears of a man and make him willing to hear His voice, and follow Him whithersoever He goeth. He can give power to a man who once walked in the broad way that leadeth unto destruction, to walk in the way of life. He can make hands that were once instruments of sin, serve Him and do His will. The time of miracles is not yet past. Every conversion is a miracle. Have we ever seen a real instance of conversion? Let us know that we saw in it the hand of Christ. We should have seen nothing really greater, if we had seen our Lord making the dumb to speak, and the lame to walk, when He was on earth.

Would we know what to do, if we desire to be saved? Do we feel soul-sick and want a cure? We must just go to Christ by faith and apply to Him for relief. He is not changed. Eighteen hundred years have made no difference in Him. High at the right hand of God He is still the great Physician. He still “receiveth sinners.” He is still mighty to heal.

In the third place, let us remark the abundant compassion of our Lord Jesus Christ. We read that “He called His disciples and said, I have compassion on the multitude.” A great crowd of men and women is always a solemn sight. It should stir our hearts to feel that each is a dying sinner, and each has a soul to be saved. None ever seems to have felt so much when he saw a crowd, as Christ.

It is a curious and striking fact that of all the feelings experienced by our Lord when 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.” The Holy Spirit seems to point out to us, that this was the distinguishing feature of His character, and the predominant feeling of His mind, when He was among men. Nine times over,-to say nothing of expressions in parables,-nine times over the Spirit has caused that word “compassion” to be written in the Gospels.

There is something very touching and instructive in this circumstance. Nothing is written by chance in the word of God. There is a special reason for the selection of every single expression. That word “compassion,” no doubt, was specially chosen for our profit.

It ought to encourage all who are hesitating about beginning to walk in God’s ways. Let them remember that their Savior is full of “compassion.” He will receive them graciously. He will forgive them freely. He will remember their former iniquities no more. He will supply all their need abundantly. Let them not be afraid. Christ’s mercy is a deep well, of which no one ever found the bottom.

It ought to comfort the saints and servants of the Lord when they feel weary. Let them call to mind that Jesus is full of “compassion.” He knows what a world it is in which they live. He knows the body of a man and all its frailties. He knows the devices of their enemy, the devil. And the Lord pities His people. Let them not be cast down. They may feel that weakness, failure, and imperfection are stamped on all they do. But let them not forget that word which says, “His compassions fail not.” (Lam 3:22.)

Fuente: Ryle’s Expository Thoughts on the Gospels

Mat 15:29. Departed thence. (Mar 8:31 is fuller.) He probably made a circuit, passing southeastward, through the northern part of the Decapolis at the foot of the Lebanon range, reaching the mountainous (and solitary) district on the eastern shore of the Sea of Galilee.

And sat there. To obtain here the rest He had sought in the parts of Tyre and Sidon.

Fuente: A Popular Commentary on the New Testament

Observe here, 1. The charity,

2. The faith of the multitude, in bringing the blind, the deaf, and the dumb to Christ their charity in lending eyes to the blind, and a tongue to the dumb; who could neither come to Christ themselves, nor speak for themselves. Every man has a tongue to speak for himself, happy is he that has a tongue to pray and intercede for others: this charity did the people exercise here.

Observe also their faith; they laid the lame and blind down at Jesus’ feet, relying upon his power and believing his willingness to help and heal them.

Observe farther, The effect of this miracle upon the multitude; it was two-fold:

1. They were struck with admiration and wonder, to see such cures wrought as exceeded the course of nature, and the power of art.

2. They glorified the God of Israel; that is, they acknowledged it to be a wonderful work of the power and mercy wrought by that God whom Israel worshipped.

Whence we learn, That the miraculous works of Christ, which he wrought before the multitude, were obvious to their sense; and did constrain the beholders (if not blinded with pharisaical obstinacy) to acknowledge the power of God communicated to Christ, and to praise him for it: The multitude marvelled and glorified God!

Fuente: Expository Notes with Practical Observations on the New Testament

Mat 15:29-31. Jesus came unto the sea of Galilee The Jews gave the name of seas to all large lakes. This was one hundred furlongs long, and forty broad. It was called also the sea of Tiberias. It lay on the borders of Galilee, and the city of Tiberias stood on its western shore. It was likewise styled the lake of Gennesaret; perhaps a corruption of Cinnereth, the name by which it was anciently called. See notes on Num 34:11, and Mat 4:15-16. And went up into a mountain and sat down Not only to rest himself, but also, and especially, to teach the people, who resorted to him in great multitudes; having with them those that were lame, blind, dumb, maimed, &c. The dumb were probably deaf also, and the maimed, such as had lost one or more limbs, as the word

properly signifies. It is true, it is sometimes applied to those who were only disabled in those parts; we may reasonably suppose, however, that among the many maimed who were brought on such occasions, there were, at least, some whose limbs had been cut off; and I thinks, says Dr. Doddridge, hardly any of the miracles of our Lord were more illustrious and amazing than the recovery of such. And many others Who had different complaints; and cast them down at Jesuss feet Entreating his compassion, which was so moved at the sight of so many people in distress, that he graciously healed them all. On these miracles, Dr. Macknight remarks as follows: On the dumb, who are commonly deaf also, he not only conferred the faculty of hearing and pronouncing articulate sounds, but conveyed into their minds at once the whole language of their country, making them perfectly acquainted with all the words in it, their significations, and their uses, so as to comprehend the whole distinctly in their memories, and, at the same time, he gave them the habit of speaking it both fluently and copiously. This was a kind of miracle vastly astonishing. The change that was produced in the bodies of the men was but the least part of it; what passed in their minds was the principal thing, being an effect so extensive that nothing inferior to infinite power could produce it. With respect to the maimed, that is, persons who had lost their legs and arms, Jesus gave them new members in their stead. But when he thus created such parts of their bodies as were wanting, without having any thing at all, as a subject, to work upon, the spectators could not have been more surprised had they seen him make a whole human body out of the dust of the earth. Accordingly, on the sight of these miracles, it is here said, They wondered and glorified the God of Israel. See also Mat 9:33; and Mat 12:22-23; Mar 7:37.

Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments

LXVIII.

ANOTHER AVOIDING OF HEROD’S TERRITORY.

aMATT. XV. 29; bMARK VII. 31.

b31 And aJesus bagain went out. aAnd departed thence, bfrom the borders of Tyre, and came through Sidon, aand came nigh unto the sea of Galilee; bthrough the midst of the borders of Decapolis. aand he went up into a mountain, and sat down there. [From Tyre Jesus proceeded northward to Sidon and thence eastward across the mountains and the headwaters of the Jordan to the neighborhood of Damascus. Here he turned southward and approached the Sea of Galilee on its eastern side. Somewhere amid the mountains on the eastern side he sat down; i. e., he ceased his journeying for some days.] [402]

[FFG 402]

Fuente: McGarvey and Pendleton Commentaries (New Testament)

DEAF & DUMB HEALED

Mat 15:29-31; Mar 7:31-37. And again having gone out from the coast of Tyre and Sidon, He came to the Sea of Galilee, in the midst of the coasts of Decapolis; this word is from deka, ten, and polis, city. There is no city by the name of Decapolis, as the word literally means ten cities, and is the name of a region southeast of the Galilean Sea, in which there were ten prominent cities. I saw it in my recent visit. When our Savior left His retirement up in Phoenicia, He journeyed southward, leaving the Sea of Galilee on His left, preaching along through Galilee, and entering Decapolis. They bring Him a dummy, stammering a little, and entreat Him that He may put His hand on him. And taking him from the crowd into privacy, He put His fingers into his ears, and spitting, touched his tongue, and looking up to heaven, groaned, and says to him, Ephphatha, which is, Be thou opened. And immediately his ears were opened, and the bridle of his tongue was loosed, and he continued to speak correctly. And He commanded them that they must tell no one; but the more He charged them, the more abundantly they proclaimed it abroad. And they are astonished exceedingly, saying, Truly, He hath done all things well; He both maketh the deaf to hear and the dumb to speak. Matthew: Many multitudes came to Him, having with them the lame, the blind, the dumb, the maimed, and many others, and threw them down at the feet of Jesus, and He healed them, so that the multitudes were astonished, seeing the dumb speaking, the maimed whole, the lame walking round, and the blind seeing; and they glorified the God of Israel. When the news of His presence flies on the wings of the wind to the ten prominent cities representing that great east country, known in history as Perea, constituting a part of King Herods dominion, the multitudes come pouring from every point of the compass, bringing with them the lame, that their feet and limbs might be restored; the maimed i.e., the people whose hands and arms were crippled, so they could not use them; the deaf, the dumb, the blind. O what sensations sweep the multitude, like cyclones, as they see the clubfooted, withered-limbed, reel-footed, broken-legged, all running foot-races, leaping, and jumping, their old crutches all stacked up in a pile, as I saw in Brother Simpsons Berachah Home in New York; the people who hadnt been able to use their hands and arms in a score of years, piling rocks, climbing trees, and performing a diversity of gymnastic, dumb-bell exercises, demonstrating to the multitude the perfect restoration of their hands and arms; the dumb singing the good old songs of Zion, shouting the praises of God, and testifying like apostles; and the deaf so delighted with the musical voices ringing in their ears on all sides! In vain does Jesus charge them not to publish His mighty works, lest they arouse the multitude to come and crown Him King, as they were about to do but a month ago, when he fed the hungry multitudes in Galilee. The news is too good to keep. These hundreds and thousands of beneficiaries are bound to tell His wonderful benefactions, miraculously healing them, to the unutterable surprise of all their friends, who now rejoice with them, making many homes vocal with the praises of Israels God, who has sent among them a Mighty Prophet, having power over all physical ailments and spiritual derangements, everywhere healing diseases and ejecting demons.

This Hebrew word ephphatha, which means be thou opened, has a beautiful application throughout the gracious economy. You will never hear the Word of the Lord to spiritual edification unless Jesus touches the ear of your soul and says, Ephphatha. It is equally true that you will never see the deep things of God, and the Bible, and the beauty of holiness in His kingdom, unless He touch your spiritual eye, and say, Ephphatha.

Fuente: William Godbey’s Commentary on the New Testament

Mat 15:29-31. Healings.A general survey takes the place of Mk.s (Mar 7:31-37) story of the cure of the deaf mute, perhaps because of the use by Jesus of material means and groaning. Similarly the story of the blind man (Mar 8:22-26) is omitted, though in compensation Mt. has given Mat 9:27-33. It is curious that the sick were brought up into the mountain.

Fuente: Peake’s Commentary on the Bible

15:29 {6} And Jesus departed from thence, and came nigh unto the sea of Galilee; and went up into a mountain, and sat down there.

(6) Christ does not cease to be beneficial even where he is condemned, and in the midst of wolves he gathers together and cares for his flock.

Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes

6. The public ministry to Gentiles 15:29-39

Matthew again recorded a summary of Jesus’ general healing ministry (cf. Mat 4:23-25; Mat 9:35-38; Mat 12:15-21; Mat 14:34-36) following opposition (Mat 13:54 to Mat 14:12; Mat 15:1-20) and discipleship training (Mat 14:13-33; Mat 15:21-28). Opposition and discipleship training did not occupy His attention so exclusively that He had no time to heal the multitudes compassionately.

Fuente: Expository Notes of Dr. Constable (Old and New Testaments)

Jesus’ healing ministry 15:29-31 (cf. Mar 7:31-37)

Jesus departed from the region around Tyre and Sidon (Mat 15:21) and returned to the Sea of Galilee. There are several clues in the verses that follow that enable the reader to see that Jesus went to the eastern (Gentile) side of the lake (cf. Mar 7:31). Again great crowds brought their sick to Jesus for healing. He performed these acts of healing freely. The reference to the people glorifying "the God of Israel" is one clue that the people were mainly Gentiles. They saw a connection between Jesus and the God of Israel. The Decapolis region east of the Sea of Galilee was strongly Gentile in population.

Why did Jesus so freely heal Gentiles here when in the previous section He showed such reticence to do so? Undoubtedly He said what He did to the Canaanite woman for the benefit of His disciples and to give her an opportunity to demonstrate her great faith before them.

Fuente: Expository Notes of Dr. Constable (Old and New Testaments)

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