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Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label=Hebrew/Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesu ...
, the feeding the multitude is two separate miracles of Jesus reported in the Gospels. The first miracle, the "Feeding of the 5,000", is the only miracle—aside from the resurrection—recorded in all four gospels ( Matthew 14:13–21;
Mark 6 Mark 6 is the sixth chapter of the Gospel of Mark in the New Testament of the Christian Bible. In this chapter, Jesus goes to Nazareth and faces rejection by his own family. He then sends his Apostles in pairs to various cities in the region wh ...
:31–44;
Luke 9 Luke 9 is the ninth chapter of the Gospel of Luke in the New Testament of the Christian Bible. It records the sending of the twelve disciples, several great miracles performed by Jesus, the story of his transfiguration, Peter's confession and t ...
:12–17; John 6:1–14). The second miracle, the "Feeding of the 4,000", with 7 loaves of bread and a few small fish, is reported by
Matthew 15 Matthew 15 is the fifteenth chapter in the Gospel of Matthew in the New Testament section of the Christian Bible. It concludes the narrative about Jesus' ministry in Galilee and can be divided into the following subsections: *Discourse on Defile ...
:32–39 and Mark 8:1–9, but not by Luke or John.


The feeding of the 5,000 people

The Feeding of the 5,000 is also known as the "miracle of the five loaves and two fish"; the
Gospel of John The Gospel of John ( grc, Εὐαγγέλιον κατὰ Ἰωάννην, translit=Euangélion katà Iōánnēn) is the fourth of the four canonical gospels. It contains a highly schematic account of the ministry of Jesus, with seven "sig ...
reports that Jesus used five loaves and two fish supplied by a boy to feed a multitude. According to
Matthew's gospel The Gospel of Matthew), or simply Matthew. It is most commonly abbreviated as "Matt." is the first book of the New Testament of the Bible and one of the three synoptic Gospels. It tells how Israel's Messiah, Jesus, comes to his people and form ...
, when Jesus heard that
John the Baptist John the Baptist or , , or , ;Wetterau, Bruce. ''World history''. New York: Henry Holt and Company. 1994. syc, ܝܘܿܚܲܢܵܢ ܡܲܥܡܕ݂ܵܢܵܐ, Yoḥanān Maʿmḏānā; he, יוחנן המטביל, Yohanān HaMatbil; la, Ioannes Bapti ...
had been killed, he withdrew by boat privately to a solitary place. Luke specifies that the place was near
Bethsaida Bethsaida (; from gr, Βηθσαϊδά from Hebrew/Aramaic ''beth-tsaida'', lit. " house of hunting" from the Hebrew root ; ar, بيت صيدا), also known as Julias, is a place mentioned in the New Testament. Julias lay in an administrative di ...
. The crowds followed Jesus on foot from the towns. When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, he had compassion on them and healed their sick. As evening approached, the disciples came to him and said, "This is a remote place, it's already getting late. Send the crowds away, so they can go to the villages and buy themselves some food." Jesus said that they did not need to go away, and therefore the disciples were to give them something to eat. They said that they only had five loaves and two fish, which Jesus asked to be brought to him. Jesus directed the people to sit down in groups on the grass. In Mark's Gospel, the crowds sat in groups of 50 and 100, and in Luke's Gospel, Jesus' instructions were to seat the crowd in groups of 50, implying that there were 100 such groups. Taking the five loaves and the two fish and looking up to Heaven, he gave thanks and broke them. Then he gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the people. They all ate and were satisfied, and the disciples picked up twelve baskets full of broken pieces that were leftover. The number of those who ate was about five thousand men, beside women and children. In John's Gospel, the multitude has been attracted around Jesus because of the healing works he has performed, and the feeding of the multitude is taken as a further sign that Jesus is the
Messiah In Abrahamic religions, a messiah or messias (; , ; , ; ) is a saviour or liberator of a group of people. The concepts of '' mashiach'', messianism, and of a Messianic Age originated in Judaism, and in the Hebrew Bible, in which a ''mashiach ...
.


The feeding of the 4,000

This story, which appears only in Mark and Matthew, is also known as the miracle of the seven loaves of bread and few little fishes, as the Gospel of Matthew refers to five loaves and a few small fish used by Jesus to feed a multitude. According to the Gospels, a large crowd had gathered and was following Jesus. Jesus called his disciples to him and said:
"I have compassion for these people; they have already been with me three days and have nothing to eat. I do not want to send them away hungry, or they may collapse on the way."
His disciples answered:
"Where could we get enough bread in this remote place to feed such a crowd?" "How many loaves do you have?" Jesus asked. "Seven," they replied, "and a few small fish."
Jesus told the crowd to sit down on the ground. Then he took the seven loaves and the fish, and when he had given thanks, he broke them and gave them to the disciples, and they in turn give to the people. They all ate and were satisfied. Afterward, the disciples picked up seven basketfuls of broken pieces that were leftover. The number of those who ate was four thousand men, besides women and children. After Jesus had sent the crowd away, he got into the boat and went to the vicinity of Magadan (or
Magdala Magdala (Aramaic: מגדלא, ''Magdala'', meaning "tower"; Hebrew: , ''Migdal''; ar, المجدل, ''al-Majdal'') was an ancient Jewish city on the shore of the Sea of Galilee, north of Tiberias. In the Babylonian Talmud it is known as Magda ...
).


Analysis

Heinrich August Wilhelm Meyer Heinrich August Wilhelm Meyer (10 January 1800 – 21 June 1873) was a German Protestant divine. He wrote commentaries on the ''New Testament'' and published an edition of that book. Biography Meyer was born in Gotha. He studied theology at Jen ...
notes the differences between some of the details of the accounts as a means of emphasizing that there were two distinct miracles: for example, the baskets used for collecting the food that remained were twelve (hand baskets) in but seven (large baskets) in .
Cornelius a Lapide Cornelius Cornelii à Lapide (''né'' Cornelis Cornelissen van den Steen; 18 December 1567 – 12 March 1637) was a Flemish Catholic priest. He was a Jesuit and exegete of scripture. Life He was born at Bocholt, in Belgian Limburg. He stud ...
stated that a or 'large basket' was double the size of a .Pulpit Commentary
on
An indication of the size of a is that the apostle Paul was let out of a building through a gap in the Damascus city wall in one in order to avert a plot to kill him ( Acts 9:25). Meyer also comments that in John's Gospel, the feeding of the multitude is taken as a further sign ( grc-x-biblical, σημεῖον ) that Jesus is the
Messiah In Abrahamic religions, a messiah or messias (; , ; , ; ) is a saviour or liberator of a group of people. The concepts of '' mashiach'', messianism, and of a Messianic Age originated in Judaism, and in the Hebrew Bible, in which a ''mashiach ...
, the prophet who (according to the promise in the
Book of Deuteronomy Deuteronomy ( grc, Δευτερονόμιον, Deuteronómion, second law) is the fifth and last book of the Torah (in Judaism), where it is called (Hebrew: hbo, , Dəḇārīm, hewords Moses.html" ;"title="f Moses">f Moseslabel=none) and ...
() is to come into the world" ().
Justus Knecht Friedrich Justus Heinrich Knecht (7 October 1839 – 31 January 1921) was a German Catholic theologian, writer and bishop in Freiburg, Germany. Early life and education Justus Knecht was born in Bruchsal, the fourth of seven children of Heinric ...
gives some moral lessons from this miracle stating, that it shows 1. The importance of saying ''
grace at meals A grace is a short prayer or thankful phrase said before or after eating. The term most commonly refers to Christian traditions. Some traditions hold that grace and thanksgiving imparts a blessing which sanctifies the meal. In English, reciting ...
,'' because before Jesus multiplied and distributed the bread, He "raised His eyes to heaven and prayed." 2. The importance of ''not being wasteful'' with food, because Jesus tells them, "Gather up the fragments, lest they be lost." 3. ''The Goodness of Jesus,'' because he feeds those who seek Him, “Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things (which are necessary for the life of the body) will be added unto you." 4. ''The annual multiplication of food,'' since the multiplication of loaves shows how every year God increases the seed sown by farmers, i.e for every 10 grains of
wheat Wheat is a grass widely cultivated for its seed, a cereal grain that is a worldwide staple food. The many species of wheat together make up the genus ''Triticum'' ; the most widely grown is common wheat (''T. aestivum''). The archaeolog ...
sown in the ground, 300-400 grains are harvested. Lastly Knecht, like many commentators, draws parallels between this miracle and the
Eucharist The Eucharist (; from Greek , , ), also known as Holy Communion and the Lord's Supper, is a Christian rite that is considered a sacrament in most churches, and as an ordinance in others. According to the New Testament, the rite was institu ...
.


See also

*
Chronology of Jesus A chronology of Jesus aims to establish a timeline for the events of the life of Jesus. Scholars have correlated Jewish and Greco-Roman documents and astronomical calendars with the New Testament accounts to estimate dates for the major event ...
*
Life of Jesus in the New Testament The life of Jesus in the New Testament is primarily outlined in the four canonical gospels, which includes his genealogy and nativity, public ministry, passion, prophecy, resurrection and ascension. Other parts of the New Testament – su ...
*
Ministry of Jesus The ministry of Jesus, in the canonical gospels, begins with his baptism in the countryside of Roman Judea and Transjordan, near the River Jordan by John the Baptist, and ends in Jerusalem, following the Last Supper with his disciples.''Chr ...
* Elisha feeding hundred men


References


Bibliography

* * HarperCollins Bible Commentary (2000) *


External links

* {{Authority control Biblical phrases Miracles of Jesus Bethsaida Fish in Christianity Gospel of John Gospel of Luke Gospel of Mark Gospel of Matthew Animals in the Bible