Jesus Loves Leftovers! Matthew 15:29-39

Jesus Feeds the Four Thousand

29 Jesus left there and went along the Sea of Galilee. Then he went up on a mountainside and sat down. 

Jesus left the cities of Tyre and Sidon and came to the Sea of Galilee, where he had originally called his disciples. 

"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." Ellicott

30 Great crowds came to him, bringing the lame, the blind, the crippled, the mute and many others, and laid them at his feet; and he healed them. 

Most commentators assume these were mainly crowds from Gentile, heathen nations.  We see again the mission of Jesus shifting away from his own people, the Jews, to the Gentiles, who were as we can see open to Jesus' ministry.  The fact that they brought all kinds of people with all kinds of diseases shows us that they had faith that Jesus had the power to heal them all.  Jesus rewards their faith by healing all of them.  

 31 The people were amazed when they saw the mute speaking, the crippled made well, the lame walking and the blind seeing. And they praised the God of Israel.

"Insomuch that the multitude wondered,.... The multitude of the spectators, who, though they came in expectation of seeing miracles wrought, yet these were so much beyond what they could have imagined, that they were amazed and surprised to see cures so instantly performed, in such a miraculous manner: these were such glaring proofs and evidences of the wonderful power of God, that they were astonished." Gill

"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. Barnes

Again it cannot be overstated the difference between the response of the Gentiles and Istaelites to Jesus' ministry.  Jesus' sole purpose thorughout his whole life was to glorify God.  He never used the miracles to draw attention to himself but wanted them to point to His Father.  

32 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.”

The key word here is "compassion".  The word implies a deep, inner feeling of identification with another's felt need.  Not only did he meet their needs for healing, but also their immediate physical needs.  He cared for the whole person just as he cares about us in all ways.  I imagine the people were just as touched by this compassion to feed them, as in the miracles themselves.  

33 His disciples answered, “Where could we get enough bread in this remote place to feed such a crowd?”

His disciples are incredulous at this point, perhaps they were tired and hungry themselves.  Though they have seen Jesus feed the 5,000 in another instance, they are still focused on their immediate sense of inadequacy.  How soon we forget what Jesus can do!

34 “How many loaves do you have?” Jesus asked. “Seven,” they replied, “and a few small fish.”

Once again Jesus starts with what the disciples have.  Often before something miraculous happens God calls on us to offer up what we have in the natural with faith.  When Jesus does miracles in his public ministry there is often an act of faith on the part of the recipient, however small that act of faith is.

35 He told the crowd to sit down on the ground. 

"And he commanded the multitude to sit down on the ground. Not regarding the smallness of the provisions, nor any further consulting with his disciples; but knowing his own power to increase this food, and determining to feed the multitude before he dismissed them, in an authoritative way ordered them to sit down upon the ground in rows, that they might be the better seen, and served."  Gill

36 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 to the people. 

Jesus gives thanks for what he was given and then distributed them for the disciples to participate in the miracle.  Though they had doubted Jesus' ability to provide in this situation, he willingly uses them to bring it to pass. 

37 They all ate and were satisfied. Afterward the disciples picked up seven basketfuls of broken pieces that were left over.

After three days without eating, the people were undoubtedly very hungry.  The fact they ate and were satisfied showed that they had more than enough to eat.  In fact, there were even leftovers.  When God provides, he provides more than enough.  The disciples also showed their respect by picking up the broken pieces that were left over.   

38 The number of those who ate was four thousand men, besides women and children. 

Jesus taught the disciples and us a very valuable lesson.  Though the need be great and our resources little, when we offer them to God in thanksgiving, God can do more than we ask or imagine. 

39 After Jesus had sent the crowd away, he got into the boat and went to the vicinity of Magadan.

"This was the birthplace of Mary Magdalene, out of whom the Saviour cast seven devils, Mark 16:9. Dalmanutha was probably a small village near to Magdala, of which no remains have been discovered." Barnes

How would you have felt if you were the disciples?  Do you ever get tired of serving others?  When you see people in need do you have compassion on them? Or, do you try to rationalize that it is really not your job to help them?  Where do you think the church needs to be more aware of the needs around us?