Matthew 15:29 - Meaning and Application

Here is a general account of Christ’s cures, as if he healed by the hundred. The signs of Christ’s power and goodness are neither few nor small, because there is an overflowing fullness in him.

Notice, first, the place where these healings happened. It was near the sea of Galilee, in a region where Christ often moved about. We do not read of anything else he did in the area of Tyre and Sidon, apart from casting a demon out of the Canaanite woman’s daughter, as if he had gone there for that one mercy in view. Ministers should not begrudge their labor, even if they can do good to only a few. If someone knows the value of a soul, he would travel far to help save one person from death and Satan’s power.

Jesus then left that place. After giving that one small crumb there, he now returns to make a full feast for the children. We may do a kind act now and then for one person, without making it our regular path. Christ came into the region of Tyre and Sidon, but here he sat down by the sea of Galilee (Matthew 15:29). He did not sit on a grand throne or a judge’s seat, but on a mountain. His most solemn appearances in the days of his flesh were plain and humble.

He sat on the mountain so all could see him and come freely to him, for he is an open Savior. He sat there as one weary from the journey, and willing to rest a little, or rather as one ready to show grace. He sat waiting for those in need, like Abraham at his tent door, ready to welcome strangers. He settled himself for this good work.

Great crowds came to him (Matthew 15:30), so the Scripture was fulfilled: “To him will be the obedience of the peoples” (Genesis 49:10). If Christ’s ministers could heal bodily sickness as Christ did, more people would gather to them than now do. We quickly feel bodily pain and sickness, but few are troubled enough about their souls and spiritual disease.

Christ’s goodness was seen in this, that he welcomed all kinds of people. The poor were as welcome as the rich, and there was room enough for everyone who came. He never complained about crowds or treated ordinary people with contempt. The souls of peasants are as precious to him as the souls of princes.

Christ’s power was seen in this, too, that he healed all kinds of diseases. Those who came to him brought their sick relatives and friends, and laid them down at Jesus’ feet (Matthew 15:30). We are not told that they said anything to him. They just set them before him as objects of pity, to be seen by him. Their suffering spoke for them better than the most eloquent speech could have done. David showed his trouble before God, and that was enough, then he left it with him (Psalm 142:2).

Whatever our case is, the only way to find relief is to lay it at Christ’s feet, spread it before him, and put it under his care. Then we must submit to him and leave the result to his wisdom. Those who want spiritual healing from Christ must also lay themselves at his feet, ready to be ruled and ordered as he chooses.

There were the lame, blind, mute, maimed, and many others brought to Christ. See what sin has done. It has turned the world into a hospital. Human bodies are exposed to many kinds of sickness. See what the Savior does. He defeats these many enemies of mankind. Some of these diseases could not be traced to the imagination or to natural causes in the ordinary sense, and yet they were fully under Christ’s command. He sent his word and healed them. All diseases are under Christ’s authority, to go and come as he orders.

This shows Christ’s power, which can comfort us in all our weakness, and his pity, which can comfort us in all our misery. The people were amazed, and rightly so, when they saw it (Matthew 15:31). Christ’s works should fill us with wonder. “This is the Lord’s doing, and it is marvelous” (Psalm 118:23). The spiritual healing Christ works is also wonderful. When blind souls are made to see by faith, when the mute speak in prayer, and when the lame walk in holy obedience, that is something to marvel at.

They also glorified the God of Israel, whom the Pharisees had blasphemed when they saw such things. Miracles, which are reasons for wonder, should also move us to praise. Mercies, which bring us joy, should also move us to thanksgiving. Those who were healed glorified God. If he heals our sicknesses, everything within us should bless his holy name. And if we have been preserved from blindness, lameness, and dumbness, we have just as much reason to bless God as if we had been cured of them.

Even those standing nearby glorified God. We should praise God for the mercies given to others as well as for our own. They glorified him as the God of Israel, the God of his church, the covenant God of his people, who had now sent the promised Messiah. This could only have been done by the power of the God of Israel. No other could do it.

Here is a particular account of Christ feeding four thousand men with seven loaves and a few small fish, just as he had recently fed five thousand with five loaves. The crowd here was not quite as large as before, and the food supply was a little larger. That does not mean Christ’s power had lessened. It only shows that he worked miracles according to the need, not to impress people. He matched the sign to the occasion, both then and now, taking what people had and making use of it to feed them.

Once nature’s strength is fully surpassed, we must say, “This is the finger of God.” It does not matter how far beyond nature the miracle goes. This is no less a miracle than the earlier one.

Here we see Christ’s pity (Matthew 15:32). “I have compassion on the crowd.” He told his disciples this both to test their compassion and to stir it up. When he was ready to work this miracle, he called them to him, told them what he planned, and talked it over with them. He did not do this because he needed their advice, but because he wanted to show his gentle love toward them. He did not treat them as mere servants, for a servant does not know what his master is doing. He treated them as friends and counselors. “Shall I hide from Abraham what I am about to do?” (Genesis 18:17).

Consider the crowd’s condition. They had stayed with him now three days and had nothing to eat. This showed their eagerness and their strong affection for Christ and his word. They had not only left their work to follow him on ordinary days, but had also endured real hardship to stay with him. They lacked rest and, so it seems, were lying out like soldiers in the field. They lacked food, and had little enough to keep life going.

In those hotter countries, people could bear long fasting better than we can in colder climates. Yet this still would have been hard on the body and could have harmed their health. Even so, their zeal for God’s house consumed them, and they valued Christ’s words more than their necessary food.

We often think three hours is too long to stay for public worship. But these people stayed three days, and they did not complain or call it a burden. Look at Christ’s tenderness here: “I have compassion on them.” It would have been fitting for them to show compassion on him, since he had spent three days teaching and healing them with such tireless care. Much power had gone out from him, and he may even have been fasting himself, but he moved first with compassion.

Our Lord Jesus keeps account of how long his followers remain with him, and he notices the trouble they bear for his sake (Revelation 2:2). “I know your works, your labor, and your patience.” That kind of service will not lose its reward. The people’s need now highlights both the mercy of their supply and the miracle of it. He fed them when they were hungry, and food is doubly welcome then. He treated them as he once treated Israel, letting them hunger and then feeding them (Deuteronomy 8:3), because what delights a hungry soul, the full soul turns away from.

The miracle is even greater because they had fasted so long. Their hunger had become very strong. If two hungry meals make the third meal feel overwhelming, what would three hungry days do? Yet they all ate and were filled. There is enough mercy and grace with Christ to satisfy the deepest and widest desire. “Open your mouth wide, and I will fill it.” He satisfies the hungry soul.

Christ also cared for their safety. “I do not want to send them away fasting, lest they faint on the way.” That would have brought shame on Christ and his household, and it could have discouraged them and others. This shows the sorrow of our present life, because our souls may rise toward God, while our bodies cannot keep pace in holy duties. The weakness of the flesh is a heavy burden to the willingness of the spirit. It will not be so in heaven, where the body will be made fit for spiritual life, and where the saints rest not day or night from praising God, yet never grow faint, hunger no more, and thirst no more (Revelation 7:16).

Here we also see Christ’s power. His pity for their need set his power to work for their supply. Notice first how his disciples doubted that power. They asked, “Where should we get so much bread in the wilderness?” At first, that sounds like a fair question, like Moses asking whether flocks and herds could be slain to feed the people (Numbers 11:22). But here it was not a fitting question, because they had already seen Christ provide miraculously in a similar case. They had not only watched the former miracle, they had helped serve it. The multiplied bread had passed through their own hands. So it was a sign of real weakness for them to ask, “Where shall we get bread?” when their Master was with them. Forgetting past mercy leaves us open to present doubt.

Christ knew how little food they had, but he made them say it themselves, asking, “How many loaves do you have?” (Matthew 15:34). Before he worked, he wanted it clear how small the supply was, so his power would stand out more brightly. What they had was for themselves, and it was barely enough for their own needs. Yet Christ told them to give it all to the crowd and trust God for more. Christ’s disciples should be generous, because their Master was generous. We should share what we have as need arises, and be ready to show hospitality, not like Nabal (1 Samuel 25:11), but like Elisha (2 Kings 4:42). Being stingy out of worry about tomorrow is a corrupt habit that should be put to death. If we use what we have with wise kindness and charity, we may rightly hope God will provide more. “Jehovah-jireh,” the Lord will provide.

The disciples asked, “Where shall we get bread?” Christ asked, “How many loaves do you have?” When we cannot have what we want, we must make the best use of what we do have. We should do good with it as far as it will go. We should think less about our lack and more about our supply. Christ here followed the same rule he gave Martha, not to be worried and crowded with many things. Nature is content with little, grace with less, but lust is never satisfied.

Christ’s power was also seen by the crowd in the plentiful meal he made for them. The steps are much the same as before (Matthew 14:18 and following). The food at hand was seven loaves and a few fish. The fish were not equal to the bread, since bread is the main support of life. It is likely the fish had been caught by the disciples themselves, since they were fishermen and were near the sea. It is a comfort to eat the fruit of our own labor (Psalm 128:2), and to enjoy what God has given through our own work (Proverbs 12:27). Since God blesses our labor for this purpose, we should labor so that we have something to give to others (Ephesians 4:28).

Christ then prepared the crowd to receive the meal. He told the multitude to sit down on the ground. They could see only a very small supply, yet they were to sit down in faith, believing they would still have a full meal. Those who want spiritual food from Christ must sit at his feet, hear his word, and expect him to provide in ways they cannot see.

Then came the distributing of the food. He first gave thanks, using the word eucharistesas. In the former miracle, the word was “he blessed,” but it comes to much the same thing. Giving thanks to God is a proper way to ask for God’s blessing. And when we ask for more mercy, we should also thank God for the mercy we have already received. Then he broke the loaves, because the bread multiplied in the breaking, and gave them to his disciples, and the disciples to the crowd. Though the disciples had doubted Christ’s power, he still used them, as before. He is not so offended by the weakness of his ministers that he sets them aside. He still gives to them, and they in turn give to his people the word of life.

The abundance was great. “They all ate and were filled.” Those whom Christ feeds, he fills. While we toil for the world, we labor for what does not satisfy (Isaiah 55:2). But those who wait rightly on Christ will be abundantly satisfied with the goodness of his house (Psalm 65:4). Christ fed people this way more than once, showing that though he was called Jesus of Nazareth, he was also of Bethlehem, the house of bread, and more than that, that he himself is the Bread of Life.

To show that the people had enough, there was still a great deal left, seven baskets full of broken pieces. There was not as much left as before, because this time they had fed so many more people. Even so, there was more than enough to show that with Christ there is bread enough and to spare. He gives grace in supply for more than just those who ask, and also for those who want more.

The number of the guests was counted, not so they could pay their share, since they were fed freely, but so they could bear witness to Christ’s power and goodness. It also gave a small picture of God’s care for everyone, the providence that gives food to all living things (Psalm 136:25). Here four thousand men were fed, but what is that beside the great family God provides for every day? God is the great housekeeper, and all creatures look to him. He gives them food at the right time (Psalm 104:27; Psalm 145:15).

Then the crowd was sent away, and Christ went to another place. Even though he had fed them twice, they were not to expect miracles as their daily bread. They were to go back home to their work and to their own tables. Christ himself left by boat for another place, because, as the light of the world, he must keep moving and continue doing good.