Jesus Feeds the 5,000

Tonight, we talked about the passage in Matthew 14 where Jesus feeds the 5,000. We took a look at the story behind the story and brought up questions we had about the story. I wanted to put some of the thoughts shared tonight down in writing while they were still fresh in my mind. Here's a link to the passage.

Verse 13 starts with "When Jesus heard what had happened". The "what" that "had happened" was that John the Baptist had been beheaded by King Herod. So, when it says "[Jesus] withdrew by boat privately to a solitary place", the assumption is that he withdrew to mourn the loss of his cousin and forerunner.

Something I read said that it was customary to mourn for three days. I wonder how long he stayed out on the boat.

The second half of verse 13 says, "Hearing of this, the crowds followed him on foot from the towns." I think, our assumption was that the "hearing of this" was related to hearing that Jesus was out on a boat and not hear that John the Baptist had died.

So, Jesus was out on a boat, most likely mourning. I'm not sure where he is in the boat. At the end of chapter 13, he was in Nazareth, but there is no mention of where they are in chapter 14. And, people are following along on shore. We assumed that these people were not coming to give their condolences, but were seeking out Jesus because by this time he was well known in the region as a rabbi and miracle worker.

When Jesus comes ashore, after however long they were out on the boat, he gets right to work. "When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, he had compassion on them and healed their sick." In the midst of his mourning, he has compassion. His mission is not compromised by his personal suffering. This will eventually come back up for him when he takes on the cross.


Well, this is taking much longer than I had thought. So, I am cutting this off for now and maybe I'll come back to it, but maybe not. It's not like anyone really reads this thing anyhow.