A Similar but Different Miracle: Matthew 15:32-39

In two of the gospels, specifically Matthew and Mark, we discover a miracle that seems similar to one that we have already focused in on, but one that is quite profound when we look at how it is different from the other miracle. The other miracle is the only miracle that all four gospel writers included, and when I say that, you may remember that the miracle I’m referring to is the feeding of the crowd of more than 5,000 that we spent two episodes focusing in on.

However, lesser known is another miracle, where Jesus feeds a crowd larger than 4,000. While some people might think that these two miracles were the same, there is enough evidence and uniqueness in what happens in this episode’s miracle to clearly point to this being a separate event. And as a separate event, this miracle has some profound themes we can learn from.

Our passage for this episode comes from the gospel of Matthew, chapter 15, and we will read it from the New Living Translation of the Bible. Starting in verse 32, Matthew tells us:

³² Then Jesus called his disciples and told them, “I feel sorry for these people. They have been here with me for three days, and they have nothing left to eat. I don’t want to send them away hungry, or they will faint along the way.”

³³ The disciples replied, “Where would we get enough food here in the wilderness for such a huge crowd?”

Let’s pause here for a moment because I want to draw out a couple things that we can already see in the verses leading up to the miracle. First off, this miracle is prompted by Jesus’ compassion and the necessity of the situation. Three days with Jesus away from towns in the wilderness is a long time, and from what Jesus describes, many of those who came did not plan for a trip of this length. This detail is powerful, because this means that many in the crowd following Jesus wanted to be near Jesus even more than they wanted to eat. As I say this, I am doubtful of how many self-professed Christians could be described in this way living in the world today.

The other big idea I see in this passage’s introduction is the initial response the disciples give, which is asking where they could get enough food for such a big crowd. All gospel chronology suggests this happened after the previous miracle of food multiplication, so this means that the disciples forgot what Jesus had done in the past, or they doubted His present circumstances for being able to do it again. This detail is also powerful, because it tells us that our present problems will always appear larger than our past victories. Only when we intentionally focus on what Jesus has done for us in the past will we have faith that He wants to help in our current situation.

Now that we remember and have a clear picture in our mind about what Jesus had done in the past, we can continue reading to discover what Jesus does to solve this problem in their present. Continuing in verse 34, Matthew tells us that:

³⁴ Jesus asked, “How much bread do you have?”

They replied, “Seven loaves, and a few small fish.”

³⁵ So Jesus told all the people to sit down on the ground. ³⁶ Then he took the seven loaves and the fish, thanked God for them, and broke them into pieces. He gave them to the disciples, who distributed the food to the crowd.

³⁷ They all ate as much as they wanted. Afterward, the disciples picked up seven large baskets of leftover food. ³⁸ There were 4,000 men who were fed that day, in addition to all the women and children. ³⁹ Then Jesus sent the people home, and he got into a boat and crossed over to the region of Magadan.

In this passage and the miracle, we see some fascinating unique details that frame God’s blessings and God’s answers to prayer. In the previous miracle where 5,000 plus were fed, the gift of food came from an outside source, specifically a boy offering his lunch to Jesus. That miracle had the prayer being answered from an outside source.

To contrast this, our current miracle describes the food coming from the disciples’ own reserve. This means that sometimes, it is up to us to supply what God needs to bless others. Sometimes God will bring us outside help to help us when blessing others and when answering our prayers, while other times, God will expect us to use what He has already given to us to bless others.

When we pray, we should be open and willing to accept help from wherever God sends it, and we shouldn’t shy away from using our own resources if no outside help comes.

Also, we learn from both miracles that no gift is too small. I believe that Jesus could have multiplied one loaf just as easily as He multiplied seven. When we bring our gifts to Jesus, we should never consider the gifts as too small or too insignificant for Him to use them. Instead, we should bring our gifts and readily offer them to Him. As we easily see in both miracles, Jesus is more than able to multiply a small gift into a large one when we are willing to give Him what we have. We might think that what we have to offer God is insignificant, but no heartfelt gift given to God is insignificant in His eyes.

When comparing these two miracles, we discover that the source of each miracle was total, complete gifts. While both sources of bread and fish likely were larger days, or even hours before, when the gifts are presented to Jesus, we don’t see any hint of food being held back. This means that when we offer God a gift, we should offer God the full, best, complete gift that we have. I doubt either of these miracles would have been as effective if the supplier of the food had held part of the supply back.

In this pair of similar miracles, we discover that God is more than willing to bless us when we pray, when we need help, and/or when He knows we will be better off with the gift than without. God is also more than willing to multiply the small, seemingly insignificant gifts into blessings for a greater number of people than we could even imagine. And God is interested in heartfelt gifts over gifts given with reservation.

All this leads us to the big truth that the greatest gift that we can give God is our hearts. Jesus came to love us and to redeem us from sin, and the least we can return to Him for this amazing gift is our hearts, our minds, and our lives.

As we come to the end of another podcast episode, here are the challenges I will leave you with:

Always seek God first and place Him first in your life. Praise God and thank Him for everything that He has done for us and be willing to let Him use you for His grand purposes. Step into God’s plan and give Him the greatest gift you can give, which is the gift of your heart!

Also, as always, pray and study the Bible for yourself to learn and grow closer to God each and every day. Seek to grow closer to Him through the pages of His Word and study the scriptures faithfully and prayerfully to let the Holy Spirit into your heart and mind.

And as I end every set of challenges by saying in one way or another, never stop short of, back away from, chicken out of, or drift away from where God wants to lead you to in your life with Him!