Matthew 15:32-39
Then Jesus called his disciples to him and said, “I have compassion for the crowd, because they have been with me now for three days and have nothing to eat; and I do not want to send them away hungry, for they might faint on the way.” The disciples said to him, “Where are we to get enough bread in the desert to feed so great a crowd?” Jesus asked them, “How many loaves have you?” They said, “Seven, and a few small fish.” Then ordering the crowd to sit down on the ground, he took the seven loaves and the fish; and after giving thanks he broke them and gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the crowds. And all of them ate and were filled; and they took up the broken pieces left over, seven baskets full. Those who had eaten were four thousand men, besides women and children. After sending away the crowds, he got into the boat and went to the region of Magadan.
If reading these verses feels a bit like watching a re-run on television, that’s understandable. It is, for the most part, a repeat of the story Matthew had told earlier about Jesus feeding the multitudes.
Why share two stories that are so similar? Particularly when we have to imagine that there are dozens of other interesting incidents from Jesus’ life that we would profit from knowing?
The answer, I think, rests in one key element of the repetition. Yes, nearly every detail is the same: a hungry crowd, Jesus’ compassion, his instructions to the disciples, Jesus’ thanksgiving to God for what was provided, the miracle of abundance, the remaining baskets. All quite similar. Of course, there’s one repeating detail I left out. Right in between Jesus’ instructions to the disciples and the miracle, the disciples doubt whether it’s possible to do what Jesus says.
That’s right — even after witnessing the first feeding of the multitudes, even after watching Jesus walk on water, heal the sick, cast out demons and more, the disciples doubt whether what Jesus asks is even possible! It’s as if they’ve just forgotten everything they saw, or at the very least that they just haven’t learned anything from their time with Jesus.
At this point, it might make sense to compare ourselves to those disciples. For we too have experienced God’s blessings throughout our lives and yet lose heart and hope when challenges confront us or wonder if what we feel God calling us to is possible.
And this is true. We should know better. But rather than use this story to either scold or exhort us, I’d rather simply note that what compounds the disciples lack of faith is that these are the folks who have share his ministry so deeply and for so long. And if that’s true – if even Jesus’ disciples and closest associates and friends at times have a hard time believing – then perhaps it’s understandable that we might, too.
This isn’t an excuse, mind you, but rather the observation that faith in a miraculously loving and remarkably gracious God takes time to sink in. It just does.
But notice, too, that Jesus goes on ahead and offers God’s abundance anyway. The strength or weakness of the disciples’ faith does not limit Jesus’ intention to bless. So even in the face of the doubt of his friends and followers, Jesus just goes ahead and offers God’s abundance…to those hungry crowds, to those disbelieving disciples, and to us. Thanks be to God.
Prayer: Dear God, you are so generous with your blessing and so free with your love. Open our eyes to see your goodness and open our mouths to share what we have seen with others. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Post image: “The Miracle of the Loaves and Fishes” by Lambert Lombard, circa 1525.
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