And he asked them, How many loaves have ye? And they said, Seven.
The question draws out what was on hand, and the answer given is seven loaves brought to Jesus before the feeding. That feeding fed four thousand people, and it stands together with the feeding of the five thousand. The crowd to be fed on this occasion was a Gentile crowd. They had listened for three days without food, and He would not send them away hungry lest they faint on the way, but miraculously provided food for them, showing tender care for their physical needs.
The disciples did not offer the loaves at first, which showed they still doubted His power even though they had already seen Him multiply food. He broke the food into pieces and had it passed out through the disciples, everyone had enough, and seven baskets of fragments remained. The miracle thus shows what Christ can do and calls for faith in Him, including trusting Him with what is in hand.
It teaches that prejudice toward Gentiles must be overcome. Together with the feeding of the five thousand, the feeding of the four thousand gives lessons for food work, whose methods are to be studied in carrying that work forward. That means setting the food factory in operation soon, conducting it in an economical manner, making simple inexpensive preparations to greater advantage without large investment for manufacture, and letting no selfish private interests block progress in the right way.
The question draws out what was on hand, and the answer given is seven loaves brought to Jesus before the feeding. That feeding fed four thousand people, and it stands together with the feeding of the five thousand. The crowd to be fed on this occasion was a Gentile crowd. They had listened for three days without food, and He would not send them away hungry lest they faint on the way, but miraculously provided food for them, showing tender care for their physical needs.
The disciples did not offer the loaves at first, which showed they still doubted His power even though they had already seen Him multiply food. He broke the food into pieces and had it passed out through the disciples, everyone had enough, and seven baskets of fragments remained. The miracle thus shows what Christ can do and calls for faith in Him, including trusting Him with what is in hand.
It teaches that prejudice toward Gentiles must be overcome. Together with the feeding of the five thousand, the feeding of the four thousand gives lessons for food work, whose methods are to be studied in carrying that work forward. That means setting the food factory in operation soon, conducting it in an economical manner, making simple inexpensive preparations to greater advantage without large investment for manufacture, and letting no selfish private interests block progress in the right way.