Matthew 14:13, commentary and pictures

After hearing of the death of John the Baptist, Jesus departed by boat with His disciples into a desert place apart for rest. He crossed to a lonely, secluded retreat near Bethsaida at the northern end of the sea, a grassy place far from human habitations. When the people heard where He had gone they followed Him on foot out of the cities to the expected landing place, without being invited or commanded. His rest was interrupted after not even one hour alone, yet seeing their need He was moved with sympathy rather than impatience and spent all day teaching the way of salvation and healing the sick. That brief withdrawal to regain strength after toil was temporary so He could resume ministering, teaching His workers not to exhaust their physical powers beyond what health can sustain.

Setting and Journey

After hearing the news Jesus withdrew by boat, by ship into a desert, solitary, secluded place apart, while the people from the towns followed Him on foot. That withdrawal by water to rest belongs to the opening of the account that leads into the feeding of the five thousand, when He tells them to sit down and provides food though they have none. After what had happened He left the shore with His disciples, but the crowds learned where He was going and pursued Him by land.

He crossed beyond the sea from Capernaum to a lonely retreat near Bethsaida at the northern end of the Sea of Galilee, beautiful with the fresh green of spring. People searching for Him saw Him depart from the shore and watched the slowly receding boat, and news spread from city to city that He was crossing the sea. Eager to see and hear Him, many flocked on foot to the expected landing place while others followed over the water in boats, so that when He and His disciples landed they found themselves amid a multitude pressing forward on all sides to meet them.

The landing was far from human habitations, a barren, secluded shore in the Galilee region, a grassy rise or plot a little apart where all could see and hear. That grassy plot became the place where He had the vast assembly seated and fed them from the small supply divided among the disciples and distributed to the multitude until there was enough for all. The same shore was afterward remembered for His rescue walking on the waves and calming the sea by His command.

The approaching Passover drew pilgrims from near and far, so the crowd grew to five thousand men besides women and children, more than ten thousand in all. They had followed and stayed with Him all day listening to His teaching, and as evening drew on they were weary and in need of rest and food. The desert setting left them far from home as night approached, where food could not be obtained nearby, and they grew hungry, weak, and weary, many without means to buy food. He had not invited or commanded them to come, yet they were eager to be near Him, and He knew their hunger and shared their need and would not send them home fasting.

Reasons for Withdrawal

What He had heard was the death of John the Baptist, and upon hearing it He withdrew by boat with His disciples to a deserted, lonely place near Bethsaida, away from crowds and city bustle. That retreat to a country place was chosen instead of asserting royal power or retaliating, a course that disappointed Judas, who wanted a more aggressive move and hoped for an earthly kingdom. He took the disciples apart in this way because they had just returned from their missionary work and reported their experiences, and they needed privacy and rest since the press of crowds and constant activity left them no time even to eat. Their departure for a quiet, secluded place for their benefit became known, so people learned where He was going and hurried after, some by land and others by boat.

Being weary, He sought only a short time alone apart from the confusion of the multitude and free from the retorts and accusations of the Pharisees. The purpose of that brief retirement to a lonely retreat at the northern end of the sea, beautiful with the fresh green of spring, was rest, fellowship together, and talk of the work of the gospel and how to make their labor more effective in reaching the people, where as He opened the treasures of truth they were vitalized by divine power and inspired with hope and courage. He crossed the sea seeking a place apart because He was weary, yet found even more urgent needs where He landed than where He had secretly left. Though His teaching was repeatedly interrupted by the sick and afflicted, He patiently and kindly attended to them and clarified their confused beliefs despite His own weariness, and some who had seemed beyond hope were restored at once.

After a day of toil He withdrew by boat to a lonely place to rest and regain strength, though He longed to keep ministering to the crowds. That withdrawal was only a temporary effort to recover so that He could resume His work. His example in this teaches workers not to exhaust their physical powers beyond what health can sustain.

Crowd's Eager Pursuit

The people heard where He had gone and followed Him on foot out of the cities wherever He went, without being invited or commanded, eager to be near Him. People searching for Him saw Him depart from the shore and watched the slowly receding boat as He crossed the sea from Capernaum toward the desert place beyond. News spread from city to city that He was crossing the sea, and many flocked on foot to the place where His boat was expected to land, while others followed Him over the water in boats, so that when He landed He found Himself in the midst of a multitude pressing forward on all sides to meet Him.

They came seeking healing, eager to hear His teaching, and needing attention, and He was attentive to everyone who came as sanctuary and helper and great leading Physician. They stayed with Him all day, listening to His teaching and seeing His healing, so absorbed that they did not notice how long they had gone without food. The company grew to five thousand men besides women and children, and as evening drew on they were weary and in need of rest and food, with one and another fainting and falling to the ground weary and hungry. Many who received healing accepted Him as their Saviour, while others who feared confessing Him before the Pharisees later acknowledged Him as the Son of God when the Holy Spirit came.

Compassionate Ministry Continued

The rest He sought was cut short, not even an hour alone being granted before the multitude arrived, yet at the sight of their need He was moved with sympathy rather than impatience, left His retreat as the good Shepherd of restless, thirsting souls, and spent all day ministering to them until evening. He gave that whole day to teaching them the way of salvation, because the priests and rulers had given them no help. He withdrew to a grassy rise a little apart where all could see and hear, and there taught throughout the day while clarifying their confused beliefs, patiently continuing despite repeated interruptions and His own weariness.

His teaching was constantly broken into by the sick and afflicted brought to Him, yet He kindly and patiently attended to each need that interrupted Him. Some who had seemed beyond hope were restored at once. Having laid aside His royal crown and robe and clothed His divinity with humanity, born to poor parents, He stood close to humanity to educate it. It was His manner usually to begin instruction with the few who first collected to hear Him, then to journey to a retired place apart and continue His lessons from the Word there while the people followed, and those who gathered were astonished at His doctrine as new and strange to many.

He regarded bodily needs together with spiritual instruction, unwilling to send the people away hungry and caring lest hunger hinder their reception of His words. The simple food He provided displayed both His power and His tender care for ordinary needs. In that quiet, open-air setting He used the landscape and the works of God in nature to direct minds to divine truth and make His teaching memorable.

Miracle of Feeding Described

As evening drew on with thousands hungry in a place where no food could be obtained nearby, Jesus tested the disciples' faith by asking how the crowd could be fed, though He already knew how He would provide. His command to give the people food was itself a promise that His power would supply what was needed.

He led them to a grassy plot and had the vast assembly sit down in required order in companies and orderly groups. The entire store at hand was five small barley loaves and two small fishes, scarcely sufficient for a score of persons. Over that scanty provision He gave thanks and asked the blessing of God. He did not invite the disciples to eat first though it was small even for His own family, but began to distribute and bade them serve the people.

He handed the food to His disciples who in turn served the multitude, and the food did not diminish but multiplied in His hands. As often as the disciples returned to Him for a fresh supply it was furnished them, so that their hands reaching out to Him were never empty. All ate until hunger was relieved and they were satisfied, and Christ and His disciples also ate of the precious heaven-supplied food. He then directed that the fragments be gathered that nothing might be lost, and the broken pieces left over filled twelve baskets.

That shore in Galilee remained linked with other memories, for the disciples later looked toward that beach and remembered the miracle. It also recalled His rescue when He walked on the waves to them in the storm and calmed the sea by His command. Immediately afterward He sent the people away and directed His disciples to cross the lake. Those who had been fed could not follow by boat, but they returned the next morning, and news of the miracle spread and brought people from near and far by land and water.

Divine Power and Providence

God's providence had placed Jesus in that desert place apart to meet the need of the hungry multitude who had followed Him uninvited from the towns, far from home as night approached, and He depended on His Father to provide for them, showing that in emergencies and strait places people are to seek help from God, who has unlimited resources. That dependence is joined with wise judgment, using the means and abilities God provides and following His directions rather than acting recklessly or making self the center.

The feeding illustrates God's power in producing the harvest, for the multiplication of the loaves corresponds to His daily multiplication of seed and provision of food for millions and for thousands and ten times ten thousand through cultivated soil, planted seed, rain and sunshine, blade and ear and corn in the ear, and man's God-given faculties in caring for grain and preparing the loaf. Human work can hide God's agency, leading people to credit nature or human effort and to misuse His gifts for selfish purposes, instead of recognizing His kindness and receiving them as blessings. Daily sustenance is thus a constant miracle and mercy that keeps men from weariness, hunger, and death. The simple food passed around holds a whole treasure of lessons, teaching that God's natural provisions have been perverted by gratification of perverted appetite. Christ could have spread a rich repast, but luxurious feasts for perverted taste convey no lesson for good and are never enjoyed as that rest and simple food were enjoyed. Simple habits lived in harmony with nature's laws, as Adam and Eve lived in the beginning, would leave abundant supply for the human family, fewer imaginary wants, and more opportunity to work in God's ways, while selfishness and unnatural taste bring sin and misery through excess and want.

The miracle reveals Christ as the great Provider and the world's Redeemer, possessing omnipotent power and beneficence and care for the needs of the poor and needy. The few loaves and fishes became sufficient with fragments left over, showing His power to provide and calling for faith in Him. That small amount became sufficient through God's grace and power, like the earlier provision of food for one hundred men through Elisha and the supply of bread and flowing water to His people in the wilderness, which can multiply scant provisions to meet the needs of many. The simple food He provided showed both His power and His tender care for ordinary needs. His care did not mean promising luxury, for His followers might have plain or scanty food and live in poverty, but He pledged to supply their needs and give them the greater comfort of His presence.

He had power to work miracles for the benefit of suffering people, feeding five thousand with five loaves and two small fishes, but He did not use that power to satisfy His own hunger in the desolate place without companions or food, since that would not have accorded with the plan of salvation. His miracles served His mission to bring blessing, hope, and life to the afflicted and oppressed and to bear the burdens and griefs of suffering humanity. The miracle did not teach people to stop making ordinary efforts to provide for life's needs, for God's miraculous provision does not make practical means unnecessary. Likewise healing in answer to prayer does not mean institutions for caring for the sick should be abolished or despised, but the sick should receive hygienic living and treatment. The earlier feeding at Bethsaida, where the disciples had seen Him multiply their small supply, contrasts with the later feeding of four thousand Gentiles in Decapolis after they had stayed with Him three days, and their continued hesitation to provide food showed they had not yet learned to trust His power across the boundary of Jewish prejudice.

Pattern for Christian Service

The desert feeding lays out the order of giving: Christ received from the Father and imparted to the disciples, the disciples imparted to the multitude, and the people shared with one another. The disciples were the channel of communication between Christ and the people, for Christ is the great Center and Source of all strength from whom supplies must be received. In full reliance on God He took the small store of loaves, though it was small even for His own family of disciples, and did not invite them to eat first but began to distribute and bade them serve the people. The food multiplied in His hands, so that the hands of the disciples reaching out to Christ Himself the Bread of Life were never empty, the little store was sufficient for all, and after the wants of the people were supplied the fragments were gathered and Christ and His disciples ate of the precious heaven-supplied food. The same pattern holds for sharing the bread of life with those spiritually hungry, for gifts used faithfully are multiplied and blessed by God to meet the needs of many.

All who are united with Christ receive from Him the bread of life, the heavenly food, and impart it to others. Even the most intelligent and spiritually minded can bestow only as they receive and of themselves can supply nothing for the needs of the soul. Receiving and imparting belong together, so we can impart only as we receive and can receive only as we impart, and as we continue to impart we shall continue to receive and the more we impart the more we shall receive. This opened to the disciples their work as His representatives: they were to give the bread of life to the people, and when hungry people came and they felt helpless and without spiritual food to share, they were to seek their supply from God rather than turn anyone away unfed. In giving, the gift is increased, for those who serve others with Christ receive divine grace to give.

The miracle teaches followers to serve people in need rather than use their authority to turn them away. God supplies the means and sends earnest disciples to give the word of life to people hungry for it, who can then share it with others. The crowd that followed into the quiet place was tired and hungry, and Jesus provided by giving thanks for five loaves and two fish and having the disciples distribute the food, which multiplied as they gave it out, and the disciples also ate, teaching followers to share what they receive from Him with those in need. Compassionate care for seekers of salvation means making sure weary and hungry hearers can hear the word of life, doing what can be done to keep anyone from leaving faint or discouraged, and removing obstacles that make coming to Christ difficult. That work calls for His unselfish spirit and a desire to lift up, encourage, and restore others.

What seems far too small to meet a need God can make more than sufficient when it is put to use in trust. Five loaves and two small fish fed five thousand men besides women and children, with twelve baskets of fragments left over, so what seems meager can become abundant, satisfying those who receive it and leaving something to share with others. The food was given to the disciples to distribute, showing God can multiply and bless what is faithfully used to meet people's needs. By divine power the scanty provision was multiplied, teaching that God can bless and increase small, unselfish offerings so they are sufficient to meet needs and advance His work, multiply a small offering to meet a great need, and do great things for His people today. In this way multitudes hungry for the bread of life may be reached through enlarged limited resources.

After hunger was satisfied He had the remaining food gathered so it would not be wasted, teaching care and thrift in using available resources, especially in difficult circumstances. His command to gather the leftover pieces teaches that nothing should be wasted and that His works of helpfulness are to be valued. After all were filled and hunger satisfied He directed gathering up the fragments so nothing would be lost, teaching that no one has right to gamble or to obtain means by conniving that robs another, but must impart what God has given.

The feeding is an example of His methods for practical work, showing that simple, inexpensive provisions can be used to serve many people. Providing food to meet need is one of the Lord's means of care, and the miracle teaches that He provides for necessities and guides His people in preparing suitable, healthful foods for different times and occasions. He continues to care for bodily needs and can give His people knowledge to help provide food in different places, for His benevolence is not exhausted. God can provide what people need and give those who seek Him the skill and understanding to serve others, so His people should not remain ignorant about preparing wholesome food for different times and occasions.

He usually began His instruction to the few who collected to hear Him, then journeyed to a retired place apart and continued His lessons from the Word there, while the people followed Him. Those who gathered were astonished at His doctrine, which was new and strange to many but not to all. His teachings and manner of work were faithfully reported by His believing disciples and should leave their impression on the hearts of all believers to the end of time. All who believe the truth for these last days are to follow His teachings, study His instructions, and bring into their ministry of the Word those teachings He recognized as essential to higher education, for He gave in His teachings the principles that underlie true education, and no higher instruction can proceed from human minds or lips.