Matthew 15:32 - Printer Friendly

ESV: Then Jesus called his disciples to him and said, "I have compassion on the crowd because they have been with me now three days and have nothing to eat. And I am unwilling to send them away hungry, lest they faint on the way."

NIV: Jesus called his disciples to him and said, "I have compassion for these people; they have already been with me three days and have nothing to eat. I do not want to send them away hungry, or they may collapse on the way."

NASB: Now Jesus called His disciples to Him and said, 'I feel compassion for the people, because they have remained 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.'

CSB: Jesus called his disciples and said, "I have compassion on the crowd, because they’ve already stayed with me three days and have nothing to eat. I don’t want to send them away hungry, otherwise they might collapse on the way."

NLT: 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.'

KJV: Then Jesus called his disciples unto him, and said, I have compassion on the multitude, because they continue with me now three days, and have nothing to eat: and I will not send them away fasting, lest they faint in the way.

NKJV: Now Jesus called His disciples to Himself and said, “I have compassion on the multitude, because they have now continued with Me three days and have nothing to eat. And I do not want to send them away hungry, lest they faint on the way.”

The disciples have accompanied Jesus back into the territory of Israel, to the mostly Gentile region of the Decapolis. He has spent three days there preaching and healing people, showing even the Gentiles the power and compassion of God. This follows His conversation with a woman where He indicated that His main mission was to Israel, but that those who wanted what Israel rejected were welcome to it (Matthew 15:21–28).

Now Jesus turns to His disciples and says outright that He has compassion for the people. Whatever food they may have brought with them to this desolate place is now gone. The people, however, have apparently not wanted to leave so long as Jesus was willing to keep preaching and healing. The situation has worsened to the point where Jesus doesn't want to send them away, likely out of concern. He specifically mentions they faint on the road back to wherever they are from. The implication in Jesus' words is clear: Let's feed these people.

Given what happened not long ago, this makes the modern reader wonder if the disciples saw what was coming. This scenario is similar in several ways to the miraculous feeding in Bethsaida in Matthew 14:13–21. This is an entirely different event, however. If the disciples thought of that evening, they do not bring it up now.

Matthew 15:32–39 describes another miraculous feeding, separate from an earlier event where Jesus provided as many as twenty thousand meals (Matthew 14:13–20). Jesus has compassion on the hungry crowd after three days with them. He does not want to send them away without feeding them. He takes the disciples' seven loaves and few fish and makes all the people sit down. He gives thanks and starts handing food to the disciples, who pass it out until everyone has eaten all they want, which includes four thousand men plus women and children. While the first miraculous feeding was for a mostly Jewish crowd, this assembly is almost all Gentiles. After they leave, the disciples return to Jewish territory on the western shore of the Sea of Galilee.

Pharisees and scribes come from Jerusalem to challenge Jesus. They are offended that His disciples break the religious leaders' tradition about ritual handwashing before meals. Jesus turns that attack upside down, pointing out that His critics honor tradition above God's actual commands! He insists that nobody is defiled by what goes in the mouth—by the literal matter itself—but by the overflow of the spirit, such as the words that come out of the mouth. He and the disciples travel out of the country. Jesus casts a demon out of the daughter of a persistent Canaanite woman. They travel to the southeast side of the Sea of Galilee where Jesus feeds thousands of people from a few loaves and fishes. These last two events set up the eventual spread of the gospel beyond the people of Israel.

Matthew 15 begins with a confrontation between some Pharisees and Jesus. They ask why His disciples break the traditional practice of ritual handwashing. Pointedly, Jesus asks why they allow the obvious intent of God's commandments to be broken through their traditions. Jesus and the disciples travel out of Israel, encountering a Canaanite woman. He praises her faith and casts a demon from her daughter. They travel to the southeast side of the Sea of Galilee where Jesus heals more people and feeds thousands more from another few loaves and fishes. This sets up another confrontation with religious leaders, warnings about their teachings, and predictions of Jesus' death in the next chapter.

The Gospel of Matthew clearly shows the influence of its writer's background, and his effort to reach a specific audience. Matthew was one of Jesus' twelve disciples, a Jewish man, and a former tax collector. This profession would have required literacy, and Matthew may have transcribed some of Jesus' words as they were spoken. This book is filled with references to the Old Testament, demonstrating to Israel that Jesus is the Promised One. Matthew also includes many references to coins, likely due to his former profession. Matthew records extensive accounts of Jesus' teaching, more than the other three Gospels.