Matthew 15:38 - Printer Friendly

ESV: Those who ate were four thousand men, besides women and children.

NIV: The number of those who ate was four thousand men, besides women and children.

NASB: And those who ate were four thousand men, besides women and children.

CSB: Now there were four thousand men who had eaten, besides women and children.

NLT: There were 4,000 men who were fed that day, in addition to all the women and children.

KJV: And they that did eat were four thousand men, beside women and children.

NKJV: Now those who ate were four thousand men, besides women and children.

Matthew again saves this detail for the end of the story. Jesus did not miraculously feed a roomful of people from seven loaves and a few fish. He fed four thousand men, in addition to any women and children present. That could have added up to ten or twelve thousand people, or more. The difference in this count of the crowd from the previous miracle feeding (Matthew 14:13–21) is more evidence that these are two different events in the ministry of Jesus.

Another difference in this one: The crowd likely held mostly Gentiles, given the location on the southeast side of the Sea of Galilee. First Jesus healed and then He fed this group, perhaps showing that God's future kingdom will include both Jews and Gentiles, that God has compassion for both Jews and Gentiles. This is true even though Jesus' primary mission on earth, before the crucifixion, was to serve the lost sheep of the house of Israel (Matthew 15:24). In fact, His encounter with the Canaanite woman might have been to send this very message to the disciples, preparing them to accept the Gentile world in their future ministry (Matthew 15:24–28).

It is the work of God to feed His people. Jesus' miraculous feeding of hungry people pointed once more to the reality that He is the Messiah (Matthew 11:2–6).

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.