Matthew 15:29-39

the maimed made whole, the lame walking, and

the blind seeing. And they glorified the God

of Israel. 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 they have nothing to eat. I don't want

to send them away hungry lest they faint on the

way. His disciples said to him, Where can we

get enough bread in this wilderness to fill such

a great multitude? Jesus said, well, how many

loaves do you have? And they said, seven, and

a few little fish. So he commanded the multitude

to sit down on the ground, and he took the seven

loaves and the fish and gave thanks. He broke

them and gave them to his disciples, and the

disciples gave to the multitude. So they all

ate and were filled, and they took up seven large

baskets full of the fragments that were left.

Now those who ate were 4 ,000 men. besides women

and children. And he sent away the multitude

and he got in the boat and he came to the region

of Magdala. Let's ask God to help us to understand

the text. Father, this is your word, the living

word, inerrant, inspired, infallible, God -breathed.

It is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for

correction. for instruction in righteousness.

Lord, would you open the word of God to us this

morning. Father, help us to see the divine intention

for which you have placed this inspired text

before us this morning. Show us Jesus and his

glory. And we want to thank you for that in advance.

And we ask this petition in the name of your

son, Jesus Christ. Amen. I was at a wedding last

night, Faith Lambert's wedding, and I was sitting

at the table just talking with John Paul. And

he said, what are you preaching on tomorrow?

And I told him this text. And I said, it's probably

one of the ones I've been more excited about

than in a long time. Not because of the text

in itself, but this is one of the many reasons

I absolutely love the Word of God. Because as

much as you study the Bible, as many times as

you read it, there's always something new. I've

read through the Gospel of Matthew many times

in my life. But I will tell you, I learned something

new this week that I have never, ever seen before,

nor had I heard it before. And it's really the

point of the text this morning. So we're going

to read about Jesus feeding 4 ,000. Now that

may sound awfully familiar to us because we just

looked in chapter 14, the previous chapter, about

Jesus feeding the 5 ,000. Perhaps you're wondering,

well, what's the difference between the feeding

of the 5 ,000 and the feeding of the 4 ,000?

Well, it's obvious, right? It's 1 ,000. That's

my corny math joke. That's it. We're done with

that. So in all seriousness, though, when we

look at this, there is a reason that these two

events are recorded so closely together. First

of all, their proximity serves as a contrast.

And it's going to highlight something that is

very important, particularly to us, that I will

talk about a little bit later. But I'll be honest,

I always wondered, why did Matthew and Mark,

because Luke and John did not, why did they record

both of these events where Jesus fed thousands?

It seems like a little overkill at the time it

did. Why would they include both? I mean, is

there anything that we're learning from this

account of Jesus feeding the 4 ,000? Or is it

simply another miracle showing the power and

authority of Jesus? And I suggest that there's

something more that God intended to show. Now,

how do we know this? Well, studying Scripture,

context is key. So what's the context? Beginning

in chapter 15, there is a confrontation between

Jesus and the leading religious officials, particularly

the Pharisees, because they were the gatekeepers

of the law. So this confrontation had to do with

ceremonial laws that Jesus and his disciples

refused to keep. Now this debate between Jesus

and the Pharisees serves as the backdrop to understanding

our text today. The Pharisees believed that ritual

defilement came from outside. If you went to

unclean places, touched unclean things, or had

contact with unclean people. They said those

particular things were defiling. And because

of that, they developed and enacted many laws.

So these are the ways that you can keep yourself

from being defiled. For example, have limited

contact with Gentiles. Or better yet, have no

contact with Gentiles or their lands. But if

you do, if you do visit those places, or in business

transactions you have to interact with them,

Then there were certain elaborate ceremonial

washings that you underwent, and then you would

be ceremonially clean again. Jesus Christ comes

on the scene, and he contradicted their claim.

He said, you guys have it all wrong. Defilement

does not come from without. True defilement comes

from within. It's from your heart. In fact, he

said, it's not even what goes in a person. It's

not about what you eat. It's not about what you

touch. He said, rather, it's what comes out of

you that truly defiles you. That's what really

makes you unclean. In fact, he said, it's your

heart that is already defiled that leads you

to sin. So that was the debate. So Jesus leaves

that argument with them, and he purposely headed

to a place called Tyre and Sidon, which we looked

at last week. Well, Tyre and Sidon is Gentile

land. He purposely leaves Israel, goes to the

area of the Gentiles. Keep in mind, the background

of the Pharisees over defilement. And while he

was there, there was a Canaanite woman that we

looked at last week. She came to Jesus begging

him to heal her daughter who was severely demon

-possessed. Initially, Jesus almost seemed cruel.

He denied her request. He said it was not right

to take food from the children. That is Israel.

And give to the dogs, that is Gentiles. What

surprised us was the woman's response. She agreed

with Jesus. She said, you're correct. It wouldn't

be proper. It's not fitting to take food from

your child to feed your pet. No, you would never

do that. However, she said, but even the dogs

who sit under the table, they eat the crumbs

that fall from the children's plate. The Lord

was so impressed by her answer. That he agreed

to heal her daughter. And we see that in verse

28. Jesus answered and he said to her, O woman,

great is your faith. Let it be to you as you

desire. And her daughter was healed from that

very hour. The Messiah of Israel had granted

a miracle to a Gentile woman. Was that any indication

or maybe some preview that there... Would be

more crumbs falling from the children's food

and given to the Gentiles? Verse 29. So Jesus

departed from there. He left Tyre and Sidon.

That's the place where he had the interaction

with the Canaanite woman. He skirted the Sea

of Galilee and he went up on the mountain to

sit down and pray. To sit down there. So he left

those two cities. And it just says in Matthew,

he skirted the Sea of Galilee. So we don't know

where he is. But Mark, in the parallel passage,

tells us that he went to the Decapolis, which

is on the east side of the Sea of Galilee. Mark

7 .31, you can see it on the wall behind me.

So departing from the region of Tyre and Sidon,

he came through the midst of the region of Decapolis

to the Sea of Galilee. Why is that important?

Why do we care where Jesus is? Because the Decapolis

was predominantly a Gentile region as well. This

meant Jesus did not immediately return to go

back to Israel. He stayed in the land of Gentiles

for a while. Now, who's writing this gospel?

Matthew. To whom is he writing? Primarily, not

exclusively, primarily to a Jewish audience.

The Jews of his day would have been very, very

interested in God's dealings with the Gentiles.

Because by and large, Jewish people... chose

to have as little contact with the Gentiles as

possible. Keep in mind what the Pharisees thought.

Contact with Gentiles made you unclean. So much

so that if a Jew who lived in the south, in Judea,

needed to go to Galilee in the north, instead

of taking this direct route and go right through

the center of Israel, they would walk around

Samaria. Why? Why didn't they just go straight

through and pass through Samaria? Because the

Samaritans were not fully Jewish. And the Jews

believed them to be unclean. So you start to

see this dynamic that's at play. Jews and Gentiles

pretty much ignored one another. They had very

limited interaction with one another. What about

in the church? Would there only be Jews as well?

I mean, the Gentiles were not included in the

old covenant. What about their place in the new?

Was there any place for non -Jews, that is Gentiles,

in the new covenant which would be ratified by

the blood of Jesus Christ? And the answer is

unequivocally yes. Now Paul wrote about that

in Ephesians 2. He said, speaking of Jesus, for

he himself, that is Jesus, is our peace. He has

made both Jew and Gentile one. And he has broken

down the middle wall of separation, all those

kosher laws, having abolished in his flesh that

is the law of commandments contained in ordinances,

so as to create in himself one new man from the

two, thus making peace. And that he might reconcile

both Jew and Gentile, because the Jews need to

be reconciled to God as well. He reconciled them

to God in one body through the cross. thereby

putting death enmity. All the division, all the

hostility that was always present between Jew

and Gentile was eliminated at the cross of Jesus

Christ. Now therefore, you, us, Gentiles, you're

no longer strangers. You're no longer foreigners.

What are you? You're fellow citizens with the

saints. And friends, this is precious. And you're

members of the household of God. So in the text

today, there is a beautiful, wonderful foreshadowing

that the Gentiles will be included in God's kingdom.

So let's go back to the text in verse 30. Great

multitudes came to him, having with them the

lame, the blind, the mute, and many others. Many

other types of diseases that are not listed.

And they laid him down at the feet of Jesus.

And it says he healed. them. The Lord chose to

stay in Gentile territory and he was bombarded

by large crowds just as he always was in Israel.

So the Lord went up on a mountainside to sit,

presumably to teach because that was how he normally

would do this. But when he was sitting and teaching,

multitudes came to him but they were bringing

with them the sick and disabled among them because

they were hoping to be healed. You had men and

women who have never seen. You had men and women

who could not walk or speak. They were brought

to Jesus and they were hoping for a miracle.

They were hoping for some crumb that might fall

from the children's plate. Maybe, perhaps, like

that Canaanite woman, they too would receive

God's mercy. So imagine the scene. You have great

crowds of sick people and you have great crowds

of handicapped people. And they're all brought

to Jesus' feet. And it says he healed them. Think

of that scene. Those who had just been unable

to speak, they were mute. They began to speak

clearly, sing clearly. I believe no doubt they

were lifting their voice in praise and worship

to God. God had loosed their tongue. They were

speaking for the first time. Imagine the crippled.

They're unable to walk. And suddenly they're

laid at the feet of Jesus and he has mercy on

them and they get up and they're walking. And

I don't think they're just walking. I think they're

running, skipping, jumping, dancing in glorious

praise to the one who just healed them. What

about those who had never seen, lived their lives

in complete darkness, had never seen the beauty

of a sunrise or sunset, never knew what a flower

looked like? And suddenly they're laid at the

feet of Jesus and he heals them and they have

complete, perfect, 20 -20 vision. And the very

first view they have is the face of Jesus who

just healed them. All that was wrong was being

made right. And we see this is a fulfillment

of the prophecy of the Messiah. In Isaiah chapter

Isaiah 35 · chapter mention

35, Isaiah wrote this about 700 years prior.

Say to those who are fearful hearted, be strong,

don't fear. Behold, your God will come with vengeance.

With the recompense of God, he will come and

save you. What's that going to look like? Then

the eyes of the blind will be opened. The ears

of the deaf will be unstopped. The lame shall

leap like a deer. And the tongue of the dumb

shall sing. What's happening in Matthew 15? Isaiah

35. This messianic prophecy is being clearly

fulfilled in the Lord Jesus Christ. And the text

in Matthew says this, and this is very important,

and they glorified the God of Israel. Why is

that important? That's a Gentile way of referring

to God. Had these been Jewish men and women who

were healed, it would have simply said, and they

glorified God. But these people were outside

of Israel, and they were praising the God of

Israel. What's that tell us? That at least some,

if not the majority of these people who were

healed were Gentiles. The dogs sitting under

the table, they're getting more than just crumbs

falling from children's plates. They're getting

a full meal handed out to them. Again, prophesying

of the Messiah. Isaiah wrote this, I the Lord,

I Yahweh, I have called you in righteousness,

speaking the Messiah. And I will hold your hand.

I will keep you and give you as a covenant to

the people, as a light to the Gentiles. Now keep

in mind the backdrop. The Pharisees believed

that Gentiles were unclean people, pagans, best

avoided, have no contact with them. And now Matthew,

the Jewish evangelist, is giving us a preview

that these unclean people, are going to be part

of God's kingdom. But the question still remains.

Are these Gentiles, are they going to be second

-class citizens in the kingdom of God? Are they

going to merely receive table scraps as a dog

sitting under the table? Well, let's keep reading.

Verse 32. Now Jesus called his disciples and

said, I have compassion on these people. They've

been with me the better part of three days. In

Jewish counting of days, if you spend any part

of a day, they consider it a full day. So at

least 50 hours here. And they've had nothing

to eat. And they now have nothing to eat, I should

say. Jesus, I don't want to send them away hungry

lest they faint on the way. So the better part

of three days are spent listening to Jesus, people

being healed. And they probably did not come

preparing to stay that long. So the food that

they had brought with them would naturally be

gone by this point. It's been a while since they've

eaten, and Jesus, ever being the tender shepherd

he is, he did not want to send them away hungry.

People had traveled a great distance to see him.

They're in a remote area. If he sends them home,

the trip could prove dangerous. They could faint

from being so weak and hungry. But once again,

the disciples, those blessed disciples, they

still don't get it all. Was Jesus expecting them

to feed this large crowd? So they look at him,

and I imagine incredulously are saying, Jesus,

I mean, what do you want us to do? Where could

we get enough bread in the wilderness to fill

such a great multitude? They're right, though.

They're in a remote place. It's called a wilderness,

a desert place. There are many people, food supply

very small. But I believe they're saying, well,

didn't they remember the feeding of the 5 ,000?

Yeah, I think they did. But who's this crowd?

Gentiles. I believe they did not expect for Jesus

to miraculously feed these people as he did those

in Israel. Clearly, whatever the reason, we don't

know, they were not expecting a miracle feeding

as before. So Jesus asked them, how much food

do you have? And they're like, well, there's

seven loaves of bread and a few little fish.

That's it. That's all we can come up with, Jesus.

Seven loaves of bread, little fish, that's not

going to do anything. That's not even going to

feed two people in a crowd this large. And yet

God is never limited by our resources. What's

amazing then, if you go back and read about the

history of Israel, the true people, okay, the

covenant people, when they were in the desert

wondering, they asked this question in Psalm

78. Can God prepare a table in the wilderness?

What's that question mean? Can God provide in

times of extreme hardship? They didn't think

he could. That's why they kept grumbling and

murmuring against him. Can God provide? Can he

provide food in the wilderness? Look at verses

35 -37. He commanded the people to sit. He took

the bread. He took the fish. He gave thanks.

He broke. He gave to his disciples. The disciples

started to distribute out to the crowd. And look

at verse 37. They all ate. All of them. And they

were filled. And they took up seven large baskets

full of the fragments that were left. That's

almost verbatim. I was going to read it, but

I'm not going to. You can go back to Matthew

Matthew 14:19

14, verses 19 and 20, and reading about the feeding

of the 5 ,000, just one chapter earlier, verses

19 and 20. Almost verbatim, same verbiage. But

in both cases, you have the Lord here. He takes

whatever bread and fish. He gives thanks. He

broke it. He distributes to disciples, and his

disciples hand out to the crowds. And in both

cases, there was food left over afterwards. Now

I want you to understand something. When you

read this text, you can't help but hear the overtones

of the word supper. There at the Passover meal,

Jesus took bread and wine. What did he do? He

gave thanks. He broke the bread. He gave to his

disciples, same language, and they ate together

that covenantal meal. These feedings, the feeding

of the 5 ,000, the feeding of the 4 ,000, both

of them are pointing to a greater meal that Jesus

will one day provide. Yes, Jesus can provide

bread for his people. But don't miss the lesson.

Most importantly, he is the bread for his people.

In John chapter 6, the context is the feeding

John 6 · chapter mention

of the 5 ,000. Verse 51, Jesus speaking to his

fellow Jews. I am the living bread which came

down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread,

he will live forever. And the bread that I shall

give is my flesh, which I shall give for the

life of the world, referring to the atoning sacrifice.

Verse 54. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my

blood has eternal life, and I will raise him

up at the last day. For my flesh is food indeed,

and my blood is drink indeed. See, the Lord just

doesn't provide food for his people. He is the

food. We call him our great high priest, and

he is. As the great high priest, he offers the

sacrifice. But he's also the lamb who is the

sacrifice. And in the very same way, Jesus is

the one who provides food, but he also is the

one who is the food. that is provided. This is

why Jesus in John 6 .35 said, I am the bread

of life. Whoever comes to me will never hunger,

and he who believes in me will never thirst.

Jesus is the true bread from heaven, and he will

save and satisfy his people. Now as we consider

these two events, there are a couple differences

between them that I think are absolutely worth

noting. In the feeding of the 5 ,000, do you

remember how many baskets were left over? Twelve.

Now the word for basket is even different, and

that's going to be important here. The word for

basket there refers to a small basket that was

for personal use. In fact, it was a word that

was used for the basket that Jews would carry

around, and it would hold kosher food. So it's

just a small little basket, and they would put

their food in there. So it's just ceremonially

clean food, kosher food. But in chapter 15, Gentile

setting, there are seven baskets left. But the

word basket here is not. This means a huge hamper

-like basket. These are not the small kosher

baskets. These are really large baskets, so large

that a grown man could fit in them. In fact,

the Apostle Paul was put in a basket and let

down over the wall. That's what this is. So you

have seven huge baskets. Not kosher, which lets

us know we're still in Gentile territory. But

there's seven of these huge hamper -like baskets

left over. There's an extraordinary surplus.

Jesus did not provide these people a snack to

hold them over. This is a feast. A table that's

provided in the wilderness. Do you remember the

Canaanite woman? She said, Lord, just give me

crumbs and I'll be happy. Jesus didn't give crumbs.

He's giving a feast. Matthew tells us they all

ate and were filled. No one was admitted. No

one left hungry. In fact, everyone ate as much

as they wanted to their heart's content. But

notice the difference in numbers. And you're

saying, is that important? And yes, I absolutely

believe it is. And these are some things that

I did not know before. When you have the meal

provided for the Jews. Now, we knew this. We

looked at this when we studied it. Twelve baskets

left. Twelve. I think we need to be careful.

Now, let me give a caveat right now. There are

some people who are very big on speculation,

and they look for numerology in Scripture, and

they take the Greek and Hebrew and assign number

value to it, and they look for hidden codes.

Don't do that. That's foolishness. It really

is. But there are times that numbers are emphasized

throughout, and we get a picture of why that

number is being used. Twelve. Well, I mean, it's

pretty obvious, right? Twelve was the number

that signified what? You have twelve tribes of

Israel. Jesus chose twelve apostles. So you have

these 12 sons of Jacob. So 12 baskets left over.

He's feeding Jews at this time, representing

12 tribes of Israel. Jesus feeding Israel. He's

reinterpreting the law for them. He is the new

and better Moses. He's the new deliverer. He

is reconstituting the true Israel. Not just those

circumcised in body, but rather those circumcised

in heart. But we come over to the Gentiles. Seven

baskets left. Why seven? Well, seven in Scripture

is the number of completion. It's the number

of fulfillment. For example, we look at Creation

Week. There were seven days, and then God finished

His work. If you go to Revelation 2 and 3, you

can see there are seven churches in Asian Minor

to which John wrote. Now those seven churches

were literal, existing, actual churches at the

time. But because there were seven of them, it

meant that the message that was given to them

is meant to apply to the entire church at all

times and all places. If you read through the

book of Revelation, you see seven everywhere.

There are seven seals, seven bowls, seven trumpets,

seven vials. All this judgment. Why seven of

these? Because God's judgment is complete. It's

finished. So, we have seven baskets left over.

What's that mean? With the feeding of the Gentiles,

the mission is brought to its completion. Yes,

the Gentiles will be brought into God's covenant.

And God will fulfill that promise he made to

Abraham. But notice the order. The feeding of

the Jews came first. And then, the feeding of

the Gentiles. Salvation is always what? To the

Jew first. And then to the Greek, Paul says in

Romans, or to the Gentile. You have these two

feedings side by side, chapter 14 and 15, to

show the flow, the order of salvation. The gospel

begins with Israel, but it doesn't remain in

Israel. It extends outward to all the nations.

I put together a small little chart. I hope you

can see it. So you have the feeding of the 5

,000 versus the feeding of the 4 ,000. Matthew

14 versus Matthew 15. The first one's primarily

Jews. The second one, primarily Gentiles. In

the first one, you have five loaves that are

broken. With the Gentiles, seven loaves. We'll

talk about that in just a moment. You have 12

baskets left over with the feeding of the Jews.

You have seven huge baskets left over with the

Gentiles. What's the message? The Messiah feeds

Israel. The Messiah feeds the nations. But why

five and seven loaves? Now, admittedly, I don't

know. Many commentators in the five loaves, now

I think this is speculation, they say, but I

think it's a good speculation, they say the five

loaves in the feeding of the Jews represents

the Pentateuch, the first five books of the Bible

known as the law, Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus,

Numbers, Deuteronomy, the Pentateuch. So that's

the law. So it shows the law given. But seven

again, we just talked about seven is? It's showing

that the mission of God is completed as the gospel

reaches the nations. But regardless if you buy

into that, don't miss the point. God promised

Abraham that he would have an heir, a seed. And

in this heir, this one singular heir, all the

nations of the world would be blessed. We come

now to Matthew 15 and we start to see the feeding

of the Gentiles is foreshadowing that very promise

being fulfilled. Because now, how did the chapter?

You have a Gentile woman, Canaanite, begging

for crumbs. But by the end of this chapter, there

is a great feast where multitudes of Gentiles

are fed to the full. God's generosity knows no

bounds. The gospel of Jesus Christ is for all

people in all nations at all times. It's going

to be fulfilled, folks. In Revelation chapter

Revelation 7:9

7, verses 9 and 10, we read this. After these

things I looked, and behold, a great multitude

which no one could number. And I love this part.

Of all nations, tribes, peoples, and tongues.

And what are they doing? They're standing before

the throne and before the Lamb. They're clothed

with white robes. That's the righteousness of

Christ given to them. They've got palm branches

in their hands. That's that poem Sunday singing

victory to Hosanna. And they're all together,

this great throng of people. They're crying out

with a loud voice. And what are they saying?

Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the

throne and to the Lamb. Here's the fulfillment,

folks. Jesus Christ is the true bread of life.

And he is not only sufficient for Israel, but

there is enough bread to feed the entire world.

All nations. The bread of life, Jesus will feed

as many as come to him in repentant faith. I

don't think there's any better way to respond

to this particular text than by coming to the

Lord's table. Christ has provided for our hunger.

But not merely, folks, by giving us bread, but

by giving us... That's the point. At the table

of the Lord, we receive bread and the cup. And

there we remember the body and blood of Christ.

The body that was broken and the blood that was

shed for the forgiveness of our sins. In the

sacrament, though, we also see that God's grace

is abundant. Any sinner who comes to Jesus in

faith will be received. No one's excluded from

this table. But I think there's something even

more beautiful, and I said particularly to us,

this is how. Anyone Jewish in here? We're all

Gentiles. But even as Gentiles today, we do not

come to the table of the Lord as dogs expecting

crumbs. You and I come as sons and daughters

who, as Paul said now, belong to the household

of God. God did not bring you in as a slave.

He did not bring you in as a second class citizen.

He brought you in as a full heir with Jesus Christ

as a son or daughter of his. It's wonderful.

Already in the text, Jesus said, I have compassion

on the multitude. And he said these words, I

don't want to send them away hungry. The Lord

Jesus, he never sends anyone away hungry who

will come to him in faith. So my appeal to you,

as we come to the table of the Lord, we come

hungry, and let's be satisfied by the body and

blood of Christ. Let's feast upon him, and let's

commune with him in this particular meal that

he has designed for his people. It's a glorious

truth, church. God, you are never, ever a plan

B or a second thought in his mind. All this glorious

plan of salvation, God would show mercy on the

world, both Israel and Gentiles. through His

one and only begotten Son, Jesus Christ, who

bore our sins. Praise Him. Thank Him. As the

almonds are distributed today, worship Him. Give

Him praise and glory in your inner thoughts as

you meditate and contemplate on the body that

was broken and the blood that was shed that you

might be brought in to the kingdom of God. Let's

pray. Father, we thank You for Your Word. I'm

astounded by it, Lord. The depth, the... to how

profound the profundity, Lord, of your word is

extreme. Lord God, no one can fully understand

it. I believe in eternity we'll still be, Lord,

mining its depths and, Lord, just marveling at

your mind that has inspired this sacred text.

Lord, we thank you. We thank you for Jesus, Lord.

We are a hungry people, Lord God. We are a starving

people apart from him. But, Lord, we are satisfied

with what he gives us. Praise be to your glorious

name. Father, help us this morning, Lord, Lord,

to be repenting of our sins, confessing them

before you, but receiving the forgiveness that

is found in your Son. Lord, glory be to God.

We thank you for this in Jesus' name. Amen. Deacons,

would you come and distribute the elements?