200 – Feeding 4,000
Matthew 15:29-16:16 Mark 8:1-21 8:27-30
Jesus left the region of Tyre and Sidon and went to the Gentile side of the Sea of Galilee. As he taught the people, a great crowd brought those with various physical problems. They brought the lame, the blind, the crippled, and those with many diseases. Jesus healed them all, and the crowd was amazed.
Then Jesus said to his disciples, “I’m concerned for the crowd. They’ve been with us for three days, and their food has run out. I don’t want to send them away without feeding them because they’ll collapse with hunger as they go.”
The disciples said, “Lord, we don’t have enough food to feed this large crowd.”
“How much do you have?”
“We have seven loaves of bread and a few small fish.”
“Tell the crowd to sit down.”
He took the bread and fish and blessed it. He then broke it into pieces and gave it to his disciples. They turned and gave it to the crowd. 4,000 people were there. Everyone ate until they were full. The disciples then collected the leftovers and found they had seven baskets full.
Afterwards, they sent the crowd home. Jesus and his disciples got in the boat and went to the Jewish side of the lake.
The Jewish leaders were there, and started arguing with him. They wanted him to give them signs from heaven. He refused and got back into the boat.
As they were going back to the Gentile side of the lake, the disciples realized they forgot to bring enough food for the trip. They only had one small loaf of bread.
Jesus said to them, “Watch out for the yeast of the religious leaders.” The disciples assumed he was scolding them for forgetting the bread.
He said, “Your faith is still so small! Why would you think I’m concerned about the bread situation? You were there. You saw how 5,000 people were fed with just five loaves of bread and two fish. How many baskets did we collect afterwards?”
“Twelve.”
You saw how 4,000 people were fed with just seven loaves of bread and a few small fish. How many baskets did we collect afterwards?”
“Seven.”
“So listen carefully and understand what I’m saying. Watch out for the yeast of religious leaders.” Finally the men understood what he was talking about.
Once they got to the other side, Jesus took them to Caesarea Philippi. There, he asked them, “Who do people say I am?”
“Some say you’re John the Baptist. Others say you’re Elijah or Jeremiah.”
“Who do you say I am?”
Peter said, “You’re the Messiah, the Son of the living God.”
Jesus said, “Peter, you’re blessed! You didn’t learn this from human sources, but the Father has revealed it to you.”
He then told all of his disciples “For now, don’t tell anyone I am the Messiah.”
