Matthew 15

29 Jesus went on from there and walked beside the Sea of Galilee. And he went up on the mountain and sat down there. 30 And great crowds came to him, bringing with them the lame, the blind, the crippled, the mute, and many others, and they put them at his feet, and he healed them, 31 so that the crowd wondered, when they saw the mute speaking, the crippled healthy, the lame walking, and the blind seeing. And they glorified the God of Israel.

He left the area of Tyre through Sidon, and went to the Sea of Galilee - farther into Gentile territory into Decapolis.

Mark 7:31 ESV

31 Then he returned from the region of Tyre and went through Sidon to the Sea of Galilee, in the region of the Decapolis.

According to Warren Wiersbe “The Decapolis included ten cities that were in a league and were authorized by the Romans to mint their own coins, run their own courts, and have their own armies. This was predominantly Gentile territory”.

More detail is given to us in Mark about who was healed - a man who was deaf and dumb.

Mark 7:31–37 ESV

31 Then he returned from the region of Tyre and went through Sidon to the Sea of Galilee, in the region of the Decapolis. 32 And they brought to him a man who was deaf and had a speech impediment, and they begged him to lay his hand on him. 33 And taking him aside from the crowd privately, he put his fingers into his ears, and after spitting touched his tongue. 34 And looking up to heaven, he sighed and said to him, “Ephphatha,” that is, “Be opened.” 35 And his ears were opened, his tongue was released, and he spoke plainly. 36 And Jesus charged them to tell no one. But the more he charged them, the more zealously they proclaimed it. 37 And they were astonished beyond measure, saying, “He has done all things well. He even makes the deaf hear and the mute speak.”

Even though the Lord cautioned the man to be silent, he and his friends spread the account of the miracle abroad. This apparently caused a great crowd to gather—including people who were lame, blind, dumb, and crippled (maimed). Jesus healed these people, and the Gentiles “glorified the God of Israel.”

We cannot help but marvel at the contrast between these Gentiles and the Jewish leaders who knew the Old Testament Scriptures. The Gentiles glorified Israel’s God, but the Jewish leaders said that Jesus was in league with Satan.

Matthew 12:22-24 “22 Then a demon-oppressed man who was blind and mute was brought to him, and he healed him, so that the man spoke and saw. 23 And all the people were amazed, and said, “Can this be the Son of David?” 24 But when the Pharisees heard it, they said, “It is only by Beelzebul, the prince of demons, that this man casts out demons.””

Our Lord’s miracles did not cause the Jewish cities to repent, yet the Gentiles believed in Him. The very miracles that He performed should have convinced the Jews that He was the Messiah

Isaiah 29:18–19 ESV

18 In that day the deaf shall hear the words of a book, and out of their gloom and darkness the eyes of the blind shall see. 19 The meek shall obtain fresh joy in the Lord, and the poor among mankind shall exult in the Holy One of Israel.

Jesus marveled at the faith of a Gentile soldier and a Gentile mother. Yet He was amazed at the unbelief of His own people.

Mark 6:6 ESV

6 And he marveled because of their unbelief. And he went about among the villages teaching.

While there, a great crowd once again gather around him on the mountain.

Matthew 15:32–39 ESV

32 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.” 33 And the disciples said to him, “Where are we to get enough bread in such a desolate place to feed so great a crowd?” 34 And Jesus said to them, “How many loaves do you have?” They said, “Seven, and a few small fish.” 35 And directing the crowd to sit down on the ground, 36 he took the seven loaves and the fish, and having given thanks he broke them and gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the crowds. 37 And they all ate and were satisfied. And they took up seven baskets full of the broken pieces left over. 38 Those who ate were four thousand men, besides women and children. 39 And after sending away the crowds, he got into the boat and went to the region of Magadan.

Critics have accused the Gospel writers of deliberately falsifying the records in order to prove that Jesus performed more miracles. They claim that the feeding of the 4,000 was merely an adaptation of the previous miracle of feeding 5,000. A careful examination of the records shows that this accusation is false and that the critics are wrong. This chart shows the differences between the two events.

Feeding 5,000 Feeding 4,000

Primarily Jews Primarily Gentiles

Galilee, near Bethsaida The Decapolis

5 loaves, 2 fish 7 loaves, “a few fish”

12 baskets over 7 baskets over

Crowd with Him 1 day Crowd with Him 3 days

Spring of year (green grass) Summer season

Tried to make Him King No popular response

Since the crowd of 4,000 had been with Him three days, they had used up their own supplies of food. Our Lord’s compassionate heart would not permit Him to send them on their way hungry, lest they faint along the way. The first motive for this miracle was simply the meeting of human needs. The people had already seen His miracles and glorified God, so the miracle was not for the purpose of preaching a sermon or authenticating His ministry.

However, this miracle did have a special purpose for His disciples. We are amazed that they had forgotten the miracle of the feeding of the 5,000. (Read carefully Matt. 16:6–12.) The Twelve were perplexed when they should have been saying, “Jesus is able to multiply loaves and fish, so we have no need to worry!” Of course, it may be that they thought He would not perform that kind of a miracle in Gentile territory. Or, perhaps the fact that the previous crowd had tried to make Him King would cause Jesus to avoid repeating the miracle.

As in the feeding of the 5,000, this miracle took place in His hands. As Jesus broke the bread and gave it to His disciples, the bread multiplied. Everybody ate and everybody was satisfied. Again, Jesus ordered the fragments to be collected so that nothing be wasted. The ability to perform miracles does not grant the authority to waste God’s gifts.

The word translated baskets in Matthew 15:37 means “a large hamper.” It is the same kind of basket that was used to lower Paul over the Damascus wall (Acts 9:25). The word for basket in Matthew 14:20 means “a wicker basket,” the kind a person carried with food or other goods in it. The fact that these two different words are used is further proof that the two miracles are different.

Jesus did not preach a sermon to this crowd on “the bread of life” as He did to the Jews in Capernaum, following the feeding of the 5,000 (John 6:22ff). The facts about the Old Testament manna and the “bread of God” would have been foreign to these Gentiles. Jesus always adapted His teaching to the needs and the understanding of the people to whom He ministered.

Before leaving Matthew 15, let’s review several spiritual lessons that it contains for us.

(1) The enemies of truth are often religious people who live according to man’s traditions. Satan often uses “religion” to blind the minds of sinners to the simple truths of God’s Word.

(2) We must beware of any religious system that gives us an excuse to sin and disobey God’s Word.

(3) We must also beware of worship that comes from the lips only, and not from the heart.

(4) If we major on the inner man, the outer man will be what God wants it to be. True holiness comes from within.

(5) It is difficult to break free from tradition. There is something in us that wants to hold to the past and make no changes. Even Peter had to learn his lesson twice!

(6) We dare not limit Christ to any one nation or people. The Gospel came “to the Jew first” (Rom. 1:16), but today is for all men in all nations. “Whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved” (Rom. 10:13).

Wiersbe, Warren W. 1996. The Bible Exposition Commentary. Vol. 1. Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.

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