26  The Compassionate Lord  (Luke 9:10–17)

When the apostles returned, they gave an account to Him of all that they had done. Taking them with Him, He withdrew by Himself to a city called Bethsaida. But the crowds were aware of this and followed Him; and welcoming them, He began speaking to them about the kingdom of God and curing those who had need of healing. Now the day was ending, and the twelve came and said to Him, “Send the crowd away, that they may go into the surrounding villages and countryside and find lodging and get something to eat; for here we are in a desolate place.” But He said to them, “You give them something to eat!” And they said, “We have no more than five loaves and two fish, unless perhaps we go and buy food for all these people.” (For there were about five thousand men.) And He said to His disciples, “Have them sit down to eat in groups of about fifty each.” They did so, and had them all sit down. Then He took the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up to heaven, He blessed them, and broke them, and kept giving them to the disciples to set before the people. And they all ate and were satisfied; and the broken pieces which they had left over were picked up, twelve baskets full. (9:10–17)

The Lord Jesus Christ performed countless miracles throughout His earthly ministry In addition to the three dozen recorded in the Gospels, Jesus performed many other miracles on an almost daily basis (cf.Mark 6:2; Luke 19:37; John 2:23; 3:2; 6:2; 7:31; 11:47; 12:37; 20:30; 21:25; Acts 2:22).Throughout His ministry, Jesus constantly demonstrated His divine power over demons, disease, death, and nature.

The news of the Lord’s miracles had spread all throughout Galilee. Galilee was a relatively small region, measuring about fifty miles from north to south and twenty-five miles from east to west. Its villages were mostly clustered around the Sea of Galilee, including Jesus’ adopted hometown of Capernaum (Matt. 4:13). Jesus had grown up in that region, in the nondescript village of Nazareth, and He even returned there to preach the gospel but was viciously rejected (Luke 4:16–30). By ministering extensively in Galilee, the Lord was demonstrating His rejection of Israel’s religious leadership, headquartered in the south in Jerusalem and Judea. Galilee was a region scorned by the religious leaders and other Judeans as an uncouth, backwater region, from which nothing good could come (John 1:46; 7:41, 52). Jesus’ choice of it affirmed the apostasy of Israel’s leadership.

As He neared the end of His Galilean ministry in the spring of A.D. 29, the Lord performed what was on a visible scale His most extensive miracle. Underscoring the significance of this incident, it is one of only two miraculous events recorded in all four Gospels, the other being Christ’s resurrection. The feeding of five thousand men, along with surely an equal number of women and children, was the largest work of divine creative power since creation week and the restructuring of the earth after the flood (Gen. 6–8). It was also the highpoint and culmination of Christ’s ministry in Galilee—and the last great opportunity for its people. The Lord would shortly depart Galilee to minister in the largely Gentile regions of Tyre and Sidon, and the Decapolis (where another such feeding miracle occurred; cf. Mark 8:1–8), then head south to Judea and Jerusalem. But after this undeniable demonstration of His divine power, only willful, stubborn, hard-hearted unbelief could explain why anyone in Galilee would continue to reject Him as Lord and Messiah—as they came to do in spite of momentary exuberance.

The miracle was so monumental in its impact and potential that the people wanted to make Jesus king by force (John 6:15). Their plan was for Him to topple Herod Antipas, install Himself as ruler in his place, and then oust the hated Roman occupiers. The result would be a welfare state with no sickness and all the free food they could eat. In fact, the day after the miracle, the crowd showed up in Capernaum, where Jesus had gone after the miraculous feeding (John 6:16–21), looking for breakfast (vv.22–27).

But while our Lord’s miraculous feeding of the multitude is an astounding display of His divine power, it is far more than that. As with all the miracles Jesus performed, this one is also a demonstration of God’s tender, compassionate care, showing that His power cannot be divorced from His compassion. This miraculous provision of food on a massive scale is a striking exhibition of God’s concern for even the most mundane issues of life. That Jesus fed people who would ultimately reject Him illustrates God’s common grace, because of which “He causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous” (Matt. 5:45). It also previews Christ’s power to usher in the blessings of the earthly millennial kingdom (cf. Isa. 25:6–9).

Luke’s account of this miracle reveals Christ’ sensitivity to five needs: the need for rest, the need for divine truth, the need for healing, the need for daily food, and the need for provision for His servants.

THE NEED FOR REST

When the apostles returned, they gave an account to Him of all that they had done. Taking them with Him, He withdrew by Himself to a city called Bethsaida. (9:10)

As noted in the previous chapter of this volume, Jesus had sent the Twelve on a preaching tour of Galilee. After the apostles returned, they met with Him, probably in Capernaum, and gave an account to Him of all that they had done. Recognizing that they were exhausted after their time of travel and ministry, Jesus took them with Him and withdrew by Himself to a city called Bethsaida. There they could rest and recover away from the crowds that kept them so busy that they did not even have time to eat (Mark 6:31). Jesus, the great high priest of His people, is aware of their weaknesses (Heb. 4:15) and sensitive to their every need. Having Himself experienced the fatigue that comes from extensive ministry (cf. Mark 4:38), Jesus understood the apostles’ need for rest.

The exact location of Bethsaida is not precisely known, but its name means “house of fish,” indicating it was one of many lakeside fishing villages. Bethsaida was perhaps located along the northeastern shore of the Sea of Galilee. (Some have suggested there may have been another village by the same name on the shore west of Capernaum [Mark 6:45].) This small village was important for a couple of reasons. First, it was the hometown of as many as four of the apostles: Peter and his brother Andrew (John 1:44; although they later moved to Capernaum [Luke 4:31, 38]), Philip (John 12:21), and possibly Nathanael (John 1:45).

But on a more somber note, Bethsaida was singled out by the Lord, along with Chorazin, as being more deserving of judgment than Tyre and Sidon (Luke 10:13). Those two Gentile cities were symbols of paganism, idolatry, and evil to the Galilean Jews. The Old Testament records God’s past devastating judgment on Tyre and Sidon for their unspeakable wickedness (Isa. 23:1–18; Ezek. 26–28; Amos 1:9–10; Zech. 9:3–4). They were headed for another destruction because they had rejected the Lord Jesus, who performed many miracles there (Luke 10:13). Undoubtedly some of the apostles (most likely the three or four who were from that village) also worked miracles in Bethsaida during their preaching tour. The massive miracle that occurred nearby only added more guilt to their rejection. Divinely granted privilege, when refused, leads to greater judgment; thus, as Jesus warned, “It will be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon in the judgment than for [Chorazin and Bethsaida]” (Luke 10:14). The outwardly religious people of Bethsaida who rejected the truth will face a more severe judgment than pagans with less knowledge.

THE NEED FOR DIVINE TRUTH

But the crowds were aware of this and followed Him; and welcoming them, He began speaking to them about the kingdom of God (9:11a)

The Lord’s departure for Bethsaida with the apostles did not go unnoticed; the crowds were aware of this development and followed Him. Literally, as Mark records, “The people saw them going, and many recognized them and ran there together on foot from all the cities, and got there ahead of them” (Mark 6:33). John records that the “crowd followed Him, because they saw the signs which He was performing on those who were sick” (John 6:2).They were thrill seekers, who eagerly followed Jesus as their king (v. 15) who could provide healing and free food. Their superficial, shallow-soil mentality drew a rebuke from Jesus (John 6:26–27).

Nonetheless, because of His compassionate concern for these shepherdless sheep (Mark 6:34), Jesus did not reject them out of hand. Instead, welcoming them, He began speaking to them about the kingdom of God—the constant theme of His preaching and teaching (4:43; 6:20; 8:1; 11:20; 17:20–21; 18:24–25; Mark 1:15; 4:11, 26–32; John 3:3; Acts 1:3).The Lord knew that although it was miracles that they sought, it was divine truth that they desperately needed. He had compassion on their souls as well as their bodies. Their shallowness, superficiality, andself-indulgence could not prevent Jesus from demonstrating the kindness of God.

THE NEED FOR HEALING

and curing who had need of healing. (9:11b)

Christ’s compassion had constantly extended into the realm of human suffering caused by sickness, prompting Him again to cure those who had need of healing. Matthew 14:14 uses a form of the verb splagchnizomai, which refers to inner feelings, suggesting the physical effects of sympathy on the body to describe the compassion Jesus felt. Human suffering truly caused Him pain, and moved Him to alleviate it. The Lord’s healing, like His provision of food, foreshadows the blessings of the millennial kingdom (cf. Isa.33:24; Jer.30:17; Ezek. 34:16).

THE NEED FOR DAILY FOOD

Now the day was ending, and the twelve came and said to Him, “Send the crowd away, that they may go into the surrounding villages and countryside and find lodging and get something to eat; for here we are in a desolate place.” But He said to them, “You give them something to eat!” And they said, “We have no more than five loaves and two fish, unless perhaps we go and buy food for all these people.” (For there were about five thousand men.) And He said to His disciples, “Have them sit down to eat in groups of about fifty each.” They did so, and had them all sit down. Then He took the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up to heaven, He blessed them, and broke them, and kept giving them to the disciples to set before the people. And they all ate and were satisfied; (9:12–17a)

Luke’s narrative now turns to the actual miracle. His simple, unadorned account, framed in straightforward language, should not be allowed to obscure the staggering implications of this creative miracle.

As the day was ending (lit., “began to decline” after the the sun reached its highpoint at noon) and the afternoon wore on, the apostles became concerned. Focused as they too often were on earthly things, the twelve came to Jesus and brashly almost impertinently said to Him, “Send the crowd away, that they may go into the surrounding villages and countryside and find lodging and get somethingto eat.” They wanted the Lord to disperse the crowd before it got any later because, they informed Him, “Here we are in a desolate place.” Eremos (desolate) does not refer here to a desert, since there was abundant green grass (Mark 6:39), but rather to an uninhabited place. Evening was approaching, and there was nowhere for the crowd to acquire food.

The apostles’ concern once again exhibited their lack of faith (cf. Matt. 8:26; 14:31; 16:8). They had a disconnect from all the miracles they had seen and they themselves had performed on the just-completed preaching tour. They might also have recalled that God had miraculously provided food in Israel’s past:

Incredibly, even after this amazing display of Christ’s divine power, the apostles’ faith was still weak. While Jesus, Peter, James, and John were on the mountain for the transfiguration, the nine who had not accompanied them were unable to cast out a demon because they failed to pray in faith (Luke 9:37–40). Exasperated by their continual lack of faith, Jesus sharply rebuked them, calling them an “unbelieving and perverted generation” (cf. Matt. 17:17). Rather than trust Jesus to deal with the obvious need for food, the apostles thought only of a human solution.

Jesus’ response, “You give them something to eat!”, seemingly detached from reality, must have amazed and surprised them. Incredulously they protested, “We have no more than five loaves and two fish. Andrew, anticipating the problem, had taken an inventory of what meager food the crowd possessed (John 6:8–9).Then somewhat sarcastically the apostles added, “unless perhaps we go and buy food for all these people.” Perhaps playing off their remark, the Lord asked Philip, “Where are we to buy bread, so that these may eat?” (John 6:5). Aghast, “Philip answered Him, ‘Two hundred denarii (nearly a year’s pay for a common laborer) worth of bread is not sufficient for them, for everyone to receive a little’“ (v. 7). As Luke’s parenthetical note indicates, there were about five thousand men present. Including the women and children (Matt. 14:21), there could have been twenty to twenty-five thousand people present. The five loaves (small biscuits or crackers) and two small dried fish were obviously intended as a protest if not a mockery of the Lord’s request.

Their amazement must have turned to complete shock when the Lord commanded the apostles to “have them sit down to eat in groups of about fifty each.” Mark 6:40 notes that they “sat down in groups of hundreds and of fifties.” Organizing the crowd like that would have made it easier to serve them. But the obvious question that would have arisen is, “Serve them what?” The apostles had just finished telling Jesus that they had nothing with which to feed them.

Despite their misgivings, the disciples obeyed the Lord and had the people all sit down. It was spring, just before Passover (John 6:4), and as previously noted there was plenty of green grass for the people to sit comfortably on. When all were seated, the Lord took the five loaves and the two fish, and then doing what every Jewish father did at a meal, looking up to heaven, He blessed them. By looking up to heaven, Jesus acknowledged God as the source of all provision. There was nothing mystical or spiritual that happened to the food by the Lord’s blessing; eulogeō (blessed) simply means that He gave thanks to God.

Then, also doing what a father would do at a meal, Jesus broke the loaves and fish. But unlike any father had ever done, He kept giving them to the disciples to set before the people. In that understated way Luke described this astonishing display of Christ’s power to create ex nihilo—the same power He used to create all things from nothing (John 1:3; Col. 1:16; Heb. 1:2).There was no doubt as to the source of the food; it was obvious to all who saw that it was being created in the Lord’s hands and then given to the apostles to distribute to the crowd.

The people did not merely receive a minimal snack, but in keeping with God’s bountiful grace, they all ate and were satisfied. Satisfied translates a form of the verb chortazō, which was originally used to describe fattening animals, who gorged themselves until they could eat no more (it is so used in Rev. 19:21). The people ate their fill until they were satiated.

THE NEED FOR PROVISION FOR HIS SERVANTS

and the broken pieces which they had left over were picked up, twelve baskets full. (9:17b)

In His lavish provision of food, Jesus did not forget His own. After the meal was over, the broken pieces of the loaves and the fish (Mark 6:43) which the crowd had left over were picked up by the apostles. In the Lord’s precision, nothing was wasted; the amount of leftover food was exactly enough to meet the needs of the Twelve.

There is a sad postscript to this remarkable story which Johnrecords. The next day the crowds, thwarted in their attempt to make Him king, followed Jesus back to Capernaum (John 6:22–25). They expected Him to provide more food (v. 26), but when He refused and instead presented Himself as the Bread of Life come down from heaven (vv.27–40), they rejected Him (vv. 41–66). So do all sinners who spurn God’s generosity, compassion, and kindness (cf.Rom.2:4–5).

Believers need to proclaim the Lord’s power and mercy to those who need relief from life’s physical and emotional struggles. But supremely, we must present to them the Savior who alone delivers from sin. It is our task to point them to the all-sufficient Bread of Life, the Lord Jesus Christ, the embodiment of God’s compassion. Only through the salvation that He alone provides will lost sinners find eternal blessing and rest for their souls (Matt. 11:28–30).