Moving on from there Jesus walked by the Sea of Galilee, went up on the mountain, and sat down there. 30 Great crowds came to him, having with them the lame, the blind, the deformed, the mute, and many others. They placed them at his feet, and he cured them. 31 The crowds were amazed when they saw the mute speaking, the deformed made whole, the lame walking, and the blind able to see, and they glorified the God of Israel. 32 Jesus summoned his disciples and said, “My heart is moved with pity for the crowd, for they have been with me now for three days and have nothing to eat. I do not want to send them away hungry, for fear they may collapse on the way.” 33 The disciples said to him, “Where could we ever get enough bread in this deserted place to satisfy such a crowd?” 34 Jesus said to them, “How many loaves do you have?” “Seven,” they replied, “and a few fish.” 35 He ordered the crowd to sit down on the ground. 36 Then he took the seven loaves and the fish, gave thanks, broke the loaves, and gave them to the disciples, who in turn gave them to the crowds. 37 They all ate and were satisfied. They picked up the fragments left over—seven baskets full. 38 Those who ate were four thousand men, not counting women and children. 39 And when he had dismissed the crowds, he got into the boat and came to the district of Magadan.
The crowds that followed Jesus brought many to him to be healed and Jesus healed them regardless of whether they were Jews or Gentiles. The healings were reminiscent of an OT prophesy; “The eyes of the blind shall see, and the ears of the deaf be opened; Then the lame shall leap like a stag, and the mute tongue sing for joy (Is. 35:5-6).” The response from the crowd was amazement and they gave Glory to God. Jesus going up the mountain is an indication that his healing power came from God (Ex. 19:20).
Jesus, in his compassion, was concerned about the crowd following him. The crowd was in a deserted place (v. 33) reminiscent of the Israelites in the desert (Ex. 16:1-3). Jesus fed the crowd (v. 36) just as God fed the Israelites in the desert (Ex. 16:4-12). The seven baskets of fragments (v. 37) brings to mind the seven Deacons selected to serve the Hellenists (Acts 6:1-7). Jesus was fulfilling his Messianic role and the process of incorporating everyone into the reconstituted Israel had begun. `
Almighty God, we are fed from your table of plenty and drink from your cup of grace. Grant that the spiritual food and drink we receive sustains us through this earthly desert until we receive the greatness of the promised reward in Heaven. This we pray through Christ our Lord. Amen!
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References
Chiu, José Enrique Aguilar, et al. The Paulist Biblical Commentary. Paulist Press, 2018.
Faculty of the University of Navarre. The Navarre Bible: New Testament Expanded Edition. Expanded Edition, Four Courts / Scepter, 2008.
Brown, Raymond Edward, et al. The New Jerome Biblical Commentary. Upper Saddle River, NJ, United States, Prentice Hall, 1990.
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