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.
Matthew places Jesus walking by the Sea of Galilee, then going up on the mountain and sitting down. In this quiet setting, great crowds come to him. They bring “the lame, the blind, the deformed, the mute, and many others” and place them at his feet. Matthew keeps the description simple and very concrete. These are people whose bodies do not work as they should. Their weakness is visible to everyone. The crowds do not leave them on the edge; they bring them right to where Jesus is and set them before him.
Matthew then states the heart of what happens: “he cured them.” He does not list every detail of each healing. Instead, he summarizes the result. The mute are now speaking, the deformed are made whole, the lame are walking, and the blind are able to see. The order of these healings echoes the hopes of Israel’s prophets. Isaiah had spoken of a time when God would come to his people and “the eyes of the blind” would be opened, “the lame” would leap, and “the tongue of the mute” would sing with joy (cf. Is. 35:5-6). By using similar language, Matthew shows that in Jesus, God is doing what he promised long ago.
The reaction of the crowd is just as important as the healings themselves. Matthew tells us that when the people see what has happened, they “glorified the God of Israel.” The healings lead people to praise the God of Israel. They recognize that the power at work in Jesus does not come from magic or human skill. It comes from the living God who acts through him. For centuries, Israel had lived with the memory that God’s glory had once departed from the temple (cf. 1 Sam. 4:21-22; Ez. 10:18-19; 11:22-23) and with the feeling of being under foreign powers, as if God were far away. God is not far off. In Jesus, God himself is once more in the midst of his people, restoring what is broken and bringing them back to wholeness.
After describing these healings, Matthew turns to another immediate need of the crowd. Jesus calls his disciples and tells them, “My heart is moved with pity for the crowd, for they have been with me now for three days and have nothing to eat.” He adds that he does not want to send them away hungry, because he fears they may collapse on the way. Here we see the compassion of Jesus in a different form. He has already healed their bodies in striking ways. Now he shows concern for something as ordinary as their next meal.
The word translated “my heart is moved with pity” expresses a deep inner stirring. Jesus does not look at the crowd as a burden or a problem to be managed. He sees people who have stayed with him for three days, listening and receiving his help, and he notices that they have nothing to eat. He takes the initiative. He raises the issue before anyone complains. His compassion moves ahead of their request.
The disciples answer from their limited human perspective, looking only at what they have and how impossible the situation seems. They respond, “Where could we ever get enough bread in this deserted place to satisfy such a crowd?” The place is deserted. There are thousands of people. There are no markets nearby. Their words reflect a natural reaction to the size of the need and the limits of their resources. Earlier in the Gospel, Jesus had already fed a large crowd, yet here the disciples still feel the weight of their insufficiency. Matthew lets us hear this response so that the contrast between human limits and divine generosity becomes clear.
Jesus does not argue with them. He simply asks, “How many loaves do you have?” They answer, “Seven, and a few fish.” The amount is small when compared to the size of the crowd. Even so, Jesus begins from what they actually possess. He does not wait until there is enough food by human standards. He takes the little they have and makes it the starting point for what the Father will do. This pattern appears often in Scripture. In the Old Testament, God feeds his people in the wilderness with manna when there is no food at all (Ex. 16). Here, in another deserted place, Jesus is about to provide in a new way.
He orders the crowd to sit down on the ground, like guests settling for a meal. Then Matthew gives us a sequence of actions that is familiar from other key moments in the Gospel: Jesus takes the seven loaves and the fish, gives thanks, breaks the loaves, and gives them to the disciples, who in turn give them to the crowds. These verbs – took, gave thanks, broke, and gave – will appear again at the Last Supper when Jesus takes bread, blesses it, breaks it, and gives it to his disciples. The early Church recognized in this pattern a sign of how Jesus would continue to feed his people in a special way after his death and resurrection.
In this scene, the focus remains on the actual meal in front of them. The disciples act as the link between Jesus and the people. He places the bread and fish into their hands, and they distribute it. The food comes from Jesus, but it reaches the crowd through the disciples’ obedience. This shows how Jesus chooses to work through his followers. He provides the gift; they share what he has given.
Matthew then describes the result in simple, strong words: “They all ate and were satisfied.” No one goes away half-fed or still hungry. Everyone receives enough. When the meal is over, the disciples pick up the fragments that remain and fill seven baskets. At the beginning, there were seven loaves and “a few fish” for thousands of people. At the end, there are seven baskets of leftovers. Many commentators see in the number seven a sign of completeness or fullness. At the very least, the seven baskets show that God’s generosity in Jesus not only meets the immediate need but exceeds it. In a place where there did not seem to be enough, there is now more than they started with.
Matthew notes that those who ate were “four thousand men, not counting women and children.” This brief remark reminds us that the true size of the crowd is even larger. The miracle is not a small, private sign. It touches the lives of a vast number of people. Once the crowd is fed and dismissed, Jesus gets into the boat and goes to the district of Magadan. The scene closes with movement. Jesus does not stay on one mountain or with one group. The compassion and power revealed here go with him as he continues his mission.
For our lives, this passage teaches that Jesus sees both the obvious wounds and the hidden hungers we carry. He does not turn away from the broken or the weak. He invites us, like the crowd, to come to him, to place our needs at his feet, and to trust that even when we stand in a desert place, his generosity does not run dry.
Lord Jesus, you see the weakness of our bodies, the strains of our minds, and the hunger of our hearts. Thank you for your compassion that heals, restores, and provides. Help us to bring our needs to you with trust, and to share with others the gifts you place in our hands. Amen.
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Sources and References:
- The Holy Bible, New American Bible, Revised Edition (2011).
- Bernard Orchard et al., A Catholic Commentary on Holy Scripture (1953).
- Faculty of the University of Navarre, The Navarre Bible: Matthew (Four Courts/Scepter).
- José Enrique Aguilar Chiu et al., eds., The Paulist Biblical Commentary (2018).
- Raymond E. Brown et al., The New Jerome Biblical Commentary (1990).
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