Contexts & Connections #1-24 Matthew 14:13-33 February 24, God s Power

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Feeding of the 5,000 God s Power The Point Great things can be accomplished through faith. Key Verse But immediately Jesus spoke to them and said, Take heart, it is I; do not be afraid.

Accompanying Text O come, let us sing to the LORD; let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation!

In [God s] hand are the depths of the earth; the heights of the mountains are [God s] also. The sea is [God s], for [God] made it, and the dry land, which [God s] hands have formed.

1 Feeding of the 5,000 God s Power The Point Great things can be accomplished through faith. Key Verse But immediately Jesus spoke to them and said, Take heart, it is I; do not be afraid. - Matthew 14:27 Summary In two successive miracles, by feeding a multitude and walking across a stormy sea, Jesus demonstrates that God is at work taking care of God s people. Accompanying Text O come, let us sing to the LORD; let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation! Let us come into [God s] presence with thanksgiving; let us make a joyful noise to [God] with songs of praise! For the LORD is a great God, and a great King above all gods. In [God s] hand are the depths of the earth; the heights of the mountains are [God s] also. The sea is [God s], for [God] made it, and the dry land, which [God s] hands have formed. - Psalm 95:1-5 Contexts Linguistics The word translated as sit down in v. 19 is anaklithémai, the same word that appears in 26:20 at the Last Supper. It implies reclining, as was done at a formal Greco-Roman banquet, reinforcing the connection with the eucharistic meal and the image of Jesus as the kingly host 1 (see Literature/Genre and Authorial Intention/Occasion). Ghost (Gk. phantasma) does not indicate that the disciples believed Jesus was dead. It implies a visible manifestation of him that was not physical. 2 In v. 27, Jesus speaks the name of God, I am (Gk. egó eimi), here translated as it is I. 3 The word translated as doubt in v. 31 (Gk. distazó) implies vacillation, not disbelief. 4 It is the same word that appears in 28: Spirit and Truth Publishing All Rights Reserved 1

2 Geography/Setting The feeding of God s people in a remote/deserted place (Gk. éremon - from éremía, desert) echoes the story of Exodus 16, in which God provided manna for the Israelites as they fled Egypt. The apparent reluctance of the disciples reinforces this connection, since the Israelites also doubted God s ability to provide food for so many in the wilderness. 5 The wilderness and the sea both carry symbolic weight in the Hebrew Bible. While the wilderness is the place where the people of Israel were forged as a nation after their captivity, the sea is a primeval force of chaos from the very first verses of Scripture. The sea represents everything that threatens the good order of creation. 6 Oddly enough, evening comes twice in this passage (vv. 15 & 23), demonstrating that Matthew is less concerned with the concrete and historical details of the story than in what the audience can learn about Jesus through it. 7 History The Epic of Gilgamesh, Homer s Odyssey, Virgil s Aeneid, Apollodorus Bibliotheca, Porphyry s Life of Pythagoras, and several Indian Buddhist texts include stories of walking on water, or more specifically the sea. While water is life-giving, the sea represents chaos and is the realm of demonic forces for ancient peoples. 8 It is only something a deity can do in these stories, symbolic as it is of defeating the powers of chaos represented by the sea. 9 Culture/Religion The 5,000 mentioned in v. 21, and by which this story is most often known, explicitly does not include women and children. This would have been the common way of counting people in a patriarchal society that dismissed both women and children as lesser. However, the fact that the women and children are mentioned also points to the broader appeal of Jesus message. 10 Literature/Genre The feeding of the 5,000 (or multitude) is the only miracle that appears in all four of the Gospels (Mark 6:30-44; Luke 9:12-17; John 6:1-15). 11 Matthew has two versions of the feeding of the multitude, here where 5,000 are fed with five loaves and two fish; and in chapter 15, where 4,000 are fed with seven loaves and a few small fish. The two different feeding stories in Matthew may be meant to depict a feeding first of Jews, then later of Gentiles, since the intervening stories include a reframing of purity laws and the healing of a Gentile girl. 12 The first scene in which Jesus feeds the multitude comes immediately on the heels of another banquet, at which Herod is the host. This sets the two, the worldly king and the true king, in contrast, so that the reader can see where the priorities of these two kingdoms lie. 13 Herod is only interested in power, while Jesus is interested in providing for God s people. This passage gives two miracle stories, back to back. They set Jesus up as, if not divine himself, then at least a mediator of the divine presence. This is summed up by the final verse (33) of the passage, in which the disciples in the boat declare, Truly you are the Son of God. Authorial Intention/Occasion Matthew emphasizes the connections between this meal and the Last Supper, so that this becomes a foreshadowing of the eucharistic meal. When compared with its parallel in Mark 6, this is especially obvious, as Matthew shortens the story, downplays reference to the fish while playing up the bread, and uses almost identical language to the Last Supper passage in Matthew Audience In the biblical tradition, it is only God who can walk on the sea, and it is only God who speaks God s name (see Linguistics, above). Though Matthew does not make the claim here that Jesus is in fact God (since Spirit and Truth Publishing All Rights Reserved 2

3 Jesus has just finished praying to God), there is a clear assertion that Jesus is the one who mediates God s presence for those who trust in him. The church who is receiving this passage is assured that Christ is with them in their difficult and storm-tossed existence. If the sea symbolizes chaos and the forces that defy God (see Setting, above), then Matthew s community, which faced chaos and opposition from the surrounding culture, is assured by this story that Jesus can bring God to them in spite of this. 15 Common Misunderstandings Jesus question in v. 31 is often taken as a rebuke of Peter, so that poor Peter has been the topic of many comments about lack of faith over the centuries. However, the tone of the question is rather softer than that, and implies a typical wavering between fear of the circumstance and courage at the presence of God. This is reinforced by the verse in the Great Commission at the end of Matthew, in which some of the disciples worship and doubt simultaneously. Rather than being a criticism of Peter, it may be seen as a statement on the life of faith, in which both courage and fear are often present. 16 More Information An essay describing the practice of formal banquets in the Greco-Roman world is online at Tabgha, also known as the Church of the Multiplication, or the Church of the Loaves and Fishes, sits on the traditional site of this miracle, on a hill overlooking the Sea of Galilee. Online articles are at and Spirit and Truth Publishing All Rights Reserved 3

4 Connections Narrative Lectionary Connections Last Week (Matthew 13:24 45) Last week, the parables taught about a kingdom that grows to abundance from tiny or hidden things like seeds and yeast. This week, this kingdom appears among the people as enough food and more, feeding 5,000 on just a few loaves and fishes. Next Week (Matthew 16:24 17:8) This week, God s glory is revealed through the miraculous feeding of the masses, and through Jesus walking across the sea to the disciples. Next week, Jesus will be transfigured on a mountaintop, revealing more fully the glory of God, and foreshadowing the full glory that will be revealed in the resurrection. Other Year 1 Connections The chaos of the sea is reminiscent of the flood in Genesis 6 (9/9/2018) and the sea that God leads the people through in Exodus 14 (9/30/2018). At the Last Supper in Matthew 26 (4/18/2019) Jesus is said to have blessed and broken the bread in very similar language. After the resurrection, in Matthew 28, the disciples doubt, as Peter doubts here (4/21/2019). Other Bible Connections In Exodus 16, God provides manna in the wilderness, and all ate and were filled. In 2 Kings 4:42-44, Elisha fed 100 men with 20 loaves. 17 Thematic Connections Guided by God s Promises God has always promised to care for God s people, and in these miracle stories, God does so once again. The disciples, and we who follow Jesus, often find it difficult to believe these promises, especially when faced with hunger or storm. Our fear of the immediate circumstances overwhelms us, but God remains true to the promise, even when we waver. God s Power God s power is bigger than our fear and even our doubt. Our moments of fear and doubt do not deter God or diminish God s power or God s desire for relationship with us. Even as we doubt, God is still working in and through us. Liturgical/Seasonal Connections The most obvious connection to the liturgy in today s text is to the eucharistic meal. Jesus words and actions in feeding the crowds is echoed in the Words of Institution that are used to introduce communion each week. We may also find baptismal imagery in the story of Jesus coming to Peter and the disciples across the water, though (as noted in Geography, above) the text uses the word sea, which has a different connotation. Seasonally, Epiphany is traditionally a season of revelations. As we move from Christmas to Easter, we come to understand more and more, with the original disciples, what it means that God has been born into the world. In both stories today, Jesus takes on our fears head-on, revealing God s care for us by feeding our bodies and calming our minds. Hymns/ Music Bread is a common theme throughout Christian hymnody. A few songs that come from outside the English tradition include When the Poor Ones, and United at the Table. Songs related to the second half of the text include When the Storms of Life are Raging, Precious Lord, Take My Hand, and Lonely the Boat, a hymn from the Asian Christian tradition. Praise songs that draw on themes from today s readings include Banquet by Kendrick Graham, Rushing Waters by Dustin Smith & Michael Farren, and Deep Calls to Deep by Randy Gill Spirit and Truth Publishing All Rights Reserved 4

5 Media Connections The traditional Sacred Harp song Weeping Mary has a verse about Peter sinking. The Word of Mouth Chorus has a version on their album Rivers of Delight (2006). There are several versions available on YouTube, including this lovely one by The Ephemeral Stringband: v=ia23hvbn06a. 1 M. Eugene Boring, The New Interpreter s Bible, vol. 8, ed. Leander E. Keck et al. (Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1996), Aaron M. Gale, Matthew: Introduction and Annotations, in The Jewish Annotated New Testament (New York: Oxford University Press, 2011), Boring, Ibid., Ibid., Ibid., Ibid., Bruce J. Malina and Richard L. Rohrbaugh, Social-Science Commentary on the Synoptic Gospels (Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2003), Boring, Amy-Jill Levine, Gospel of Matthew, in Women s Bible Commentary (Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 2012), Gale, Ibid., Boring, Ibid., Ibid., Ibid., Joe Kapolyo, Matthew, Africa Bible Commentary, ed. Tokunboh Adeyemo (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2010), Spirit and Truth Publishing All Rights Reserved 5

Contexts & Connections #1-20 Matthew 5:1-20 January 27, Learning to Follow. Contexts

Contexts & Connections #1-20 Matthew 5:1-20 January 27, Learning to Follow. Contexts Sermon on the Mount Learning to Follow The Point Jesus teaches us who we are and how to live. Key Verse "Do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets; I have come not to abolish but