Matthew 15:29-16:12 – More Bread, Jonah, and Bad Leaven

Two times Jesus miraculously multiplied small amounts of bread and fish to feed a large number of people. While our focus will be directed toward the second miracle (Matt. 15:32-39), some important points need to be made by way of comparison to the first (Matt. 14:13-21).

The first miracle occurred after Jesus had been seeking solitude due to the passing of John the Baptist, while the second miracle occurred on a fairly normal day. Instead of seeking solitude during the second miracle, Jesus seems to be welcoming the crowds into his presence. Matthew writes,

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.

Matthew 15:29-31

When Jesus performed the first miracle, he was still in the throes of struggling with the death of his cousin John, but this did not keep him from healing the people who had followed him; doing the will of the Father did not depend on his emotional status. Jesus was apparently in a much better emotional state when he performed the second miracle of multiplying the bread and fish, but the result was the same: the people were fed. Jesus didn’t, during the first miracle, pull an excuse out of his pocket and say “I’m having a bad day.” When it came to helping others Jesus put others’ needs before his own. Or, to make it a bit more personal us, when we seek the Father’s daily bread we can always expect that he will provide; there is no such thing as God having a bad day. But it shouldn’t stop there. We are Jesus’s hands and feet on earth here and now and, as his representatives, we should strive to emulate his example. Just as we expect the Father to always supply us with his daily bread, we should always be prepared, no matter how we feel, to be grateful and reliable conduits of His daily bread to others.

The next point of comparison between the two miracles appears in Matthew’s next words. He writes,

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.”

Matthew 15:32

In the first miracle, Jesus’s compassion for the crowds led to him healing the sick (Matt. 14:14), but, in the second miracle, Jesus’s compassion rises up after he heals everyone and when he saw the hunger of the crowds (Matt. 15:32). This second miracle occurred after Jesus witnessed a Canaanite woman’s great faith (Matt. 15:21-28). It is not hard to imagine that Jesus, filled with great joy after seeing the woman’s display of faith, had compassion on the crowd when he saw the sacrifice they had made in coming to him and how it translated into their hunger. He was unwilling to allow them to leave his side before their hunger was met. Jesus never said “suck it up” or “deal with it” to those who were sick or hungry. His compassionate hand touches us when we are sick, when we are hungry, when we are embroiled in sin, or when we need his hand to keep us from temptation. Jesus, the Father’s daily bread is always in the Father’s open hand awaiting our grasp.

The next notable point of distinction between the two miracles is found in who brings up the fact that the crowds were without food. In the first miracle, the disciples were the ones to say there wasn’t enough food to feed the crowds (Matt. 14:15). But in the second miracle, Jesus was the one who brings up the fact that the people were hungry. Remember, in the first miracle, the disciples had enough food for themselves — they had five loaves and two fish — but they had to be told by Jesus to give their food away (Matt. 14:16-19). In the second miracle, however, instead of telling Jesus that they don’t have enough, they simply ask Jesus where he thinks they will get enough food to feed them. Matthew writes,

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?”

Matthew 15:33

I find the disciples’ question sadly humorous. Why are they wondering about where to get enough food to feed the crowd? Hadn’t they already seen Jesus take a small amount of food and feed 5,000 people? Don’t you think, instead of asking where to get the food, they should have just asked Jesus how many baskets to prepare for the leftovers? I realize it’s probably not right to judge them on this point; most of us would probably have done the same thing. Faced with a large crowd of hungry people, I’m pretty sure I would have been secretly thankful for the little bit of food hidden away in my pocket when I asked Jesus how he wanted to handle feeding the other people. But Jesus sees through their question and goes straight to the heart of the matter when he replied. Matthew writes,

34 And Jesus said to them, “How many loaves do you have?” They said, “Seven, and a few small fish.”

Matthew 15:34

In the first miracle, the disciples immediately told Jesus the amount of food they had (Matt. 14:16-17), but in this second miracle, Jesus had to pry it out of them. I wonder if the disciples didn’t let Jesus know what food they had because they knew Jesus might take it from them. If so, it’s possible that when Jesus asked his question, he did it to show the disciples where their true intentions lay. Even though their initial question seemed to make it appear as though they were worried about the needs of the masses, the fact that they didn’t immediately offer their own food seems to indicate they still were worried about themselves.

This point is, I believe, necessary to accept if we are to understand the result of these two miracles. After the first miracle, there were 12 baskets left over — one for each disciple — an indication that Jesus wanted his followers to know that no matter how much they gave away there would still be enough for them. But the result of the second miracle is a little different. Matthew writes,

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.

Matthew 15:35-38

I must admit the possibility that the number of baskets remaining is meaningless. Numbers in the Bible are often just numbers, but there are times when numbers actually convey meaning. In these two miracles, I believe the numbers do convey meaning. The first miracle had one basket for each disciple as if Jesus were saying, “I’ll always provide for each of you.” The second miracle had 7 baskets, but we probably shouldn’t conclude that Jesus didn’t like 5 of the disciples. The number 7 in scripture nearly always represents perfection or completion, the most obvious example being the 7 days of creation. With this in mind, when the excess of this second miracle filled 7 baskets, it seems that Jesus was saying to his disciples, “My bread, the bread from the Father’s hand, is enough (perfectly complete) for everyone.” These two miracles show that Jesus, the bread of heaven, supplies every need of his followers (12 baskets), and he perfectly and completely supplies every need of any who seeks him (7 baskets).

Once the excess is gathered and counted, Matthew writes,

39 And after sending away the crowds, he got into the boat and went to the region of Magadan.

Matthew 15:39

Following the first miracle, Jesus retreated into solitude so as to be fed by his Father in the wake of the death of John the Baptist, but following this second miracle, Jesus continues preaching and teaching the kingdom of heaven. There is no formula for how our days might go when we follow the will of the Father: some days may find us in the depths of despair, loneliness, and pain, while other days might find us filled with joy. Regardless of which sort of day in which we find ourselves, there are three constants: 1) we need the Father’s daily bread daily, 2) the Father’s supply of daily bread is ours whenever we ask for it, and 3) the Father wants to use us to feed others.

Following this second miracle, Jesus continued his work and arrives in the region of Magadan ahead of his disciples (Matt. 16:5). Then, after landing, he encounters the Pharisees. Matthew writes,

1 And the Pharisees and Sadducees came, and to test him they asked him to show them a sign from heaven. 2 He answered them, “When it is evening, you say, ‘It will be fair weather, for the sky is red.’ 3 And in the morning, ‘It will be stormy today, for the sky is red and threatening.’ You know how to interpret the appearance of the sky, but you cannot interpret the signs of the times. 4 An evil and adulterous generation seeks for a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of Jonah.” So he left them and departed.

Matthew 16:1-4

The Pharisees and Sadducees were the stewards of the laws and traditions and, as such, knew more about scripture than the average Israelite. They read it, they studied it, they memorized it; there was nothing about the scriptures they did not know. Yet, when confronted with the true and living bread from heaven, the very Son of God, they rejected him. They had the very words of God, but they wanted something more. Since they were unwilling to accept the Father’s present daily bread, there was nothing left for them but judgment.

I have often been told that the sign of Jonah points to the three days of Jesus’s death and resurrection, but I think it may also point to Jonah’s rejection of God’s compassion. Jonah had been sent to a sinful nation with the word of the Lord, but Jonah was unhappy with God’s show of compassion, so he pouted. Jonah wanted the Ninevites to pay for their sins. It seems that this sounds a little bit like the Pharisees and Sadducees too. They were in charge of God’s laws and man’s traditions and thought there should be no compassion for those who broke them. But when Jesus showed compassion, forgave others of their sins, and healed the sick, the Pharisees and Sadducees seem to pout and want to get rid of him. They wanted God’s judgment to be handed out to all deserving of it.

But that’s not the only point of comparison to be made between Jonah and the Pharisees and Sadducees. Even though Jonah was given a vine to rest under, he still complained about God’s compassion. He even complained when God took away the vine that God had provided. Interestingly enough, that is how the book of Jonah ends: Jonah is upset that God would show compassion to the Ninevites.

It is worth contemplating that prior to Jesus feeding the 4,000, Jesus healed a Canaanite woman, and then after feeding the 4,000 we read of the Pharisees and they are told of Jonah who went to Nineveh. The Ninevites were descendants of Cush, the son of Ham, and the Canaanites were their cousins as they were descendants of Canaan, the son of Ham. The line of Ham is nearly always the antagonist in the history of Israel, and when Matthew places these two nations on either side of Jesus’s feeding of the 4,000, it seems possible that he is connecting the final plight of Jonah with the current state of the Pharisees and Sadducees. Just as the book of Jonah ends with Jonah’s anger about God’s compassion and being unprotected from the sun’s heat, so also do we find the Pharisees and Sadducees upset at Jesus, the bread of heaven, who compassionately meets the needs of everyone, leaving them unprotected from the Father’s judgment.

It is with this state of the Pharisees in mind that Matthew writes the following,

5 When the disciples reached the other side, they had forgotten to bring any bread. 6 Jesus said to them, “Watch and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees.”

Matthew 16:5-6

Sometimes I think the disciples are keystone cops, bungling their way through their life with Jesus. After coming from the far side of the lake where Jesus had miraculously multiplied bread for a second time, Jesus begins talking about the Pharisees and Sadducees. Granted, the disciples weren’t aware of Jesus’s most recent conversation with the Pharisees and Sadducees, but even so, this does seem like an odd way to greet the disciples. I mean, when was the last time the Pharisees or Sadducees gave the disciples any bread? Instead of taking the time to understand what Jesus was saying, they…well, just read what Matthew writes:

7 And they began discussing it among themselves, saying, “We brought no bread.”

Matthew 16:7

They started discussing their lack of bread. If I’m not mistaken, they just left the other side of the lake where there were 7 baskets of food remaining. Maybe they ate it all on the way over or maybe they left it with the crowds, I don’t know. But in either case, they had no clue what Jesus was talking about. To clarify his point to his ignorant disciples, Jesus responded this way:

8 But Jesus, aware of this, said, “O you of little faith, why are you discussing among yourselves the fact that you have no bread? 9 Do you not yet perceive? Do you not remember the five loaves for the five thousand, and how many baskets you gathered? 10 Or the seven loaves for the four thousand, and how many baskets you gathered? 11 How is it that you fail to understand that I did not speak about bread? Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees.” 12 Then they understood that he did not tell them to beware of the leaven of bread, but of the teaching of the Pharisees and Sadducees.

Matthew 16:8-12

Jesus was not talking about the 7 baskets of food or the bread they ate that morning. He was not even talking about the manna that came down from heaven in the Old Testament. Jesus was talking about spiritual food. He was warning the disciples that any food from the Pharisees and Sadducees would not sustain their lives. For that, they need real bread from heaven; they need Jesus.

The prayer, “Give us this day our daily bread,” is not just a prayer for the right food, it is also a prayer that we do not eat the wrong food. There is false and moldy bread available which we can eat if we are not careful; the spiritual leaders during Jesus’s time offered such bread. Their teachings, regulations, traditions, and expectations led their followers into unhealthy lives. The bread they offered did not draw people closer to the Father; it pushed them further away. In one of my favorite passages of scripture, Jesus says to the Pharisees,

You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness about me, 40 yet you refuse to come to me that you may have life.

John 5:39-40

The Pharisees preferred bread of their own making. But they were blind and unable to see that such bread would not give them life. Only the bread of heaven, Jesus, can give life to humanity. But sadly the Pharisees had leavened the bread from heaven with their own teaching, thus making it no longer life-giving to themselves or to others.

Even though we don’t literally have the Pharisees and Sadducees running around right now, we have many sources of stale leaven. In general, anything that does not come from God is potentially improperly leavened. Specifically, and you might not like this, but I think we need to consider putting down the majority of the religious books we are reading. I think we should also consider turning off the podcasts and stop reading memes, tik-toks, Instagrams, and other social media from which we hope to garner some spiritual food for the day. Even though we might be able to find a few crumbs of good bread mixed in there, the real bread from heaven comes from the Word of God: the Bible. That is where our daily feast should come from each day.

The prayer, “Give us this day our daily bread,” is a prayer, at the very least, that we would trust God to amply feed us both materially and spiritually with the good bread from heaven; it is a prayer that the Father would guide us to discern the differences between poorly leavened bread and bread from heaven; and it is a prayer to give us the strength to reject any bread made with bad leaven, even if we have become addicted to it.

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