Miracles in Decapolis - The Ten Towns
Mat 15:29 Again, moving thence, Jesus went along by the Lake of Galilee; and ascending the hill, He sat down there.
Mat 15:30 Soon great crowds came to Him, bringing with them those who were crippled in feet or hands, blind or dumb, and many besides, and they hastened to lay them at His feet. And He cured them,
Mat 15:31 so that the people were amazed to see the dumb speaking, the maimed with their hands perfect, the lame walking, and the blind seeing; and they gave the glory to the God of Israel.
Mat 15:32 But Jesus called His disciples to Him and said, "My heart yearns over this mass of people, for it is now the third day that they have been with me and they have nothing to eat. I am unwilling to send them away hungry, lest they should faint on the road."
Mat 15:33 "Where can we," asked the disciples, "get bread enough in this remote place to satisfy so vast a multitude?"
Mat 15:34 "How many loaves have you?" Jesus asked. "Seven," they said, "and a few small fish."
Mat 15:35 So He bade all the people sit down on the ground,
Mat 15:36 and He took the seven loaves and the fish, and after giving thanks He broke them up and then distributed them to the disciples, and they to the people.
Mat 15:37 And they all ate and were satisfied. The broken portions that remained over they took up--seven full hampers.
Mat 15:38 Those who ate were 4,000 adult men, without reckoning women and children.
Mat 15:39 He then dismissed the people, went on board the boat, and came into the district of Magadan.
Introduction.
After an amazing description of the great crowds coming to Him and He cures all of them of the various diseases and the People were Glorifying the God of Israel, Jesus is shown to be full of compassion for them and concerned that they have not eaten. Our Lord is concerned about every facet of our lives.
Then we have the description of the Feeding of the Four Thousand. The skeptic will say that this is just a repeat of what happened when he fed the five thousand. But here the details are different in many ways which Matthew makes clear. Compare Matthew 14:13-21
With the five thousand, they had five loaves and two fish here they have seven loaves and a few small fish.
With the five thousand they sat down on the green grass (Mk 6:39) here they are on the ground meaning they are in a dry season or it is summer as they get their rains in Winter and Autumn.
Here they take up seven baskets of leftovers while in the previous incident there had been twelve.
Here the word for ‘Basket’ is different from that used in the first miraculous feeding.
Here they have been with Jesus for three days while in the other incident they had followed Jesus around the Lake.. See Matthew 14:13-15
The Feeding of the Five thousand is in all four Gospels while this feeding is only in Matthew and Mark. Compare L.Morris p.406
Comments
Mat 15:29 Again, moving thence, Jesus went along by the Lake of Galilee; and ascending the hill, He sat down there.
Notes
moving thence, Jesus went along by the Lake of Galilee;
We do not know from Matthew where along the shore of the Sea of Galilee Jesus was - the Eastern or Western shore. However Mark tells they were in the Region of Decapolis.
Hippo-Sussita with Sea of Galilee in the Background
See Mark 7:31
Mar 7:31 Returning . One of the ten Townsfrom the neighbourhood of Tyre, He came by way of Sidon to the Lake of Galilee, passing through the district of the Ten Towns. [Decapolis]
Mat 15:30 Soon great crowds came to Him, bringing with them those who were crippled in feet or hands, blind or dumb, and many besides, and they hastened to lay them at His feet. And He cured them,
Mat 15:31 so that the people were amazed to see the dumb speaking, the maimed with their hands perfect, the lame walking, and the blind seeing; and they gave the glory to the God of Israel.
Notes
Jesus healing the sick
Looking towards Decapolis from the Sea of Galilee.
[The Decapolis: An Historical-Archaeological Survey By Arthur Segal]
It would have been in this area where Jesus was ministering to the sick. Remember He had come with His disciples a long way from Tyre and Sidon where He had delivered the Daughter of the Canaanite woman.
The Amazing miracles in Decapolis.
v. 31 “the people were amazed to see the dumb speaking, the maimed with their hands perfect, the lame walking, and the blind seeing; and they gave the glory to the God of Israel.”
These people were just amazed or astonished to see so many different infirmed and suffering people being healed. The crowds were there from all around the region. Excitement was in the air. Every family was being touched by the Miraculous Hand of Jesus and they gave glory to the God of Israel.
| The BLIND receive their SIGHT |
The Compassionate Saviour
Mat 15:32 But Jesus called His disciples to Him and said, "My heart yearns over this mass of people, for it is now the third day that they have been with me and they have nothing to eat. I am unwilling to send them away hungry, lest they should faint on the road."
Notes
said, "My heart yearns over this mass of people, for it is now the third day that they have been with me and they have nothing to eat.
Jesus summoned His disciples to Him. He wanted to include them in His Concern. They ahd already seen Him feed the five thousand yet they are still just reasoning with their human faculties. How astonishingly like us they were. The Miracle worker was there with them and they still didnt get it. See the next verse.
"My heart yearns over this mass of people, …...
Have Compassion and Pity G4697 σπλαγχνίζομαι splagchnizomai
Thayer Definition: 1) to be moved as to one’s bowels, hence to be moved with compassion, have compassion (for the bowels were thought to be the seat of love and pity) Part of Speech: verb
Mat 15:33 "Where can we," asked the disciples, "get bread enough in this remote place to satisfy so vast a multitude?"
Notes
The disciples concentrated merely on the supply of the food asking where in such a remote place they would get enough to feed such a huge crowd. Clearly the crowd was so large and the food supply so small. Jesus confronted them with an impossible situation. This is just where He shines.
Mat 15:34 "How many loaves have you?" Jesus asked. "Seven," they said, "and a few small fish."
Notes:
Jesus looks at the resources at hand and asks, “How many Loaves have you ?”
They seem to have found out the possibilities because they answered straight away. “Seven and a few small fish”.
Mat 15:35 So He bade all the people sit down on the ground,
Notes
Jesus took charge of the Situation and commanded the people to sit down on the ground.
You need to get ready for a Miracle. Jesus knew what he would do and prepared the people.
Mat 15:36 and He took the seven loaves and the fish, and after giving thanks He broke them up and then distributed them to the disciples, and they to the people.
Notes
Here is a verse very similar to what Matthew wrote for the Feeding of the Five thousand .Mat_14:19 and He told all the people to sit down on the grass. Then He took the five loaves and the two fish, and after looking up to heaven and blessing them, He broke up the loaves and gave them to the disciples, and the disciples distributed them to the people.
Notice the Order.
- He took the Loaves……. He accepted what was there.. the human resources
- He gave Thanks. He bless them them with heaven's blessing.
- He broke the loaves. Broken Bread… symbolic as to what he did on Calvary.
- Then He distributed to the Disciples. Multiplication takes place and the people are all fed and satisfied. Notes from a sermon by Pastor Bruce Uren from New Zealand Many years ago.
Mat 15:37 And they all ate and were satisfied. The broken portions that remained over they took up--seven full hampers.
Notes
Jesus provided for everyone. they all ate and were satisfied. This was not just some little snack to see them through. This was a real meal for everyone. Jesus does not do things in half measures. They were all satisfied. WOW. AMAZING
Mat 15:38 Those who ate were 4,000 adult men, without reckoning women and children.
Mat 15:39 He then dismissed the people, went on board the boat, and came into the district of Magadan.
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