What's The Point Of The Feeding Of The 4,000?

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Matthew 15:29-39

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.

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.” 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?” 34 And Jesus said to them, “How many loaves do you have?” They said, “Seven, and a few small fish.” 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. 39 And after sending away the crowds, he got into the boat and went to the region of Magadan.

 
 

Matthew has already told us about the Feeding of the Five Thousand (14:13-21). And here in the very next chapter we are told of Jesus Feeding the Four Thousand. Why?

Remember, context is king. Between the two stories Matthew has given us accounts of Jesus being rejected by Israel—his arguments with the Pharisees—and then bringing healing to a Canaanite woman’s daughter. If you read carefully, the Feeding of the Four Thousand is taking place on the Gentile side of the Sea of Galilee. So, here we see Jesus bringing the abundance of the Kingdom to the nations.

The gospel is for everyone.