Holy Martyr Callinicus.
Romans 14:6-9; Matthew 15:32-39.
Read Matthew 15:32-39
Glory to Jesus Christ! Glory forever!
Many Christians, including certain number of Biblical scholars, think that the feeding of five thousand people described in Matthew 14:15-21, Mark 6:31-34, John 6:5-14, and the feeding of the four thousand mentioned in Matthew 15:32-39 and Mark 8:1-10, are depicting one and the same event. Yet, there is another scholarly opinion that Jesus performed the miracle of multiplication of fish and bread twice. In the case of five thousand people, “sitting on the green grass” is mentioned (Matt. 14, 19, Mk. 6,39), since the event occurred in spring and took place near the Lake of Galilee. In the case of four thousand, the grass was not mentioned, for people were sitting on the ground, because it was the time of the high summer and the grass was scorched leaving nothing else but bare earth. Not only the time of the year, but also the location and the audience were different. In the case of four thousand people it was no longer Tabgha near Capernaum with the majority of Jewish population, but a place near the ancient Tyre, Sidon, and Decapolis (region of ten Greek towns) inhabited predominantly by the Gentiles (Mk. 7:24; Matt. 15:21). Which is why in Matthew 15:31 it was mentioned that the Gentiles fed by Jesus “glorified the God of Israel.” Also, the name of the baskets which were used to collect the leftovers were different in each of the cases. In the case of the five thousand, the baskets (kophinoi) were typical for Jews flask-shaped and narrow-necked containers not allowing the Jewish food to be mixed with the food touched by the Gentiles, while in the case of the four thousand, the baskets (sphurides) were typical for Gentiles huge hampers intended for a mixture of various foods.
One may say that spiritually it does not really matter how many times Jesus performed the miracle of feeding the hungry. In my personal opinion, it does matter. Jesus ends each of the stages of his three year public ministry with setting a meal before his followers. The feeding of the five thousand took place at the end of his teaching, preaching, and healing ministry in Galilee. The feeding of the four thousand occurred at the end of his brief ministry to the Gentiles living outside of Palestine. Finally, the feeding of the twelve (Last Supper) took place at the very end of the earthly ministry of Jesus. That encourages us in each stage of our lives, even if we feel hungry, unsatisfied, and empty handed, to be ready to receive the living bread that Jesus wants to share with us. As he was ready to give himself to the disciples before moving on to the next stage of His life, he is ready to nourish us satisfying the immortal hunger of our souls and to strengthen us for the coming stages of our lives.