Luke 9:10–17 This account is also recorded in Matthew
14:13–21; Mark 6:35–44; John 6:1–14 and it is one of only two miracles recorded in
all four Gospels, with the other being the resurrection of Jesus.
In this account, we see this miracle hearkening back to
times in the Old Testament that YHWH fed His people miraculously. Jesus is the
prophet greater than Moses (Deuteronomy 18:15–22),
who fed His people in the wilderness (Luke 9:12) with meat and manna (Exodus 16:1-36).
Elisha foreshadows Jesus feeding the five thousand when YHWH
provided twenty barley loaves and grain (2 Kings 4:42–44) to feed one hundred men, and
they too had food left over (Luke 9:17)! These miraculous interventions by
YHWH in the Old Testament foreshadowed YHWH in flesh, Jesus the Christ who
would come visit His people (Luke 1:68) and feed them with the everlasting
Bread of Life (John
6:35; John 6:48). It is interesting to point out that Manna is called “bread from
heaven” in Exodus 16:4.
01. Report and Retreat (Luke 9:10-11)
Luke 9:10 The apostles returned from their missionary
journey throughout the Galilee (Luke
9:1-9 | Hear is the News) and they “told Him all that they had done.”
Luke 9:10 “told” in
the Greek (G1334) διηγήσαντο diēgēsanto written in the First aorist middle of διηγεομαι [diēgeomai], meaning to carry a narrative through to the
end. Jesus listened to all[1] that
they had done. So He took them to a place outside of Bethsaida to rest from
their time preaching “the kingdom of God.”
(Luke 9:2) The exact location of
Bethsaida is unknown, but its name means “House of Fish”, which means it was
probably located on the Sea of Galilee. Bethsaida was the hometown of Peter and
Andrew (John
1:44), Philip (John 12:21) and possibly Nathanael (John 1:45).
Luke 9:11 John tells us that the crowds followed Jesus “because they saw His signs which He performed on those
who were diseased” (John 6:2)
and that some wanted to make Him king (John 6:15)
for He could provide healing and food!
Luke 9:11 “spoke” in
the Greek (G2980) ἐλάλει (elalei) is written in the Imperfect active with the
indirect object “about the kingdom of God”
indicating that Jesus continued speaking[2]
prophetically (cf. Luke 9:22). In Luke 24:6 the women were asked
to “Remember how He spoke to you when He was
still in Galilee” when Jesus spoke about the Kingdom of God, His
death and resurrection.
Luke 9:11 “healed” in
the Greek (G2390) ἰᾶτο iāto is written in Imperfect middle, which means that He
continued healing.[3]
02. The Discussion (Luke 9:12-15)
Luke 9:12 “When the day began to
wear away, the twelve came and said to Him, “Send the multitude away, that they
may go into the surrounding towns and country, and lodge and get provisions…”” As
the day continued on, the twelve apostles wanted to send the people away so
they could find a place to stay the night and eat some food. Some speculate
that this means that most of these people were not from Bethsaida, and if they
were they could have returned to their own homes.[4]
Luke 9:12 “for we are in a
deserted place here.” This should cause us to again be reminded of how YHWH His
people in the wilderness with meat and manna in Exodus 16:1-36.
Luke 9:13 “But He said to them,
“You give them something to eat.”” We read in John’s account that “Then Jesus
lifted up His eyes, and seeing a great multitude coming toward Him, He said to
Philip, “Where shall we buy bread, that these may eat?”
But this He said to test him, for He Himself knew what He would do.” (John
6:5–6) Why did Jesus test Philip? Remember,
Philip was from Bethsaida (John 12:21) and he would know where they could
get food if it was available for this size of crowd. Its much like when you are
with a friend in the city where they were from, and you ask them, “Where is a
good place to eat?” Jesus knew that
there was not enough food in Bethsaida and its surrounding region, and that
with man; it would be impossible to feed the crowd.
We then read that Philip answered Jesus by saying, “Two hundred denarii worth of bread is not sufficient for
them, that every one of them may have a little.” (John 6:7) What Philip said is that almost a
year’s worth of wages could not feed this many people even a tiny amount!
Luke 9:13 “And they said, “We
have no more than five loaves and two fish, unless we go and buy food for all
these people.”” John tells us that it was Andrew, Peter’s brother
who brought the boy with the “five barley loaves
and two small fish” (John 6:8–9).
Luke 9:13 “five loaves and two
fish” Throughout the Old Testament, bread is obviously an essential
part of nourishment, but it is also a picture of spiritual food provided by God
for His people (cf. Deuteronomy 8:3; Proverbs 9:1–6; Isaiah 55:1–3).
In the Synoptic Gospels, they all use the Greek word for
fish, (G2486) ἰχθύες ichthys. This is the same word that early Christians used
as an acronym to remember who Jesus is: Jesus
(Ἰησου̂ς) Christ (Χριστός) God’s (Θεου̂) Son (Υἱός) Savior (Σωτήρ).
This should remind us of the Ethiopian Eunuch’s confession in Acts 8:37.
Luke 9:14 “For there were about
five thousand men.” Matthew records that “those
who had eaten were about five thousand men, besides women and children.”
(Matthew 14:21) Depending on what
commentary you read, there are estimates that there were ten thousand to
twenty-five thousand people, counting women and children!
Luke 9:14 “Then He said to His
disciples, “Make them sit down in groups of
fifty.”” The phrase “sit down” in the Greek (G2625) is the verb
Κατακλίνατε and it is written in the aorist, active, imperative, second person,
plural of κατακλίνω
kataklinō, kat-ak-lee´-no. This word literally means to recline down,[5] the
common eating position of the day (Luke
7:36-50). This was probably done so that it would be easier to disperse the
food and feed them if they were all divided into groups.
Luke 9:15 We know form John’s account (John 6:4)
that this happened in the springtime, just before Passover.
03. Blessing the
Food (Luke 9:16-17)
Luke 9:16 Luke
describes five actions that were typical in the way that all Jewish meals would
begin. The taking and looking up, the blessing, breaking and giving out.
Luke 9:16 “looking up to heaven”
in the Greek (G308) is ἀναβλέψας
and it means to direct one’s vision
upward, look up, lit. ἀ.
εἰς τὸν οὐρανόν look up to heaven.[6] This was
how the Jew would pray, with eyes open looking up to God.
Luke 9:16 “He blessed”
Blessing the food was the opening prayer of the Jewish meal, recognizing that
the food is a gift from YHWH.
Luke 9:16 “broke them”
or to
break in pieces,[7]and
the Greek implies that this was a single act.[8]
Luke 9:16 “and gave them”
is written in the Imperfect active which means that Jesus kept on giving the
apostles the food.[9] Jesus
is the source, for He is the Bread of Life (John 6:35; John 6:48) and the job of the twelve
was to distribute the food. Jesus kept giving out the bread ex nihilo (Latin for “out of nothing”)
in the same power that He used to create the heavens and the earth from nothing
(Genesis
1:1-31; John 1:3; Colossians
1:16; Hebrews 1:2).
Luke 9:17 “So they all ate and
were filled” in the Greek (G5526 ἐχορτάσθησαν) literally means to be
satisfied.[10] When YHWH
fed the children of Israel manna (Exodus 16:4–36),
they were only allowed to gather enough for each day, and any leftovers would
rot, showing their dependence of YHWH to provide for them (cf. Luke 11:3). Now,
when YHWH came in the flesh, He feeds His people full with satisfaction.
[1] Robertson, A. T. (1933). Word Pictures in the New Testament (Lk 9:10). Nashville, TN:
Broadman Press.
[2] Robertson, A. T. (1933). Word Pictures in the New Testament (Lk 9:11). Nashville, TN:
Broadman Press.
[3] Robertson, A. T. (1933). Word Pictures in the New Testament (Lk 9:11). Nashville, TN:
Broadman Press.
[4] Martin, J. A. (1985). Luke. In J. F. Walvoord & R.
B. Zuck (Eds.), The Bible Knowledge
Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures (Vol. 2, p. 229). Wheaton, IL:
Victor Books.
[5] Strong, J. (2009). A
Concise Dictionary of the Words in the Greek Testament and The Hebrew Bible
(Vol. 1, p. 40). Bellingham, WA: Logos Bible Software.
[6] Arndt, W., Danker, F. W., & Bauer, W. (2000). A Greek-English lexicon of the New Testament
and other early Christian literature (3rd ed., p. 59). Chicago: University
of Chicago Press.
[7] Arndt, W., Danker, F. W., & Bauer, W. (2000). A Greek-English lexicon of the New Testament
and other early Christian literature (3rd ed., p. 518). Chicago: University
of Chicago Press.
[8] Robertson, A. T. (1933). Word Pictures in the New Testament (Lk 9:16). Nashville, TN:
Broadman Press.
[9] Robertson, A. T. (1933). Word Pictures in the New Testament (Lk 9:16). Nashville, TN:
Broadman Press.
[10] Strong, J. (2009). A
Concise Dictionary of the Words in the Greek Testament and The Hebrew Bible
(Vol. 1, p. 78). Bellingham, WA: Logos Bible Software.
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