Q: In Matthew 15:33, Jesus disciples ask him, Whence should we have so much bread in the wilderness, as to fill so great a multitude? Yet not long before this (in Matthew 14:14-21), Jesus had fed a multitude of 5,000 men and their families! Surely it wouldve occurred to the disciples that Jesus could do the same thing again. Isnt this a pieced-together repetition of two oral versions of the same story?
A: The disciples question, as put in Greek, with the pronoun humin placed emphatically, puts the emphasis on the we, as if to say Where could /we, Your disciples,/ obtain so much bread?. It is not stated in wonderment, but as an inflected suggestion in response to what Jesus says in the previous verse. (Like this: Little John said aloud, "Well, I wonder who could hit the bullseye from this far away. /We/ certainly can't do that. Robin Hood, do you know anyone who could make this shot?".)
As far as the question of a doublet is concerned, it should be noted that not only Matthew but also Mark records two separate feedings of large multitudes, and the kinds of baskets which are used to collect the left-overs are different -- the kofinos for the 5,000 and the larger sfuris for the 4,000. And both are mentioned side-by-side in Mark 8:19-20 and Matthew 16:9-11. And, not only is the size of the crowd different, but also the number of loaves and fishes. The stories are similar: in each case, theres a large crowd, and Jesus feeds the people, starting with a small number of loaves and fishes. But if Jesus did indeed feed a large crowd on two separate occasions, how would the Gospel-writers report both incidents, if not in the way in which they have recorded these two incidents, with the similarities as well as the differences?
It should be noted, too, that the crowd present for the Feeding of the 4,000 seems to include God-fearing Gentiles who came to Jesus for healing. They glorified the God of Israel in Matthew 15:31, which would go without saying were the group entirely Israelites. So, there is a sort of balance at work here -- one feeding and healing-session in predominantly Jewish territory (in Mt. 14:13-21 and 14:34-35), and one healing-session and feeding for a crowd which included God-fearing Gentiles (in Mt. 15:29-38). But theres no impetus to consider this anything other than a feature of Jesus historical itinerary.
Yours in Christ,
Waterrock
A: The disciples question, as put in Greek, with the pronoun humin placed emphatically, puts the emphasis on the we, as if to say Where could /we, Your disciples,/ obtain so much bread?. It is not stated in wonderment, but as an inflected suggestion in response to what Jesus says in the previous verse. (Like this: Little John said aloud, "Well, I wonder who could hit the bullseye from this far away. /We/ certainly can't do that. Robin Hood, do you know anyone who could make this shot?".)
As far as the question of a doublet is concerned, it should be noted that not only Matthew but also Mark records two separate feedings of large multitudes, and the kinds of baskets which are used to collect the left-overs are different -- the kofinos for the 5,000 and the larger sfuris for the 4,000. And both are mentioned side-by-side in Mark 8:19-20 and Matthew 16:9-11. And, not only is the size of the crowd different, but also the number of loaves and fishes. The stories are similar: in each case, theres a large crowd, and Jesus feeds the people, starting with a small number of loaves and fishes. But if Jesus did indeed feed a large crowd on two separate occasions, how would the Gospel-writers report both incidents, if not in the way in which they have recorded these two incidents, with the similarities as well as the differences?
It should be noted, too, that the crowd present for the Feeding of the 4,000 seems to include God-fearing Gentiles who came to Jesus for healing. They glorified the God of Israel in Matthew 15:31, which would go without saying were the group entirely Israelites. So, there is a sort of balance at work here -- one feeding and healing-session in predominantly Jewish territory (in Mt. 14:13-21 and 14:34-35), and one healing-session and feeding for a crowd which included God-fearing Gentiles (in Mt. 15:29-38). But theres no impetus to consider this anything other than a feature of Jesus historical itinerary.
Yours in Christ,
Waterrock
