Similarities and Differences in Feeding of 5000 Stories

Rev. Margaret Minnicks is an ordained Bible teacher. She writes many articles that are Bible lessons.

Many people who read the Bible overlook the fact that there are two feeding narratives in the four gospels. One was the feeding of the five thousand in Jewish territory, and the other was the feeding of the four thousand in Gentile territory.

Not only do people fail to realize there are two feeding stories in the gospels, but they also don't realize that the four gospel writers reported the events differently. They wrote for their particular audience. When we read all the reports from the gospel writers, we must keep the stories separate and pay attention to who reported them.

The one that is the most familiar is the feeding of the five thousand. We do the gospel writers a disservice when we mix and match the stories instead of keeping them separate. That is the goal of this article.

Feeding of the Five Thousand

Each gospel writer recorded the feeding of the five thousand first before the feeding of the four thousand.

• Matthew 14:13-21
• Mark 6:30-44
• Luke 9:10-17
• John 6:1-24

It is easy to remember what took place during this miracle. Just remember the number five.

• Jesus fed the five thousand with five loaves of bread and two small fish.
• This miracle took place in Jewish territory which is reminiscent of the Pentateuch which consists of the first five books of the Bible (Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy).
• Twelve baskets of fragments were collected. This is paralleled to twelve tribes of Israel.

Remembering five and twelve will help you remember this miracle and keep you from getting it confused with the four thousand that Matthew and Mark also recorded.

While the Bible says five thousand were fed, there were many more. Only the men were counted. There were five thousand besides women and children (Matthew 14:21).

Feeding of the Five Thousand According to the Gospels

The accounts about the feeding of the five thousand are told by all four gospel writers. This is the first of the feeding miracles, and it happened in Jewish territory.

Matthew

Matthew's focuses more on Jesus, the feeder, than on the food. This gospel writer says there were five thousand men besides women and children (Matthew 14:21).

Mark

Mark's gospel is the shortest of the gospel. However, it is interesting that his feeding stories are more detailed and longer than the other writers' stories. Mark focuses more on the food than on the feeder.

Jesus directed the disciples to have all the people sit down in groups on the green grass in groups of hundreds and fifties. After breaking and blessing the five loaves and two fish, He gave them to His disciples to distribute to the people. After they all ate, the disciples picked up twelve basketfuls of broken pieces of bread and fish.

Luke

Jesus told the disciples to have the people sit down in groups of about fifty each. Jesus blessed the five loaves and the two fish and gave thanks for them. Then He gave them to the disciples to distribute to the people. After everyone had eaten, the disciples picked up twelve basketfuls of broken pieces that were left over.

John

Only John mentions the little boy and his lunch that consisted of five barley loaves and two fish (John 6:8-9). Jesus directs the people to sit down in green pastures. After everyone had eaten, Jesus tells His disciples to gather the remaining fragments that filled twelve baskets (John 6:12-13).

Feeding of Five Thousand

Gospel Writer	Items Used	Baskets Left of Fragments	Instructions
Matthew	5 barley loaves, 2 fish	12 basketful	sit down on grass
Mark	5 barley loaves, 2 fish	12 basketful	sit down on green grass in groups of 100 or 50
Luke	5 barley loaves, 2 fish	12 basketful	sit down on grass in groups of 50
John	5 barley loaves, 2 fish that were the little boy's lunch	12 basketful	sit down on grass

Feeding of the Four Thousand

Luke and John did not record the feeding of the four thousand that took place in Gentile territory. That's strange because Luke is the only Gentile writer of the Bible.

• Matthew 15:29-39
• Mark 8:1-9

It is easy to remember what took place during this miracle. Just remember the number seven.

• Seven loaves were used.
• Seven baskets of fragments were collected.
• The number seven is symbolic of completeness which is representative of all humanity and not just the Jews.

Jesus told the crowd to sit down on the ground. Then He took the seven loaves and the fish, and when He had given thanks, He broke them and gave them to the disciples to give to the waiting crowd. After they had eaten and were satisfied, the disciples picked up seven basketfuls of broken pieces that were left over. The number of those who ate was four thousand men, besides women and children.

Feeding of the Four Thousand

Gospel Writer	Items Used	Fragments Left Over	Instructions
Matthew	Seven loaves and a few small fish	Seven basketful	Sit on the ground
Mark	Seven loaves and a few small fish	Seven basketful	Sit on the ground

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Source: https://letterpile.com/religion/Feeding-of-the-Four-Thousand-and-Feeding-of-the-Five-Thousand-Compared

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