17. Nothing Lost
Those who try to find errors in the Bible sometimes claim that similar-sounding stories – such as the miracles of the feeding of the five thousand and of the feeding of four thousand by Jesus – are examples of varying traditions where no one knew exactly what had happened. But the two stories of the miracles of feeding the crowds provide a good example of the fallacy in such thinking and how it completely misses the underlying message the Bible is giving us.
The "feeding of the five thousand" is mentioned in all four gospels (Matthew 14:13-21; Mark 6:31-44; Luke 9:10-17; and John 6:5-15). The story tells us that Jesus fed the hungry crowd that followed him by dividing five loaves of bread and two fish. After the miraculous feeding was completed, it is recorded that the disciples collected twelve baskets full of broken pieces that were left over. The "feeding of the four thousand" is recounted in the gospels of Mark and Matthew (Matthew 15:32-38 and Mark 8:1-9) and tells us that seven loaves and several fish were divided among a crowd. After this miracle the disciples picked up seven basketfuls of broken pieces that were left over.
Those who claim these are garbled accounts of the same story miss an essential piece of information. Mark and John tell us that the first miracle occurred on the western – Jewish – side of the Sea of Galilee and that Jesus and the disciples then crossed over to the eastern – Gentile – side of Galilee where the second miracle was performed. The Other Side of the Sea The people of the primarily Gentile Decapolis on the eastern side of the Sea of Galilee were notorious to the Jews for their pagan beliefs and practices (Mark 5:11; etc.). It is clear, for example, that these people kept swine (Mark 5:13) and doubtless ate and sacrificed them – both abominations in biblical Jewish culture (see Isaiah 65:3-4; 66:3). Both the Jewish Talmud and some of the Christian church fathers record the tradition that the pagan inhabitants of that area were believed to be the descendants of the seven ancient Canaanite nations driven out of the Promised Land in the time of Joshua (Joshua 3:10; Acts 13:19). Nevertheless, Matthew and Mark both make it clear that Jesus went to these people, preached to them and compassionately healed their sick. His miracles on Galilee's far side show God's desire to also include the people of that region in his outreaching mercy.
Just as we are told that twelve baskets of leftover food were picked up on the western side of Galilee (doubtless suggesting the spiritual food available for all the twelve tribes of Israel), so seven baskets of food were picked up on the eastern side of Galilee (doubtless symbolizing the seven groups of people of the Gentile Decapolis). So a careful reading of the gospel narratives shows that the details of the two similar miracles were likely not garbled, but completely meaningful in what they individually symbolized.
We can perhaps find a lesson of great personal value in these stories also. In his account of the feeding of the five thousand with the bread and fish, the apostle John tells us:
Jesus then took the loaves, gave thanks, and distributed to those who were seated as much as they wanted. He did the same with the fish. When they had all had enough to eat, he said to his disciples, "Gather the pieces that are left over. Let nothing be wasted." So they gathered them and filled twelve baskets with the pieces of the five barley loaves left over by those who had eaten (John 6:11-13). Notice also that Christ's command to gather up the remaining pieces of bread included the careful instruction "let nothing be wasted" or, as we might say today "don't lose any of it!" Clearly, there was no shortage of food, so the stress on not losing any of the fragments of food must have had another reason behind it. In fact, soon afterward Jesus began to teach the people a spiritual lesson based on what they had seen in the miraculous feeding.
Jesus said to them, "I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst. But I said to you that you have seen me and yet do not believe… All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never cast out… And this is the will of him who sent me, that I should lose nothing of all that he has given me, but raise it up on the last day" (John 6:35-39 ESV, emphasis added).
Living Lessons First, Christ stressed that he is the Bread of Life and that those in him become, as it were, pieces or crumbs of that same bread. But while Jesus could have just verbally stressed the idea that "… your Father in heaven is not willing that any of these little ones should perish" (Matthew 18:14), this point was apparently important enough that he drove it home by means of these miracles which were not only signs of Jesus' messianic identity (John 6:14), but also living lessons in God's intent to save all of his human family.
We may know intellectually that our Father is not willing that anyone be lost, but in our times of failure or discouragement we should remember the extent to which Christ made that point for us. The work of picking up twelve, then later seven more baskets of small fragments of food must have made a deep impression on the disciples. We too can be sure that if we had helped to pick up nineteen baskets of bread crumbs, the point that God does not want to lose even the least of us would be a lesson we doubtless would never forget.