This short series illustrates both the importance of context and the danger of harmonization.
Context is the literary or historical situation surrounding a passage of Scripture. Harmonization is the process of combining different accounts of the same event into a single story. Without careful observation of a passage, we can easily miss the context and unintentionally harmonize narratives, tricking ourselves into thinking we understand the story.
For example, you may have heard of the “rich young ruler,” but you won’t find him in the Bible. Matthew 19:16-22 speaks of a rich young man. Mark 10:17-22 calls him a rich man. Luke 18:18-30 calls him a rich ruler. We think of him as the “rich young ruler” only because we’ve harmonized all three accounts.
This harmless example affects only minor details in the story, but what happens when our tendency toward harmonization (apart from the context) affects how we understand the meaning of a passage?
Jill M (2007), Creative Commons
To answer that question, we’ll look at the feeding of the 5,000. But before we dive into it, I need your help.
This miracle is the only one (other than the resurrection) to appear in all four Gospels. Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John all considered it a necessary part of their narrative portraits of Jesus. Thus, it’s rightly familiar to us. If you’ve been a Christian for any amount of time, you’ve probably heard this story multiple times.
Here’s how you can help: Would you be willing to take a moment to answer the following question in the comments below?
Key question: Why did Jesus feed the 5,000?
Why do you think the Gospels tell this story? What is the point of the story? What did Jesus hope to do or communicate by this miracle?
Here’s another way to think of the question: If you were teaching this story in Sunday School or to an unbeliever (and you had to make it plain and simple), what would be the main takeaway you’d want people to get out of it?
I’ll come clean with you about my intentions. I don’t want you to feel like I’m setting you up to give a wrong answer so I can jump out from behind my virtual candid camera and shout, “Gotcha!” No traps here; I promise.
My point (over the next few weeks) will be this: Each of the Gospels has a different reason for telling the story. They all recount the same event for a different purpose. And I think many people unconsciously harmonize the four accounts and so flatten the unique intentions of each Gospel writer.
But before I unpack those four different points, I’d like to hear what you think “the point of the story” is. That way, I’ll gain an idea as to which of the four Gospels has been most influential for most people.
You can find the other posts on the Feeding of the 5000 here: Matthew, Mark, Luke, John.
Interesting question! I never thought about this in depth… My first reaction is that Jesus fed them because he had compassion on them and it was a sign showing he is the Son of God.
I assume you want us to answer the question without reading any of the Gospel accounts first, yes?
If so, I will say that Jesus fed them because they were hungry and had nothing to eat.
Ryan, this is an open book question. You are free to read any or all of the accounts and revise your answer if you would like. Thanks for taking the time to consider it and answer!
Why do you think the Gospels tell this story? What is the point of the story? What did Jesus hope to do or communicate by this miracle?
Depends on which book you are talking about. In a quick look for the point of the story, I would say Matt 14 is a little more contrast to having Jesus as the greater prophet than John the Baptist. John 6 seems to be really setting Christ up as God, comparing Him to John as God compared to man. Luke 9, I would say is different because it mentions John only in passing and seems to be setting Christ up as someone totally different then John, having the small section about Herod, leads me to believe the point was more along the lines of showing Christ as King over all. Mark 6 looks to me to be more of pointing to Christ as the servant of the people. (All of this is assuming you don’t mean people attempting to harmonize with the feeding of the 4000). This is all just some really quick glances at the material. Should we be asking what did Jesus hope to do or communicate by this miracle? As He accomplished exactly what he meant to do, but instead, shouldn’t we ask, why did the writer place this story, this way, in this book, at this time?
If you were teaching this story in Sunday School or to an unbeliever (and you had to make it plain and simple), what would be the main takeaway you’d want people to get out of it?
Depends on which one I was going through. See above. Overall, if I was to “harmonize” them, I would say that Christ is God over everything. He is the supplier of all. Through Him is anything and all things possible. He is the Great Prophet.
Here’s another way to think of the question: If you were teaching this story in Sunday School or to an unbeliever (and you had to make it plain and simple), what would be the main takeaway you’d want people to get out of it?
This would take a considerable amount of thought for me to boil it down for those unfamiliar with the Bible, but my best answer off-the-cuff is that Jesus was doing a sign to show Himself as the prophesied Messiah-King and prophet like Moses. Where this sign came from and how to explain it for the biblically illiterate is difficult to keep simple. To explain it properly, I would bring in the following Scriptures to show the promise, the connection of multiplied bread with the firstfruits, and the connection of the firstfruits with Christ as the Messiah.
A Promise Fulfilled
God’s Prophet-Messiah Promised
Deuteronomy 18:18-20
18 I will raise them up a Prophet from among their brethren, like unto thee
[Moses], and will put my words in his mouth; and he shall speak unto them all
that I shall command him.
19 And it shall come to pass, that whosoever will not hearken unto my words
which he shall speak in my name, I will require it of him.
20 But the prophet, which shall presume to speak a word in my name, which I have
not commanded him to speak , or that shall speak in the name of other gods, even
that prophet shall die.
The Sign of Elisha (not Elijah)
2Kings 4:42-44
42 And there came a man from Baalshalisha, and brought the man of God [Elisha]
bread of the firstfruits, twenty loaves of barley, and full ears of corn in the
husk thereof. And he said, Give unto the people, that they may eat.
43 And his servitor said, What, should I set this before an hundred men? He said
again, Give the people, that they may eat: for thus saith the LORD, They shall
eat, and shall leave thereof.
44 So he set it before them, and they did eat, and left thereof, according to
the word of the LORD.
firstfruits
1 Corinthians 15:20,23 KJV
But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the firstfruits of them that
slept…But every man in his own order: Christ the firstfruits; afterward they
that are Christ’s at his coming.
There is, of course, more involved in explaining why they should have recognized the sign, its timing, etc. Also the fact that the men are made to sit down in military formation, like the encampment in Numbers and only the men are counted even though everyone was fed, is a strong indicator that something is being said about kingship in this sign. So I guess you could say that I am looking at it mostly from Matthew’s perspective, However, the firstfruits and resurrection are more like John’s point-of-view.
Thanks, Kelly, for taking the time to answer so thoroughly!
In addition to my previous comments, I would say that the takeaway for anyone would probably be from John 6:28-29:
28 Then said they unto him, What shall we do , that we might work the works of God?
29 Jesus answered and said unto them, This is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath sent.
After all, what else is the purpose of a sign but to follow it?
Without going back to the stories and looking (as one comment inquired about, but I liked the idea so I did it, and might get closer to your initial research question), here is what I think is going on (why Jesus did it initially). And I’m trying to be as basic as possible in the language, as instructed: God wants you to know that Jesus is the plan. All the big things God did in the history of Israel are re-done in and through the life of Jesus. They went to Egypt (and came out of Egypt), and so does Jesus (in the Christmas stories), etc, etc, etc.
Now for our story: Israel was once being led by Moses through the wilderness (on their way to the Promised Land), and God miraculously fed them. But Moses wasn’t the perfect final leader and provider. God was. (The bread came down from the sky in case there was doubt). Now he has come in the person of his Son Jesus to re-play a lot of those stories so that you’d be completely sure that it was Him.
So in this story, Jesus is out in basically a wilderness, and he re-plays the old story of the feeding in the wilderness. Except there is one huge difference! Moses died BEFORE the Israelites got to the Promised Land (on the other side of the wilderness). But Jesus is going to die SO THAT you and I can get to the true Promised Land on the other side of our wilderness. So sit down and eat and enjoy (the bread and the story), but look forward to what Jesus is going to do next, when he climbs on the cross and gives more than bread for you.
On top of all this, each Gospel writer wants you to know even more about Jesus and how he fulfilled the longings of God’s people, and they will stress certain things for your understanding and joy, so go read them!
Thanks to everyone who responded. Your thoughts were very helpful in showing me how you think of the story. Over the next few weeks, I plan to explain each account within the context of each gospel. I’m looking forward to seeing where it takes us.
I’ve got a pretty good idea of the points of 3 out of the 4 accounts. I need a bit more time with the fourth to confirm my suspicion that it also has a unique point.
The purposes that come to mind first for me are the ones from Matthew and John, mainly because those are the Gospels I’ve studied in depth. I think Matthew focuses on how Jesus trained his disciples in ministry, whereas John uses the feeding of the 5,000 to set up the “bread of life” idea (that Jesus is the source of eternal life, just as bread is the source of physical life).
As I read today’s comments about John’s account of the feeding of the 5,000, you were emphasizing the divinity of Jesus as the Son of God. Has it occurred to you that the twelve baskets of bread may correspond to the twelve loaves on the table of showbread in the Tabernacle in the wilderness where God stayed among His people? So the sign here would be that God was among His people once again, wouldn’t it? Jesus would then be fulfilling a priestly function as well as showing He is God (the One who sits on the mercy seat)?
No, that hadn’t occurred to me until you mentioned it. Great connection to Lev 24:9.