Nothing is in scripture by accident.
Did you ever wonder why Yeshua fed 5000 people, and then shortly thereafter, fed the 4000? Matthew, Mark and Luke all record the 5000. Matthew and Mark both record the 4000.
God's numbers mean something. Always. I've said that my favorite number is seven - it happens so many times in scripture and it represents completeness. But what can we learn from these giant Catering-By-Yeshua events?
The feeding of the 5000 took place near Bethsaida, to an all-Jewish crowd. The number 5 represents God's grace and mercy, which He poured out first on the Jewish people. The number five can also represent the Pentateuch - the first five books of scripture.
(Note: see update #2 at the end of this post)
Yeshua, our Bread of Life, is transforming the Mosaic Law into something much bigger, greater, and more
nourishing. After the meal, there were twelve baskets left over. Twelve is a very Jewish number! Twelve tribes of Israel. Twelve apostles.
The Greek word used for basket here is kophinos, which was a small, personal-sized basket that was used by the Israelites. The Jewish people observed cleanliness laws carefully, and large community baskets were out of the question.
Fast forward to the second Great Catered Event. Yeshua had just been to Tyre and Sidon and was traveling in the Decapolis - in other words, He had a very Gentile audience. He had just "thrown the crumbs to the dogs," so to speak, when he healed the Gentile woman's daughter who had been demon-possessed.
When He fed the 4000, He was foreshadowing the salvation of the world. The number four represents the four corners of the earth, symbolizing all of creation. Seven baskets: seven represents completeness, His plan of salvation for all of mankind.
Even the Greek word for basket is different: spuris. This type of basket is huge! Picture an Indiana Jones movie - when Indy runs from his enemies, this would be a basket he could hide in and put the cover on it.
In the same way, the grace and mercy of the Lord will be (and is being) poured out abundantly on the entire world.
But notice the order: First to the Jew, and then to the Gentile.
Romans 1:16 says, For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek (or Gentile - the word helene actually means anyone "Hellenized," or a non-Jew).
God's order of things has not changed. Pray for opportunities to be a blessing and a witness to your Jewish friends. If you don't have any, pray for some! Bless Israel and pray for the peace of Jerusalem (Psalm 122:6).
UPDATE
The Greek word used for basket here is kophinos, which was a small, personal-sized basket that was used by the Israelites. The Jewish people observed cleanliness laws carefully, and large community baskets were out of the question.
Fast forward to the second Great Catered Event. Yeshua had just been to Tyre and Sidon and was traveling in the Decapolis - in other words, He had a very Gentile audience. He had just "thrown the crumbs to the dogs," so to speak, when he healed the Gentile woman's daughter who had been demon-possessed.
When He fed the 4000, He was foreshadowing the salvation of the world. The number four represents the four corners of the earth, symbolizing all of creation. Seven baskets: seven represents completeness, His plan of salvation for all of mankind.
Even the Greek word for basket is different: spuris. This type of basket is huge! Picture an Indiana Jones movie - when Indy runs from his enemies, this would be a basket he could hide in and put the cover on it.
In the same way, the grace and mercy of the Lord will be (and is being) poured out abundantly on the entire world.
But notice the order: First to the Jew, and then to the Gentile.
Romans 1:16 says, For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek (or Gentile - the word helene actually means anyone "Hellenized," or a non-Jew).
God's order of things has not changed. Pray for opportunities to be a blessing and a witness to your Jewish friends. If you don't have any, pray for some! Bless Israel and pray for the peace of Jerusalem (Psalm 122:6).
UPDATE
I heard a sermon this morning on the feeding of the 5,000. (This is over nine years after I first posted this). There are so many truths to be taught from this account, but one thing that caught my eye today was those twelve baskets of bread left over.
As I mentioned above, the gospel is to the Jew first. But as I considered the twelve leftover baskets, I was reminded that the gospel is also last for the Jews. Remember, twelve is a very Jewish number.
Let me’ splain.
The good news of the Messianic kingdom began at Jerusalem. It has, since then, traveled mostly in a westward direction and has reached the farthest parts of the earth.
That good news is on its way back to Jerusalem and will culminate there when the Messiah returns and reveals Himself to His brothers.
Could those symbolic twelve baskets of leftovers have been set aside (figuratively) as a promise that Yeshua’s lost brethren will someday feast on the Bread of Life?
Food for thought.
UPDATE #2
Something I learned a day after posting the first update regarding Hebraic thoughts regarding the number five...
The number five is considered to be “the numeric expression of a group, gathering its divergent parts into a complete unit.” (Jewish Wisdom in the Numbers, p 89)
Whoa. What kind-boggling thing has been taking place during the last 150 years? The regathering of the Jewish people, of course, to their God-given homeland.
This is awesome 👏 thanks for sharing. I won’t read about “just a feeding” again! 😳
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