Comparing The Feedings of The 4,000 with The 5,000 

  4,000 - Doubting Christians                                                                      5,000 - Believing Christians
 
 

     After the feeding of the 4,000, Jesus said to His disciples "O ye of little faith."  This is because the message in the feeding of the 4,000 is about doubting, immaturity and uncertainty.
 
 

  The message in the feeding of the 5,000 is about believing, maturity and completeness, thus Jesus did not say this to His disciples after the feeding of the 5,000. 
 

     There is no mention of a lad in the feeding of the 4,000, but a lad is mentioned in the feeding of the 5,000.   The lad represents a child like faith, thus a lad is mentioned in the feeding of the 5,000.   Jesus said,  "Except we come to him as a child we cannot enter into the Kingdom of Heaven." 
(Mat. 10:3; Luk. 18:17). 
 
 

      When Peter was taken into prison, the church prayed for his release from prison.  But no one believed God would answer the request except a little damsel name Rhoda.  The adults did not believe and when Peter came to the house where they were gathered, they were astonished when they say him. 
(Acts 12:13-17). 
 
 
 

   When you and others make a request to God and when your prayer is answered, those that are astonished indicates the lack of faith.  Believing is knowing and expecting that God will answer your prayer and that He is all powerful and able to do all things if we ask according to His will. 
 
 
 

      The Greek words (existemi, ekplesso,and thambeo) are used in the New Testament 39 times.  It means to be put out of wits, to strike with astonishment and to stupefy with surprise.  These words are used in the 3 Gospels and in Acts and some other parts of the New Testament, but it is not mentioned even once in the Gospel of John.  It is because in John, He is God. 
 
 

    In the other Gospels, when Jesus did miracles, they were all astonished and amazed and said "what manner of man is this, that even the wind and the sea obey Him”
(Mat. 8:27; Mrk. 4:41; Luk. 8:25).

This does not mean that Jesus is not God in the Gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke for He is God as well as human.  In the first 3 Gospels, His humanity is shown but in John, His deity is depicted. 

3.   Few fishes (Gk. oligos; puny)                                                                 Two fishes; A definite 

    They Had Few little Fishes in the feeding of the 4,000, and 2 Fishes, a definite amount in the feeding of the 5,000.

      Bread symbolizes the Word of God as food for life (Christ in salvation) and the fish refers to the Word of God, as food  for nourishments (growth, sanctification) that all may grow to maturity. 
 

      The 4,000 were fed with few little fishes, not a definite amount: not knowing.  The word Greek word for few is oligos; which means puny.  The Greek word for little fishes is ichthudion, and it means petty fish.

It should read “They had some puny, petty fishes.” 
Not that the Word of God is puny or petty, but because the 4,000 represents unbelievers who had doubts and finds the Word of God unnourishing and do not understand the Grace of God. 
The Word of God to them is puny or weak and petty (having little significance) and does not nourish them that they may grow in knowledge of the Lord. 
 
 
 

   The 5,000 were fed with 2 fishes, a definite amount. The number 2 also denotes testimony.  In comparison, this suggests the uncertainty and ambiguity of the 4,000.  The 5,000 were  definite and certain. 
 

   In the Matthew, Mark and Luke account of the feeding of the 5,000, the Greek word for fish, ichthus, is used.  But only in the Gospel of John the Greek word for “small fishes” is opsarion.  The word “small” is not in the original text because it is not in harmony with the delicious fish. 
The word opsarion means relish.  It is salted, broiled fish, seasoned and prepared to eat with great taste and nourishment.

The Apostle Peter said,  “If so be ye have tasted that the Lord is gracious.” (1Pet 2:3)  Here the Word of God is given with such great preparation that we may relish and feed on the Word of God, grow and see how wonderful the Lord is, and walk by faith in Him. 

    After the Lord Jesus Christ resurrected, He came to the seven disciple at the sea of Tiberias.  After they had fished all night, they caught nothing.  Jesus asked them, “Children, have ye any food?”  They answered Him, “No.”  And He said unto them, “Cast the net on the right side of the boat, and ye shall find. 
They cast and were not able to draw the net for the multitude of fish in it. 

   The Lord invited them to dine with Him.  He had some bread and prepared fish (opsarion) for them.  Only in the Gospel of John is this word opsarion used. 
 
 
 

   The seven disciples went fishing still not sure what happened after the Lord appeared to them after the resurrection.  Notice the number seven, a dispensational number.  Those that emphasize works are still in the dispensation of the law (what we must do, emphasizing works) and are busy trying to catch some fish.  They toil all night (they are in the dark) and catch nothing. 
 
 
 

   The Lord needed to instruct them where the fish were, on the right side. 
And when they came to land the Lord had prepared a wonderful, tasty, nourishing meal of bread (the bread of life) and fish (opsarion; salted prepared food) for them. 
This was the third time Jesus showed himself to them after He had risen. 
Feeding on the deeper spiritual food of the Word of God will enable us to understand the deeper significance of His resurrection. 
 

    They Sat On The Ground; 4,000. They Sat On The Grass; 5,000:  The ground usually has negative connotations.  They sat on the ground in the feeding of the 4,000 and on the grass in the feeding of the 5,000.  The ground was cursed when Adam sinned in the Garden of Eden 
(Gen. 3:17). 

The disciples were told to shake the dust off their feet when unbelievers would not accept them during their visitation (Mat. 19:14; Mrk. 6:11).
When the people did not like the preaching of the Apostle Paul, 
they threw dust into the air (Acts 22:23). 
Jesus wrote on the ground two times to tell the pharisees that we are all sinners and cursed and as low as the ground we walk on. 

    Those at the feeding of the 5,000 were made to sit on the GRASS 
(Mat. 6:10);
GREEN grass (Mrk 6:39);
MUCH grass (Joh. 6:10). 
In Psa. 23:2, the Lord makes us to lie down in green pastures. 
Grass that is growing is a picture of life. 
GREEN grass speaks of continuing or progressive life and MUCH grass speaks of abundant life. 
 

   There is another significant way it is mentioned in the Gospel of John. 

Jesus distributed the bread and the fishes to the disciples, 
and the disciples to them that were sitting down, 
and likewise of the fishes as much as they would. 
Only as you see Jesus as God can you truly rest 
and only as you rest can you enjoy the bread in salvation
and the fishes (opsarion) as much as you would to grow in Him. 

5.  Sat down as multitude                                                                   Sat down in order; 100= unit

 He Commanded The Multitude of 4,000 To Sit Down, 
but The 5,000, In ranks, By Hundreds And By Fifties:

  The 4,000 sat down as an unorganized mass of people, whereas the 5,000 sat in organized companies of 100 and 50.  The organized companies emphasize unity, the number 1 (100) and separation, the number 5 (50). 

6.  4,000; 4 is the number of                                                                5,000; 5 is the  number

 4,000 and 5,000:

     The number 5 and 2 together represent the Christians. 
The 5 represents division or separation and the 2 represents testimony. 
The 5 is always before the 2 when these two numbers are together. 
This is because if there is no division or separation in the Christian’s life, he has no testimony.
 
 

      Jesus says in Luk. 12:6: "Are not 5 sparrows sold for 2 farthings, 
and not one of them is forgotten before God? 
In the Parable of the Talents, 
the person who produced the 5 and the 2 represents the believer 
and was commended by the Lord. 
In the parable of the Unjust Steward, the two persons who owed the rich man,
100 measures of oil and 100 measures of wheat represent the believers. 
But these were Christians who were not concerned about eternal things. 
 

   Thus the Lord says that they were not as wise as the children of this world. 
They produced the 5 and 2 but in the negative sense,
for the 5 and 2 is the result of subtracting the 50 and 80 from the 100,
thus leaving 50 and 20 or 5 and 2. 
Notice again the 5 before the 2. 
This is a parable of Christians who weren't good stewards and the 5 and 2 are found by subtracting.
 

NEXT