Jesus had previously fed 5,000 men, but that was near the northeast coast of Galilee, where the people were Jews (14:13-21). Now He fed 4,000 men on the east coast of Galilee, where the people were mainly Gentiles.
15:32-33 Matthew again called attention to Jesus' compassion (v. 32; cf. 9:36). Evidently the crowds had not gone home at nightfall but had slept on the hillsides to be close to Jesus. This presents a picture of huge crowds standing in line for days at a time to obtain Jesus' help. Some of them were becoming physically weak from lack of food.
The disciples' question amazes the reader since Jesus had recently fed 5,000 men plus women and children. Probably the fact that the crowd was predominantly Gentile led the disciples to conclude that Jesus would not do the same for them that He had done for the Jews. This may have been especially true in view of what He had said to the Canaanite woman about Jewish priority in God's kingdom program. If they thought of the feeding of the 5,000 as a foretaste of the kingdom banquet, they probably would have thought that the preceding feeding was a uniquely Jewish experience. Perhaps since Jesus rebuked the crowd for just wanting food after the feeding of the 5,000, the disciples did not think He would duplicate the miracle (cf. John 6:26). Undoubtedly the disciples' limited faith was also a factor (cf. 16:5-12).
15:34-39 Matthew wrote that this time the disciples gathered the remaining scraps in a different type of basket. The Greek word spyridasdescribes baskets made of rushes that the Gentiles used to carry fish and other food. In 14:20 the disciples used kophinous, baskets the Jews used to carry kosher food, at least in Rome.612This is another clue that the audience here was mainly Gentile.
Possibly there is some significance in the number of baskets of fragments the disciples collected. If 12 in 14:20 represents the 12 tribes of Israel, these seven baskets may stand for the mark of a creative act of God, as in the seven days of creation. However this symbolism is highly tenuous.
As before, everyone got enough to eat. Matthew again only recorded the number of the males present, in keeping with Jewish thinking. Perhaps the total crowd numbered between 8,000 and 16,000 people.
The site of Magadan is unknown (v. 39). Probably it was on the west side of the lake, the Jewish side, since conflict with the Pharisees and Sadducees followed. Some commentators believe Magadan is the same as Magdala, an area just north of Tiberias on Galilee's western shore.613
This incident would have impressed the disciples with God's graciousness in dealing with the Gentiles. His kingdom plan definitely included them albeit in a secondary role. Their role as disciples would include ministry to the Gentiles as well as to Jews. They had the same ministry responsibilities to both ethnic groups.
"If Jesus' aphorism about the children and the dogs merely reveals priorityin feeding, then it is hard to resist the conclusion that in the feeding of the four thousand Jesus is showing that blessing for the Gentiles is beginning to dawn."614
The fact that Moses and Elisha each performed two feeding miracles should have elevated Jesus to a status at least equal with them in the people's minds (cf. Exod. 16; Num. 11; 2 Kings 4:1-7, 38-44). Unfortunately most of the people, Jews and Gentiles, continued to come to Jesus only to obtain physical help.
