Read: Matthew 14.13-36
DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT: As noted earlier, the Gospel writers (Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John) had their own unique purposes for their accounts, and each addressed a particular audience. Since producing a document of the length of the Gospels was no small feat in those days, each writer had to carefully choose the stories and teachings of Jesus to be including in his account. This is why certain stories or teachings are included in the some of the Gospel writings while left out in others: the authors included the minimum information needed to achieve their purpose in writing to their intended audience. John notes at the conclusion of his Gospel that, "Jesus did many other things as well. If every one of them were written down, I suppose that even the whole world would not have room for the books that would be written" (John 21.25).
In light of this, it's important to note that Jesus' feeding of the multitude is the only miracle mentioned in all four of the Gospel accounts. Scholars have debated for centuries the reason for this, but there are at least two likely explanations: 1) Jesus is able to take very meager resources (five loaves of bread and two fish) and multiply them into a supply large enough to feed five thousand men and the women and children with them, and 2) the words and actions of Jesus in taking the loaves, blessing them, breaking them, and giving them to His disciples for distribution is a foreshadowing of His institution of the Lord's Supper, which will be an ongoing memorial for His people to celebrate. Perhaps Matthew and the other Gospel writers want to remind followers of Jesus that He can supply all of their needs even when the resources appear scarce and skimpy, and perhaps that is a reminder we need to take to heart (and keep in mind) every time we receive the Lord's Supper.
Matthew, Mark, and John all include an account of Jesus walking on the water following the feeding of the multitude. Jesus' authority and power over nature (indeed, over Creation itself) leads His disciples to declare, "Truly you are the Son of God" (Matthew 14.33). Matthew continues to complete his portrait of Jesus as the Christ with the disciples' confession of faith, and he also reveals to us the only true response to Jesus' authority and power: worship.
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