Why did Jesus command the disciples to give the crowd something to eat when he knew that they didn’t have sufficient food?
Jesus commanded them to give them something to eat,
like the words of Elisha, who also demanded an impossible act from his servant (2 Kings 4:42–44).
Jesus teaches his disciples that he is able to secure the good that flows from his compassion, and that those whom he has healed do not need to leave him to sustain their lives: They need not go away.
Jesus himself has the power to provide for them, just as the Lord gave Israel manna in the wilderness. As Creator and King, he thus commands his disciples to give them something to eat.
Jesus wants the apostles to see their mistaken attitude. They must provide the crowd with food so they can continue to learn from Jesus’ teaching. Although they cannot do this, they must see that, as his disciples, they bear a responsibility and must learn to walk a new path (see John 6:6).
Jesus rejected the apostles’ proposal to send the people away to buy food in the surrounding villages, instead commanding them to give them something to eat.
This recalls the words of Elisha, who in a similar way demanded an impossible act from his servant (2 Kings 4:42–44).1
Jesus here teaches his disciples that he is perfectly able to secure the good that flows from his compassion, and that those whom he has healed do not need to leave him in order to sustain their lives: They need not go away.
Jesus himself has the power to provide for them—just as the Lord once gave Israel manna in the wilderness. As Creator and King, he therefore commands his disciples to give them something to eat.
2
Jesus wants the apostles to recognize their mistaken attitude. In a sense, he exposes them to themselves, so that they may perceive the divine truth. The crowd must not depart—certainly not be sent away; rather, the disciples must provide them with food so they can continue to learn from Jesus’ teaching. Jesus knows full well that they cannot do this, yet they must come to feel that, as disciples of the Saviour, they bear a responsibility and must learn to walk an entirely different path (John 6:6).3
16 But Jesus said, “They need not go away; you give them something to eat.”