5, the number of grace, 7, the number of completion

5, the number of grace, 7, the number of completion

Scripture:

Jesus left there and went along the Sea of Galilee. Then he went up on a mountainside and sat down.  Great crowds came to him, bringing the lame, the blind, the crippled, the mute and many others, and laid them at his feet; and he healed them. The people were amazed when they saw the mute speaking, the crippled made well, the lame walking and the blind seeing. And they praised the God of Israel.

Jesus called his disciples to him and said, “I have compassion for these people; they have already been with me three days and have nothing to eat. I do not want to send them away hungry, or they may collapse on the way.” His disciples answered, “Where could we get enough bread in this remote place to feed such a crowd?”

“How many loaves do you have?” Jesus asked. “Seven,” they replied, “and a few small fish.” He told the crowd to sit down on the ground. Then he took the seven loaves and the fish, and when he had given thanks, he broke them and gave them to the disciples, and they in turn to the people. They all ate and were satisfied. Afterward the disciples picked up seven basketfuls of broken pieces that were left over. The number of those who ate was four thousand men, besides women and children. After Jesus had sent the crowd away, he got into the boat and went to the vicinity of Magadan. Matthew 15:29-39

Observation:

Once again, the Lord repeats His incredible miracle of feeding thousands, this time with seven loaves and a few small fish. The Lord not only heals the lame, the blind, the crippled and the mute, but also provides for the physical needs of all the crowd, who eat and are satisfied. Just as before, there are basketfuls of broken pieces left over, this time numbering 7. Also, while 5,000 men were fed in the previous miracle, this time the number is 4,000. These two miracles must have happened within a very short time, but is there any significance in these numbers between the two miracles?

5 loaves, 5,000 fed, 12 baskets leftover. 7 loaves, 4,000 fed, 7 baskets leftover. Interestingly, Bible scholars on the whole concur that certain numbers in the Bible have special meanings. For example, 1 denotes absolute singleness (Hear O Israel, the Lord your God is One God) and 3 denotes divine perfection (God in the Holy Trinity).  

Looking at the first feeding, we notice the 5 loaves and the 5,000 men. 5 here is the number of grace and the number of sacrifice (Benjamin’s portion 5 times more, 5 levitical offerings, Abram’s name changed to Abraham by adding “5”, likewise for Sarai to Sarah). 10 is the number of perfection relating to men (the 10 commandments, 10% tithe, 10 fingers, 10 toes).   5000 consists of 5X10X10X10. The Lord comes to give grace, healing the sick and encouraging the downhearted, and He is also completely perfect in obeying all the law of God. 12 is the number of governmental perfection and the number of His disciples. There are 12 tribes, 12 disciples. Even in human courts today, there are 12 numbers in the jury. In the Book of Revelation, the 144,000 destined to rule consist of 12X12x10x10x10 (Perfect Government ruled by men perfectly obeying God’s law).

Moving on to the Second Feeding, we first look at the 7 loaves. The number 7 represents Completeness (7 days in a week, 7 seals and 7 trumpets in the book of Revelation). Regarding the 4,000 men, we see that 4 is the number of the earth (4 seasons, 4 earthly kingdoms in Daniel, 4 primary directions – North, South, East, West, 4 gospels pertaining to Jesus’ walk on the earth) Therefore, 4x10x10x10 gives us the picture of the Lord being completely perfect in obeying God’s law throughout His time of walking on the earth as wholly the Son of Man. He is fully God and He is fully man. Coming lastly to the 7 baskets leftover, we are reminded of how our Lord completed His mission perfectly, all the way up to the point He was hung on the cross and cried “It is finished”.

Putting the two pictures together, we first see the Lord coming to give perfect grace to men (5 loaves) by offering Himself as the perfect sacrifice (5 of 5,000) after living a perfectly holy life (10x10x10 of 5,000). After His ascension, He would leave His 12 disciples (12 baskets) to carry and pass on His work of spreading the gospel until His second coming to form His perfect government on the earth. (Note that Judas was replaced by Matthias as chosen by lot by the remaining 11 disciples but many also argue the Apostle Paul is God’s true choice as Judas’ replacement).

Besides that, we also see the Lord descending to complete (7 loaves) His allotted time on the earth (4 of 4,000) as the Son of Man where He lived a perfectly obedient life to God’s commands (10x10x10 of 4,000) and this work He completed (7 baskets) when He cried “It is finished” and breathed His last on the cross.

Application:

Praise the Lord for the perfect grace that He gives us. He came down to earth to be a mortal man and lived a perfect life so that He would be an acceptable once and for all sacrifice without blemish to God so that all who believed in Him would not perish but have eternal life! Remember that this is not the end and that Jesus is coming back again to form His holy, perfect government on the earth!

Praise the Lord that He has completed His work perfectly. His sacrifice is complete, and there is nothing more to add to it or take away from it. It is perfect, it is finished. Meditate on the Lord’s finished work of the Cross. On the cross, He took our infirmities so that we might receive healing. He took our sins so that we might receive forgiveness. He became poor so that we might become rich. He was rejected that we might be accepted. He became a curse so that we might receive His blessing. He was made sin in our sinfulness so that we might be made righteous in His righteousness! He bore our shame that we might share in His glory. He died so that we might live! Praise His Holy name!

Prayer:

We praise thee Lord Jesus for coming down to earth for us, for becoming one of us, for dying on the cross for us. It is You O Lord who gave us hope, who saved us, who gave us life! We thank You Lord for Your almighty grace, the totally undeserved favor that You bestow upon us. Praise Your holy name! We praise thee, Lord, that Your work is finished, complete in every way. We put our trust completely in You, O Lord, that we are completely saved by virtue of Your great work. In You, O Lord, we put all our hope, for You are our Lord and Savior. We praise thee, O Lord, for on the cross You took everything bad due to us that we might receive everything good due to You. You took our infirmities that we might receive Your healing. You bore our shame, that we might share in Your glory. You were rejected that we might be accepted. You became a curse that we might receive Your blessing. You died that we might live. We praise You and worship You, O Lord. May Your name be praised forever, Mighty Lord Jesus! In Jesus name, Amen!