Bible Strands
Matthew 15:32
Then Jesus called His disciples to Him and said, “I have compassion for this crowd, because 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 faint along the way.”
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — Jesus summons His disciples in a desolate location after three days of teaching and healing, immediately following a crowd’s public glorification of God. He initiates the conversation by observing the people’s physical exhaustion.
The words — προσκαλεσάμενος (proskalesamenos) carries the literal sense of “having called to [him]” or “summoning closely,” indicating a deliberate, private gathering before public action.
The thread — The narrative parallels Matthew 9:36, where Jesus sees harassed crowds and feels compassion, while the logistical question in Matthew 15:33 highlights the contrast between human calculation and divine provision.
Why it lands — The text records Jesus prioritizing the crowd’s immediate survival over schedule or ritual, demanding that readers recognize compassion as the primary driver of action rather than practical concern.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Greek words
King James Version
Then Jesus called his disciples unto him, and said, I have compassion on the multitude, because they continue with me now three days, and have nothing to eat: and I will not send them away fasting, lest they faint in the way.
Cross-references
- Matthew 9:36 When He saw the crowds, He was moved with compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.
- Luke 12:29 And do not be concerned about what you will eat or drink. Do not worry about it.
- Acts 27:33 Right up to daybreak, Paul kept urging them all to eat: “Today is your fourteenth day in constant suspense, without taking any food.
- Matthew 14:14 When He stepped ashore and saw a large crowd, He had compassion on them and healed their sick.
- Mark 8:1 In those days the crowd once again became very large, and they had nothing to eat. Jesus called the disciples to Him and said,
- 1 Samuel 30:11 Now his men found an Egyptian in the field and brought him to David. They gave the man water to drink and food to eat—
- Matthew 6:32 For the Gentiles strive after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them.
- Matthew 12:40 For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so the Son of Man will be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.
- Matthew 20:34 Moved with compassion, Jesus touched their eyes, and at once they received their sight and followed Him.
- Matthew 27:63 “Sir,” they said, “we remember that while He was alive that deceiver said, ‘After three days I will rise again.’