Any comments about this?
The artwork depicts the feeding of the multitudes.
1. "
The Feeding of the 5,000" is narrated in all four canonical gospels (Matthew 14:13-21, Mark 6:31-44, Luke 9:10-17 and John 6:5-15.
When Jesus heard that John the Baptist had been killed, he went to a solitary place by boat, and the crowds followed him. As evening approached, the disciples asked Jesus to send the crowds away, so they can go to the villages and buy themselves some food. Jesus told the disciples to give them something to eat, but they only had five loaves of bread and two fish.
Jesus performed a miracle by feeding the 5,000 using only the five loaves and two fish. They all ate and were satisfied, and the disciples picked up twelve basketfuls of broken pieces that were left over.
2. Another incident, "
The Feeding of the 4,000", is narrated in Mark 8:1-9 and Matthew 15:32-39.
A large crowd was following Jesus. He called his disciples to him and said, "... 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, who only had seven loaves of bread and a few small fish, said: "Where could we get enough bread in this remote place to feed such a crowd?"
Jesus fed the 4,000 using only the seven loaves and few fish. They all ate and were satisfied, and the disciples picked up seven basketfuls of broken pieces that were left over.
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You can see clearly that this is not a depiction of socialism.
Yes, the multitudes were poor people. But did Jesus feed them solely because they were poor?
No. Jesus fed them because they were in the wilderness. They were so far away from the nearest village that they would likely faint on the way if they were to travel on foot to buy some food.
The bible does not advocate feeding the lazy. In fact, it teaches the opposite. In Thessalonians, Paul said:
7For you yourselves know how you ought to follow us, for we were not disorderly among you; 8 nor did we eat anyone’s bread free of charge, but worked with labor and toil night and day, that we might not be a burden to any of you, 9 not because we do not have authority, but to make ourselves an example of how you should follow us. 10 For even when we were with you, we commanded you this: If anyone will not work, neither shall he eat. (2 Thess 3:7-10)If you don't want to work, you shouldn't eat for free. The rule applies not only to church members, but also to church leaders.
