Wholeness: When the five loaves and the two fish are added together, the sum is seven, which represents totality or completeness. For Matthew, the food that Jesus gives—his teaching, preaching, healing of the sick—restores people to wholeness; it is all the food they need.
Jesus’ actions with the loaves and the fish—looking up to heaven, saying the blessing, breaking the loaves, and giving them to the disciples to give to the crowds—echo the same actions of Jesus at the Last Supper (26:26). While this series of actions was usual at any Jewish meal, Matthew’s style would indicate that he is interested in the eucharistic overtones present in the feeding of the five thousand. For Matthew, Eucharist is taking what little one has, sharing it, and watching it multiply.
The abundance of left-over fragments is reminiscent of the miracle worked by Elisha (2 Kgs 4:42-44). Taking twenty barley loaves, Elisha fed a hundred men. All ate, and there was some left over, as the Lord had said there would be. For Matthew, Jesus is a prophet like Elisha. However, he is greater than Elisha; he only needs five loaves to feed five thousand, whereas Elisha needed twenty loaves to feed one hundred.