John Gill Commentary Matthew 15:35

"And he commanded the multitude to sit down on the ground;" — Matthew 15:35 (ASV)

And he commanded the multitude to sit down on the ground .
] Not regarding the smallness of the provisions, nor any further consulting with his disciples; but knowing his own power to increase this food, and determining to feed the multitude before he dismissed them, in an authoritative way ordered them to sit down upon the ground in rows, that they might be the better seen, and served.