The day began to wear away; and the twelve came and said to him, “Send the multitude away, that they may go into the surrounding villages and farms, and lodge, and get food, for we are here in a deserted place.”
But he said to them, “You give them something to eat.” They said, “We have no more than five loaves and two fish, unless we should go and buy food for all these people.”
For they were about five thousand men. He said to his disciples, “Make them sit down in groups of about fifty each.”
They did so, and made them all sit down. He took the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up to the sky, he blessed them, broke them, and gave them to the disciples to set before the multitude. They ate and were all filled. They gathered up twelve baskets of broken pieces that were left over.
Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain On vv13, 16 This is unperfectly spoken, and therefore we must understand…
This is unperfectly spoken, and therefore we must understand something, as this, we cannot give them to eat, unless we go and buy, etc.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain On vv12–17 12 And when the day began to wear away,…
12 And when the day began to wear away, then came the twelve, and said unto him, Send the multitude away, that they may go into the towns and country round about, and lodge, and get victuals: for we are here in a desert place.
Ver. 12. See Mat 14:15; Mar 6:35; Joh 6:5.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain On v12 The history of this miracle is recorded by all…
The history of this miracle is recorded by all the four evangelists. See Poole on "Mat 14:15", and following verses to Mat 14:22, and See Poole on "Mar 6:35", and following verses to Mar 6:44. We shall again meet with it, Joh 6:5-14, with some further circumstances. Luke hath nothing but what we have before met with.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
William Burkitt 1703 · Public Domain On v12 This miracle of our Saviour’s feeding five thousand with…
This miracle of our Saviour’s feeding five thousand with five loaves and two fishes, is recorded by all the evangelists, and in the history of it we have these observable particulars:
1. The seasonable expression of the disciples’ pity towards the multitude, who had long fasted, and wanted now the ordinary comforts and supports of life; it well becomes the ministers of Christ to have respect to the bodily wants as well as to the spiritual necessities of their people.
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Observe, 2. The motion which the disciples make to Christ on behalf of the multitude: Send them away, that they may go into the towns and country, and get victuals. Here was a strong charity, but a weak faith; a strong charity in desiring the people’s relief, but a weak faith in supposing that they could no other way be relieved, but by sending them away; forgetting that Christ, who had healed the multitude miraculously, could also feed them miraculously whenever he pleased; all things being equally easy to an almighty power.
Observe, 3. Our Saviour’s strange reply to the disciples’ request: They need not depart, give ye them to eat. Need not depart, why? The people must either feed or famish; victuals they must have, and a dry desert will afford none; yet says Christ to his disciples, Give ye them to eat. Alas poor disciples! They had nothing for themselves to eat, how then should they give the multitude to eat?
When Christ requires of us what we of ourselves are unable to perform, it is to discover to us our own impotency and weakness, to provoke us to look up to him, and to depend by faith on his almighty power.
Observe, 4. What a poor and slender provision the Lord of the whole earth has for himself and his family: five barley loaves, and two fishes: teaching us, that these bodies of ours must be fed, but not pampered. Our belly must not be our master, much less our god. The end of food is to sustain nature; we must not stifle her with a gluttonous variety. And as the quality of the victuals was plain, so the quantity of it was small; five loaves, and two fishes: well might the disciples say, What are they among so many? The eye of sense and reason sees an utter impossibility of those effects which faith can easily apprehend, and a divine power more easily reproduce.
Observe, 5. How Christ, the great master of the feast does marshal his guests: He commands them all to sit down by fifties in a company. None of them reply, "Sit down! But to what? Here are the mouths, but where’s the meat? We may soon be set, but what shall we be served?" Not a word like this, but they obey and expect.
Lord! How easy it is to trust thy providence, and rely upon thy power, when there is corn in the barn, bread in the cupboard, money in the purse; but when our stores are empty, when we have nothing in hand, then to depend upon an invisible bounty, is a noble act of faith indeed.
Observe, 6. The actions performed by our blessed Saviour: He blessed, and brake, and gave the loaves to the disciples, and they to the multitude.
1. He blessed them teaching us by his example never to use or receive the good creatures of God, without prayer and praise; never to sit down to our food as a beast to his fodder.
2. Christ brake the loaves: he could have multiplied them whole. Why then would he rather do it in the breaking? Perhaps to teach us that we may rather expect his blessing in the distribution of his bounty than in the reservation of it. Scattering is the way to increasing, liberality is the way to riches.
3. Christ gave the loaves thus broken to the disciples, that they might distribute to the multitude. But why did Christ distribute by the disciples’ hands? Doubtless to gain respect to his disciples from the people: and the same course does our Lord take in a spiritual distribution. He that could feed the world by his own immediate hand, chooses rather by the hand of his ministers to divide the bread of life amongst his people.
Observe, 7. The certainty and greatness of this miracle: They did all eat, and were filled, they did all eat, not a crumb or a bit, but a satiety and fullness; all that were hungry did eat, and all that did eat were satisifed; and yet twelve baskets of fragments remain: more is left than was at first set on.
It is hard to say which was the greatest miracle; the miraculous eating or the miraculous leaving. If we consider what they left, we may wonder that they ate anything; if what they ate, that they left anything.
Observe lastly, these fragments, though of barley loaves and fish-bones, must not be lost, but at our Saviour’s command gathered up: the great Housekeeper of the world will not allow the loss of his leftovers.
Lord! How tremendous will their accounts be, who having large and plentiful estates, do consume them upon their lust! How will they wish they had been born to poverty and want, when they appear to make up their account before God!
William Burkitt's Expository Notes on the New Testament (1700–1703) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain On vv12–17 When the day began to wear away,.... Or "to…
When the day began to wear away,.... Or "to decline", as the Vulgate Latin and Arabic versions; or "to incline", as the Syriac; that is, as the Ethiopic version renders it, "when the sun was declining" towards the "horizon" and was almost set; or "when the evening time was come", as the Persic version:
then came the twelve; that is, "the disciples", as the Persic version; or "his disciples", as the Syriac: and
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said unto him, send the multitude away, that they may go into the towns and country round about; the place where they were, round about the city of Bethsaida, the several adjacent houses in the fields, villages, towns, and cities:
and lodge, and get victuals; where they might have lodging for that night, it being too far for them to reach their habitations that evening; and also that they might provide themselves with proper and sufficient food, which was not to be had in the place where they were:
for we are here in a desert place; which afforded no conveniency for lodging, nor any supply of food.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain On v12 Matt. xiv, 15; Mark vi, 35; John vi, 3.
Matt. xiv, 15; Mark vi, 35; John vi, 3.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain On vv12, 16 Verse 12. Send the multitude away] See this miracle…
Verse 12. Send the multitude away] See this miracle explained at large, on the parallel places, Mt 14:15-21; Mr 6:36-44.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain On v16 16. Blessed them—It was customary with the Jews at…
16. Blessed them—It was customary with the Jews at every meal to offer a prayer commencing with the thankful words “Blessed be God.” Hence the Hebrew to bless, which originally had for its object God as the author of the meal, took as its objective case the food itself, and thence arose the phrase to bless the food, or to ask a blessing on the food.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain On vv12, 13, 14, 16, 17 12. to wear away] Rather, to decline.
12. to wear away] Rather, to decline.
then came the twelve] They were afraid that when once the brief twilight was over, the famished multitude might lose their way or come to harm, and some calamity happen which would give a fresh handle against Jesus. John alone tells us that He had compassionately suggested the difficulty to Philip, watching with gentle irony the trial of his faith; and that Philip despairingly said that it would cost more than 200 denarii (as we might say $10) to procure them even a minimum of food. Philip was “of Bethsaida,” but this had nothing to do with our Lord’s speaking to him, for he belonged to the western Bethsaida.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain On vv12, 13, 14, 17 (12) And when the day began . . .—Literally,…
(12) And when the day began . . .—Literally, and the day began to wear away, and the Twelve came . . .
Into the towns and country.—Better, as before (Luk_9:6, Luk_8:34), the villages and farms.
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain On vv12, 13, 14, 16, 17 And when the day began to wear away, then…
And when the day began to wear away, then came the twelve, and said unto him, Send the multitude away, that they may go into the towns and country round about, and lodge, and get victuals: for we are here in a desert place. Simple consideration for the crowds, among whom we know were women and children, probably dictated this remark of the twelve, though it has been with some ingenuity suggested that the advice of the disciples was owing to their fear that, as darkness would soon creep over the scene, some calamity might happen which would give a fresh handle against Jesus to his many enemies.
Vers. 12-17. The Divine provision for the world"s need.
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This miracle of our Lord, meeting as it did the present bodily necessities of the multitude about him, stands for ever as a picture and parable of the far more wonderful and the gloriously bountiful provision which the Saviour of mankind has made for the deeper necessities of our race.
I OUR HOLY SOLICITUDE FOR THE SPIRITUALLY DESTITUTE. There is a note of true sympathy in the language of the disciples. (ver. 12; see Mar_6:35, 36) They were concerned to think of that great number of people, among whom were "women and children", (Mat_14:21) having gone so long without food, and being "in a desert place" where none could be obtained. How strong and keen should be our sympathy with those who are spiritually destitute; who have received from God a nature with immeasurable capacities, with profound cravings for that which is eternally true and divinely good, and who "have nothing to eat"! No solicitude for hungering human hearts can be extravagant; it is only too common to be guiltily and pitifully unconcerned. And if the stage of spiritual hunger and thirst should have passed into that of spiritual unconsciousness, that is one degree (and a large degree too) more deplorable, for it is one stage nearer to spiritual death. We do well to pity the multitudes at home and abroad who might be and who should be living on Divine and everlasting truth, but who are pining and perishing on miserable husks, on errors, on superstitions, on morbid fancies, on low ambitions, on unsatisfying and perhaps demoralizing pleasures.
II THE APPARENT INADEQUACY OF THE DIVINE PROVISION. Well may the disciples, not yet enlightened as to their Master"s purpose, regard "five loaves and two fishes" as hopelessly inadequate to the occasion. So to human judgment they seemed. Not less strikingly disproportioned must the Divine provision for man"s higher necessities have seemed to those who first regarded it. What was it? It was, in the language of our Lord recorded a few verses on in this chapter (ver. 22), "the Son of man suffering many things, being rejected.., and slain, and being raised the third day." A crucified and restored Messiah was to be offered as the Bread of life to a hungering world! Would this satisfy the needs of all mankind of Jew and Gentile, of barbarian and cultured, of bond and free, of man and woman? Could One that seemed to fail, whose cause was all but extinguished in obloquy and desertion, be the Redeemer of mankind? It was unlikely in the last degree; speaking after the manner of men, it was impossible! And the machinery, too, the instrumentality by which this strange provision was to be conveyed to all human souls everywhere and through all generations, was that not equally inadequate? A few "unlearned and ignorant men," a few earnest and true but obscure and uninfluential women, could they establish and perpetuate this new system? could they pass on these scanty provisions to the waiting and perishing multitude? How hopeless! how impossible! Yet see
III ITS PROVED SUFFICIENCY. As those five loaves and two fishes, under the multiplying hand of Christ, proved to be far more than enough for the thousands who partook of them, so is the provision in the gospel of Christ for the needs of man found to be all-sufficient. In a once-crucified and now exalted Saviour we have One in whom is found:
1. Pardon for every sin and for every repentant sinner.
2. Admission, instant and full, to the presence and favour of God.
3. A source of purity of heart, and excellency, and even nobility, of life.
4. Comfort in all the sorrows and privations of our earthly course.
5. Peace and hope in death.
6. A glorious immortality.
Well does this great Benefactor say, "I am come that ye might have life, and, have it more abundantly. " The provision is more than equal to the necessity; there is a marvellous overflow of truth and grace. C.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Biblical Illustrator 1887 · Public Domain On v13 Five loaves and two fishes
Luk_9:13-17
Five loaves and two fishes
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Feeding the five thousand
I.
All the people of God are stewards of the household of faith, and to God must they render an account.
II. We are to adopt all lawful means by which to escape impending danger. When our Lord was exposed to danger from Herod, though possessed of all power, he adopted human means to escape that danger. We must not allow any fear of encountering perils to deter us from duty.
III. We ought to esteem no sacrifice too great to be made for Christ and His gospel. The people referred to in the text did not think it too much to leave their comfortable homes; but, forsaking all, went into the desert to listen to Him who spake as never man spake. If called to hazard all, and even our life, for the gospel, let us commit ourselves to God.
IV. Our Lord welcomes all who come to Him by faith. When the people came to Him from the villages round about, He refused none, but healed all who had need.
V. Wherever true Christianity exists in the heart, it will manifest its presence by a spirit of benevolence. The disciples saw the night coming on, and wished the multitude to be dismissed, that they might retire to the comforts they needed. Christianity rejoices not only in our own salvation, but also in that of others.
VI. When human aid fails, Divine power is made manifest. VII. We should so receive and enjoy the blessings of heaven as to glorify God. When our Lord received the food, He returned thanks for it, and pronounced a blessing upon it.
VIII. When the mind reposes by faith on the Saviour, there will be ample supplies of grace and favour. Christ never said to the seed of Jacob, Seek ye My face in vain. Conclusion: In all situations of danger let the people put their trust in Jehovah, remembering that He who is for them is much greater than all who can be against them. (J. Henderson.)
Lessons from the miracle of multiplying the loaves
1. We learn from this miracle that it is our duty to do what we can to supply the bodily wants of others.
2. We here learn that those who follow Christ may trust to Him for the necessaries of life.
3. We are here reminded of the duty of what is commonly called saying grace at meals This was our Lords practice, and it is a duty often enjoined in Scripture.
4. From the particular direction our Lord here gave as to the fragments, we draw the general rule that nothing should be lost, or wasted. To waste our substance is a sinful abuse of Gods gifts. It is one thing to be generous and hospitable; it is quite another to be thoughtless, extravagant, and wasteful. Such wasting is not only offensive to God, but unjust and unkind to our fellow creatures. (J. Foote, M. A.)
Ability developed by responsibility
The vast hunger of the world is a vast responsibility upon the Church and a vast blessing. Christians must supply bread, or the people will perish. The necessity drives them to Christ, compels the bringing forth of their talents and resources, and works enlargement in volume and value.
I. Christ deals with us on principles of a wise economy, builds his supernatural work on our natural resources, and makes a little do the work of abundance.
II. Christ always makes that which we have and bring to Him for His blessing adequate for the needs of the hour. He takes us into partnership with Himself both in His work and its rewards.
III. Weakness made strong in effort for Him. (Anon.)
Food for hungry souls
The Lord helps our souls as He helps our bodies, through the aid of ordained means and sometimes He may cause these means to fall short, and then may supply them as suddenly and abundantly as He multiplied these loaves and fishes. A person may have but little learning--he may be quite unable to read, and may seem to himself as if he did not well understand what he hears--and yet, if he have the fear of God in his heart, and try to live accordingly, he shall eat and be filled with spiritual meat and drink. One good lesson, one verse, one prayer may be a treasure to him which he shall never lose. He may be a good way from Church, he may have few helps at home; but if he really try to make the most of what little he has, God can and will make a good deal of it--to him. Half a prayer remembered as having been learnt in childhood; an old loose Bible or Testament on a shelf; the remembrance of some good Christian formerly known, his sayings, his tone of voice, his manner of coming in and going out--all these and other such things are as the scanty fare of that multitude, which became abundant under His creative hand. (John Keble, M. A.)
Enough for all when Christ distributes
I. THE PEOPLES BODY NEED, AND SOUL NEED.
II. GODS PROVISION FOR BODY AND FOR SOUL.
III. GODS METHOD OF SUPPLY TO BODY AND TO SOUL. Ordinary. Miraculous. Moral. (The Weekly Pulpit.)
Christ in a fourfold aspect
I. Christ in MIRACULOUS BENEFICENCE. Omnipotence is ever instinct with love.
II. Christ in SOCIAL ORDER. Not a God of confusion.
III. Christ in FRUGAL ARRANGEMENT. Nothing in nature runs to waste.
IV. Christ in the PATRONAGE OF HOSPITALITY. Give ye them to eat. Help each other. Conclusion: Follow Christ in all this. (D. Thomas, D. D.)
The miraculous feeding of five thousand
The disciples had just returned from the mission in which they had been engaged, and told Him all that they had done. The considerate Master saw that they were exhausted by the fatigue and excitement of their labours. He accordingly seeks to secure them quiet. This they could not have in Capernaum (see Mar_6:31). They take passage privately in a vessel to a desert place near to Bethsaida. In vain did they look here for solitude. They had been observed by the eager multitude, who followed on foot, and were at the landing-place before them. The Lord has compassion on them, and is solicitous for their physical as well as their spiritual well-being. On finding that there are five loaves and two small fishes, He gives the disciples directions for the orderly arrangement of the multitude into companies; and when all were in perfect order He took the loaves and the fishes, and blessed and brake and gave the disciples to set before the multitude. As they passed from hand to hand, the loaves and fishes multiplied so as to become more than sufficient for the great multitude. Every year in the harvest we see this miracle repeated.
1. Learn that order is Christlike, is Divine.
2. That economy is Divine. All the evangelists are careful to record that they gathered up the fragments left. Liberal profusion and true economy always go hand in hand.
3. Learn to relieve the wants of others even when we have but little. It is ours also to feed the hungry. Especially with the bread of life. (D. Longwill.)
Jesus and His bounty
I. THE PROBLEM OF THE DISCIPLES. The desert place, the night, the multitude without food, presented a problem that might well constitute a reason for anxiety to any who were of a sympathetic nature. The circumstances were new and surprising, and were such as to test the weakness, or bring out the strength, of their confidence in the Masters wisdom and power. We all need to be surprised in life. It is the unexpected that shows us what we are. The disciples were perplexed, and very human they were in their perplexity. For the time they seem to have forgotten several things.
1. That the people had followed their Master and not them, and that they were connected with the people through Him. Had the people followed them there would be nothing to do but to send them away. If the case today were between the disciples and the multitude, it would be hopeless.
2. That the Master knew as much, and more, of the multitude than they did.
3. That the Master was moved with compassion towards the people. They had forgotten the most important elements of the problem. They had been looking at the multitude and the night; had been realizing the difficulties very vividly. We, too, look at our multitude, and see the darkness in which they are involved, and tremble as we think of the possible, if not the inevitable issue of what we see. But we do not see the whole when we tremble. God is above the night, and pities all who are in it. God knows, and God pities, and that ought to be enough for our faith, if not for our reason. At length the disciples made their petition, saying, Send the multitude away. The very fact that He was there to receive their requests ought to have reminded them of some of the many things which they had forgotten. For if they had thought, had not He much more than they?
II. THE SOLUTION OF THE MASTER Give ye them to eat.
1. The command seemed extravagant, but they knew that it had not been His habit to gather in where He had not scattered abroad. It made them feel how inadequate they were, with the little they had, to obey it. They had only five loaves and two fishes, do as they would, with a multitude to feed. The loaves were, however, just what the people needed. We have all some little which, if wisely used, may be of benefit to our fellows. We have mind, heart, and opportunity.
2. The Master took the five loaves and the two fishes from the disciples, and manifested His great power through that which they gave Him. He brought them into the fellowship of His mystery. He blessed the loaves which they brought. Our first condition of usefulness is to take the little we have to Christ, if we have only the little. That which is blessed by Him is equal to all that lifes occasion demands.
3. After the blessing came the breaking, but it does not seem that the loaves appeared to be more than five after they were blessed.
4. Although there is enough and to spare, there is nothing to be wasted. (J. O. Darien.)
Give ye them to eats--
Duty not measured by our own ability
The narrative suggests and illustrates the following important principle:--THAT MEN ARE OFTEN, AND PROPERLY, PUT UNDER OBLIGATION TO DO THAT FOR WHICH THEY HAVE, IN THEMSELVES, NO PRESENT ABILITY. God requires no man to do, without ability to do; but He does not limit His requirements by the measures of previous or inherently contained ability. He has made provision in many ways for the enlargement of our means and powers so as to meet our emergencies. And He does this on a large scale, and by system--does it in the natural life, and also in the works and experiences of the life of faith.
1. To begin at the very lowest point, it is the nature of human strength and fortitude bodily to have an elastic measure, and to be so let forth or extended as to meet the exigencies that arise. Muscular strength and endurance are often suddenly created or supplied by some great emergency for which they are wanted.
2. So, also, it is in the nature of courage to increase in the midst of perils and because of them, and courage is the strength of the heart.
3. Intellectual force, too, has the same elastic quality, and measures itself, in the same way, by the exigencies we are called to meet. Task it, and for that very reason it grows efficient. It discovers its own force by the exertion of force. All great commanders, statesmen, lawgivers, scholars, preachers, have found the powers unfolded in their calling, and by their calling, which were necessary for it.
4. The same thing is true, and quite as remarkably, of what we call moral power. Not seldom is it a fact that the very difficulty and grandeur of a design, which some heroic soul has undertaken to execute, exalts him at once to such a pre-eminence of moral power that mankind are exalted with him, and inspired with energy and confidence by the contemplation of his magnificent spirit. The great and successful men of history are commonly made by the great occasions they fill. As with David, so with Nehemiah, Paul, Luther. A Socrates, a Tully, a Cromwell, a Washington, all the great master-spirits, the founders and law-givers of empires and defenders of the rights of man, are made by the same law.
5. How childish, then, is it in religion, to imagine that we are called to do nothing save what we have ability to do beforehand; ability in ourselves to do. We have, in fact, no such ability at all, no ability that is inherent, as respects anything laid upon us to do. Our ability is what we can have, and then our duty is graduated by what we can have. This is the Christian doctrine everywhere.
6. This doctrine opposed to two opposite errors:
(1) That of those who think the demand of the religious life so limited and trivial as to require but little care and small sacrifice; and
(2) that of those who look upon them as being so many and so great, that they are discouraged under them. (H. Bushnell, D. D.)
Between the Lord of life and the famishing multitudes
1. The multitude in a desert place was representative to the Saviours mind of vaster multitudes all over the earth.
2. The bread He supplied for mens bodies was suggestive of the bread He was to supply for their souls.
3. The position of the disciples, then, is the position of the disciples still--we stand between the Lord of life and the famishing multitudes. We may still hear the words ringing in our ears, Give ye them to eat.
I. IT IS A COMMAND ON BEHALF OF THE FAMISHING MULTITUDES.
1. They have not the knowledge of God.
2. They have not the knowledge of the meaning of life.
3. They have not the knowledge of the gospel.
II. IT IS A COMMAND FROM THE LORD OF LIFE.
1. He has compassion on the multitudes.
2. He has provided bread for the multitudes.
3. It is His prerogative to command to give to the multitudes,
III. IT IS A COMMAND TO DISCIPLES AS STANDING BETWEEN THE LORD OF LIFE AND THE FAMISHING MULTITUDES.
1. We are to sympathize with the multitudes.
2. We are to be the medium of communication between Christ and the multitudes in the distribution of bread.
3. We are to distribute to the multitudes in hope.
The day is coming when the Church, turning to its Lord, shall say, All the famishing multitudes are now fed. And after its task has been accomplished it will feel so strong in the means of extension, that there will be, as it were, twelve baskets over, out of which many more might have been fed. (R. Finlayson, B. A.)
Confidence in Christs power to supply necessity
During the retreat of Alfred the Great, at Athelney, in Somersetshire, after the defeat of his forces by the Danes, the following circumstance happened, which, while it convinces us of the extremities to which that great man was reduced, will give us a striking proof of his pious, benevolent disposition. A beggar came to his little castle there and requested alms, when his queen informed him that they had only one small loaf remaining, which was insufficient for themselves and their friends, who were gone in quest of food, though with little hopes of success. The king replied, Give the poor Christian one halt of the loaf. He that could feed five thousand men with five loaves and two fishes can certainly make that half loaf suffice for more than our necessity. Accordingly, the poor man was relieved, and this noble act of charity was soon recompensed by a providential store of fresh provisions, with which his people returned. (W. Buck.)
Valuable fragments
A carpet from the San Francisco Mint was burned the other day, and yielded £505 worth of gold dust, which had fallen in imperceptible particles during five years use. In life take care of the minute things. These particles of gold seemed little indeed as they floated away, but they made a grand total. So it will be in life if we improve every moment of time, every scrap of knowledge, every, degree of influence, every opportunity of being good, getting good, doing good. A wise economy of the grains of gold brings out massive talents some day. Take care and value apparently mean things. The carpet on which men walked in the Mint was sown with gold, although they knew it not. All our common things, tasks, duties, are full of the dust of gold. That on which men trample would yield crowns for their head if they only knew it and walked wisely. Make the best of a life of trifles, and we shall one day be astonished at the splendid result. God will not let our good doings perish, Small as they may be. He will gather up the fragments to our eternal enrichment. The body will dissolve in the crucible of the grave, the earth be burned up as the carpet was, but the fine gold of true human life shall be gathered up in an eternal weight of glory. (Christian Journal.)
Saying grace at meals
Without meaning to say that any precise form, or length, or numeration of particulars, is necessary, the following hints may be given as of general application. A grace is a prayer before, or after meat, which circumstances require to be short, but which ought always to be solemn and earnest, never formal and careless. It most expressly requires an acknowledgment of God as the Author of our mercies, and a petition for His blessing along with them: and, as presented by Christians, it ought, in some way, to refer to the gospel, and spiritual things, and be concluded in the name of Christ. At a solitary meal, the duty must by no means be neglected; and then ones own private feelings may be more particularly consulted as to the matter. At a social meal, time and circumstances, in what is indifferent, may be, and ought to be, considered; but all present ought to hear what is said, and join heartily in it, else it is no grace, no act of blessing and thanksgiving of theirs. Children ought to be early instructed in the nature of this duty, and taught and accustomed reverentially to discharge it. Nor ought it ever afterwards to be discontinued. The due observance of this pious custom adorns the best furnished table, and ennobles and sweetens the plainest fare. Let no man, who should be expected to discharge this honourable service before others, whether he be minister, or landlord, or other person residing, or taking a lead for the time, be afraid or ashamed so to do. (J. Foote, M. A.)
Ancient graces before meals
From the earliest time our Lords act has been taken as a model, and the Jewish custom, being reconfirmed by our Lords example, has passed into the practice of Christian people. Examples remain of the early graces, as used both in the Eastern and Western Churches. The postolical Constitutions furnish the following as a prayer at a mid-day meal: Blessed art Thou, O Lord, who feedest me from my youth up, who givest food to all flesh. Fill our hearts with joy and gladness; that, always having a sufficiency, we may abound unto every good work, in Christ Jesus our Lord, through whom be glory and honour and power unto Thee, world without end, Amen. This prayer, slightly varied, is also given to be said after meals in a treatise improbably ascribed to St. Athanasius. (Biblical things not generally known.)
Divine provision, human distribution
1. Rationalizing tendency to explain away miracles on natural grounds wrong, but like many wrong things, a perversion of that which is right. It is a right and a reverent thing not to suppose a miracle where natural explanation sufficient. Peculiarity of New Testament miracles, which distinguishes them from absurd stories of apocryphal Gospels, that they all have a worthy purpose, and a purpose which could only be attained by the putting forth a supernatural power. But not everything, even in a miracle, is miraculous, for--
2. Christ multiplied the loaves miraculously, but He distributed the provision thus made by natural means, human instrumentality. Necessity for miracle ceased with rendering supply sufficient.
3. We have in this an illustration of the method of Gods working. God does not need human co-operation to enable Him to carry out His purposes. But He chooses that, while the power which makes the provision is of necessity Divine, the instruments of its distribution shall be human. Reason to be found in constitution of human nature and in blessedness of results. Good for recipient that he shall receive from brother-man. More blessed still for distributor.
4. Each disciple would feel it an unspeakable privilege to be made a dispenser of Christs beneficence. Can you imagine one holding back? How is it now, with us?
5. The personal responsibility involved in this law of human instrumentality. Suppose one of the disciples had begun to argue with himself that it was folly to give away what they might need for themselves, and had hidden away a loaf in the folds of his robe, may we not imagine that in that case the reverse of the miracle would have been enacted? What I gave I kept, etc. (J. R. Bailey.)
Gave
kept giving; the tense shows the manner in which the increase of bread took place. (A. Cart, M. A.)
The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Alexander MacLaren 1905 · Public Domain On v12 Luk 9:10 - Luk 9:17.
Luke
BREAD FROM HEAVEN
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Luk 9:10 - Luk 9:17.
The Apostles needed rest after their trial trip as evangelists. John the Baptist’s death had just been told to Christ. The Passover was at hand, and many pilgrims were on the march. Prudence and care for His followers as well as Himself suggested a brief retirement, and our Lord sought it at the Eastern Bethsaida, a couple of miles up the Jordan from its point of entrance to the lake. Matthew and Mark tell us that He went by boat, which Luke does not seem to have known. Mark adds that the curious crowd, which followed on foot, reached the place of landing before Him, and so effectually destroyed all hope of retirement. It was a short walk round the north-western part of the head of the lake, and the boat would be in sight all the way, so that there was no escape for its passengers.
Luke records the self-oblivious cordiality of Christ’s reception of the intrusive crowd. Without a sigh or sign of impatience, He ‘welcomed them’-a difficult thing to do, and one which few of us could have achieved. The motives of most of them can have been nothing higher than what leads vulgar people of all ranks and countries to buzz about distinguished men, utterly regardless of delicacy or considerateness. They want to see the notoriety, no matter what it costs him. But Jesus received them patiently, because, as Mark touchingly tells, He was ‘moved with pity,’ and saw in their rude crowding round Him the token of their lack of guides and teachers. They seemed to Him, not merely a mob of intrusive sight-seers, but like a huddled mass of unshepherded sheep.
Christ’s heart felt more lovingly than ours because His eye saw deeper, and His eye saw deeper because His heart felt more lovingly. If we would live nearer Him, we should see, as He did, enough in every man to draw our pity and help, even though he may jostle and interfere with us.
The short journey to Bethsaida would be in the early morning, and a long day of toil followed instead of the hoped-for quiet. Note that singular expression, ‘Them that had need of healing He healed.’ Why not simply ‘them that were sick’? Probably to bring out the thought that misery made unfailing appeal to Him, and that for Him to see need was to supply it. His swift compassion, His all-sufficient power to heal, and the conditions of receiving His healing, are all wrapped up in the words. Coming to the miracle itself, we may throw the narrative into three parts-the preliminaries, the miracle, and the abundant overplus.
I. Our Lord leads up to the miracle by forcing home on the minds of the disciples the extent of the need and the utter inadequacy of their resources to meet it, and by calling on them and the crowd for an act of obedience which must have seemed to many of them ludicrous.
John shows us that He had begun to prepare them, at the moment of meeting the multitude, by His question to Philip. That had been simmering in the disciples’ minds all day, while they leisurely watched Him toiling in word and work, and now they come with their solution of the difficulty. Their suggestion was a very sensible one in the circumstances, and they are not to be blamed for not anticipating a miracle as the way out. However many miracles they saw, they never seem to have expected another. That has been thought to be unnatural, but surely it is true to nature. They moved in a confusing mixture of the miraculous and the natural which baffled calculation as to which element would rule at any given moment. Their faith was feeble, and Christ rebuked them for their slowness to learn the lesson of this very miracle and its twin feeding of the four thousand. They were our true brothers in their failure to grasp the full meaning of the past, and to trust His power.
The strange suggestion that the disciples should feed the crowd must have appeared to them absurd, but it was meant to bring out the clear recognition of the smallness of their supply. Therein lie great lessons. Commands are given and apparent duties laid on us, in order that we may find out how impotent we are to do them. It can never be our duty to do what we cannot do, but it is often our duty to attempt tasks to which we are conspicuously inadequate, in the confidence that He who gives them has laid them on us to drive us to Himself, and there to find sufficiency. The best preparation of His servants for their work in the world is the discovery that their own stores are small. Those who have learned that it is their task to feed the multitude, and who have said ‘We have no more than such and such scanty resources,’ are prepared to be the distributors of His all-sufficient supply.
What a strange scene that must have been as the hundred groups of fifty each arranged themselves on the green grass, in the setting sunlight, waiting for a meal of which there were no signs! It took a good deal of faith to seat the crowd, and some faith for the crowd to sit. How expectant they would be! How they would wonder what was to be done next! How some of them would laugh, and some sneer, and all watch the event! We, too, have to put ourselves in the attitude to receive gifts of which sense sees no sign; and if, in obedience to Christ’s word, we sit down expecting Him to find the food, we shall not be disappointed, though the table be spread in the wilderness, and neither storehouse nor kitchen be in sight.
II. The miracle itself has some singular features.
Like that of the draught of fishes, it was not called forth by the cry of suffering, nor was the need which it met one beyond the reach of ordinary means. It was certainly one of the miracles most plainly meant to strike the popular mind, and the enthusiasm excited by it, according to John’s account, was foreseen by Christ. Why did He evoke enthusiasm which He did not mean to gratify? For the very purpose of bringing the carnal expectations of the crowd to a head, that they might be the more conclusively disappointed. The miracle and its sequel sifted and sent away many ‘disciples,’ and were meant to do so.
All the accounts tell of Christ’s ‘blessing.’ Matthew and Mark do not say what He blessed, and perhaps the best supplement is ‘God,’ but Luke says that He blessed the food. What He blesses is blessed; for His words are deeds, and communicate the blessing which they speak. The point at which the miraculous multiplication of the food came in is left undetermined, but perhaps the difference in the tenses of the verbs hints at it. ‘Blessed’ and ‘brake’ are in the tense which describes a single act; ‘gave’ is in that which describes a continuous repeated action. The pieces grew under His touch, and the disciples always found His hands full when they came back with their own empty. But wherever the miraculous element appeared, creative power was exercised by Jesus; and none the less was it creative, because there was the ‘substratum’ of the loaves and fishes. Too much stress has been laid on their being used, and some commentators have spoken as if without them the miracle could not have been wrought. But surely the distinction between pure creation and multiplication of a thing already existing vanishes when a loaf is ‘multiplied’ so as to feed a thousand men.
The symbolical aspect of the miracle is set forth in the great discourse which follows it in John’s Gospel. Jesus is the ‘Bread of God which came down from heaven.’ That Bread is broken for us. Not in His Incarnation alone, but in His Death, is He the food of the world; and we have not only to ‘eat His flesh,’ but to ‘drink His blood,’ if we would live. Nor can we lose sight of the symbol of His servants’ task. They are the distributors of the heaven-sent bread. If they will but take their poor stores to Jesus, with the acknowledgment of their insufficiency, He will turn them into inexhaustible supplies, and they will find that ‘there is that scattereth, and yet increaseth.’ What Christ blesses is always enough.
III. The abundance left over is significant.
Twelve baskets, such as poor travellers carried their belongings in, were filled; that is to say, each Apostle who had helped to feed the hungry had a basketful to bring off for future wants. The ‘broken pieces’ were not crumbs that littered the grass, but the portions that came from Christ’s hands.
His provision is more than enough for a hungry world, and they who share it out among their fellows have their own possession of it increased. There is no surer way to receive the full sweetness and blessing of the Gospel than to carry it to some hungry soul. These full baskets teach us, too, that In Christ’s gift of Himself as the Bread of Life there is ever more than at any given moment we can appropriate. The Christian’s spiritual experiences have ever an element of infinity in them; and we feel that if we were able to take in more, there would be more for us to take. Other food cloys and does not satisfy, and leaves us starving. Christ satisfies and does not cloy, and we have always remaining, yet to be enjoyed, the boundless stores which neither eternity will age nor a universe feeding on them consume. The Christian’s capacity of partaking of Christ grows with what it feeds on, and he alone is safe in believing that ‘To-morrow shall be as this day, and much more abundant.’
Alexander MacLaren, Expositions of Holy Scripture (1904–1910) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Paul E. Kretzmann 1924 · Public Domain On v12 The miracle of the loaves and the fish:
The miracle of the loaves and the fish:
v. 12. And when the day began to wear away, then came the Twelve and said unto Him, Send the multitude away that they may go into the towns and country round about, and lodge, and get victuals; for we are here in a desert place.
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v. 13. But He said unto them, Give ye them to eat. And they said, We have no more but five loaves and two fishes; except we should go and buy meat for all this people.
v. 14. For they were about five thousand men. And He said to His disciples, Make them sit down by fifties in a company.
v. 15. And they did so, and made them all sit down.
v. 16. Then He took the five loaves and the two fishes, and looking up to heaven, He blessed them, and brake, and gave to the disciples to set before the multitude.
v. 17. And they did eat, and were all filled; and there was taken up of fragments that remained to them twelve baskets.
Jesus had been busy preaching and healing without ceasing all day long. But now the day began to decline, to draw near its close, bringing an unwelcome interruption in the Lord’s beneficent labors. The apostles felt it their duty to interfere at this point. They urged Jesus to dismiss the people, to send them away. The place where they were was an uninhabited region; but there were towns, Bethsaida Julias itself and other small hamlets, within walking distance round about; there the people might go and find places to lodge and also provisions for themselves. The disciples were not yet filled with the love for others which recognizes no sacrifice and sternly represses all selfishness. Their words rather express a certain peevishness as though they had been bothered long enough by these unwelcome guests. But Jesus gives them a lesson, both as to hospitality and trust in Him. He suggested immediately that the disciples be hosts to the multitudes. But their faces fell at the mere suggestion. They had, by some exploration, ascertained that there were five loaves and two fishes as provisions; that was the entire stock. And they add: Unless perhaps we are to go and buy food for the whole people. Neither their words nor their tone implied that they relished the idea very strongly or were very fond of the prospect. One of them had even figured out that the amount of money on hand would not be sufficient to buy bread for all those present, since there were some five thousand men present, without the women and children. And all this fuss and excitement with Jesus standing before them, of whom they knew and had the evidence of their senses that He was able to help at all times, even when death had laid his cold hands on a person and driven away the living soul. The disciples certainly do not appear to good advantage in this story. Note: This same lack of faith is found all too often in the Christians of these latter days. Worry and care for the body is all too apt to take the place of firm, and undoubting trust in the providence and goodness of Christ and our heavenly Father. "That is the great fault that we, also in our days, not only on account of food, but also in manifold troubles and temptations feel that we know well how to figure out what we need, and how these needs should be met and help given to us. But if it is not there quickly as we like it, then nothing remains of our figuring but discontent and sadness. And it would be far better if we would leave God to deal with the situation and would not think of what we need. " But Jesus now took the matter in hand. He had His disciples command the people to recline on the grass which grew at that place, in dining parties, or companies, of fifty each. He was preparing to spread a banquet before them. Then He took the five loaves and the two fishes, and, looking up to heaven, He spoke a blessing upon them, He blessed the food. Then He broke both bread and fishes into smaller pieces and gave these to His disciples, who acted as His waiters upon this momentous occasion. And all ate, and all were filled, they were fully satisfied, they had all they wanted to eat. And then, at Christ’s command, that which was left over to them that ate, the fragments, were picked up, and these filled twelve large baskets. Christ here appears again as the almighty Lord and Creator of heaven and earth, upon whom the eyes of all creatures wait, that He may give them their food in due season. There is a world of comfort for Christians in the fact that Jesus, to whom we owe the salvation and life of our soul, also has the food for every day in His hand and will give us our daily bread every day. We are taken care of in body and soul.
Paul E. Kretzmann, Popular Commentary of the Bible (1921–1924) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On vv12, 15 the day was about to come to an end
the day was about to come to an end
"the day was about to end" or it was near the end of the day"
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five loaves of bread
A loaf of bread is a lump of dough that is shaped and baked.
two fish—unless we go and buy food for all these people
If "unless" is difficult to understand in your language, you could make a new sentence. "two fish. In order to feed all these people, we would have to go and buy food"
about five thousand men
"about 5,000 men." This number does not include the women and children who might have been present. (See: Numbers)
Have them sit down
"Tell them to sit down"
fifty each
"50 each" (See: Numbers)
translationWords
the twelve
desert
bread
disciple
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On vv13, 17 9:13 You feed them: After their ministry of healing…
9:13 You feed them: After their ministry of healing the sick and casting out demons, Jesus wanted the disciples to demonstrate faith in God’s ability to feed the crowds.
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.