When it was late in the day, his disciples came to him, and said, “This place is deserted, and it is late in the day. Send them away, that they may go into the surrounding country and villages, and buy themselves bread, for they have nothing to eat.”
But he answered them, “You give them something to eat.” They asked him, “Shall we go and buy two hundred denarii worth of bread, and give them something to eat?”
He said to them, “How many loaves do you have? Go see.” When they knew, they said, “Five, and two fish.”
He commanded them that everyone should sit down in groups on the green grass. They sat down in ranks, by hundreds and by fifties. He took the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up to heaven, he blessed and broke the loaves, and he gave to his disciples to set before them, and he divided the two fish among them all. They all ate, and were filled. They took up twelve baskets full of broken pieces and also of the fish. Those who ate the loaves were five thousand men.
Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain On vv37, 39, 40 This declareth that there is an horrible disorder among…
This declareth that there is an horrible disorder among the people, where the true preaching of God’s word wanteth.
Which is about five pounds sterling.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain On vv35–44 35 And when the day was now far spent,…
35 And when the day was now far spent, his disciples came unto him, and said, This is a desert place, and now the time is far passed:
Ver. 35. And when the day was now far spent] Beza renders it, Cum iam multus dies esset. Our forefathers had a saying,
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The summer’s day is never so long,
But at length ‘twill ring to even song.
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 v35 We meet with the relation of this miracle Mat…
We meet with the relation of this miracle Mat 14:15-21, and shall again meet with it Joh 6:1-14. John relates it with some more particular circumstances, telling us it was Philip that moved our Saviour to dismiss them so seasonably, that they might provide themselves food, and making Christ to propound the questions to Philip, where they should buy bread enough for them. He also tells us that it was Andrew who told our Saviour that there was a lad there had five barley loaves and two fishes. But all three of the evangelists agree in the main, both as to the quantity of victuals, five loaves and two fishes; and the quantity of the people fed with them, five thousand; and the number of the baskets full of fragments taken up, which was twelve. John also addeth the effect of this miracle upon the multitude, Joh 6:14; they said, This is of a truth that prophet that should come into the world. For further explication of this piece of history,
See Poole on "Mat 14:15", and following verses to Mat 14:21. See Poole on "Joh 6:5", and following verses to Joh 6:13.
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 v35 This miracle of our Saviour’s feeding five thousand men,…
This miracle of our Saviour’s feeding five thousand men, besides women and children, with five loaves and two fishes, is recorded by all the four evangelists, and in the history of it these following particulars are observable.
Note, 1. 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 respect the bodily necessities, as well as regard the spiritual wants of persons.
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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 buy victuals. Here was a strong charity, in desiring the people’s relief; but a weak faith, in supposing that they could not otherwise be relieved but by sending them away; forgetting that Christ, who had healed the multitude miraculously, could also feed them miraculously if 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. Yes, 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 are unable to perform, it is to show us our impotency and weakness, and to provoke us to look upon him, and depend by faith on his almighty power.
Observe, 4. What a poor and slender provision the Lord of the earth has for his household and family; five barley loaves and two small 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 it 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 these amongst so many? The eye of sense and reason sees an utter impossibility of those effects which faith can easily apprehend, and divine power more easily produce.
Observe, 5. How Christ, the great Master of the feast, doth marshal his guests: He commands them all to sit down in ranks by hundreds and by fifties. None of them reply, "Sit down, but to what? Here are the mouths, but where is the meat? We may soon be set, but when or whence shall we be served?" Not a word like this, but they obey and expect.
Lord, how easy it is to trust to thy providence, and rely upon thy power, when there is corn in the barn, bread in the cupboard, or money in the purse: but when our stores are all empty, and we have nothing in hand, then to depend upon an invisible bounty, is a true and noble act of faith.
Observe, 6. The actions performed by our blessed Saviour: He blessed, and brake, and gave the loaves to his 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 for our nourishment without prayer and praise; never to sit down to our food as a beast to his forage.
2. He 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 bread thus broken to his disciples, that they might distribute it to the multitude. But why did our Lord distribute the loaves by his disciples’ hands? Doubtless to gain respect to his disciples from the people. And the same course doth our Lord take in spiritual distributions. 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 among his people.
Observe, 7. The certainty and the greatness of the miracle: They did all eat, and were filled. They did all eat, not a crumb or a bit, but to satiety and fulness. All that were hungry did eat, and all that did eat were satisified, and yet twelve baskets full 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 eat, we may wonder that they left any thing.
Observe, 8. These fragments, though of barley loaves and fish-bones, must not be lost, but, at our Saviour’s command, gathered up. The liberal Housekeeper of the world will not allow the loss of his orts. O how tremendous will their account be, who having large and plentiful estates, spend them upon their lusts, being worse than lost in God’s account.
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 vv35–44 And when the day was now far spent,.... Or…
And when the day was now far spent,.... Or "much time was gone", in teaching the people, and healing the sick:
his disciples came unto him; nearer to him, as he was preaching, or healing the sick;
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and said, this is a desert place, and now the time is far passed; See Gill on Mat 14:15.
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 vv40, 43 They sat down in ranks - The word properly…
They sat down in ranks - The word properly signifies a parterre or bed in a garden; by a metaphor, a company of men ranged in order, by hundreds and by fifties - That is, fifty in rank, and a hundred in file. So a hundred multiplied by fifty, make just five thousand.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain On vv40, 41, 43, 44 Verse 40. By hundreds, and by fifties.] "That is,"…
Verse 40. By hundreds, and by fifties.] "That is," says Mr. Wesley, "fifty in a rank, and a hundred in file. So, a hundred multiplied by fifty, made just five thousand." But if they sat fifty deep, how could the disciples conveniently serve them with the bread and fish?
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain On v35 Mar 6:35-44. When the day was far spent, &c.…
Mar 6:35-44. When the day was far spent, &c. — See notes on Mat 14:15-21, where the circumstances of the miracle here recorded are explained at large. And they sat down in ranks — Or rather, in squares, as Campbell renders πρασιαι, observing, “The word denotes a small plat, such as a flower-bed in a garden. It has this meaning in Eccl 24:31. I do not find it in the LXX., or in any other part of the New Testament. These beds were in the form of oblong squares. The word is therefore very improperly rendered either ranks or rows.” Thus, also, Dr. Macknight, “They sat down in oblong squares. The word συμποσιον, used here by Mark, signifies a company of guests at a table, but κλισια, the word in Luke, denotes properly as many of them as reclined on one bed, according to the eastern manner of eating. By Christ’s order therefore, the people were to sit down to this meal in companies, consisting some of fifty persons, some of a hundred, according as the ground would admit. The members of each company, I suppose, were to be placed in two rows, the one row with their faces toward those of the other, as if a long table had been between them. The first company being thus set down, the second was to be placed beside the first in a like form, and the third by the second, till all were set down, the direction of the ranks being up the hill. And as the two ranks of every division were formed into one company, by being placed with their faces toward each other; so they were distinguished from the neighbouring companies, by lying with their backs turned to their backs. And the whole body thus ranged, would resemble a garden plot, divided into seed-beds, which is the proper signification of πρασιαι, the name given by Mark to the several companies after they were formed.”
It has been observed, in the note on Mat 14:19, &c., that the meat must have extended its dimensions, not in our Lord’s hands only, but in the hands of the multitude likewise, a circumstance which suggests further reasons for the people’s being set down in the manner above explained. “For as they were fed on a mountain, we may reasonably suppose that the ground was somewhat steep, and that they lay with their heads pointing up the hill, in such a manner, that reclining on their elbows, they were almost in a sitting posture, and had their eyes fixed on Jesus, who stood below them, in a place that was more plain, at a little distance from the ends of the ranks. Without doubt, therefore, they all heard his thanksgiving and prayer for the miracle, saw him give the disciples the meat, and were astonished above measure when they perceived that instead of diminishing it increased under his creating hands. Moreover, being set down in companies, and every company being divided into two ranks, which lay fronting each other, the ranks of all the companies were parallel, and pointed toward Jesus, and so were situated in such a manner that the disciples could readily bring the bread and fish to them that sat at the extremities of the ranks. To conclude, by this disposition there must have been such a space between the two ranks of each company, that every individual in it could easily survey the whole of his own company, as well those above him as those below him; and therefore, when the meat was brought, and handed from one to another, they would all follow it with their eyes, and see it swelling, not only in their own hands, but in the hands of their companions likewise, to the amazement and joy of every person present.”
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain On v37 For two hundred pence. See Matthew xviii. 28. The…
For two hundred pence. See Matthew xviii. 28. The apostles seem to speak these words ironically, to signify that they had not so much money as could procure a mouthful for each of them. (Witham)
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain On v41 41. Gave… his disciples to set before them —…
41. Gave… his disciples to set before them — Here, according to the beautiful thought of Stier, we have the image of a true and holy tradition. God gives to his Son, his Son to his apostles, his apostles to the people, the heavenly bread.
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 vv35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 43, 44 35. a desert place] The locality was probably part…
35. a desert place] The locality was probably part of the rich but uninhabited plain at the mouth of the Jordan.
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 vv35, 36, 39, 40, 44 (35) Far spent . . . far passed.—The Greek…
(35) Far spent . . . far passed.—The Greek word is the same in both clauses.
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 vv35, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43 And when the day was now far spent. The…
And when the day was now far spent. The English, like the Greek, is here very idiomatic (kai hdh wrav pollhv genomenhv). The English is retained in the Revised Version as it came through the Authorized Version from Tyndale. The present participle genomenhv appears in the Sinaitic Manuscript and in the Cambridge Codex. His disciples came unto him, and said. The best reading is (kai elegon), and were saying. St. Matthew (Mat_14:16) says, "They need not depart; give ye them to eat." Thus our Lord prepared the way for his miracle, tie detained the multitude till the day was far spent, so that the disciples might be induced to pray him to dismiss them. This would open the way for him to direct the disciples to feed them. And thus the miracle would appear all the more evident in proportion as they found themselves in a strait, and utterly destitute of the needful supplies of food for such a multitude in the desert. St. John"s account here is much more full. He tells us (Joh_6:5) that Jesus, addressing Philip, said, "Whence are we to buy bread, that these may eat?" And he adds, "This he said to prove him: for he himself knew what he would do." Our Lord, it would seem, asked Philip rather than the others, because Philip was simple-minded, sincere, and teachable, rather than clever, and so was accustomed to ask things which appeared plain to others. We have an instance of this simplicity of mind in the question which he asks, (Joh_14:8) "Lord show us the Father, and it sufficeth us.
Vers. 35-44. Feeding the five thousand: a miracle.
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One of the most signally demonstrative and masterly of Christ"s miracles, whether we consider the circumstances in which it was wrought, the details of its carrying out, or the dimensions and absoluteness of the result. How carefully the evidence was accumulated by Christ of the truly miraculous nature of this work! It was a grand display of
I WISDOM.
1. A practical (and symbolical) discipline of the Church in its great function towards the world.
2. A demonstration to the world of the principles and order of the kingdom of God.
II POWER.
1. Creative.
2. Multiplying human resources.
III MERCY. Wisdom and power co-operative towards the accomplishing of the highest blessing. Mercy the chief work of God as of man.
1. Bodily, in the relief of the hunger, consideration for the weariness of the multitude.
2. Spiritual, in giving spiritual bread, in teaching dependence upon God, and in enjoining economy of Divine gifts. M.
Vers. 35-44. Feeding the five thousand: a parable.
It is no less remarkable in this aspect; perhaps it was its suggestion of spiritual things which was its chief aim. It sets forth the physical and spiritual dependence of men upon God, and the Divine Father"s willingness and power to provide for his children; or, the sufficiency of the kingdom of God for the sustenance of its subjects. The nature and principles of Divine mercy to mankind are also suggested.
I THE POVERTY OF THE CHURCH. Both discovered and concealed; discovered to itself, concealed from the world. How delicate the consideration and tact of Christ!
1. In position. In the desert. For its needs no dependence upon the world is suffered, whose gold and silver and bread are "not convenient.
2. In material supplies. Only five loaves and two fishes, and these, as it were, adventitious.
3. In spiritual resource.
(1) In evangelical sentiment. How callous the suggestion them away"! There is no sense of responsibility for the well-being of the multitude, physically or spiritually. The question as to the "two hundred pennyworth of bread" is full of selfish dismay; the sacrifice is contemplated as not only great, but not to be entertained. "Give ye them to eat" conveys rebuke as well as command.
(2) In administrative expedients. They had everything to learn. No spiritual imagination is forthcoming to conceive of Divine aid in a grave exigency of the kingdom of God, to plan for the supply of those who have been led, by eagerness for the bread of life, to imperil their command of material necessities. Had the true feeling been there, the ideas and inspirations required to give effect to it would not have been wanting. Has the Church of to-day yet risen to its high vocation? Our missionary enterprise and inward institutional development have not been proportionate to our light and privilege. Surely the day is at hand when all these half-hearted and disappointing efforts shall be left behind and forgotten in more vigorous, comprehensive, and statesmanlike undertakings.
II THE RICHES OF CHRIST.
1. A satisfying, saving fullness, administered through the appointed means of grace already existent in his Church. The material resources of his people can never be of primary consequence; for:
2. Means rightly used in his nam e will be indefinitely multiplied to satisfy all the demands made upon it. One man, with the Spirit of the Lord in him, will be more powerful than Synods and Churches without it. And the means used thus must ever appear disproportionately insignificant as compared with the result. "What is little becomes an abundance through the blessing of God" (Godwin).
III CONDITIONS OF COMMUNICATION TO MEN. There was an antecedent ground for Christ"s consideration, viz. that the people had exposed themselves to inconvenience and danger through desire for his doctrine; corresponding to the principle, "Seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you." "He provideth the lower good for those who were seeking the higher" (Godwin). But the immediately declared conditions were:
1. Obedience. The disciples were to do as he bade them, and so through them, in turn, the crowd. The resources at hand loaves and fishes were to be sought for, calculated, and brought forth. The people are bidden to place themselves in a position most fittingly and impressively to receive the benefit to be conferred.
2. Order. There is something very impressive in the symmetrical arrangement, "by hundreds and by fifties." It was manifestly a measure of the highest importance from the point of view of "supply." "Order is Heaven"s first law." In the kingdom of God all things must "be done decently and in order." A settled government, properly appointed officers, and, in general, method, system. So in the economy there must be no waste. The saving from one season is to be the supply of another.
3. Divinely commissioned service. Some have supposed that the multiplication of the bread was effected in the hands of Christ; some, in the hands of the disciples; some, in the hands of the multitude; others, in all three stages of its administration. Yet are the apostles the called and commissioned servants of Christ the true "stewards of the mysteries." The qualification, however, is not mechanical, but spiritual. It is the Spirit of Christ in them that fits them for their task, and ensures their efficiency.
4. Prayer. The meal is a communion with God. His blessing must be asked. It is sacramental Only as God blesses the provision can it be sufficient. It is obvious that the grand condition of all these requirements is faith. It is the calling forth and exercising of this which crowns the miracle as a consummate grace. M.
Vers. 35-44. The multitude fed.
I THE COMPASSION OF CHRIST. It is for the body as well as the soul. The foundation of work upon the soul is cure for the body. It is contrasted with the disciples" carelessness. Their spirit is that which leads men to get rid of irksome duty. "Send them away!" Let them shift for themselves. Christ"s example teaches that where a want is seen, those who see it should be the first to seek to supply it.
II LOVE IS RICH IN RESOURCES. It seemed a physical impossibility to feed those thousands without bread, without money. This beautiful story, like that of Elijah and the widow of Zarephath in the old time, teaches that a little may go a long way." If the best use is made of existing means, they will be found insensibly to multiply; not always by what we term a "miracle," i.e. some process out of the ordinary operation of law, but in accordance with law, which may be better.
III METHOD IN BENEFICENCE. The multitude is broken up and distributed in parties, as if in preparation for a grand banquet. The spirit of love and goodness works by method. When we introduce order into our works, we reflect the law of Heaven and imitate the thought of God. Waste of material and waste of labour is generally for want of this.
IV IN GOD"S FEASTS THERE IS EVER ENOUGH AND TO SPARE. The people were not only satisfied, but there was enough left to furnish forth a future repast. The whole is a parable of the truths and laws of the Spirit. Love is the deepest root of social and political economy. It teaches the value of means, in view of the greatness of the ends. It stimulates prudence and calculation. For the individual, the complaint is generally not sound, that he has "not enough to live on." To reduce wants is the same as to increase means, and is a sure secret of wealth. For the community, the far-reaching and benevolent wisdom of the legislature may avail more than mere abundance of harvests. With order, religious principle, liberality and frugality, the tables of the people will be furnished with bread. To cheapen the means of living and oppose war is the duty of the Christian politician. J.
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 v35 He answered and said unto them, Give ye them…
Mar_6:35-44
He answered and said unto them, Give ye them to eat.
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Miracle of the loaves
The miracles of Christ ought to be considered; they are not trifles, and they ought not to be passed over as if they were the mere commonplaces of a daily newspaper. Everything that has to do with the Son of God is worthy of deepest study. What He did at one time is an index to what He will do again when need arises. He is grand in emergencies, and will rather feed His sheep by miracle than let them starve.
I. The guests.
1. Their great number. Feasting on an imperial scale. Five thousand gathered together, and all as easily provided for as if there had been but five!
2. The strange character of the guests. A nondescript multitude, collected from all classes. Little good could be said of them, except that they had an ear to hear Jesus preach, and were especially glad if the sermon was the first course, with loaves and fishes for the second. But Jesus did not wait until men deserved it, before blessing them. Bad or good, the generous Saviour fed them all; and He is willing to do so still.
3. What the guests had in common. All hungry, and all poor. Yet Christ invites, and He provides everything. We only need to receive, to partake of the fruit of His compassion.
II. The orderliness of the guests. They sat down in ranks. How were they marshalled so well? The Lord of Hosts was there; He knows how to marshal armies. Out of our disorder, Christ makes His order. However it may seem to us, Gods purposes are being carried oat, and at the right time we shall see that all has been done wisely and well.
III. The fare set before the guests. Bread and fish-a relish as well as a sufficiency. Christ is not content to give what is barely enough; He likes to give more than is actually required. You shall find in your dish a secret something which will sweeten all.
IV. The waiters at the feast. The disciples. He employs men to minister to men. What condescension! And what a blessed occupation for those whom He thus employs.
V. The blessing. Nothing without worship and thanks. Jesus must bless our labour, or it will be fruitless. Always give that look upward before you begin your work.
VI. The eating. When Jesus provides spiritual meat He intends it to be used-eaten. If you put two canaries in a cage tonight, and in the morning when they wake they see a quantity of seed in a box,-what will the birds do? Will they stop and ask what the seeds are there for? No, but they each reason thus: Here is a little hungry bird, and there is some seed; these two things go well together. And straightway they eat. Even thus, if in your right senses, and not perverted by sin, you will say, Here is a Saviour, and here is a sinner; these two things go well together; dear Saviour, save me a sinner. Here is a feast of mercy, and here is a hungry sinner; what can that feast be for but for the hungry, and I am such. Lord, I will even draw near and partake of this blessed feast of Thine; and unless Thou come and tell me to begone, I will feast till I am full. We need fear no repulse. Jesus rejects none from His feast of love. Come and partake, and the more fully the better pleased will He be.
VII. The clearing away. This teaches economy in the use of the Lords goods. And when properly used, not only is there never any lack, but abundance over. Christs power cannot be exhausted, no matter what the demands upon it may be. Come, for all things are ready. (C. H. Spurgeon.)
Feeding the five thousand: a miracle
A grand display of-
I. Wisdom.
1. A practical discipline of the Church in its great function towards the world.
2. A demonstration to the world of the principles and order of the Kingdom of God.
II. Power.
1. Creative.
2. Multiplying human resources.
III. Mercy.
1. Bodily, in the relief of the hunger, consideration for the weariness of the multitude.
2. Spiritual, in giving spiritual bread, in teaching dependence upon God, and in enjoining economy of Divine gifts. (A. F. Muir, M. A.)
A parable in a miracle
No less significant as parable than as miracle. Perhaps, indeed, the suggestion of spiritual things was its chief aim. It sets forth the physical and spiritual dependence of men upon God, and the Fathers willingness and power to provide for His children; also the nature of principles of Divine mercy to mankind are suggested.
I. The poverty of the Church.
1. In position. Desert.
2. In material supplies.
3. In spiritual resource.
II. The riches of Christ.
1. Administered through the appointed means of grace.
2. Abundant to satisfy all demands.
III. Conditions of Divine communication to men.
1. Obedience.
2. Order.
3. Divinely commissioned service.
4. Prayer.
5. Faith. (A. F. Muir, M. A.)
The multitude fed
I. The compassion of Christ. For the body as well as the soul. Where a want exists, those who first see it should seek to supply it.
II. Love is rich in resources. If the best use is made of existing means, they will insensibly multiply.
III. Method in beneficence. When we introduce order into our works, we reflect the law of heaven and imitate the thought of God.
IV. In Gods feasts there is ever enough and to spare. (E. Johnson, M. A.)
The miracle of the loaves
This miracle
(1) teaches us that all feeding is from the Divine hand;
(2) declares that God feeds men in tenderness and compassion;
(3) points to those many processes of nature which are (like the disciples here) employed by Him to convey to us His gifts;
(4) shows that, in Gods gifts, the poverty of human means and natural resources hinders not the fullest satisfaction of our wants;
(5) illustrates the economy which reigns in Gods house: His gifts are precious in His own sight at least;
(6) teaches the duty of thankful reception of all He bestows. (R. Green.)
Christ the Sustainer of life
Jesus here manifests Himself as the Sustainer of life. As such-
1. He works by making use of what appear to us to be ordinary means. No striking exhibition of supernatural power here. He takes the common food which Gods providence had supplied, and in the distribution of that the whole multitude are fed. Possibly many present never recognized it to be a miracle at all.
2. He works by the ministry of men. Indeed, He was less visibly the agent in this miracle than were His disciples. The ignorant multitude might have imagined that it was they who were feeding them. But the disciples knew that it was Jesus only, and that they were but His instruments, carrying out the miracle only as far as they were acting in simple obedience to Him.
3. He works by order and method.
4. He recognizes that all must be done in union with the Father. He blesses that wherewith He would work, knowing that what the Father has blessed must fulfil its purpose. He gives thanks for it, knowing that to give thanks for a little is the way to make it become more. Application:
(a) By such methods the Eternal Word, by Whom all things were made, sustains the natural life of the creatures of His hand. He works by the natural laws which He has Himself provided, and so withdraws Himself from common observation that the thoughtless multitude fail to recognize His presence, and regard not Him who is ever for their sakes multiplying by His hidden power our natural sustenance. He works also by the ministry of men, thereby teaching us our mutual dependence on one another. This we further learn from the divisions of the human family into nations and callings, which is part of His Divine order. All this sustaining work of the Eternal Word is done in union with the Eternal Father, from Whom and in Whom are all things.
(b) By like methods the same Eternal Word sustains our spiritual life. By the simple means of grace, by the Communion of Saints, by the Divine Order of the Church; by all these, under the blessing of the Father, the life of His Spirit in mens souls is ever being nourished. (Vernon W. Hutton, B. A.)
In ranks
The word here translated ranks indicates that the people were seated in separate detachments, with sufficient space left to move freely between them. According to another etymology, however, it signifies a bed of herbs or flowers, and its usage would then illustrate St. Marks picturesqueness, the bright Eastern costumes of the compact masses upon the brilliant green having suggested to an eyewitness a close resemblance to a bright and well-ordered garden. (H. M. Luckock, D. D.)
Christs ability to do much with little
It is true that we have but our five coarse barley loaves and two small fishes; in themselves they are useless. Well, then, let us give them to Christ. He can multiply them, and can make them more than enough to feed the five thousand. A cup of cold water-what a little thing it is! Well, but will the world ever forget one cup of cold water which David would not drink, but poured upon the earth, because his men had risked their lives to fetch it him; or the other cup of cold water which Sir Philip Sidney, although dying and athirst, gave to the wounded soldier who eyed it eagerly at the battle of Zutphen? A grain of mustard seed-can anything be smaller? Well, but when Zinzendorf was a boy at school he founded amongst his schoolfellows a little guild which he called the Order of the Grain of Mustard Seed, and thereafter that seedling grew into the great tree of the Moravian Brotherhood whose boughs were a blessing to the world. The widows mite! When they laughed at St. Theresa when she wanted to build a great orphanage, and had but three shillings to begin with, she answered, With three shillings Theresa can do nothing; but with God and her three shillings there is nothing which Theresa cannot do. Do not let us imagine, then, that we are too poor, or too stupid, or too ignorant, or too obscure to do any real good in the world wherein God has placed us. Is there a greater work in this day than the work of education? Would you have thought that the chief impulse to that work, whereon we now annually spend so many millions of taxation, was given by a poor, illiterate Plymouth cobbler-John Pounds? Has there been a nobler work of mercy in modern days than the purification of prisons? Yet that was done by one whom a great modern writer sneeringly patronized as the dull, good man, John Howard. Is there a grander, nobler enterprise than missions? The mission of England to India was started by a humble, itinerant shoemaker, William Carey. These men brought to Christ their humble efforts, their five loaves, and in His hand they multiplied exceedingly. (Archdeacon Farrar.)
Looked up to Heaven and blessed
The king of the island of Toobow avowed an attachment to Christianity. In 1823 he went on board a British vessel to pay a visit to the captain, and unconsciously conveyed a very forcible practical reproof to the party. He sat down at table to partake of some refreshment; but, although food was placed before him, he made a very observable pause; and, when asked why he did not begin, replied that he was waiting till a blessing had been asked upon the food. The reproof was felt, and the party were ashamed at being rebuked by a man whose intellectual attainments they considered far inferior to their own. They rose and the king asked a blessing before they commenced the repast.
Carefulness even in small things
Here observe-
1. God wastes nothing-in nature, in providence, in grace.
2. Thrift is duty. The wasteful have as little to give as the penurious.
3. Husbandry of joys is wisdom. Too late to begin trying to gather up the fragments when calamity has come.
4. Husbandry of time is duty. The men who do most in this world are those who waste least time.
5. Those who give, get more than they part with. Lend a boat to Christ, and you get a miraculous draught of fishes. Give him five loaves, and He will give you twelve baskets of fragments back. He that saves his money loses it; but he that loses it for loves sake, will keep it. (R. Glover.)
Feeding of five thousand
In this narrative we may note the following points-
I. The compassion and power of Christ were for the bodies and minds of men.
II. The excitement of expectation prepares for the reception of good.
III. Material objects and human agency are employed in the communication of Divine gifts.
IV. Order should be observed, gratitude expressed, and liberality be combined with frugality, in common meals. (J. H. Godwin.)
Our duty to the multitude
Let us inquire what that part is, which belongs to us, analogous to that which devolved upon the disciples; and let us learn from the three lessons which are furnished, to magnify and exalt that saving mercy, of which we have been so long and so abundantly partakers.
I. We learn from the text, in the first place, then, a call to duty. The advancement of the kingdom of Christ is, or ought to be, the first object of every sincere Christian.
II. But we learn, in the second place, a call to faith. There is one essential difference, without doubt, between the case of the disciples and our own; the difference, I mean, of miraculous interposition. In the case of the disciples, a miracle was necessary; in our case, all is left to us. Did I say, all?-all exertion, all prayer, and all faith; but the blessing must unquestionably be added from above, or all is in vain.
III. But I am anxious to summon your attention to the third and last lesson of the text, namely, its call for encouragement. How great is our encouragement! Like the disciples, we have the Saviour, to whom we may look to bless the means we use, and to make the results glorious. (W. Harrison, M. A.)
The multitude fed in the wilderness
I. The miracle.
1. Power over the material world. This to material beings like ourselves is a concern of no small moment. Have the things around us any Master? If so, who is He? The Lord Christ, answers the gospel. It follows that He can never be at a loss for an instant to punish us; also that the stores of nature are to us just what He pleases to make them. In the material world, as in the spiritual, His people are safe.
2. Notice also in this miracle the little value which Christ puts on sensual gratifications, on luxuries and what we call comforts. We have seen His power; it was evidently boundless. A word from His lips could have spread before this multitude all the delicacies of the East. But in calling His omnipotence into exercise for them, the only food He provides is the mean fare of the humblest fisherman.
II. Let us pass on now to the feelings with which this miracle was wrought.
1. One of these was evidently a consciousness of power. Not that it was wrought ostentatiously, for the purpose of exciting astonishment or applause; it was a work of pure compassion, with no vain show whatever in it; nay, with a concealment of power, rather than a display of it.
2. We have thus looked at the author of this miracle as God; but He is as really man as He is God, and he feels and acts here like a dependent man; for mark further the spirit of devotion He manifests. When He had taken the five loaves and the two fishes, the evangelist says, He looked up to heaven and blessed. Why this bringing of devotion to bear upon the trifles of life? Because God is in all these trifles. True religion is not an act, but a habit; not an impulse or emotion, but a principle; not a sudden torrent, produced by the snows of winter or the thunderstorm of summer; it is a stream ever running, varying indeed in its breadth and depth, but from the moment of its rise, ever flowing on till it reaches the ocean of everlasting life. Banish God from your meals, or habitually from anything, and you might as well banish Him from everything.
3. Notice also the munificence, the liberality, with which our Lord spread this wide board for this vast multitude. The two fishes divided He among them all; and they did all eat and were filled. None were excluded, none were controlled, none went away dissatisfied. There was enough and to spare. And think not, brethren, that you can ever exhaust the grace, or diminish the fulness, of your Almighty Saviour.
III. The time chosen for this miracle-When the day was now far passed. The disciples were thus taught that they could do nothing for the hungry crowd. This mode of proceeding runs through all his dealings with us, whether in providence or in grace. He humbles us under His mighty hand, before He exalts us; He breaks our hearts, before He heals.
IV. And this is nearly the same truth that our fourth subject will suggest to us-the place where this miracle was performed. You discover then at once, brethren, the lesson we have to learn here-our richest supplies, our best comforts, are not the growth of our worldly prosperity, nor often the companions of our worldly ease; they come to us in situations and under circumstances, which seem to cut us off from every comfort and supply. Think of the deserts in which you have wandered. Outward affliction has been one of these. Spiritual sorrow, too, conviction of sin, is another wilderness; a dark and fearful one; none on earth more fearful. O never let us fear the desert, as long as we are there with the Lord Jesus Christ. (C. Bradley, M. A.)
Food for the million
I. Jesus Christ affords us all our food for bodily sustenance.
II. Needful food is ensured to His true disciples.
III. See how Christ would have us receive our food.
1. With thankfulness and decorum.
2. With generous distribution of it to others.
3. With frugal care of it.
IV. The miracle is a type of Gospel provisions for the souls of men.
1. Christ gives us spiritual food; as truth, righteousness, and love.
2. He distributes it through His ministering servants, and it multiplies in their hands.
3. It is superabundantly enough for all mankind. Therefore-
(1) Come and eat with all thankfulness.
(2) Freely hand it round to others. (Congregational Pulpit.)
Christs feast free
Christs banqueting hall was an open field, there were no walls or doors, or persons guarding the entrance: thus free is His feast of love at this moment. Whosoever will, let him come. (C. H. Spurgeon.)
Order out of disorder
The original word used by Mark represents them as divided, like beds of flowers, with walks between, so that as a gardener can go up and down, and water all the plants, so the waiters at the feast could conveniently give every man his share of bread and his piece of fish without confusion. They sat down in ranks by fifties and by hundreds. Things do not look so orderly now, do they, as we see Christ through His Church feeding the multitude? There is a good work going on in the North of England, there is a revival in Scotland, there is an awakening in Ireland, there is a stir in the Midland Counties; but does it not look very like a scramble? Do we not seem to tumble over one another, instead of doing our work in soldierly order? A good work springs up in one place on a sudden, while religion is dying out in other quarters; the people are satiated yonder, and are starving only a little way off. We do not get at the masses as a whole, or see the Church progress in all places. Let us not, however, judge too hastily, for Jesus makes His order out of our disorder. We see a piece of the puzzle, but when the whole shall be put together and we shall see the end from the beginning, I warrant you we shall see that Christs great feast of mercy, with its myriads of guests, has been conducted on a principle of order as mathematically accurate as that which guides the spheres in their courses. (C. H. Spurgeon.)
Salvation for us
Why flows the river, but to make glad your fields? Why sparkles the fountain, but to quench your thirst? Why shines the sun, but for your eyes to be blessed with his light? As you breaths the air around you because you feel that it must have been made for you to breathe, so receive the full, free salvation of Jesus Christ. (C. H. Spurgeon.)
Four thousand men to be fed in the wilderness
My brethren, the difficulty urged by the disciples is one not of bygone times only.
I. It is a difficulty arising from numbers, and it is a difficulty arising from place. When from any unhappy cause, such as that terrible and most wicked war which is at this time raging in the new world, the supplies of trade and commerce are suddenly cut off from a large portion of our countrymen, how sad a meaning is given even in a literal sense to the inquiry in the text! What a burden is thrown upon private charity, what a burden is thrown upon the public resources, by a cry for bread, for the food of the body, going up from destitute thousands! And are there not some among us capable of feeling the same weight of difficulty in reference to things spiritual? And when our thoughts take a wider range, and pass to towns and cities in our own laud where the population is counted not by hundreds, but by tens of thousands; when we think of that aggregate of ignorance, ungodliness, and sin, which a population of a hundred thousand or of a million of souls must present to the eye of a holy and heart-searching God, and then compare with it the few faithful ministers and servants of God who are set to dispense the bread of life amongst that mighty multitude. The least we expect of the disciples is their own faith, their own obedience. If the prospect is discouraging, it must not be made more so by the faithlessness of the faithful: they at least must eat of Christs bread, and assist Him in the distribution (so far as it will go) to others.
II. We have to think also of the difficulty arising from the place; from the disparity between the scene which was before them and the food which was wanted. Bread here in the wilderness. When we apply this to spiritual things, two remarks will suggest themselves. There is an apparent contrariety between heavenly supplies and our earthly condition. We are here in a wilderness. There is an incongruity between the place and the promise. Rest in a changing world, happiness in a troublous world, the ideas are inharmonious and discordant. I appeal to some of you, my brethren, to testify that, though there may be contrariety in the ideas, there is no contradiction. Some of you have found that, though all else changes, God changes not; that, though all else is unrest, in Christ there is peace. You can already attest the truth of His words, These things I have spoken unto you, that in Me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world. (C. J. Vaughan, D. D.)
Important lessons from Christs procedure
1. The poverty of Christ.
2. The voluntary character of His privations.
3. His riches for others are brought into contrast with the poverty of His own estate.
4. The wants of the soul are first to be attended to-as most important.
5. Christ should be trusted with our temporal affairs-He has sympathy and ability.
6. Christ will succour us under the difficulties and hardships felt in following Him.
7. It is when the sagacity and power of man are confessedly inadequate that Christ interposes.
8. It is in using our natural resources that Christ communicates His gracious aid.
9. It is the blessing of Christ which makes anything serve its proper end.
10. The richness and pleasures of an entertainment do not depend on the costliness of the provision.
11. We can never come to Christ at a wrong time.
12. The bread of life. The living bread. (J. Stewart.)
Miraculous feeding of five thousand
I. A striking view of the Saviours tender compassion. Regard it in connection with-
1. The disciples. When I sent you without purse and script and shoes, lacked ye anything? And they said, Nothing. Now they have a new token of His fidelity and love.
2. The multitude.
(1) The feeling with which they were regarded.
(2) The cause of this feeling-They were as sheep, etc.
(3) Its consequences-And He began to teach them many things.
II. The display He gave of His almighty power.
1. There was no misgiving.
2. There was no confusion.
3. There was no parade.
4. There was no deficiency.
5. There was no waste. (Expository Outlines.)
The lads loaves and fishes
This miracle is remarkable-
I. For the extraordinary number of witnesses there were to it.
II. For the mysterious peculiarity of the process in working.
III. For the extraordinary affluence of its products.
IV. For the profound impression it made and is yet making. (C. S. Robinson, D. D.)
Providential supply of food
Bishop Bascom was preaching on one occasion in a cabin which was at once church and dwelling. In the midst of the sermon his host, who sat near the door, suddenly rose from his seat, snatched the gun from its wooden brackets upon which it lay against the joist, went hastily out, fired it off, and returning, put the gun in its place, and quietly seated himself to hear the remainder of the sermon. After service was ended, the bishop inquired of the man the meaning of his strange conduct. Sir, said he, we are entirely out of meat, and I was perplexed to know what we should give you for dinner; and it was preventing me from enjoying the sermon, when God sent a flock of wild geese this way. I happened to see them, took my gun, and killed two at a shot. My mind felt easy, and I enjoyed the remainder of the sermon with perfect satisfaction. (S. S. Teacher.)
The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Paul E. Kretzmann 1924 · Public Domain On vv35, 39 Testing the disciples:
Testing the disciples:
v. 35. And when the day was now far spent, His disciples came unto Him and said, This is a desert place, and now the time is far passed.
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v. 36. Send them away that they may go into the country round about and into the villages and buy themselves bread; for they have nothing to eat.
v. 37. He answered and said unto them, Give ye them to eat. And they say unto Him, Shall we go and buy two hundred pennyworth of bread, and give them to eat?
v. 38. He saith unto them, How many loaves have ye? Go and see. And when they knew, they say, Five, and two fishes.
In this story, as in many others, the Holy Spirit has permitted the evangelist to record such parts of the conversation as he remembered. The hour had advanced very far, it was late in the day, when the disciples thought it their duty to interfere and to remind the Master of the necessity of taking care of the body also. There is a certain amount of impatience contained in the address to Jesus: The place is uninhabited, and the hour is advanced. He should dismiss them; they could go to the farmhouses and the little villages situated within a radius of a few miles and buy themselves something to eat. Jesus takes the opportunity of testing their trust in His ability to help in this emergency. He urges them to take care of the unbidden guests; by skillful questioning He brings out the fact that they have been figuring the number of loaves that might be bought for two hundred denarii (between thirty-three and thirty-four dollars), that they have found the provisions on hand to amount to five loaves of bread and two fish. The concern of the disciples at the inquiry of Jesus is illuminating as showing the weakness of their faith.
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 vv35, 37, 39, 42 When the hour was late
When the hour was late
This means it was late in the day. AT: "When it was getting late" or "Late in the afternoon" (See: Idiom)
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a deserted place
This refers to a place where there are no people. See how you translated this in Mark 6:31.
translationWords
hour, hours
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 vv35, 37, 41, 42 6:35-36 The place where Jesus taught was remote,, but…
6:35-36 The place where Jesus taught was remote,, but it still had farms and villages . . . nearby where the people could buy something to eat.
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.