LXIII.
FIRST WITHDRAWAL FROM HEROD'S TERRITORY AND RETURN.
(Spring, A. D. 29.)
Subdivision B.
FEEDING THE FIVE THOUSAND.
aMATT. XIV. 13-21; bMARK
VI. 33-44; cLUKE IX. 11-17; dJOHN
VI. 2-14.
c11 But {aand}
the multitudes heard thereof [heard of Jesus and his disciples
crossing the lake], b33 And they
saw them going, and cperceiving it, bmany knew them,
d2 And a great multitude followed him, because they beheld the
signs which he did on them that were sick. band they ran together
there on foot from all the cities, and outwent them.
a14 And he came forth, and saw a great multitude, and had compassion
on them, bbecause they were as sheep not having a shepherd cand
he welcomed them, band he began to teach them many things. cand
spake unto them of the kingdom of God, aand healed their sick.
cand them that had need of healing he cured. [Jesus probably
set sail from near Capernaum, and from thence across the lake to the narrow,
secluded plain of El Batihah, where he landed is less than five miles.
Seeing him start, the people followed him by running along the northern
shore, and, though having a little farther to go, they traveled faster
than the sailboat, and were waiting for him on the shore when he arrived.]
d3 And Jesus went up into the mountain, and there he sat with
his disciples. [The level plain did not afford a good platform from
which to address the people.] 4 Now
the passover, the feast of the Jews, was at hand. [This passover is
computed to have been held on April 16, A. D. 29. This statement as to
the time of year prepares us for his further statement that there was much
grass in the plain. It also explains in part the gathering of a multitude
in this secluded region. Pilgrims on their way to the passover would gladly
go several miles out of their way to see the great Prophet perform a miracle.
The excitement, due to the mission of the twelve and the death of the Baptist,
also tended to swell the [375] crowd.]
c12 And the day began to wear away;
b35 And when the day was now far spent,
a15 And when even was come, bhis disciples cthe
twelve bcame unto him cand said unto him, {asaying,}
bThe place is desert, and the day is now far spent; aand
the time is already past [the time to seek lodging and provisions had
gone by, and therefore the multitude must act quickly];
b36 send them athe multitudes {cmultitude}
away, that they may go into the villages and country around, and lodge,
and get provisions: aand buy themselves food. bsomething
to eat. cfor we are here in a desert place. [The apostles
were the first to think of eating, and naturally enough, for they had started
on empty stomachs, and their own discomfort made them anticipate the sad
plight in which the multitude would soon find itself.]
a16 But Jesus said unto them, They have no need to go away;
d5 Jesus therefore lifting up his eyes, and seeing that a great
multitude cometh to him, saith unto Philip, Whence are we to buy bread,
that these may eat? 6 And this he said
to prove him: for he himself knew what he would do.
7 Philip answered him, Two hundred shillings' worth of bread is not sufficient
for them, that every one may take a little. [Jesus tested Philip to
see which way he would turn in his weakness. Jesus asked where the bread
might be bought, knowing that power to feed the multitude resided in himself
(Isa. lv. 1), but Philip wondered where the money was to be had to buy
it.] b37
But he answered and said unto them, Give ye them to eat. And they say unto
him, Shall we go and buy two hundred shillings' worth of bread, and give
them to eat? [The word translated shilling is the Roman denarius, worth
about seventeen cents. The sum was not large, as we reckon money, but,
considering the purchasing power of money in those days, it was an imposing
sum, and it is to be doubted if the treasury-bag of Judas ever contained
the fourth part of it. For a denarius was the regular price for a day's
labor.] 38 And he saith unto them,
How many [376] loaves have ye? go and
see. d8 One of his disciples,
Andrew, Simon Peter's brother, saith unto him,
9 There is a lad here, who hath five barley loaves, and two fishes: but
what are they among so many? bAnd when they knew, they say,
Five, and two fishes. a17
And they say unto him, {csaid,} aWe have here but
cno more than five loaves and two fishes; except we should go
and buy meat for all this people. 14 For
they were about five thousand men. [When sent to see what was in their
larder, it appears that they had nothing at all. Andrew reports the finding
of the boy's lunch while it was as yet the boy's property. Some of the
others, having secured it from the boy, report it now at the disposal of
Jesus, but comment on its insufficiency. Eastern loaves were thin and small,
like good-sized crackers, and around the Sea of Galilee, the salting and
preserving of small fish was an especial industry. These fish, therefore,
were about the size of sardines. The whole supply, therefore, was no more
than enough for one hungry boy. But each loaf had to be divided between
a thousand, and each fish between twenty-five hundred men.]
a18 And he said, Bring them hither to me.
19 And he commanded the multitude to sit down cAnd
d10 Jesus said, cunto his disciples, Make them dthe
people sit down. cin companies, about fifty each.
15 And they did so, and made them all sit down.
b40 And they sat down in ranks, by hundreds, and by fifties.
dNow there was much grass in the place. So the men sat down,
in number about five thousand. [By thus arranging them in orderly companies,
Jesus accomplished several things. He saved his apostles much time and
labor in distributing the food. He insured that each one should be fed,
and that the reality of the miracle could not be questioned, and he ascertained
definitely how many men were fed.]
c16 And d11 Jesus
therefore took athe five loaves, and the two fishes, and looking
up to heaven, che blessed and brake them, band brake
the loaves; dand having [377] given
thanks, he distributed to them that were set down; aand gave
the loaves to the disciples, and the disciples to the multitudes. {cand
gave to the disciples to set before the multitude.} dlikewise
also of the fishes as much as they would. band the two fishes
divided he among them all.
42 And they all ate, cand were all filled. [He blessed the
loaves and fishes by returning thanks for them. This and similar acts of
Jesus are our precedents for giving thanks, or, "asking the blessing,"
at our tables]: d12 And when
they were filled, he saith unto his disciples, Gather up the broken pieces
which remain over, that nothing be lost. [Christ is the economist of
the universe. This command was in keeping with his laws which permit nothing
to suffer annihilation. Ruin and destruction have no other effect than
merely to change the form of things. Every atom of the material world which
was here at the beginning of creation is here to-day, though it may have
changed its form a million times in the progress of events.] So
they gathered them up, cand there was taken {athey
took} cup that which remained over to them of athe
broken pieces, dand filled atwelve baskets full.
{bbasketfuls,} dwith broken pieces from the five
barley loaves, which remained over unto them that had eaten. band
also of the fishes.
a21 And they that did eat {bate} the loaves were
aabout five thousand men, besides women and children. [Considering
the distance from any town, the women and children would not likely be
numerous. They form no part of the count, for Eastern usage did not permit
the women to sit with the men. They, with the little ones, would stand
apart.] d14 When therefore
the people saw the sign which he did, they said, This is of a truth the
prophet that cometh into the world. [That is to say, this is the Messiah,
the prophet promised at Deut. xviii. 15. Their desire to avenge the death
of John made them feverishly anxious for the appearance of the Messiah,
but this faith was inconstant.] [378]
[FFG 375-378]
