Matthew 14:15

Mat_14:15-21

They need not depart; give ye them to eat.

Christ feeding the multitude

The miracles of Jesus were:

(1) public;

(2) beneficent.

I. The nature and circumstances of the miracle.

1. When was it wrought? In the evening. The evening of a day that had been well spent.

2. Where was it performed? In a desert place. The miracle as to time and place encourages our confidence in Christ in the most trying and destitute situations.

3. What was the order of its performance.

(1) Christs tenderness to the people-They need not depart.

(2) The all-sufficiency which He possessed in Himself.

(3) The plainness of their provision, as well as the scantiness of the supply.

(4) However little you have bring it to Jesus, and He will make it more.

(5) His devotion-looking up to heaven.

(6) Our Lord employed the disciples as the dispensers of His bounty.

(7) A lesson of frugality-They took up the fragments.

II. Reflections.

1. In this provision see an emblem of Jesus Christ. He is the true Bread.

2. In the distribution of this provision learn the office and work of Christian ministers.

3. In the apparent deficiency of this provision we are reminded of the treatment of the Saviour and His gospel by an unbelieving world. Five loaves and two fishes appeared nothing to the supply of such an assembly.

4. In the real sufficiency of this provision we are instructed in the glorious ability of Christ to complete the happiness of all that believe. The multitude did all eat and were filled. (T. Kidd.)

The five barley loaves in the desert

I. Christs retreat into the desert. He sought retirement; multitude intruded, yet Christ was not disappointed or annoyed.

II. The men sitting down to the barley loaves.

1. There is the want of bread for the congregation in the desert.

2. Jesus asks the disciples what supply they have.

3. Jesus orders the disciples to bring the loaves to Himself. Christs way of giving us more is to begin with what we have.

4. Jesus next commands the multitude to sit down in order. The multitude needed great faith. We cannot first eat and then believe; must believe and eat. The disciples need faith and courage; sent by Christ on a trying errand-Give ye them to eat. The foolishness of preaching becomes the power of God.

III. The bread blessed end multiplied.

1. Jesus gave thanks to God for the bread in the face of all the multitude.

2. Jesus blesses the bread before he breaks and gives to the people; and His blessing breathed upon it fills the bread with an infinite fulness. Christ is the Bread of Life to the sinner dying for want; sweet to the soul in the desert.

3. Jesus breaks the bread and multiplies in the using; He breaks and distributes to the apostles, and they break and distribute to the people; and probably the people break and distribute to each other. Christ breathes upon and blesses the Word.

IV. The fragments remaining.

1. After the feast is finished there are many fragments over.

2. Jesus and His disciples live upon these fragments. The fragments are more than the entire supply for the feast. The more we feed on Christ, the more always is there of Christ to feed on; He increases to us. (A. M. Stuart.)

The food of the worm

I. Christ feeds the famishing world by means of His Church.

1. The food, though supernaturally provided, is carried to the hungry by the ordinary means.

2. The disciples were prepared for their work. They had to learn the absolute disproportion between the means at their command and the needs of the crowd.

3. We must carry our poor and inadequate resources to Christ.

II. The bread is enough for all the world-They did all eat and were filled.

III. The bread that is given to the famishing is multiplied for the future of the distributors. (American Homiletic Review.)

The miracle of the loaves and fishes

I. Explain and illustrate the various circumstances connected with the miracle.

II. The spiritual lessons which the miracle affords. In the people we see a striking representation of the moral condition of the human family. In the provision we see a true exhibition of the blessing of the gospel. In its distribution we see the nature of the office of the Christian ministry. In the abundance remaining we see the boundlessness of gospel supplies. What personal participation of gospel blessing is necessary to our happiness and satisfaction? (Dr. J. Burns.)

The food of the world

Scripture miracles are not merely wonders, but signs. This one is a symbolic revelation of Christ supplying all the wants of this hungry world. Three points-the distribution, the meal, the gathering up.

I. Christ feeds the famishing world by means of his church.

1. Economy of power. God does not interfere supernaturally, any further than is necessary. Christs incarnation and sacrifice are the purely supernatural work of the Divine power and mercy; but, after their introduction into the world, human agency is required for the diffusion of the new power. Christian people are henceforth Christs instruments.

2. Preparation of the disciples for this work. Looking at their own resources, they felt utterly inadequate to the work. Humility and self-distrust are necessary if God is to work with and in us. He works with bruised reeds, and out of them makes polished shafts, pillars in His house. In His hands our feeble resources are enough.

3. The disciples seem to have partaken first. Those only can distribute and impart, who have themselves found sustenance and life in Christ. And an obligation lies on them to do so. Power to its last particle is duty.

II. The bread is enough for all the world. The gospel addresses itself to universal wants, brushing aside all surface distinctions, and going right down to the depths of our common nature. The seed of the kingdom is like corn, an exotic nowhere, for wherever man lives it will grow-and yet an exotic everywhere, for it came down from heaven. Other food requires an educated palate for its appreciation; but any hungry man in any land will relish bread. For every soul on earth this living, dying love of Jesus addresses itself to and satisfies his deepest wants. It is the bread which gives life to the world.

III. The bread given to the famishing is multiplied for the future of the distributors. To impart to others is to gain for oneself. If you would learn, teach. If you would have your own spiritual life strengthened and deepened, remember that not by solitary meditation or raptures of silent communion alone can that be accomplished, but by these and by honest, manful work for God in the world. (A. Maclaren, D. D.)

The work of the Church in a starving world

An emblem of the whole work of the Church in this starving world. The multitudes famish. Tell Christ of their wants. Count your own small resources till you have completely learned your poverty: then take them to Jesus. He will accept them, and in His hands they will become mighty, being transfigured from human thoughts and forces into Divine words, spiritual powers. On that bread which He gives, do you yourself live. Then carry it boldly to all the hungry. Rank after rank will eat. All races, all ages, from grey hairs to babbling childhood, will find there the food of their souls. As you part the blessing, it will grow beneath His eye; and the longer you give, the fuller handed you will become. Nor shall the bread fail, nor the word become weak, till all the world has tasted of its sweetness, and been refreshed by its potent life. (A. Maclaren, D. D.)

The miracle of the loaves

I. The urgency of the need.

1. What is wanted-food.

2. The urgency of the want-in the wilderness.

II. The abundance of the supply-He openeth His hand and filleth all things living with plenteousness.

1. Like the five loaves the word is, in the letter of it contemptible and mean.

2. The miracle instructive on account of its typical character; the disciples received the food they set before the people from the hands of Jesus. We should determine:

(1) To eat the food ourselves;

(2) To distribute it to others. (C. Clayton, M. A.)

Compassion for the multitude

I. Our mission and our weakness. Hungry men around us. To feed them, superstition offers stones instead of bread. Infidelity tries to persuade that they are not hungry. You say Who are we that we should feed this multitude, who can count them? Do not let the magnitude of the work dispirit you. The supply is scant you say. There is a tendency to shift responsibility. Let us send them away into the villages to buy meat.

II. Our line of duty and the masters strength.

1. In immediate obedience to Christs commands.

2. In consecrating what we have to Christ.

3. In prayer.

4. In active service. (C. H. Spurgeon.)

Communication begets plenty

I. The productions of the earth and of the earths industry, outward possessions and benefits, the things that are consumed in the using. Shut up your bread-corn in a granary, and though it may not rot, it cannot grow; but strow it Abroad over the furrows of the ground, and it will swell into a harvest. Lock up your piece of silver or gold, and it is no better than dead; but send it out into the worlds free commerce, and the rusty solitary shall become a glittering host. An avaricious policy is dull-sighted and thriftless. It saves, but to be barren. Modern science teaches us that public wealth is born of trust and free communications.

II. Intelligence and knowledge, the power of learning and the treasures of learning, are multiplied by distribution. The human mind is not less ready than the soil to render back with interest what is sown in it. Jesus gave to the disciples, and the disciples to the multitude. That is the way in which instruction is imparted. It passes from one to the many. It finds companions. Truth begets truth; and you must have a company to show the supply. What would have seemed inconsiderable if left by itself, grows into great account as it is sent forward among those who apprehend it, and transmit it in new and manifold forms. It is manifested, it is accumulated, by travelling down among the sympathies and wants of those whose hearts love it, whose natures crave it, and whose ability and experience reproduce and recommend it to all men.

III. Joy, hope, and all cheering influences are increased by being sent round from a single mind among the ranks of the worlds poor sojourners. Nothing is more heightened by communication than just such impulses as those we here require. Joy and hope are social; they ask for companionship; they spread by contact and mutual encouragement. He who has awakened them in his own breast, finds them greatly enhanced by expressing them; and their expression is caught up and repeated by numberless voices that had till then slept. (L. N. Frothingham.)

Sitting on grass

The tall grass which, broken down by the feet of the thousands there gathered together, would make as it were couches for them to recline upon. (Dean Stanley.)

Multiplied by giving

From whence God multiplies the crops of corn from a few grains, from thence He multiplied the loaves in His own hands. For the power was in the hands of Christ. For those five loaves were, as it were, seed, not indeed committed to the earth, but multiplied by Him who made the earth. (Augustine.)

When you give a loaf or a coin to a poor man, you do not lose it, but you sow it; for, as from one grain of seed many grains grow, so it is likewise with loaves and money. (Lapide.)

Increase by distribution

Christ could as welt have multiplied the loaves whole; why would He rather do it in the breaking? Perhaps to teach us that in the distribution of our goods we should expect His blessing, and not in their entireness and reservation. There is no man but increaseth by scattering. (Bishop Hall.)

Strong charity, weak faith

Send them away, that they may buy victuals. Here was a strong charity, but a weak faith: a strong charity, in that they would have the people relieved; a weak faith, in that they supposed they could not otherwise be so well relieved. As a man, when he sees many ways lie before him, takes that which he thinks both fairest and nearest, so do they: this way of relief lay openest to their view and promised most. (Bishop Hall.)

Baskets for fragments

The Roman poet Juvenal describes a large provision-basket, together with a bundle of hay, as being part of the equipment of the Jewish mendicants who thronged the grove of Egeria at Rome. The motive for this custom was to avoid ceremonial impurity in eating, or in resting at night. (A. Cart.)

Our Lord in prayer

Likely he was weary in body, and also worn in spirit for lack of that finer sympathy which His disciples could not give Him being very earthly yet. He who loves his fellows and labours among those who can ill understand him will best know what this weariness of our Lord must have been like He had to endure the world-pressure of surrounding humanity in all its ungodlike phases. (George Macdonald.)

The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Mat 14:15-18. And when it was evening his disciples came to him — That is, the first evening, which began at three in the afternoon. That this is the meaning is plain from Mat 14:23, where another evening is said to have come after the people were fed and dismissed. Accordingly, Mark says, they came when the day was now far spent; and Luke, when the day began to wear away: saying, This is a desert place — Where there is neither food nor lodging to be had; and the time is now past — The word ωρα, here translated time, denotes the season of doing any thing. Here it seems to signify the season of the people’s attending on Christ, which was now past, because they had continued with him as long as they could without receiving some refreshment. Send the multitude away, that they may go, and buy themselves victuals — Thus the disciples manifested their concern for the temporal as well as spiritual relief of the people: and it be comes all ministers of Christ to imitate them herein, and regard the bodily necessities of their hearers, as well as those of their souls. But Jesus said, They need not depart — Namely, in order to procure victuals. He would neither dismiss them hungry, as they were, nor detain them longer without food, nor put them to the trouble and charge of buying victuals for themselves, but orders his disciples to provide for them: Give ye them to eat — Alas, poor disciples! they had nothing for themselves: how then should they give the multitude to eat? Observe, reader, when Christ requires of us what of ourselves we are unable to perform, it is to show us our weakness, and to excite us to look to him that worketh all our works in us and for us. They said, We have here but five loaves and two fishes — Provision certainly very insufficient to satisfy the hunger of five thousand men, and a great multitude of women and children. It must be observed, that Christ had not yet shown his power in any such way as that in which he was now about to manifest it, and the proofs he had given of it in other instances were not now recollected or adverted to by the disciples. Christ’s ordering them, therefore, to give food to this immense multitude of men, women, and children, seems to have greatly surprised them. But, as John observes, Joh 6:6, he himself knew what he would do. He said, Bring them hither to me — That I may bless them. Observe, reader, the way to have our temporal blessings, blessings indeed, is to bring them to Christ; for they can only be sanctified by his word, and by prayer to him. That is likely to prosper, and be a comfort to us, which we put into the hands of our Lord Jesus, that he may dispose of it as he pleases, and that we may receive it back from his hand, and then it will be doubly sweet to us. And what we give in charity, we should bring to Christ first, that he may graciously accept it from us, and graciously bless it to those to whom it is given.

Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

§ 63. — MIRACLE OF FEEDING THE FIVE THOUSAND, Mat_14:15-21.

The fullest account is given in Mar_6:34-44; and some additional particulars are furnished in Joh_6:1-14.

The precise spot where this miracle was performed is not certainly known; but the most reliable opinion, we think, is that of Dr. Thomson, who, in view of all the facts detailed 15-33, is very sure that it was at Butaiha, an appendage to Bethsaida lying to its southwest, along the shore of the lake. He says, speaking of Butaiha:

“This bold headland marks the spot, according to my topography, where the five thousand were fed with five barley-loaves and two small fishes. From the four narratives of this stupendous miracle we gather: 1st. That the place belonged to Bethsaida; 2d. That it was a desert place; 3d. That it was near the shore of the lake, for they came to it by boats; 4th. That there was a mountain close at hand, 5th. That it was a smooth grassy spot, capable of seating many thousand people. Now all these requisites are found in this exact locality, and nowhere else so far as I can discover. This Butaiha belonged to Bethsaida. At this extreme southeast corner of it the mountain shuts down upon the lake bleak and barren. It was doubtless desert then as now, for it is not capable of cultivation. In this little cove the ships (boats) were anchored. On this beautiful sward at the base of the rocky hill the people were seated.” See our map, p. 62.

15. Disciples came… saying — Previously to this, (as we are informed by John,) the Saviour had asked Philip, (for the purpose, as we say, of drawing him out,) “Whence shall we buy bread that these may eat?” To which Philip returns a dubious answer. Soon after the disciples put the question of supply to the Lord. This reconciles the evangelists, one of whom seems to make the apostles speak first, and the other, Jesus. There was a natural propriety in asking this question of Philip, who was a native of Bethsaida.

Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Mat 14:15. Ὀψίας, evening) The evening has various degrees; see Mat 14:23.—ἡ ὥρα, the hour) sc. for dismissing the people, of taking food and rest, or of going to search for food.—ἑαυτοῖς for themselves) The disciples seem sometimes to have bought food for them.

Bengel's Gnomon of the New Testament — English translation (T&T Clark, Edinburgh, 1860) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Mat_14:15 ff. Comp. Mar_6:35 ff.; Luk_9:12 ff.; Joh_6:5 ff. Ὀψίας] means, in this instance, the first evening, which lasted from the ninth till the twelfth hour of the day. It is the second evening, extending from the twelfth hour onwards, that is meant in Mat_14:24. Gesenius, Thes. II. p. 1064 f.

ἡ ὥρα] the time, i.e. the time of the day; comp. Mar_11:11. Some, like Grotius, understand: meal time; others (Fritzsche, Käuffer): tempus opportunum, sc. disserendi et sanandi. But the disserendi is a pure importation; and how far the suitable time for healing might be said to have gone by, it is impossible to conceive. Our explanation, on the other hand, is demanded by the context (ὀψίας δὲ γενομ.), besides being grammatically certain. See Raphael, Polyb.; Ast, Lex. Plat. III. p. 580.

ἑαυτοῖς] for we, as far as we are concerned, have nothing to give them.

According to Joh_6:5 ff., it was Jesus who first began to inquire about bread, and that not in consequence of the evening coming on. An unimportant deviation, which shows that even the memory of an apostle may sometimes be at fault. Of greater consequence is the fact that, according to John, Jesus puts the question whenever he sees the multitude,a circumstance made to tell against John by Strauss especially; comp. also Baur and Hilgenfeld. And there can be no doubt that this little detail is an unconscious reflection of the Johannine conception of Christ, according to which it was but natural to suppose that Jesus had Himself intended to work a miracle, and that from the very first, so that in John the recollection of the order of proceeding, which we find recorded by the Synoptists with historical accuracy, had been thrust into the background by the preponderating influence of the ideal conception. Comp. note on Joh_6:5 f. John, on the other hand, mentions the more precise and original detail, that it was a παιδάριον who happened to have the bread and fish.

δότε αὐτοῖς ὑμεῖς φαγ.] said in view of what the disciples were immediately to be called upon to do; therefore, from the standpoint of Jesus, an anticipation of that request, which the expectation of something in the way of miracle was just about to evoke on the part of the disciples. Bengel well observes: ὑμεῖς, vos, significanter. Rudimenta fidei miraculorum apud discipulos.

Meyer — Critical and Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament — English translation by Peter Christie, edited by Frederick Crombie (T&T Clark, 1880) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Mat 14:15-21 . The feeding .

Mat 14:15 . ὀψίας γενομένης : might mean sunset as in Mat 8:16 , but from the nature of the case must mean afternoon from 3 to 6, the first of the “two evenings”. ἔρημος , comparatively uninhabited, no towns near. ἡ ὥρα ἤδη παρῆλθεν : the meaning not clear. Mk. has: ἤδη ὥρας πολλῆς = already the hour is advanced. Various suggestions have been made: eating time (Grot.), healing and teaching time (Fritzsche), daytime (Meyer) is past. Weiss, with most probability, takes ὥρα = time for sending them away to get food. ἀπόλυσον : though late for the purpose, not too late; dismiss them forthwith.

The Expositor's Greek Testament, edited by W. Robertson Nicoll (1897–1910) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Verse 15. Send the multitude away, that they may go - and buy] The disciples of Christ are solicitous for the people's temporal as well a spiritual welfare: and he is not worthy to be called a minister of Christ, who dues not endeavour to promote both to the uttermost of his power. The preaching of Christ must have been accompanied with uncommon power to these people's souls, to have induced them to leave their homes to follow him from village to village, for they could never hear enough; and to neglect to make use of any means for the support of their lives, so that they might still have the privilege of hearing him. When a soul is either well replenished with the bread of life, or hungry after it, the necessities of the body are, for the time, little regarded.

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

(15) And when it was evening.—The narrative that follows is, in many ways, one of the most important in the Gospel narratives. (1.) It is the only miracle recorded by all the four Evangelists, and thus is practically one of the chief data for interweaving the supplemental narrative of St. John with that of the other three. (2.) It was the fullest manifestation of the sovereignty of the Son of Man over the world of nature. The act was distinctly, if we accept the facts of the case, one of creative power, and does not admit. as some of the works of healing might seem to do, of being explained away as the result of strong faith or excited imagination on the part of those who were its objects. The only rationalising explanation which has ever been offered—viz., that our Lord by His example, in offering the five loaves and the two fishes for the use of others than His own company of the Twelve, stirred the multitude to bring out the little store which, till then, each man in his selfish anxiety had kept concealed—is ludicrously inadequate. The narrative must be accepted or rejected as a whole; and if accepted, it is, as we have said, a proof of supernatural, if not absolutely of divine, power. (3.) No narrative of any other miracle offers so many marks of naturalness, both in the vividness of colouring with which it is told, and the coincidences, manifestly without design, which it presents to us. It is hardly possible to imagine four independent writers—independent, even if two of them were derived from a common source—reproducing, in this way, a mere legend. (4.) The nature of this evidence will be seen in all its strength by combining the facts of the four records as we proceed. (5.) The miracle was important, as we see from John 6, on account of its dogmatic symbolism. It became the text of the dialogue at Capernaum in which (not to anticipate the Notes on the fourth Gospel) communion with the life of Christ was shadowed forth under the figure of eating the flesh of Him who is the true Bread from heaven.

His disciples came to him.—In St. John’s narrative, Philip and Andrew are prominent as speakers, and our Lord puts to the former the question, “Whence shall we buy bread that these may eat?” As Philip and Andrew both belonged to one of the Bethsaidas, their local knowledge made the question natural. It was apparently after this private conversation that the main body of the disciples came to their Master beseeching Him to dismiss the multitude that they might buy food in the nearest villages. They were met by what must have seemed to them the marvellous calmness of the answer: “They need not depart, give ye them to eat.” Philip’s rough estimate having been passed on to the others, they answer that it would take two hundred pennyworth of bread (the Roman penny, as a coin, was worth 7d. of our money, but its value is better measured by its being the average day’s wages of a soldier or labourer, Mat_20:2) to feed so great a number (Mar_6:37; Joh_6:7). Then Jesus asks them, “How many loaves have ye?” and Andrew (Joh_6:8), as the spokesman of the others, replies that they have found a lad with five loaves (barley loaves, in St. John, the food of the poor) and two fishes.

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

15. And when it was evening] In the Jewish division of the day there were two evenings. According to the most probable view the space of time called “between the evenings” (Exo_12:6) was from the ninth to the eleventh hour. Hence the first evening ended at 3 o’clock, the second began at 5 o’clock. In this verse the first evening is meant, in Mat_14:23 the second.

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.

And when it was evening,.... Mark says, "when the day was now far spent"; and Luke, "when the day began to wear away"; it was upon the decline of the day. The Jews, as Grotius rightly observes, had two evenings; the one began when the sun declined at noon, and the other at sun setting: now it was the former of these, and not the latter, that was now come; for after this, you read of another evening that was come, Mat 14:23 between which two evenings Christ made the multitude to sit down, and he fed them in a miraculous manner; and the disciples reason for the dismission of the multitude, that might go into the neighbouring villages, and buy provisions, shows that it could not be the last, but the first of these evenings, that is here meant.

His disciples came to him; the twelve, whom he had left in that part of the desert he retired to; or on the mount, where he had sat down with them for their rest and refreshment:

saying, this is a desert place; where no food was to be had; where were no houses of entertainment:

and the time is now past; not the time of the day, but of dining: the usual dinner time was past, which, with the Jews, was the fifth hour of the day, and answers to eleven o'clock with us, or at furthest six; which, with us, is twelve at noon; concerning which, the Jewish doctors thus dispute (f).

"The first hour, is the time of eating for the Lydians, or Cannibals; the second for thieves, the third for heirs, the fourth for workmen, and the fifth for every man: but does not R. Papa say, that the fourth is the time of dining for every man? But if so, if the fourth is the time for every man, the fifth is for workmen, and the sixth for the disciples of the wise men.''

Which is elsewhere (g) delivered with some little variation, thus;

"the first hour is the time of eating for Lydians; the second, for thieves; the third, for heirs; the fourth, for workmen; the fifth, for scholars; and the sixth, for every man: but does not R. Papa say, &c.''

But supposing the usual time of dining to be, at the furthest, at the sixth hour, at twelve o'clock, this time must be elapsed, since the first evening was commenced; so that the reasoning of the disciples is very just,

send the multitude away. Christ was preaching to them, the disciples move that he would break off his discourse, and dismiss them; in the synagogue the manner of dismissing the people was, by reading the or "dismission", which was some passage out of the prophetic writings.

That they may go into the villages and buy themselves victuals; the little towns which lay nearest the desert, where they might be supplied with suitable provisions.

(f) T. Bab. Sabbat. fol. 11. 1. (g) T. Bab. Pesachim, fol. 12. 2.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

15 And when it was evening, his disciples came to him, saying, This is a desert place, and the time is now past; send the multitude away, that they may go into the villages, and buy themselves victuals.

Ver. 15. His disciples came to him] Not the multitudes. They forgat their bodily necessities to attend upon Christ, to hang upon his honey lips, preferring his holy word before their necessary food, as did Job, Job 23:12. Not only before his dainties and superfluities, but his substantial food, without which he could not long live and subsist. These hearers of our Saviour came out of their cities, where they had everything at full, into the desert, where they thought nothing was to be had, to hear him. I had rather live in hell, with the word, said Luther, than in paradise without it. Our forefathers gave five marks, some of them (which is more money than ten pounds is now), for a good book: and some others of them gave a load of hay for a few chapters of St Paul or St James in English. To hear a sermon they would go as many weary steps as those good souls did, Psa 84:7, or as these in the text; and neglect or hazard their bodies, to save their souls. How far are they from this that will not put themselves to any pain or cost of heaven! and if held awhile beyond the hour at a sermon are as ill settled as if they were in the stocks, or in a fit of an ague: they go out of the church as out of a jail.

This is a desert place, &c.] Christ knew all this, better than they could tell him; and to take upon them to tell him, was as if the ostrich should bid the storks be kind to her young ones, Ac si struthiocamelus ciconiam της στοργης admoneret. Cartuo.

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.

And when it was evening.[2] To understand this, and other places, we may take notice that the Hebrews counted two evenings: the first began when the sun was declining, about three in the afternoon; and such was the evening here mentioned. The second evening was after sunset, or the night-time, as it is taken here in this chap. ver. 23 (Witham) --- That ... they may buy. Jesus Christ does not always anticipate the intentions of his supplicants: on this occasion, he waited for the multitude to ask of him to feed them; but they, though their great respect for him, did not dare to request the favour. (St. John Chrysostom)

===============================

[BIBLIOGRAPHY]

Vespere facto, Greek: opsias genomenes. See Matthew xxvi. 20.

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).

The following miracle being an evident confirmation of the Godhead of Christ, is recorded by all the evangelists: by Matthew here; by Mark, Mar 6:35, &c. by Luke, Luke 9:10-12, &c.; by John, John 6:1-3, &c. These words lead us to it, and show us the occasion of it. Our Saviour was withdrawn to a more private place, which, because little inhabited, is called

a desert place. Luke saith it was near Bethsaida, Luk 9:10. The people, as it seemeth, had been together some time. It was now afternoon, and the time of dining was past. It was evening in the Jewish sense (who called it all evening after the sun was turned, and therefore had two evenings, as those skilled in their writings tell us, betwixt which the passover was to be killed). The disciples therefore pitying the multitudes, who, they presumed, might be hungry, come to our Saviour, and move him to dismiss them, that they might get something to eat in the villages of the adjacent country.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

And when it was evening. But not as late as the "evening" of ver. 23. (For a discussion upon the technical division of two "evenings," see Gesenius, "Thesaurus," p. 1064.) It appears that the first evening was from the ninth to the twelfth hour (our 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. at the equinoxes), and the second evening was for a short time, perhaps forty minutes, after sunset. (cf. Mat_8:16, note) His (the, Revised Version) disciples came to him, saying. St. John alone has recorded our Lord"s previous conversation with Philip. (Joh_6:5-7) This is a desert place; the place is desert (Revised Version), which better marks the parallelism with the next clause. And the time is now (already, Revised Version) past (h wra hdh parhlyen); i.e. probably the hour at which he was accustomed to dismiss his audience. For he would often have to consider their wish to get home before nightfall. Send the multitude away; the multitudes (Revised Version); for now again they are regarded separately as having to go in different directions. That they may go ( go away) into the villages, and buy themselves victuals; food (Revised Version). One at least of the disciples would have a keen eye for the amount of the contents of the common purse.

Vers. 15-21. Jesus feeding the multitude.

On the death of John the Baptist Jesus retired to the eastern side of the lake, oppressed with grief and longing for a time of seclusion. But it was one of his trials that he was forbidden the rest of privacy when he most craved it. The crowds followed him with such enthusiasm that they quite forgot to provide themselves with needful food, and therefore when the evening was come they were out among the lonely mountains faint and hurry. Jesus had not brought about this awkward situation. But he could not see distress without desiring to remove it. Thus there was an adequate occasion for the wonderful feeding of the thousands.

I JESUS HAS COMPASSION ON BODILY DISTRESS. He had manifested this compassion earlier by healing the sick who were brought out to him in this remote region; and now the sight of the weary multitude touched his heart, as it became apparent to him that the evening shadows would find them far from home and without the means of providing themselves with their evening meal

1. The motive of Christ was compassion. This was the motive of his life work and of his atoning death. He came into the world because he took pity on the world"s misery. The same motive moved him in particular actions. This is the grand Christian motive. The passion of pity is a peculiarly Christ-like feeling that seems to be rising among us in the present day.

2. The trouble was bodily distress hunger. Then it is a Christ-like thing to feed the hungry. We are not to neglect men"s bodies in caring for their souls.

II JESUS HELPS THROUGH EARTHLY MEANS. He utilized the existing provisions. He did not create food out of nothing, but he wrought with the loaves and fishes already in hand. They were few, but he did not despise them, for they were invaluable in affording a foundation for his miracle. Christ now uses the instruments of human work. We have to contribute our share, and if we selfishly or despairingly refuse to do so we have no right to look for his blessing.

III JESUS PRODUCES WONDERFUL PROVISIONS. We do not know how the miracle was wrought; we cannot even conceive of it. But we do not know how God makes the corn to grow in the fields. Nature only seems to us less wonderful than miracle because we are familiar with her external aspect and her visible processes. But behind all nature, as behind every miracle, there is the unfathomable mystery of life and being which God only understands. It is enough for us that our Lord is not thwarted, that there is nothing to which he sets his band in which he fails. He is powerful as well as pitiful. We bemoan the distress we cannot aid. When Christ is moved with compassion he helps effectively.

IV JESUS SATISFIES THE HUNGRY. He gave no princely banquet, but mere loaves and fishes the common barley loaves of the poor, the familiar fishes of the lake. His object was not to pamper jaded appetites that was not needed in the keen mountain air; he simply fed the hungry. Moreover, he gave what he received, and of the same kind. He will bless our work according to its character and quality. He gives the increase, but it is according to the seed we sow its kind.

Surely this miracle is more than a miracle; it is a sacrament, a sacred symbol, as our Lord shows in the discourse that follows in St. John"s account (John 6). Christ is the real Bread of life, feeding hungry souls. W.F.A.

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

The time is now past - The usual meal time. Mark vi, 35; Luke ix, 12.

John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.

The threatening necessity:

v. 15. And when it was evening, His disciples came to Him, saying, This is a desert place, and the time is now passed; send the multitude away that they may go into the villages and buy themselves victuals.

In the excitement attending the healing, time sped away; late afternoon was there before they realized it, the sun was sinking over the lake when the disciples felt constrained to interfere. They were in an uninhabited country, not exactly a desert waste, but no towns in the immediate neighborhood. The time of day was far advanced, night even now was near. The people should be dismissed, summarily sent away into the nearest villages to buy food for themselves. The disciples seem more concerned about their own relief and rest for the Lord than about the needs of the multitude.

Paul E. Kretzmann, Popular Commentary of the Bible (1921–1924) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Note here, 1. The disciples pity towards the multitude that had been long attending upon Christ’s ministry in the desert; they presuming the people hungry, having fasted all the day, requested our Saviour to dismiss them, that they may procure some bodily refreshment.

Learn hence, that it well becomes the ministers of Christ to respect the bodily necessities, as well as to regard the spiritual wants of their people. As the bodily father must take care of the soul of his child, so must the spiritual Father have respect to the bodily necessities of his children.

Observe, 2. The motion which the disciples make on behalf of the multitude, Send them away that they may buy victuals. Here was a strong charity, but a weak faith. A strong charity in that they desire the people’s relief: but a weak faith, in that they suppose that they could not be otherwise relieved, but by sending them away to buy victuals; forgetting that Christ, who had healed the multitude miraculously, could as easily feed them miraculously, if he pleased: all things being equally easy to omnipotency.

William Burkitt's Expository Notes on the New Testament (1700–1703) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

15. When it was evening. It was the “first evening” which began at the decline of day about three o'clock in the afternoon. The second evening, according to Jewish customs, began at sunset. The day had already been spent in teaching and healing. This is a desert place. And hence there would be no hamlets dotting it, in which the multitudes could get provisions for themselves. There are no farm houses in Palestine. The whole population lives in towns or villages, and often the farmers go many miles to their fields.

B. W. Johnson's The People's New Testament with Notes (1889–1891) — public domain. Electronic text from the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (CCEL) ThML edition.

Connecting Statement:

This begins the account of Jesus feeding five thousand people with only five small loaves of bread and two small fish.

the disciples came to him

"Jesus' disciples came to him"

translationWords

disciple

desert

unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.

15. ὀψίας γενομένης. In the Jewish division of the day there were two evenings. According to the most probable view the space of time called ‘between the evenings’ (Exo 12:6) was from the ninth to the twelfth hour (Jos. B. J. VI. 9. 3). Hence the first evening ended at 3 o’clock, the second began at sunset. In this verse the first evening is meant, in Mat 14:23 the second.

The meaning of ἡ ὥρα is not quite clear, perhaps the usual hour for the mid-day meal.

Cambridge Greek Testament for Schools and Colleges (Cambridge University Press, 1896; 21 vols, various authors incl. Carr, Maclear, Plummer, Farrar, Lumby, Moule, M. R. James, Simcox) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

15.] This ὀψία was the first evening, the decline of the day, about 3 p.m.; the ὀψία in ver. 23, after the miracle, was late in the night.

ἡ ὥρα] the time of the day is now late, ἦν τῆς ὥρας μικρὸν πρὸ δύντος ἡλίου, Xen. Hell. vii. 2. 22.

16,

Henry Alford, The Greek Testament (1849–1861) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

15. And when it was evening, the disciples came to Him, saying, The place is desolate, and the hour is already a late one; send away the multitudes, that they may go away into the villages, and buy food for themselves.] Mk. has: “And already, it being a late hour (καὶ ἤδη ὥρας πολλῆς γενομένης), His disciples came to Him, and were saying that, The place is desolate, and already it is a late hour (καὶ ἤδη ὥρα πολλή). Send them away, that they may go away into the neighbouring hamlets and villages, and buy something for themselves to eat.”—ὀψίας δὲ γενομένης] Mt. avoids Mk.’s iterated ὥρα πολλή.—προσῆλθαν] on the aor. in a, see Blass, p. 45.—λέγοντες] Mt. as usual omits Mk.’s ὅτι.—παρῆλθεν] For παρέρχεσθαι of time, cf. 1 P 4:3. The meaning here seems to be, “the hour (for the customary meal) is already passed.”—τοὺς ὄχλους] The editor, who in v. 14 copied Mk.’s ὄχλον, slips back here into his customary plural. For the omission of Mk.’s ἀγρούς, see on 8:33.

(M)

International Critical Commentary — older volumes (1896–1929), various authors — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Desert [ερημος] . In the Greek order standing first as emphatic. The dominant thought of the disciples is remoteness from supplies of food. The first meaning of the word is solitary; from which develops the idea of void, bereft, barren.

Both meanings may well be included here. Note the two points of emphasis. The disciples say, Barren is the place. Christ answers, No need have they to go away.

Give [δοτε] . The disciples had said, "Send them away to buy for themselves." Christ replies, Give ye.

Marvin R. Vincent, Word Studies in the New Testament (1887–1900) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.