3 And Jesus went up into a mountain, and there he sat with his disciples. 4 And the passover, a feast of the Jews, was nigh. 5 When Jesus then lifted up his eyes, and saw a great company come unto him, he saith unto Philip, Whence shall we 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 pennyworth of bread is not sufficient for them, that every one of them may take a little. 8 One of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, saith unto him, 9 There is a lad here, which hath five barley loaves, and two small fishes: but what are they among so many? 10 And Jesus said, Make the men sit down. Now there was much grass in the place. So the men sat down, in number about five thousand. 11 And Jesus took the loaves; and when he had given thanks, he distributed to the disciples, and the disciples to them that were set down; and likewise of the fishes as much as they would. 12 When they were filled, he said unto his disciples, Gather up the fragments that remain, that nothing be lost. 13 Therefore they gathered them together, and filled twelve baskets with the fragments of the five barley loaves, which remained over and above unto them that had eaten. 14 Then those men, when they had seen the miracle that Jesus did, said, This is of a truth that prophet that should come into the world. (John 6:3-14 KJV)
William Burkitt’s Commentary
This miracle of our Saviour’s feeding five thousand persons with five barley loaves and two small fishes, is recorded by all the four Evangelists, and several particulars therein are very remarkable.
Observe, 1. What a poor and slender provision the Lord of the whole earth hath for his family, for himself, for his disciples, and the multitude; nothing more than five barley loaves and two fishes.
Teaching us, That these bodies of ours must be fed, not pampered. Our belly must not be our master, much less our God; and as the quality of the victuals was plain, so was the quantity small; only five loaves and two fishes. Well might the disciples say, What are they among so many? The eye of sense and reason sees an utter impossibility of those effects which faith can easily apprehend, and a divine power more easily produce. When men judge by sense and reason, and do not look to Christ’s power, if extremities come, they are soon at their wit’s end, and know not what to do.
Observe, 2. How the great Master of this miraculous feast doth marshal his guests; he commanded them to sit down. None of the people reply, “Sit down, but to what? Here’s the mouths, but where’s the meat? We may soon be set, but when shall we be served?” Not a word like this, but they obey and expect. Lord how easy it is to trust thy providence, and rely upon thy power, when there is corn in the barn, bread in the cupboard, money in the purse. But when our stores are empty, when our stock runs low, when we have nothing in hand, then to depend upon an invisible bounty, is a noble act of faith indeed.
Observe, 3. The actions performed by our blessed Saviour.
1. He blessed the loaves; teaching us by his example, never to use or receive the good creatures of God without prayer and praise, not to sit down to our food as a beast to his fodder. Christ broke the loaves: he could have mutiplied them whole, why then doth he rather chuse to do it in the breaking?
Perhaps to teach us, that we may rather expect his blessings in the distribution of his bounty, than in the reservation of it. Scattering is the way to increasing, and liberality the way to riches.
Again, 3. He gave to his disciples, that they might distribute to the multitude; he did not do it with his own hands, but by theirs; doubtless it was to gain reputation to his disciples, from the people: the same course doth Christ take in spiritual distributions. He that could feed the souls of his people immediately by the hand of his Spirit, chuses rather by the hands of his ministers to divide the bread of life among them.
Observe, 4. The reality and greatness of the miracle, They did all eat, and were filled; they did eat, not a crumb or a bit, but to satiety and fulness. All that were hungry did eat, and all that did eat were satisfied, and yet twelve baskets of fragments remain. More is left than was at first set on. It is hard to say which was the greatest miracle, the miraculous eating, or miraculous leaving. If we consider what they ate, we may wonder that they left any thing; if what they left, that they eat anything.
Observe lastly, These fragments, though of barley loaves and fish bones, must not be lost, but gathered up; we must exercise frugality in the enjoyment of the greatest plenty. Lord! how tremendous will their account be, who, having large and plentiful estates, do consume them upon their lusts! how will they wish they had been born to poverty and necessity, when they appear to make up their accounts before God!