44 will receive. How can ye believe, which receive honour one of another, and seek not the honour that cometh from God 45 only? Do not think that I will accuse you to the Father:

there is one that accuseth you, even Moses, in whom ye 46 trust. For had ye believed Moses, ye would have believed Me: 47 for he wrote of Me. But if ye believe not his writings, how shall ye believe My words?

13. By His miracle in creating supplies for thousands of people so deep was the conviction wrought in their minds that Jesus was the Messiah that they were ready to make Him their king.

VI.]

[Ver. 1-15.

1 After these things Jesus went over the sea of Galilee, which 2 is the sea of Tiberias. And a great multitude followed Him,

because they saw His miracles which He did on them that were 3 diseased. And Jesus went up into a mountain, and there He 4 sat with His disciples. And the passover," a feast of the Jews,

deduces the adhesion to false Messiahs from the fact that affinity begets sympathy, when He considers the striving after human glory as the chief cause of unbelief."

"After these things," clearly means a considerable interval, for nearly a year had expired since the healing of the impotent man and the discourse to which it gave rise, in the preceding chapter. He was now at the Sea of Galilee, and had spent the greater part of this interval in Galilee. He had made His second and third circuits through that portion of Palestine; had made choice of the twelve apostles; had delivered His sermon on the mount; had begun to speak by parables; and had performed many miracles, all of which are passed in silence by the evangelist John.

2 To the eastern or north-eastern coast.

3 He adds the explanatory name Tiberias; probably because it was better or perhaps wholly known among people of foreign countries, at the time he wrote, late in the first century, by this name. In the Jewish war the city of Tiberias adhered to the Romans, was spared by their armies, and rewarded, after the destruction of Jerusalem, by being made the capital of the province. The importance thus given to the place caused its name to be given to the lake.

These had been performed during His extensive circuits in Galilee, and are recorded by the synoptists.

99 66

5 This was one of the bold headlands or hills which skirt the sea on every side and form the basin in which it lies. Rev. W. M. Thomson (Land and Book, ii., p. 29) thinks he found the very spot to which the evangelist refers. The hill or mountain is now known as Butaiha. At its "extreme south-east corner' the mountain shuts down upon the lake, bleak and barren. It was doubtless desert then as now, for it is not capable of cultivation." He noticed the little cove, where the boats were anchored, and "the beautiful sward at the base of the rocky hill," where the people were seated to receive the miraculous food.

6 The third passover of our Lord's ministry, a year previous to the one at which

X

5 was nigh. When Jesus then lifted up His eyes, and saw a great company' come unto Him, He saith unto Philip, Whence 6 shall we buy bread, that these may eat?? And this He said to 7 prove him for He himself knew what He would do. Philip3 answered Him, Two hundred pennyworth of bread is not suffi8 cient for them, that every one of the'n may take a little. One of His disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter's brother, saith unto Him, 9 There is a lad 5 here, which hath five barley loaves, and two 10 small fishes but what are they among so many? 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

He suffered. The explanation that it was "a feast of the Jews" is another of the proofs that John wrote for those not familiar with the Jewish ritual, and after Jerusalem had been destroyed.

His miracles had made a deep impression on the people, and great numbers were gathering preparing to go up to the feast. So many thronged around Him that His disciples could scarcely find an opportunity to give account to their Master of their late mission, or even so much as to eat. This led Him to retire with them to a more sparsely inhabited region on the other side of the sea. But the people saw them departing by boat, and ran afoot thither out of all the cities (Mark vi. 33, Matt. xiv. 13).

2 The miracle of feeding the five thousand is found in the other evangelists, with the same attention to details. It had a wonderful effect in deepening and extending the conviction among the people that Jesus was the Messiah, as it did also in intensifying the hatred of the rulers.

3 Some have seen a reason why Philip rather than any other apostle was singled out to have this question put to him, namely, that he had the greatest need of the teaching contained in it; and refer to his later words, "Lord, show us the Father" (chap. xiv. 8). (Trench.)

Two hundred denarii, equivalent to about thirty or thirty-four dollars.

One little boy, wαidáρiov, could carry that from which these hungry thousands were to be fed.

6 It was in the spring of the year, and grass would be found where at a later period all would be withered and desolate. They were seated in ranks of hundreds and fifties (Mark vi. 40) on the surrounding slopes; the shadows of evening were gathering.

7 Whether the necessary increase took place in the hands of the Saviour as He broke, or in those of the disciples as they distributed, or in those of the people as they ate, it becomes not us to say. When five thousand hungry men besides women and children had satisfied their hunger, twelve baskets were filled with the fragments, greatly exceeding in amount the original loaves and fishes which a little boy carried in a bag. "The greatness of the miracle consists not merely in the vast increase of nutritive material, but in the nature of the process which effected it, and which must be regarded as creative, since it necessarily involves not merely change of form or quality, or new combinations of existing matter, but an absolute addition to the matter itself." (Alexander on Mark, in loco.)

were set down; and likewise of the fishes as much as they 12 would. 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 14 over and above unto them that had eaten. Then those men, when they had seen the miracle that Jesus did, said, This is of a truth that prophet2 that should come into the world. 15 When Jesus therefore perceived that they would come and take Him by force, to make Him a king, He departed again. into a mountain Himself alone.

3

14. By His authority over the elements of nature Jesus shows to His disciples that the greatest throne on earth could confer no power or elevation on Him.

16

[Ver. 16-21.

And when even was now come, His disciples went down unto 17 the sea, and entered into a ship, and went over the sea toward Capernaum. And it was now dark, and Jesus was not 18 come to them. And the sea arose by reason of a great wind

5

Each of the apostles had a basket full of what remained over. And so, when all have partaken of the bread of life, will there be enough and to spare; the supply cannot be exhausted.

2 The allusion doubtless is to the prophet whom Moses foretold (Deut. xviii. 15). As Moses gave bread to the people in the wilderness, so had He given them bread in this solitary place. The miracle was well suited to produce the conviction that Jesus was the promised Immanuel.

They shared in the low carnal views respecting the Messianic kingdom common among the Jews. They were looking for some one to lead them against their Roman oppressors, and what better leader could they have than One who could supply His armies with food at a word, and by the same power do other wonderful things? They were ready to seize Him in their enthusiasm and carry Him off by force with them to Jerusalem, and there at the passover publicly proclaim Him king.

This miracle of walking on the sea is recorded with greater minuteness by two other evangelists, Matthew and Mark; but John does not omit it on this account, as he did not that of the loaves, although for the most part he makes no record of the miracles and parables found in the other Gospels. It was admirably suited to his great purpose.

5 Mark names Bethsaida as the place to which He had directed them to go. There were two Bethsaidas (the name denotes a fishery); one of them situated at the entrance of the Jordan into the lake in Gaulonitis, the other in Galilee, and probably at no great distance from Capernaum; to sail towards this latter place therefore was to sail towards Capernaum. The Rev. W. M. Thomson's (Land and Book, ii., p. 30) attempt to show that there was but one Bethsaida, and to reconcile on this theory Mark and John, appears wholly inconclusive.