Now those men, when they had seen what a miracle Jesus had done, said: This is of a truth the prophet that is to come into the world.
οι ουν ανθρωποι ιδοντες ο εποιησεν σημειον ο ιησους ελεγον οτι ουτος εστιν αληθως ο προφητης ο ερχομενος εις τον κοσμον
11 Church Fathers comment on this verse
O immeasurable gluttony! Christ performed thousands of deeds far more wondrous, and they did not confess this. Only now, when they were filled, did they do so.
But from their words it is clear that they were expecting some particular Prophet. For they also said to the Baptist, “Are you the Prophet?” (Jn 1:21), and here, “This is the Prophet.”
See how the people love the belly. Although Jesus worked countless and most astonishing miracles, they did not marvel. But because of food they say: “This is truly the Prophet.”
They no longer accuse Him of breaking the Sabbath. They no longer take vengeance for violation of the Law. Rather, because of the loaves they consider Him so great that they not only call Him a prophet, but also judge Him worthy of the kingdom.
Those who could understand divine things show wonder before the miracle. They are governed by human reason and do not suffer from brutish irrationality, as some impious Jews did.
Instead of gaining benefit for themselves when they saw the signs being performed, those Jews proved damaged even in their capacity for sound judgment. They had already decided to stone Jesus because He often appeared as the worker of miracles.
Therefore those who marveled at the miracle are, in no small measure, above their madness. From this one great sign alone, they prudently came to the conviction that this was surely the very One foretold to come into the world as Prophet.
Notice again what difference appears from this between the people of Israel and those outside Judea. The former, though spectators of many signs worthy of wonder, prove not only harsh and inhuman.
They even unlawfully plot to kill the One who cared for their fitting salvation, driving Him from their city and country by their untamable madness.
But those who lived outside Jerusalem, and for this reason were foreign in origin, glorify Him at one single sign. They decide that a noble understanding of Him must be received with undoubting faith.
As a result of all this, Israel rightly proved self-condemned and at last voluntarily subjected itself to rejection. The Gentiles, on the contrary, are fit to receive the mercy from above and the love of Christ.
Since He is not an essence that can be seen with the eyes, His miracles by which He reigns over the whole world and governs creation have been devalued because they are performed constantly.
Therefore almost no one now pays attention to the works of God, wonderful and astonishing, which occur especially in every little grain or seed.
In His mercy He reserved for Himself something He could do at a suitable time contrary to the usual order and natural arrangement.
Thus people, seeing miracles that are not greater but are unusual, might be struck with wonder, while daily miracles had no value for them.
For it is a greater miracle to govern the whole world than to feed five thousand men with five loaves. Yet no one marvels at the former.
Men marvel at the latter, not because it is greater, but because it is unusual. Yet it is not enough to observe this in Christ’s miracles.
It is far more important for us to understand that the Lord on the mountain is the Word in the heights. He saw the nations, received the hungry, and mercifully filled them, not only by goodness, but also by power.
What use would goodness alone have been, if there had been no bread with which the hungry crowd could be filled? If power had not been joined to goodness, that crowd would have remained hungry and without food.
Finally, the disciples who were with the Lord also witnessed the hunger. They too wished to feed the nations so that they would not be left with nothing, but they had nowhere to obtain food.
In the end, what did those men think who saw this miracle? The men who saw the miracle Jesus performed said, “This is truly the Prophet.”
Perhaps they considered Christ a prophet also because they reclined on the grass. Yet He was the Lord of the prophets, the Emperor of the prophets, the Sanctifier of the prophets, and at the same time a Prophet.
For it was said to Moses: “I will raise up for them a Prophet like you” (cf. Deut 18:18). Like him according to the flesh, but not like him in majesty.
That this promise must be understood of Christ Himself is revealed and read with all clarity in the Acts of the Apostles (cf. Acts 7:37).
The Lord Himself says of Himself: “A prophet is not without honor except in his own country” (cf. Lk 4:24; Jn 4:44).
The Lord is a Prophet, and the Word of God is the Lord. No prophet prophesies without the Word of God.
The Word of God is with the prophets, and the Word of God is the Prophet. Earlier times were counted worthy of prophets inspired and filled with the Word of God.
But we have been counted worthy to receive the very Word of God as Prophet. Christ is Prophet and Lord of the prophets, just as Christ is Angel and Lord of the Angels.
For He also called Himself the Angel of Great Counsel (cf. Isa 9:6 LXX). But what does the prophet say elsewhere?
Not a messenger and not an Angel, but He Himself will come and save them (cf. Isa 35:4). That is, to give them salvation, He will not send a messenger or an Angel, but will come Himself.
Who will come? The Angel Himself. Clearly, He will not save them through an Angel, unless He Himself is Angel in the sense that He is Lord of the Angels.
For angels in Latin are messengers, nuntii. If Christ had brought no message, He would not have called Himself Angel.
If Christ had prophesied nothing, He would not have called Himself Prophet. He urged us to faith and to the acquisition of eternal life.
He announced one thing concerning the present and prophesied another concerning the future. Hence, when He announced for the present, He was Angel.
When He prophesied concerning the future, He was Prophet. Since the Word of God became flesh (cf. Jn 1:14), He was Lord of Angels and prophets.
When they were satisfied and saw that, as Moses had supplied food for the people by his prayers, so the Lord supplied it by His power, they began to cry out and say: "This is truly that Prophet of whom it was said that He must come into the world."
By these words they brought forward Moses' prophecy: "The Lord will raise up for you a Prophet" (cf. Deut 18:18), and not some weak one, but "like me," who will satisfy you with loaves in the wilderness.
"Like me," says Moses (cf. Deut 18:18). He walked upon the sea (Mt 14:25-31), was revealed in the cloud (Mt 17:5), and freed His Church from the law of circumcision.
He appointed the virgin John as God's leader in place of Jesus, son of Nun, and entrusted Mary, His Church, to him (Jn 19:25-27). So also Moses entrusted the people to Jesus (Deut 31:7-8), that what was said might be fulfilled: "like me."
Shameful gluttony! Earlier, though they had seen very many things far more wondrous, they said nothing of the kind. But when they were filled, then they acknowledged Him as the Prophet whom they awaited according to the promise of Moses.
The people's desire to proclaim Jesus king. An astonishing miracle, performed before the eyes of a crowd numbering many thousands! It was a miracle that this crowd not only saw, but also felt, and whose reality it had not the slightest reason to doubt.
The impression it made on the crowd surrounding Jesus was immense. Under its influence all began to say: "This is truly that Prophet who is to come into the world," that is, the Messiah. And if He is the Messiah, then He is the King who must subject the whole world to the Jews and reign forever.
Why, then, does He delay declaring Himself King? Behold, Passover is near, and for this feast Jews from all the ends of the world will gather in Jerusalem. Let us take Him, lead Him to Jerusalem for the feast, proclaim Him King there, and overthrow the hated yoke of the Romans.
So, probably, reasoned the crowd surrounding Jesus. The crowd was in such an exalted mood that it was ready to begin carrying out its plan. But Jesus calmed it and dismissed it in peace.
As soon as this agitation began among the people, Jesus immediately constrained His disciples to enter the boat and go ahead to the other side of the sea. He Himself went to the crowd, calmed it, and dismissed it. Only afterward did He go up the mountain to pray alone.
From the narrative of the Evangelist John, one might conclude that Jesus withdrew to the mountain as soon as He learned that they wished to proclaim Him King: "When Jesus therefore perceived that they were about to come and take Him by force to make Him king, He departed again to the mountain alone."
But such a conclusion would contradict the accounts of the other evangelists, who transmit certain details of Jesus' departure to the mountain. Thus the Evangelists Matthew and Mark say that Jesus constrained the apostles to enter the boat and sail to the other side of the sea. He Himself remained on the shore to dismiss the people, Mt 14:22; Mk 6:45.
After He had dismissed the people, He went up the mountain to pray alone, as the Evangelist Matthew says. Or, as the Evangelist Mark says, "When He had sent them away, He departed to the mountain to pray," Mt 14:23; Mk 6:46.
Moreover, it cannot be admitted at all that Jesus Christ, who came to save men from sin and lay down His life for them, could hide Himself from an enthusiastic crowd. In such a condition, that crowd was capable of many rash actions.
We must suppose that He who could feed a crowd of many thousands with five loaves and two fish could also calm it. He whose word was obeyed by raging waves and storms, and who passed unharmed through the savage crowd of Nazarenes gathered to throw Him from the cliff, could surely go fearlessly now to the people standing on the shore. By His word He could bring their agitated feelings into calm.
So He did. First He dismissed the people, and then He went up the mountain to pray.
This miracle made a deep impression. It corresponded exactly to the common expectation of the Messiah, and the people began saying among themselves that this was undoubtedly “the Prophet who is to come into the world.”
He was the “Reconciler” of Jacob’s blessing (Gen 49:10), the star and scepter of Balaam’s vision (Num 24:17), and the prophet like Moses who must be obeyed (Deut 18:15).
Perhaps He was Elijah, promised by the final testament of ancient prophecy (Mal 4:5). Perhaps He was Jeremiah, who came to reveal the hidden location of the ark, the Urim, and the sacred fire. Compare 2 Macc 2:7.
“Those who saw the miracle,” and so forth. The people saw the miracle and were struck by it. Yet, as is clear from what follows (Jn 6:26), they did not understand the inner meaning of the miracle, but stopped at its outward, sensory side.
The miracle so astonished them that they thought the wonderworker was the Messiah and wished forcibly to make Him king. This is a detail by which John again supplements the accounts of the first three evangelists.
“The Prophet” who, on the basis of Deut 18:18, was to come into the world, that is, the Messiah. Compare the note on Mt 11:3.
Verses 10-15. At Jesus' will, the disciples seated the people in rows, one hundred and fifty in each row. Jesus blessed the loaves and fishes and commanded that they be distributed to the people. He did not command distribution before He had sanctified them by a prayer of praise. This accords with the God-pleasing order in Lk 24:30; Mt 15:36; Acts 27:35.
After this, all ate and all were filled. The Lord commanded that the remnants be gathered, and twelve baskets were filled with fragments. The people were counted up to five thousand. Only men were counted, as the people were counted in a census according to the law. Therefore it is noted: five thousand, besides women and children.
Κοφινος, a small basket, by our measure equals a quarter of a bucket. Twelve baskets are three buckets, or two chetveriks. Therefore in the Russian translation one should have put twelve baskets, or hampers, not twelve boxes.
When Jews had to pass through Gentile or Samaritan villages, they would stock up on bread and carry it in baskets, Mt 16:7; Mt 8:14; Deut 26:2, 4. They did this chiefly from fear of being defiled by unclean food. Juvenal says: "Here is a grove for the Jews, with a sacred spring and their beggar's basket" (Sat. 3.15). Thus all the baskets of the twelve disciples were filled with the remnants of the miraculous meal.
"Then those men, when they had seen the sign that Jesus did, said, This is truly the Prophet who is to come into the world." The miraculous multiplication of the five loaves, says St. Hilary, made visible the almighty power of the divine Author of nature.
The witnesses of the deed, the five thousand people, recognized the miracle accomplished before their eyes. They said that He who performed this miracle was none other than the expected messenger of God, the Messiah. So the people spoke of Jesus on other occasions also, Mt 16:13; Mt 21:11; Lk 7:16.
The neologists, Paulus and others, unwilling to acknowledge a miracle in this event, say that the people were not fed by the five loaves alone, but had their own food with them. But this means speaking of a historical event not as eyewitnesses speak of it, but amusing oneself with fables.
The eyewitnesses said to Jesus, "Send them away, for they have nothing to eat," Mk 6:36; Lk 9:12. The apostles sought food for the people and found only five loaves and two fish with one boy, Mk 6:38. Philip was questioned precisely to guard the great event being prepared against doubts.
Finally, the evangelists say plainly that all five thousand were satisfied by those five loaves set before them. And all five thousand said the same in their judgment about the event.
"Therefore, when Jesus perceived that they were about to come and take Him by force to make Him king, He departed again to the mountain by Himself alone." The miracle so struck the people and so convinced them that Jesus was the Messiah that they wanted to proclaim Him king immediately. For if He was the Messiah, then, according to their mistaken belief, He was also an earthly king, the restorer of the mighty kingdom of the kings of Israel. They were ready, if necessary, to use force.
But the Kingdom of Jesus Christ is not a worldly kingdom, Jn 18:36. He came to earth to fulfill the will of the heavenly Father, not to seek earthly glory for Himself. Therefore He hid from the people on the solitary mountain where He had earlier been with the disciples, verse 3. He withdrew in order to occupy Himself in prayer in solitude, Mt 14:23; Mk 6:46.
The miracle on the lake and the discourse on the heavenly bread, Jn 6:16-71.
This is a direct indication of the words of Deut 18:18, which promised Israel the coming of the Prophet whom God, through the mouth of Moses, commanded the people of Israel to obey, that is, the Messiah.
The words of Deuteronomy, taken together with the words of Jacob in Gen 49:10, were always received by the tradition of the Old Testament Church as a prophecy of the Messiah: "The ruler shall not fail from Judah... until He comes for whom it is laid up," in the new translation, "the Reconciler," "and He shall be the expectation of the nations."
These two prophecies about the Messiah in the books of Moses were explained and gradually unfolded by all the subsequent prophecies. These two Mosaic prophecies were especially engraved in the memory not only of the Jewish people, but also of the inhabitants of Samaria, who possessed only the Pentateuch. Compare John chapter 4.
Passages read together with this verse.
Greek text, 19 words with lemma, transliteration and Strong’s number. Tap to expand.
THEOSIS