And they that did eat, were five thousand men.
και ησαν οι φαγοντες τους αρτους πεντακισχιλιοι ανδρες
9 Church Fathers comment on this verse · 18 commentaries
Now it was with fitness that He looked up to heaven, for the Jews, when receiving manna in the desert, presumed to say of God, Can he give bread? (Ps. 78:20) To prevent this therefore, before He performed the miracle, He referred to His Father what He was about to do.
The Lord, placing before them, first, what is most profitable, that is, the food of the word of God, afterwards also gave the multitude food for their bodies; in beginning to relate which, the Evangelist says, And when the day was now far spent, his disciples came unto him, and said, This is a desert place.
See now, how those who are disciples of Christ grow in love to man, for they pity the multitudes, and come to Christ to intercede for them. But the Lord tried them, to see whether they would know that His power was great enough to feed them. Wherefore it goes on, He answered, and said unto them, Give ye them to eat.
But the disciples thought that He did not know what was necessary for the feeding of so large a multitude, for their answer shews that they were troubled. For it goes on, And they said unto him, Let us go and buy two hundred pennyworth, of bread, and give them to eat.
We are given to understand that they lay down in parties, separate from one another, for what is translated by companies, is repeated twice over in the Greek, as though it were by companies and companies. It goes on, And when he had taken the five loaves and the two fishes, he looked up to heaven, and blessed, and brake the loaves, and gave them to his disciples to set before them: and the two fishes divided he among them all.
He also looks up to heaven, that He may teach us to seek our food from God, and not from the devil, as they do who unjustly feed on other men’s labours. By this also He intimated to the crowd, that He could not be opposed to God, since He called upon God. And He gives the bread to His disciples to set before the multitude, that by handling the bread, they might see that it was an undoubted miracle. It goes on: And they did all eat, and were filled: and they took up twelve baskets full of the fragments. Twelve baskets of fragments remained over and above, that each of the Apostles, carrying a basket on his shoulder, might recognise the unspeakable wonder of the miracle.
For it was a proof of overflowing power not only to feed so many men, but also to leave such a superabundance of fragments. Even though Moses gave manna, yet what was given to each was measured by his necessity, and what was over and above was overrun with worms. Elias also fed the woman, but gave her just what was enough for her; but Jesus, being the Lord, makes his gifts with superabundant profusion.
Or the two fishes are the discourses of fishermen, that is, their Epistles and Gospel.
This in the Gospel of John is the answer of Philip, but Mark gives it as the answer of the disciples, wishing it to be understood that Philip made this answer as a mouthpiece of the others; although he might put the plural number for the singular, as is usual. It goes on, And he saith unto them, How many loaves hare ye? go and see. The other Evangelists pass over this being done by the Lord. It goes on, And when they knew, they say, Five, and two fishes. This, which was suggested by Andrew, as we learn from John, the other Evangelists, using the plural for the singular, have put into the mouth of the disciples. It goes on, And he commanded them to wake all sit down by companies upon the green grass, and they sat down in ranks by hundreds and by fifties.
But we need not be perplexed, though Luke says that they were ordered to sit down by fifties, and Mark by hundreds and fifties, for one has mentioned a part, the other the whole. Mark, who mentions the hundreds, fills up what the other has left out.
Or, in the gathering of the twelve baskets full of fragments, is signified the time, when they shall sit on thrones, judging all who are left of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the twelve tribes of Israel, when the remnant of Israel shall be saved.
The different ranks in which those who ate lie down, mark out the divers churches which make up the one Catholicx. But the Jubilee rest is contained in the mystery of the number fifty, and fifty must be doubled before it reaches up to a hundred. As then the first step is to rest from doing evil, that afterwards the soul may rest more fully from evil thoughts, some lie down in parties of fifty, others of a hundred.
The time being far spent, points out that it was evening. Wherefore Luke says, But the day had begun to decline.
By these words He calls on His Apostles, to break bread for the people, that they might be able to testify that they had no bread, and thus the greatness of the miracle might become more known.
wThere are five senses in the outward man, which shews that by the five thousand men are meant those who, living in the world, know how to make a good use of external things.
Again, those men lie down on grass and are fed by the food of the Lord, who have trodden under foot their concupiscences by continence, and apply themselves diligently to hear and fulfil the words of God.1 The Saviour, however, does not create a new sort of food; for when He came in the flesh He preached no other things than were predicted,1 but shewed how pregnant with mysteries of grace were the writings of the Law and the Prophets. He looks up to heaven, that He may teach us that there we must look for grace. He breaks and distributes to the disciples that they may place the bread before the multitudes, because He has opened the mysteries of prophecy to holy doctors, who are to preach them to the whole world.
What is left by the crowd is taken up by the disciples, because the more sacred mysteries, which cannot be received by the foolish, are not to be passed by with negligence, but to be inquired into by the perfect. For by the twelve baskets, the Apostles and the following Doctors are typified, externally indeed despised by men, but inwardly full of healthful food. For all know that carrying baskets is a part of the work of slaves.
Again, in a mystical sense, the Saviour refreshes the hungry crowds at the day’s decline, because, either now that the end of the world approaches, or now that the Sun of justice has set in death for us, we are saved from wasting away in spiritual hunger. He calls the Apostles to Him at the breaking of bread, intimating that daily by them our hungry souls are fed, that is, by their letters and examples. By the five loaves are figured the Five Books of Moses, by the two fishes the Psalms and Prophets.
The Lord showed great mercy when He miraculously multiplied five loaves and two fish to feed five thousand individuals, showcasing His abundant grace. Each apostle gathered a basket full of leftovers. This event echoed the manna provided in the desert and other miraculous occurrences found in the Old Testament. The crowd, astounded by such a sign, recognized Him as the prophet foretold by Moses and sought to make Jesus their king. However, He retreated to the mountain to pray in solitude and instructed His disciples to cross to the other side on their own. Consequently, the people were left without the realization of their aspirations.
When Jesus instructed them to collect the remaining bread, they filled twelve baskets. These baskets were what the Jewish people would carry on their journeys, instead of using bags to hold their provisions. Regardless of how small the baskets were, it would have been impossible to gather twelve full baskets from just five loaves of bread broken into pieces unless those pieces had been supernaturally multiplied. The crowd's eagerness to declare Jesus as king was a miraculous wonder, witnessed by thousands! This miracle was not only seen by the people but also deeply felt, leaving them with no reasons to question its authenticity. The impact of this event on those surrounding Jesus was immense, leading them to proclaim, ‘This is truly the Prophet who is to come into the world’ (John 6:14), referring to the Messiah.
When everyone had been satisfied, Christ aimed not only to demonstrate to His disciples the miracle that had taken place but also to teach them that wastefulness, even with divine power, was contrary to God's stewardship. He instructed them to collect the leftover fragments so that nothing would perish. Given the proper arrangement of the crowd, it was evident that around five thousand men were fed, excluding women and children, and despite this, twelve baskets were gathered with the surplus that had not been consumed.
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THEOSIS