St Matthew Chapter XIV : Verses 13-21
Contents
- Matt. xiv. 13-21. Douay-Rheims text & Latin text (Vulgate).
- Notes on the text.
Matt. xiv. 13-21
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| The miracle of the loaves and fishes. J-J Tissot. Brooklyn Museum. |
Quod cum audisset Jesus, secessit inde in navicula, in locum desertum seorsum : et cum audissent turbæ, secutæ sunt eum pedestres de civitatibus.
14 And he coming forth saw a great multitude, and had compassion on them, and healed their sick.
Et exiens vidit turbam multam, et misertus est eis, et curavit languidos eorum.
15 And when it was evening, his disciples came to him, saying: This is a desert place, and the hour is now past: send away the multitudes, that going into the towns, they may buy themselves victuals.
Vespere autem facto, accesserunt ad eum discipuli ejus, dicentes : Desertus est locus, et hora jam præteriit : dimitte turbas, ut euntes in castella, emant sibi escas.
16 But Jesus said to them, They have no need to go: give you them to eat.
Jesus autem dixit eis : Non habent necesse ire : date illis vos manducare.
17 They answered him: We have not here, but five loaves, and two fishes.
Responderunt ei : Non habemus hic nisi quinque panes et duos pisces.
18 He said to them: Bring them hither to me.
Qui ait eis : Afferte mihi illos huc.
19 And when he had commanded the multitudes to sit down upon the grass, he took the five loaves and the two fishes, and looking up to heaven, he blessed, and brake, and gave the loaves to his disciples, and the disciples to the multitudes.
Et cum jussisset turbam discumbere super fœnum, acceptis quinque panibus et duobus piscibus, aspiciens in cælum benedixit, et fregit, et dedit discipulis panes, discipuli autem turbis.
20 And they did all eat, and were filled. And they took up what remained, twelve full baskets of fragments.
Et manducaverunt omnes, et saturati sunt. Et tulerunt reliquias, duodecim cophinos fragmentorum plenos.
21 And the number of them that did eat, was five thousand men, besides women and children.
Manducantium autem fuit numerus quinque millia virorum, exceptis mulieribus et parvulis.
Notes
N.B. — This is the only miracle which is recorded by all the four Evangelists. It was worked immediately after the Twelve returned from their mission.
13. when Jesus had heard, etc. Combining the four accounts we find several reasons for this retirement ; —
(1) The apostles needed rest after their mission.(2) The murder of St John the Baptist might cause a tumult, for the people esteemed John a great prophet, and Jesus did not wish His disciples to be connected with any rising of the people.(3) The Pasch was at hand, and our Lord preferred to avoid the pilgrim bands, for there were many coming and going.(4) Jesus himself needed rest, since they had not so much as time to eat.
a desert place apart. Consulting the map of the Sea of Galilee, we see that the distance from Capharnaum to the spot where the Jordan enters the lake is about three miles, and about four miles due north on the opposite side of the river we find Bethsaida (Julias). Hence, while Jesus and His apostles crossed the north-eastern corner, the multitude could easily go round the coast and arrive just before our Lord landed. Bethsaida (Julias), a mere village in A.D. 2, had been enlarged to a city by Herod Philip the tetrarch. To the south of this city there was a narrow grassy plain, large enough to accommodate the multitude.
having heard. Some heard of their departure, others saw them going away (St Mark).
followed him on foot. St Mark graphically describes their eagerness : they ran flocking thither on foot from all the cities, and were there before them.
As the disciples needed rest, we may conclude that they did not hurry across. St John explains why the people assembled in such vast numbers and were so eager to be near Jesus, because they saw the miracles which he did (vi. 2).
14. saw a great multitude. Our Lord received them. Lit. He “ welcomed them,” (ἀποδεξάμενος αὐτούς). St Mark explains further : And Jesus going out (of the ship) saw a great multitude, and he had compassion on them, because they were as sheep not having a shepherd, and he began to teach them many things (vi. 34). But before teaching them He seems to have led the way up the mountain slope. Cf . Jesus therefore went up into a mountain, and there he sat with his disciples (St John vi. 3).
healed their sick. Also He taught the multitudes. Cf. he received them, and spoke to them of the kingdom of God, and healed them who had need of healing (St Luke). He ministered first to their spiritual needs. Christian teaching is nourishment for the soul. The temporal graces of healing and feeding came after. This is another of these occasions when numbers were healed at one time (see verse 35 and ix. 35).
15. when it was evening. As the Jews divided the day, there were two evenings. The first began at 3 o’clock and ended at 6, when the second evening set in. This miracle must have happened between 3 and 6 o’clock ; the hour may refer to the time for taking food, i.e. at sundown.
his disciples came to him. This was evidently not the first time the bodily needs of the multitude had been mentioned by our Lord. From the narratives of the four gospels the order of events seems to have been —
(1) Jesus taught many things and healed all who had need of healing.
(2) He questioned Philip, Whence shall we buy bread? (St John vi. 5). The apostle answered Him, Two hundred pennyworth of bread is not sufficient for them, that every one may take a little.
(3) Jesus continued His instructions.
(4) At sunset all the disciples asked Him to dismiss the multitude.
(5) Jesus told them to supply their needs : Give you them to eat. They acknowledged their inability to provide food.
(6) He inquired. How many loaves have ye ? to which St Andrew replied that a boy present had five loaves and two fishes.
send away the multitudes. All the Synoptic writers record this request. St Luke adds that .... they may lodge, and get victuals (ix. 12). .
16. give you them to eat. The other Synoptists give a detail here which St Matthew omits. And they said to him: Let us go and buy bread for two hundred pence., and we will give them to eat (St Mark).
Perhaps the apostles had this sum, or it may have been suggested merely as the minimum required. Two hundred denarii was a standard sum with the Romans, as £100 is with us. A silver denarius, a Roman coin, the daily wage of a soldier or labourer, was worth about 7½d. of our money, but had a purchasing value about ten times greater, as money was scarcer in those days.
17. five loaves and two fishes. Even these had not been provided by the apostles. Cf. There is a boy here that hath five barley loaves and two fishes, but what are these among so many ? (St John vi. 9). Barley cakes were the food of the poor.
19. to sit down. They sat by fifties in a company. Lit. “in parterres or garden beds,” according to St Mark (πραςιαί ), i.e. either in hollow rectangular form, having 100 on each of the long sides and 50 on the one shorter side, or else 50 semicircular rows of 100 with intervening spaces, so that the disciples could easily serve the people. Only the men were arranged in orderly companies, the women and children were unarranged. They were probably not numerous.
upon the grass. The grass was “ green,” which shews that this event happened in the spring.
looking up to heaven. Notice, Jesus took the loaves, looked up to heaven, blessed and broke. These expressions recall the institution of the Holy Eucharist, of which this miracle is a type, and consequently a preparation. In their literal significance they shew that Jesus, as host, blessed the food provided for the guests.
gave the loaves, etc. We cannot determine how or where the miracle took place. It seems as though the food was multiplied in the hands of our Lord and also in those of His apostles. There appears to have been no creation of fresh loaves or fishes, since Jesus divided the loaves and the two fishes among them all. “ It was a mighty work effected by God, who from one acorn can produce a forest of oaks.”
20. they did all eat. Women and children were always spoken of collectively when the Israelites were numbered. In the East, women held, and still hold, a secondary place. The women and children would eat apart.
twelve full baskets. “Cophini,” small wicker baskets, in which, to avoid legal pollution, the Jews carried their food when on a journey. The quantity of fragments over was a standing proof of the miracle.
Note.— This miracle teaches us to put in practice Christ’s precept, Seek ye therefore first the kingdom of God, and his justice, and all these things shall be added unto you (St Matt, vi. 33). The multitude forgot their bodily wants in their desire to hear Christ, but He remembered and provided for them miraculously. The Catholic Faith is our greatest treasure, and must be preferred even to life itself, for. What shall it profit a man if he gain the whole world and suffer the loss of his soul ? (St Mark viii. 30).
Totus tuus ego sum
Et omnia mea tua sunt;
Tecum semper tutus sum:
Ad Jesum per Mariam.
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