Commentary on the Gospel of John, Chapter 6:1–14 by St. Albert the Great
Note: St. Albert the Great (c. 1200–1280) was a Dominican bishop, theologian, and philosopher, teacher of St. Thomas Aquinas. His commentary on the Gospel of John is renowned for its comprehensive synthesis of literal, allegorical, moral, and anagogical interpretation. This text covers the miracle of the Feeding of the Five Thousand. Translated by Qwen.
Introduction: The Manifestation of the Word's Power
Here he begins to treat of the manifestation of the Word according to the power which transforms creatures to Himself.
This part has two divisions:
In the first, the miracle is premised which demonstrates this power.
In the second, the doctrine drawn from the miracle is set forth (at verse 26: "Amen, amen, I say to you, you seek Me not because you have seen signs, etc.").
Furthermore, the first of these parts is divided into two:
In the first, the miracle of the loaves is set forth, which signifies the Sacrament of the Eucharist.
In the second, He declares His power to accomplish this in the elect (at verse 15: "Jesus, therefore, when He knew that they would come to take Him by force...").
In the first of these, five things are noted:
The necessity of the miracle is touched upon first on the part of the common place, which was a desert where food could not be found ("Therefore when Jesus had known that they would come, etc.").
The necessity on the part of the multitude which had labored from the length of the journey and could not come to places of refreshment.
The necessity on the part of the proper place, which was surrounded by mountains and water, so that it did not offer an easy departure for returning to their own places.
The fitness on the part of the festal time, in which something divine was to be shown which would demonstrate the future Supper of the Eucharist.
The necessity is described on the part of the provisions, which were not available from elsewhere except through a miracle.
John 6:1–4: The Setting of the Miracle
"AFTER THESE THINGS JESUS WENT AWAY ACROSS THE SEA OF GALILEE, WHICH IS THAT OF TIBERIAS."
"After these things": Not indeed continuously, because the preceding [miracle] was done at the feast of Pentecost, and the whole time of that year passed until the future Passover, when, with John now imprisoned, the Lord in the second year of His preaching before Passover performed this miracle.
And he passed over all the deeds of that year, John, partly because he saw that they were sufficiently described by the other Evangelists and he did not wish to be superfluous, and partly because they did not openly agree with his purpose. Nevertheless, he places this [miracle] which is also contained in Matthew 14:13 ff., Luke 9:12 ff., and Mark 6:32 ff., because he saw certain things pertaining to the instruction of the disciples concerning the power of the divinity of the Word omitted by the others, and especially because all commonly omitted the doctrine of the Supper of His body and blood which arose from this miracle. And therefore he introduces this miracle placed by the others only for this purpose: that the following instruction which the Incarnate Word principally intends might have a place (Deut. 8:3: "To show thee that not in bread alone doth man live..."; Wisdom 16:26: "For not the fruits of birth nourish men, but Thy word, O Lord, preserveth them who believe in Thee").
For this cause, therefore, he introduces this miracle placed by the others, which he is not accustomed to do.
"After these things": Not in continuous time, but with the whole summer, autumn, and winter interposed, at the end of which He performed this miracle.
"He went away from the tumult, withdrawing": That He might teach the disciples more quietly and draw the crowds further from the tumult (Mark 6:31: "Come apart into a desert place, and rest a little"). Exodus 3:1 ff.: Moses led the flock to the interior of the desert and saw a great vision. JESUS, the author of salvation, that He might teach that all things are to be left behind (Psalm 44:11: "Hearken, O daughter, and see, and incline thy ear; and forget thy people and thy father's house"; Genesis 12:1: "Go forth out of thy land and from thy kindred").
"Across the Sea of Galilee": It was not salt but a lake which is fed by the flowing Jordan. Nevertheless, it is called a sea after the manner of the Hebrews, who call every gathering of waters a sea (Genesis 1:10: "And the gatherings of the waters He called seas"). Moreover, it is called of Galilee because it lies adjacent to the cities of Galilee and is poured out to them. And this is what he says: "Which is of Tiberias." Tiberias is called a city of Galilee which was built in the honor and name of Tiberius Caesar and lies adjacent to the Sea of Galilee.
But JESUS crossed that sea as a sign of the solitude which was beyond the lake, as we have said, that He might show that the disciples ought to cross the world, which is signified by the sea (Psalm 103:25: "So is this great and wide sea"; Isaiah 57:20: "But the wicked are like the raging sea, which cannot rest, and its waves cast up dirt and mire").
The literal cause, however, was the death of John which was announced to Him, and then He withdrew into the desert from the rage of Herod, teaching us cautiously to avoid the fury of men for a time (Mark 6:29 ff.: "And when his disciples heard of it, they came and took his body, and laid it in a tomb. And the apostles, gathering together to Jesus, related to Him all that they had done and taught. And He said to them: Come apart into a desert place, and rest a little. And going up into a ship, they went into a desert place apart.").
Thus, therefore, for this cause He went away into this desert.
John 6:2: The Multitude Follows
"AND A GREAT MULTITUDE FOLLOWED HIM, BECAUSE THEY SAW THE SIGNS WHICH HE DID ON THEM THAT WERE DISEASED."
Here the second [point] is touched, namely, the necessity on the part of the multitude which went out (Mark 6:33: "And they saw them going away, and many knew: and they ran flocking thither on foot from all the cities, and came before them").
For so great was the eagerness of hearing Him and the desire of seeing Him that, forgetting their own affairs, they came together to Him from all sides (Daniel 3:41: "And now we follow Thee with all our heart, and we fear Thee, and seek Thy face"; Hosea 6:3: "We shall live in His sight; we shall know, and we shall follow on, that we may know the Lord").
"A great multitude": From diverse kinds and places.
Some followed that they might be instructed by the word of life (John 6:69: "Thou hast the words of eternal life").
Some out of curiosity, that they might admire the miracles seen (Psalm 45:9: "Come and behold the works of the Lord, what wonders He hath done upon the earth").
Others thirdly, that they might be cured in themselves or their friends from infirmities (Luke 4:40: "And when the sun was down, all they that had any sick with divers diseases, brought them to Him"—namely, JESUS—"because virtue went out from Him and healed all").
Fourthly, that they might be refreshed with Him, either where He was invited or where He refreshed men from His own (John 6:26: "You seek Me not because you have seen signs, but because you did eat of the loaves").
Fifthly, that they might lie in wait and catch Him in word or deed and accuse Him, just as the Pharisees (Matthew 22:16: "Master, we know that Thou art a true speaker, and teachest the way of God in truth").
From diverse causes, therefore, the multitude which followed was great. But it signifies the multitude of the faithful which follows Christ to the refreshment of the Eucharist (Psalm 103:27: "All expect of Thee that Thou give them food in due season").
The cause why they followed follows: "Because they saw the signs which He did on them that were diseased." For He did not do signs uselessly and out of vanity, but supplying the necessities and utilities of men, just as the Apostle Peter says in the Itinerary of Clement (Psalm 102:3: "Who forgiveth all thy iniquities: who healeth all thy diseases"; Luke 9:11: "And the people, when they knew it, followed Him: and He received them, and spoke to them of the kingdom of God, and healed them who had need of healing"; Matthew 14:14: "And He coming out saw a great multitude: and had compassion on them, and healed their sick").
John 6:3–4: The Mountain and the Passover
"JESUS THEREFORE WENT UP INTO A MOUNTAIN: AND THERE HE SAT WITH HIS DISCIPLES."
"He went up into a mountain": Because the desert was mountainous. And He went up into a mountain that He might be able to see the crowd flowing together from all sides with the eyes of mercy, and that He might also teach the disciples to look upon the crowds. And this mountain is the eminence of life with the degree of dignity or prelacy (Isaiah 40:9: "Get thee up upon a high mountain, thou that bringest good tidings to Sion"; Matthew 5:1: "And Jesus seeing the multitudes, went up into a mountain").
"And there He sat": That from the resting one the doctrine of truth might flow forth with His disciples, whom He intended to instruct specially, that through them afterwards the whole world might be instructed (Ecclesiasticus 38:25: "The wisdom of the scribe cometh forth by his time of leisure"; Hosea 2:14: "I will lead her into the wilderness").
And attend that what the other Evangelists call a desert, John on account of the situation calls a mountain, because it was both desert and mountainous, and thus offered a difficult approach and departure for going away and coming back.
"NOW THE PASCH, THE FESTIVAL DAY OF THE JEWS, WAS NEAR."
He touches the fitness of the time, because at the future Passover was the Supper, signifying the Sacrament of the Eucharist, and therefore it was fitting to perform a miracle from which the doctrine of the Eucharist has its beginning, that in their own time those supping might know what was signified in the mystery of the Supper.
And this is what he says: "Now the Pasch was near, the festival day of the Jews." In which many were obliged to ascend to Jerusalem, who perhaps were flowing together to Jesus that they might ascend with Him. "Festival day" antonomastically, because this feast was greater for the Jews (Exodus 12:11: "For it is the Phase, that is, the Passage of the Lord"; 1 Corinthians 5:7–8: "For Christ our Pasch is sacrificed. Therefore let us feast...").
John 6:5–7: The Test of Philip
"WHEN JESUS THEREFORE HAD LIFTED UP HIS EYES, AND SEEN THAT A VERY GREAT MULTITUDE COMETH TO HIM, HE SAITH TO PHILIP: WHENCE SHALL WE BUY BREAD, THAT THESE MAY EAT?"
Here the necessity of the miracle is touched on the part of the defect of provisions which were not available from elsewhere. Four things are said here:
The respect of mercy toward the multitude.
The interrogation of Philip for the sake of instruction.
The devotion of Andrew which he has of offering for refreshment.
The sign of the imperfection of faith of Andrew for the saturation of so many and such great crowds.
He says therefore: "When Jesus therefore had lifted up His eyes": The eyes, I say, of His mercy (Mark 7:2: "I have compassion on the multitude, because behold they have now been with Me three days, and have nothing to eat"; John 17:1: "These things Jesus spoke: and lifting up His eyes to heaven, He said: Father, the hour is come, glorify Thy Son"; Psalm 122:1: "To Thee have I lifted up my eyes, who dwellest in heaven").
"And seen that a very great multitude cometh to Him": Which signified the multitude of the whole world running together to Christ (Matthew 8:11: "And I say to you that many shall come from the east and the west, and shall sit down with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven"; Isaiah 43:5–6: "I will bring thy seed from the east, and gather thee from the west. I will say to the north: Give up; and to the south: Keep not back"). For this is the joy and end of His incarnation and legation, that all may come to Him (Matthew 11:28: "Come to Me all you that labour, and are burdened, and I will refresh you").
"He saith to Philip: Whence shall we buy bread, that these may eat?"
But this He said testing him, for He Himself knew what He would do.
Here the instruction of the disciple is touched. And it says three things: the instructing interrogation, the intention of the interrogator, and the response of little faith in the disciple being instructed.
He says therefore: "He saith to Philip." If it be asked why He made the interrogation to Philip rather than to others, there are two causes.
One indeed is Chrysostom's, saying that this Apostle was ruder and more needing instruction, which is clear below (14:8) where he said as a rude one: "Lord, show us the Father." And this has been said in the preceding things.
The second cause is that Philip was from those parts, as they say, and cared more for the multitude. But this is proved to be no cause, because both Peter and Andrew were from those parts, and yet nothing was asked of them.
He said therefore to Philip that He might specially instruct him (Proverbs 1:4: "To give subtilty to little ones, to the young man knowledge and understanding"; Psalm 118:130: "The declaration of Thy words giveth light: and giveth understanding to little ones").
"Whence shall we buy": That is, whence is the faculty of price supplied, since we are poor, having nothing? "Bread": Because in bread is the necessity of refreshment. For the Lord did not care for superfluities (Ecclesiasticus 29:28: "The life of man is water and bread, and clothing, and a house to cover shame"; 1 Timothy 6:8: "But having food, and wherewith to be covered, with these we are content").
"That these may eat": But there seems to be a contrary to what is said here (Matthew 14:15: "And when it was evening, His disciples came to Him, saying: This is a desert place, and the hour is now passed: send away the multitudes, that going into the towns, they may buy themselves victuals"). Therefore the disciples said this to the Lord and not to Philip Himself?
To this Augustine responds, saying that both were true. But first the disciples said to the Lord those things which Matthew says. And then He responded what is said there: "They have no need to go," and "Give you them to eat." And then He said specially to Philip this which is here. Chrysostom, however, says that the Lord of His benignity often fed the crowds and that this is another miracle and another which Matthew relates, although in many things they agree. And then the objection is none.
He says therefore, wishing to raise Philip to the power of divinity, and therefore first through a question He excites him that he may consider that from the price no faculty of buying was available; for He was so powerful that from nothing He wished to feed. And this is what follows from the words of the Evangelist: "But this He said testing him, for He Himself knew what He would do."
BUT AGAINST this it is objected (James 1:13): "Let no man, when he is tempted, say that he is tempted by God. For God is not a tempter of evils, etc."
But to this it must be said that there is a twofold temptation:
One which is an impulse of the tempter to the illicit, and he tempts whether he can move [one] from good and incline to a fall. And thus James says (1:14): "But every man is tempted by his own concupiscence, being drawn away and allured." And thus the tempter is the devil who lying in wait flies around and deceiving promises and soothing persuades and oppressing snatches and threatening terrifies and despairing breaks, as blessed Gregory says on Job. He has, moreover, as it were instruments by which he accomplishes this: concupiscence and wicked will and others by which he inclines man to sin, just as it is said (James 1:14).
But there is another temptation of the acceptance of experiment, and this is twofold: namely, of man who proves himself what he has in himself (1 Corinthians 11:28: "But let a man prove himself: and so let him eat of that bread, and drink of the chalice"). The other is a temptation of God, by which not God takes an experiment for Himself, but rather makes an experiment of man concerning himself or another. Because it profits man sometimes that he may know himself, that either he may trust more in himself or humble himself more (Psalm 25:2: "Prove me, O Lord, and try me: burn my reins and my heart"; Psalm 138:23–24: "See if there be in me the way of iniquity"—that is, make me see or others). And thus He tempted Abraham. Just as also here He tempts Philip that he may know the weakness of his faith and receive faith in the omnipotence of the Word.
Thus therefore He said this testing him. Christ Himself as God knew. And therefore He intends to make the experiment of probation not for Himself but for the disciple (Genesis 42:15: "Now I shall make trial of you"; Wisdom 3:5: "God hath tried them, and found them worthy of Himself"). What He would do from the power of His divinity without the faculty of earthly prices (Acts 3:6: "Silver and gold I have none").
John 6:8–9: The Response of Philip and Andrew
"ONE OF HIS DISCIPLES, ANDREW, THE BROTHER OF SIMON PETER, SAITH TO HIM: THERE IS A BOY HERE THAT HATH FIVE BARLEY LOAVES AND TWO FISHES; BUT WHAT ARE THESE AMONG SO MANY?"
"There is a boy here": Isaiah 55:1: "Come buy without money, and without any exchange."
Philip responded to Him: By himself and for all the others from the little faith which the Apostles still had. "Bread bought for two hundred pence is not sufficient for them, that every one may take a little." For he thought that breads were to be bought with a price. And perhaps they had so great a quantity of this price in the purses of Judas, as some say, and therefore they exhibited the quantity of this price (Mark 6:37: "Let us go and buy for two hundred pence bread, and we will give them to eat"). "That every one may take a little": Less than suffices for the necessity of being refreshed, to take in the hand rather than to recline for eating (Luke 9:13: "Unless perhaps we should go and buy victuals for all this multitude").
But then it is asked: Why did He not make this question rather to Judas who had the purses and carried the prices than to Philip? To this it must be said that in truth, although the Lord on account of present justice had elected Judas, nevertheless from the beginning He knew that he himself would betray Him, and therefore He did not make the questions of His instruction to him because it would have been useless. And He taught us that in our elections we ought to consider in man what is in the present and not what will be in the future, because we cannot know this (Ecclesiastes 7:14: "Consider the works of God, that no man can correct whom He hath despised").
"There is a boy here": Here the third [point] of Andrew is touched, namely, the devotion which he had greater than Philip of what they might eat, those wonderful and great men, and he had faith, but not sufficient. And he says to Jesus: "One", that is, unique, because more devoted (John 1:40: "One of the two who had heard of John, and followed Him: Andrew, the brother of Simon Peter"), who already by faith, although insufficient, responded to the pabulum of the doctrine of the Lord.
"There is a boy here": Either one from the disciples or someone from the crowd known to Him and devoted to the Lord, who would easily offer what he had in service to the Lord (1 Paralipomenon 29:14: "All things are Thine: and we have given Thee what we received of Thy hand").
BUT AGAINST this it seems what is said (Luke 9:3): "Take nothing for the way, neither staff, nor scrip, nor bread, nor money."
RESPONSE: It must be said that this was said to the Apostles sent into preaching, but now they had returned from preaching and had come late into solitude, and therefore someone had carried a nocturnal supper with him, which the Lord permitted for this reason, because they were still imperfect.
"Who hath five barley loaves": From which the heart is strengthened rather than the belly saturated. Barley: Lest they be believed to be delicate, because barley is gross and rough, it is rather the food of beasts than of men (Isaiah 30:24: "The colts also that till the ground, shall eat mingled grain as it was winnowed in the floor"). Migma moreover is barley with chaff. Chrysostom: "We who attend to pleasure, who occupy ourselves with concupiscence, let us learn what the quantity of the things which they brought forth and the quality and utility of their table let us attend to" (Amos 6:4 ff.: "You that eat the lamb out of the flock, and the calves out of the midst of the herd, that drink wine in bowls, and anoint yourselves with the best ointment: and you suffer nothing for the affliction of Joseph").
"And two fishes": Which they used for a sweetening against the bitterness of the bread. "And the fishes were to them for a relish" (John 21:5: "Children, have you any meat?").
Moral, Allegorical, and Anagogical Interpretation of the Loaves and Fishes
Morally, simultaneously allegorically and anagogically, we shall make the five loaves, namely, of penance, of doctrine, and of eternal refreshment.
I. Moral Sense: The Five Loaves of Penance
The five of penance are loaves:
The bread of compunction from the consideration of sin.
The bread of affliction from the consideration of the Passion of Christ.
The bread of compassion from the consideration of the defect of the neighbor.
The bread of fear and trembling from the consideration of future punishment.
The bread of sighing and devotion from the consideration of the delay of the reward.
Of the first it is said in Psalm 79:6: "Thou hast fed us with bread of tears." 3 Kings 22:27: "Put this man in prison, and feed him with bread of affliction, and with water of distress." This bread overthrows the camps of the devil (Judges 7:13: "It seemed to me as if a cake of barley bread were rolled, and it fell, and came into the camp of Madian: and when it was come to the tent, it struck it, and overthrew it, and laid it level with the ground").
Of the second bread it is said (Deuteronomy 16:3): "Seven days shalt thou eat without leaven the bread of affliction, because thou camest out of Egypt in fear, that thou mayest remember the day of thy coming out of Egypt all the days of thy life."
Of the third (Ecclesiastes 11:1): "Cast thy bread upon the running waters, for after many days thou shalt find it again." The running waters are the poor (Isaiah 58:7: "Break thy bread to the hungry").
Of the fourth bread (Tobit 2:5–6): "He ate his bread with mourning and with fear, remembering that word which the Lord had spoken by Amos the Prophet: Your festival days shall be turned into lamentation and mourning."
Of the fifth bread it is said in Psalm 41:4: "My tears have been my bread day and night."
All these loaves are barley, and therefore are taken with bitterness. But the two fishes are the hope of pardon and the sweetness of eternal life which penance restores (Ezekiel 47:9: "There will be a very great multitude of fishes"). For these suffice and are enough for penance to be performed.
II. Allegorical Sense: The Five Books of Moses
But the loaves allegorically are, as the Gloss says, the five books of Moses, barley on account of the hardness of the letter, nevertheless refreshing if spiritually understood (1 Corinthians 14:19: "In the church I had rather speak five words with my understanding, that I may instruct others also, than ten thousand words in a tongue").
But the two fishes are, as the Gloss says, the sweetness of prophecy and the sweetness of the Psalms (Luke 24:44: "All things must needs be fulfilled which are written in the law of Moses, and in the prophets, and in the psalms, concerning Me").
III. Anagogical Sense: The Five Joys of Eternity
Anagogically, moreover, the loaves to which we sigh and from which we are refreshed in eternity are also five:
One is the presence of God (Philippians 1:23: "Having a desire to be dissolved and to be with Christ"; 2 Corinthians 5:8: "But we are confident and have a good will to be absent rather from the body, and to be present with the Lord").
The second is the beauty of the vision of the face of God (Canticles 2:14: "Show me thy face"; Psalm 44:3: "Thou art fair above the sons of men"; 1 Peter 1:12: "On whom the angels desire to look").
The third is the society of the Angels, among whose lots is the lot of our beatitude (Psalm 15:6: "The lines are fallen unto me in goodly places: for my inheritance is goodly to me"; Deuteronomy 32:8 according to the translation of the Septuagint: "He set the bounds of the people according to the number of the angels of God").
The fourth loaf is the sighing for the consortium of the Saints who reign with Christ in the heavens. Whence the Church chants: "O how glorious is the kingdom in which all the Saints rejoice with Christ, clothed in white stoles, they follow the Lamb whithersoever He goeth" (Matthew 13:43: "Then shall the just shine as the sun in the kingdom of their Father"; Wisdom 3:7: "The just shall shine, and as sparks in the cane-brake they shall run to and fro").
The Fifth Loaf:
"The fifth loaf is the sighing for internal beatitude, with which the blessed rejoice, and which we experience here in part for a short time (Proverbs 31:18: "She hath tasted and seen that her traffic is good"). In all these things there is barley, which is the delay of the one sighing for these things (Psalm 119:5: "Woe is me that my sojourning is prolonged").
But the sweetness of the two comforting fishes is the certainty of conscience and the certainty of divine fidelity (1 Corinthians 4:4: "For I am not conscious to myself of any thing"; 2 Corinthians 1:12: "For our glory is this, the testimony of our conscience").
Who is the fish that descended to the hook of Peter, in whose mouth he found the redemption for the tribute? (Matthew 17:26).Concerning the second fish it is said (Matthew 13:48): "They chose the good into vessels." For the good are they who in the fidelity of the Lord have many things reserved (2 Timothy 1:12: "I know whom I have believed, and I am certain").
"And this is what he says: Who hath five barley loaves and two fishes; but what are these among so many?"
Here is noted a certain little faith. Which, although in itself small and nothing, nevertheless in the hand of the Lord was sufficient for many more (Psalm 77:19: "They spoke ill of God: they said: Can God prepare a table in the desert?"; Matthew 14:16: "They have no need to go: give you them to eat").
John 6:10: Making the People Sit Down
"JESUS THEREFORE SAID: MAKE THE MEN SIT DOWN. NOW THERE WAS MUCH GRASS IN THE PLACE. THE MEN THEREFORE SAT DOWN, IN NUMBER ABOUT FIVE THOUSAND."
Here the perfection of the miracle is touched. And it says five things, namely:
The reclining of the believers.
The comfort of those eating.
The number of those eating.
The mode of making the miracle.
That all were satisfied according to appetite.
"Make the men sit down":
In this that He says "Make," He notes the office of Prelates, whose it is to order the reclining of the Churches to be refreshed by Christ (Psalm 47:14: "For this is God, our God unto eternity, and for ever and ever: He shall rule us for ever" [Vulgate variant]; 1 Corinthians 14:40: "But let all things be done decently and according to order"). Whence it is said in another Gospel that they sat down by groups and families (Mark 6:40). For otherwise are Religious to be ordered, and otherwise Seculars, and otherwise Laics, and otherwise Clerics, and so of others.
"Men": Because rational and not animal, we ought to be at the table of God (1 Corinthians 2:14: "But the sensual man perceiveth not these things that are of the Spirit of God"; Philippians 3:19: "Whose god is their belly; and whose glory is in their shame; who mind earthly things"). For men are they who do not less hunger for the word of God than they take bodily food. Augustine: "Let not only your jaws take food, but let your ears hunger for the word of God."
"To sit down": Which is of those supping, when sitting is made comfortable, that from the labor of fatigue meanwhile, while food is taken, the members may rest (Genesis 18:4–5: "Rest ye under the tree, and I will fetch a morsel of bread"; Isaiah 28:12: "This is my rest, refresh ye the weary").
"Now there was much grass in the place": In which those fatigued for three days could have the comfort of quiet.
Otherwise, grass signifies flesh (Isaiah 40:6: "All flesh is grass"). Nor can he sit worthily at the table of God who does not subject the flesh by the servitude of the spirit (1 Corinthians 9:27: "But I chastise my body, and bring it into subjection").
"The men therefore sat down, in number about five thousand" (Matthew 14:21: "And the number of them that did eat was five thousand men, besides children and women"; Mark 6:44: "And they that did eat, were five thousand men"; Luke 9:14: "Now the number of the men was five thousand").
And it is noted that men ought to be those who eat the Supper of the Lord, not softened in concupiscences like women, nor having a childish sense like boys.
Of the first it is said (Hebrews 13:10): "We have an altar, whereof they have no power to eat who serve the tabernacle"—that is, the body, as the Gloss says there.
Of the second it is said (Hebrews 5:14): "But strong meat is for the perfect; for them who by custom have their senses exercised to the discerning of good and evil."
Thus therefore in sense and virtue of mind they ought to be men who eat with the Lord.
"About": He says "about" that it may be noted that if they were a little more or a little fewer, Scripture cares not for minutiae.
"Five thousand" are said because the quinarius (five) pertains to the delights of the five senses; the thousand to the cubic perfection of virtue, which rises from the ten as from a root. The ten therefore refers to the Decalogue; the quadrature to the quadrature of virtue, namely prudence, fortitude, justice, and temperance. But the double multiplication of the ten, namely of the ten into itself and of the ten into the square, is that it may receive the mode of virtue; for the ten otherwise has not the ratio of good and of the whole unless it is multiplied into the form of charity, without which nothing is meritorious, just as it is said (1 Timothy 1:5) that the end of the commandment is charity from a pure heart and a good conscience and faith unfeigned, because thus it is completed by charity. Thus therefore they are five thousand.
John 6:11: Giving Thanks and Distributing
"JESUS THEREFORE TOOK THE LOAVES: AND WHEN HE HAD GIVEN THANKS, HE DISTRIBUTED TO THEM THAT WERE SET DOWN; IN LIKE MANNER ALSO OF THE FISHES, AS MUCH AS THEY WOULD."
He touches the mode by which this miracle was perfected by the Lord.
He says therefore: "Jesus therefore took the loaves": That by the touch of His hand virtue might act upon the bread of His divinity (Luke 8:46: "Somebody hath touched me; for I know that virtue is gone out from me"; Luke 6:19: "And virtue went out from him, and healed all").
"And when He had given thanks, He distributed to them that were set down": Just as He was accustomed to do at every table, that He might teach us not to take bread without thanksgiving and the word of prayer. And therefore, although He performed other miracles without touch and prayer, here He both touches on account of the blessing and gives thanks on account of the donation of divine largess (1 Timothy 4:4–5: "For every creature of God is good, and nothing to be rejected that is received with thanksgiving. For it is sanctified by the word of God and prayer"; Luke 9:16: "And taking the five loaves and the two fishes, He looked up to heaven, and blessed them: and broke, and distributed to His disciples to set before the multitudes").
"Likewise also of the fishes, as much as they would": "As much", because He satisfied the desire of each one (Wisdom 16:21: "For serving every one's will, it was turned to what they would"; Psalm 77:29–30: "He brought them the desire of their souls... They were not defrauded of their desire"). For the food of the Lord had this, as the Fathers say, that it served the will of the believer more than other foods (Psalm 64:10: "Thou hast prepared their food").
Question: But some ask: Why, just as in the miracle of the wine He made the best wine from water, so also in the miracle of the loaves, did He not make wheaten bread, bread of wheat, from the barley loaves?
Response: It must be said that this is one thing and that is another. For that miracle of the wine served the joy of the wedding, and therefore it was fitting that the water be changed into a liquor causing joy. But this served the necessity of the common crowd, and therefore He did not change that bread from a form serving necessity. Especially, as Chrysostom says, lest He seem to serve gluttony.
Question: But it is asked further: Since the miracle signifies the Eucharist, why did He not give wheaten bread, since the Eucharist is not made except from bread of wheat?
Response: It must be said that this is a remote sign, and therefore it did not have an expressed similitude in the matter. But if it were a proper convertible sign, then the objection would have place. Because the Eucharist was figured in many things which even in matter had no convenience, as in the manna and in the flesh of the lamb and certain others. A proximate sign is not fitting to be given in the sacrament except in the element of the sacrament itself, because the sacrament is a sign, and if it had a proximate sign, then there would be a proximate sign of the proximate sign, which is altogether inconvenient and against all art. Whence also the fishes, which by their sweetness offer chaste nourishment, designate the sweetness of sacramental grace, and yet they are not a sign except a remote one of the sacrament, and not according to matter are they a fitting sign.
Question: But if it be asked what the two fishes signify here?
Response: It must be said that one signifies the food of the body and the other signifies the price of the soul.
John 6:12–13: Collecting the Fragments
"AND WHEN THEY WERE FILLED, HE SAID TO HIS DISCIPLES: GATHER UP THE FRAGMENTS THAT REMAIN, THAT THEY BE NOT LOST. THEY GATHERED THEM THEREFORE, AND FILLED TWELVE BASKETS WITH THE FRAGMENTS OF THE FIVE BARLEY LOAVES, WHICH REMAINED OVER AND ABOVE TO THEM THAT HAD EATEN."
Here are touched the consequents which make for the magnitude of the miracle. And two things are said here, namely:
The signs of the magnitude of the miracle.
The magnitude of the divine praise.
Concerning the first he says three things: the fulfillment of the hungry, the command of collecting the superfluities, and the quantity of the remainders.
"When they were filled": Satisfying hunger and lassitude and labor and desire (Luke 1:53: "He hath filled the hungry with good things"; Psalm 77:29: "They did eat, and were filled exceedingly"; 1 Kings 2:5: "The hungry are filled"; Luke 9:17: "And they did all eat, and were filled"; Psalm 89:14: "We are filled in the morning with Thy mercy").
"He said to His disciples": That He might instruct them that they ought to feed the crowds with temporal subsidy also when they can in time of need (John 21:17: "Feed my sheep").
"Gather up the fragments that remain, that they be not lost":
Question: It is asked why the Lord administered superfluities, since this is said to be a certain vice?
Response: To this it must be said that it is not a vice but an indication of most abundant virtue when the superfluous is converted to the utility of the poor, just as here (Nehemiah 8:10 [2 Esdras]: "Go your way, eat the fat, and drink the sweet, and send portions to them that have not prepared for themselves"). For the Lord still holds this mode, because to those having fields He ministers much more than they need, that they may have whence to give to the poor (Luke 11:41: "But that which remaineth, give alms"). Therefore He commanded them to be collected that, collected, they might be distributed to the poor (Psalm 111:9: "He hath distributed, he hath given to the poor").
But this collection made by the Apostles, as the Gloss says, signifies those subtle sacraments which cannot be grasped by the simple in the present, which are committed to the Apostles to be collected, because by the bread is signified the bread of the word of God, by whose rudiments the simple are fed, and by whose subtleties Prelates are illuminated for the defense and edification of the faith (1 Peter 3:15: "But be ready always to satisfy every one that asketh you a reason of that hope which is in you").
"They gathered them therefore, and filled twelve baskets with the fragments, etc.":
A basket (cophinus) is a large sportula which, suspended on the arms, is carried on the back, like those in which dung and refuse are carried from the streets. And thus it is clear that the superabundance increased from the five loaves in the effect of saturation and the superfluity of the remainders. In which is signified that the seed which anyone sows in alms, in the poor, in reward, here superabounds and in the future will grow into the immense (2 Corinthians 9:10: "And He that administereth seed to the sower, will both give you bread to eat, and will multiply your seed, and increase the growth of the fruits of your justice"; James 1:5: "Who giveth to all men abundantly, and upbraideth not"; Matthew 14:20: "And they took up what remained, twelve baskets full of fragments"; 3 Kings 17:14: "The pot of meal shall not waste, nor the cruse of oil be diminished"; 4 Kings 4:5: "And they offered vessels, and she poured in").
From five loaves which were as the first seed in the hands of Christ, as He said first (Genesis 1:28: "Increase and multiply, and fill the earth"). Barley, because here the bread is not to be tasted as delicate, but in the future (Daniel 10:3: "I ate no desirable bread"; Psalm 101:10: "I did eat ashes like bread"). Which remained over for the sustenance of the poor who had eaten (Job 31:17: "If I have eaten my morsel alone, and the fatherless hath not eaten thereof").
Chrysostom says here that he wonders more that the baskets super-growing to the saturation of the eaters increased to the number of the Apostles, than that the loaves were multiplied so much. And he says that it implies a spiritual sense, because namely from the relics of the words of Christ, which are signified by the five loaves, Apostolic doctrine grows to the saturation of the world (Isaiah 23:18: "They shall not be stored up, nor laid away: for her merchandise shall be for them that dwell before the Lord"). For this purpose the superfluities of the Church are gathered.
John 6:14: The People's Reaction
"THOSE MEN THEREFORE, WHEN THEY HAD SEEN WHAT SIGN HE HAD DONE, SAID: THIS IS OF A TRUTH THE PROPHET THAT IS TO COME INTO THE WORLD."
"Those men": Namely having something of reason, when they had seen the divine power proved by effect. For by this they were built up to faith. That He had done a sign in which He proved Himself to be God (John 4:48: "Unless you see signs and wonders, you believe not").
"Said, magnifying God": "Because this is truly the Prophet": Of whom it is said (Deuteronomy 18:15): "The Lord thy God will raise up to thee a Prophet of thy nation and of thy brethren: Him thou shalt hear." "That is to come into the world" according to the saying of the Law.
Objection: But there seems to be a doubt in what is said, because Christ was a comprehensor and saw God face to face by species. But Prophets see in a mirror, and this vision does not agree with a comprehensor. Therefore Christ is not a Prophet.
Response: To this it could be said that Christ in truth was not a Prophet, but a Comprehensor and Lord of Prophets. But the crowds said this having imperfect faith concerning Him. For they did not believe Him to be God, but someone divine and a Prophet for whom God worked these magnalia.
It can also be said that the Lord promised in Deuteronomy that He would raise up a Prophet, that He was John the Baptist, who was more than a Prophet. For in this that he had divine inspiration he was a Prophet. In this that he did not predict the future but indicated the present, he was more than a Prophet. In this however that he terminated the promises of the Law to the grace exhibited and showed it to be terminated, he was the end and term of the Prophets (Matthew 11:13: "For all the prophets and the law prophesied until John"; Matthew 11:9: "But what went you out to see? A prophet? Yea I tell you, and more than a prophet"; Luke 1:76: "And thou, child, shalt be called the prophet of the Highest"). And thus He was both the term of the Prophets and the Prophet promised in the Law.
Then we say that there are three things which constitute a Prophet as substantial:
One is divine inspiration.
The second is enunciation concerning the future.
The third is immovable truth which is in both, namely in the enunciation and in the inspiration.
And Christ is not called a Prophet except as to the third, because immovable is everything that Christ enunciates (Mark 13:31: "My words shall not pass away"; Psalm 118:89: "For ever, O Lord, Thy word standeth in the heaven"). Thus therefore they say: "This is truly the Prophet" from the truth of the immobility of His sayings (Luke 24:19: "Who was a prophet, mighty in work and word before God and all the people"; Haggai 2:8: "The Desired of all nations shall come"; Joshua 1:19 [Vulgate variant]: "Lord, I see that Thou art a Prophet"). For this was said by the crowds (Matthew 16:13–14: "Whom do men say that the Son of man is? But they said: Some John the Baptist, and other some Elias, and others Jeremias, or one of the prophets").
John 6:15: Jesus Withdraws to the Mountain
"JESUS THEREFORE, WHEN HE KNEW THAT THEY WOULD COME TO TAKE HIM BY FORCE AND MAKE HIM KING, FLED AGAIN INTO THE MOUNTAIN, HIMSELF ALONE."
Here begins the part in which in the elect crowds and disciples the Lord shows His power to do all things that He wills, so that they who said Him to be a Prophet may now receive faith of His divinity.
But this part is divided into three parts:
In the first is shown how it was come to this miracle, which contains in itself three miracles.
In the second is put the perfection of these miracles (at verse 18: "And the sea arose with a great wind blowing").
In the third is put the admiration consequent from that miracle (at verse 22: "The next day, the multitude that stood on the other side of the sea").
In the first of these three things are said, namely:
How the Lord was separated from the disciples.
How the departure of the disciples was procured by the command of the Lord in the ship.
How an impulse from the tempest against the ship arose.
He says therefore: "Jesus therefore": Who had multiplied the loaves, "when He knew": By exterior signs He knew sensibly what He always in the wisdom of His divinity foresaw (Ecclesiasticus 23:29: "For all things were known to the Lord God, before they were created: so also after they were perfected He beholdeth all things").
"That they would come": Namely those who had eaten, "to take Him". For He knew them, as Chrysostom says, because He so easily provided for many, and therefore they thought Him to lead an idle and relaxed and gluttonous life who abounded in all things and expended no labor or expenses, and therefore He knew their intention to be corrupt.
"To make Him king": For they saw that it was not necessary that they take up arms for Him, because He could defend Himself from all. And the Lord detested this resolution in them because it was evil. For although He was King by terrestrial hereditary succession and celestial from the Father (Psalm 2:6: "But I am appointed king by Him over Sion His holy mountain, preaching His commandment"; Jeremiah 23:5: "Behold the days come, saith the Lord, and I will raise up to David a just branch: and a King shall reign, and shall be wise"; Luke 1:32–33: "He shall reign in the house of Jacob for ever, and of His kingdom there shall be no end"), although, I say, He was thus King, nevertheless not consenting to their relaxed idleness and gluttony, He fled from them, because although they wished good, nevertheless they did not wish it well (John 18:36: "My kingdom is not of this world").
Augustine: "Christ fled when they wished to make Him king. For Christ man contemned all terrestrial goods that He might show they are to be contemned. He sustained all evils that neither in those should happiness be sought nor in these adversity be feared."
"He fled again into the mountain, Himself alone": From whom now the crowd had receded and He was solitary. For the mountain was fitting to Him, who was a mountain indeed of the eminence of nature, dignity, and sanctity (Psalm 67:17: "The mountain in which God is well pleased to dwell in it").
Of the eminence of dignity (Isaiah 2:2: "In the last days the mountain of the house of the Lord shall be prepared on the top of the mountains").
Of the mountain of sanctity (Jeremiah 31:23: "The Lord bless thee, O beauty of justice, holy mountain").
Thus therefore congruously He fled to the mountain to give thanks to the Father for the benefit and to pray for the crowd and disciples, that there might be given to them the complement of faith now begun, and that He might show Himself far from the ship of the disciples, and therefore He ascended into the mountain lest He be thought to have received a ship elsewhere on the shore of the sea.
CONTINUE.
Comments
Post a Comment