John 6:9 Ulasan

In this chapter we have, I. The miracle of the loaves (Joh 6:1-14). II. Christ's walking upon the water (Joh 6:15-21). III. The people's flocking after him to Capernaum (Joh 6:22-25). IV. His conference with them, occasioned by the miracle of the loaves, in which he reproves them for seeking carnal food, and directs them to spiritual food (Joh 6:26, Joh 6:27), showing them how they must labour for spiritual food (Joh 6:28, Joh 6:29), and what that spiritual food is (v. 30-59). V. Their discontent at what he said, and the reproof he gave them for it (Joh 6:60-65). VI. The apostasy of many from him, and his discourse with his disciples that adhered to him upon that occasion (Joh 6:66-71).

After these things,.... After Christ's curing the man at Bethesda's pool, and the vindication of himself for doing it or the sabbath day, and for asserting his equality with God; near a year after these things: for these were done at the feast of the passover, and now it was near another; and what is related here, was after the death of John the Baptist, and when the disciples had returned from preaching in the several cities and towns, where Christ afterwards went, and had given an account of their success; see Mat 14:12. Quickly after the passover was ended, Christ departed from Jerusalem, and went into Galilee, and preached in the several cities and towns in those parts, and wrought many miracles: and after these things, in process of time, Jesus went over the sea of Galilee; the same with the lake of Gennesaret, Luk 5:1; which is the sea of Tiberias; and is frequently so called by the Jewish writers (x), who often make mention of , "the sea of Tiberias"; and by other writers, it is called the lake of Tiberias (y); Pliny, who calls it the lake of Genesara (z), says, "it was sixteen miles long, and six broad, and was beset with very pleasant towns; on the east were Julias and Hippo, and on the south Tarichea, by which name some call the lake, and on the west Tiberias, wholesome for the hot waters.'' And these are the waters which the Jews call , or, the hot baths of Tiberias (a); and from the city of Tiberias built by Herod, and called so in honour of Tiberius Caesar, the sea took its name. (x) T. Bab. Bava Kama, fol. 81. 2. & Bava Bathra, fol. 74. 2. Becorot, fol. 55. 1. Megilla, fol. 5. 2. & 6. 1. Moed. Katon, fol. 18. 2. & T. Hieros. Kilaim, fol. 32. 3. & Erubin, fol. 25. 2. (y) Solin, c. 48. Pausan. l. 5. p. 298. (z) Lib. 5. c. 15. (a) T. Hieros. Peah, fol 21. 2. & Sheviith, fol. 38. 4. Kiddushin, fol. 61. 1. R. Benj. Itinerar. p. 53.

There is a lad here,.... Who either belonged to Christ and his disciples, and was employed to carry their provisions for them; which, if so, shows how meanly Christ and his disciples lived; or he belonged to some in the multitude; or rather he came here to sell what he had got: which hath five barley loaves. The land of Canaan was a land of barley, as well as wheat, Deu 8:8; this sort of grain grew there in plenty, and was in much use; the Jews had a barley harvest, Rut 1:22, which was at the time of the passover; for on the second day after the passover, the sheaf of the first fruits was waved before the Lord, which was of barley; hence the Targumist on the place just cited, paraphrases it thus; "they came to Bethlehem in the beginning of the passover, and on the day the children of Israel began to reap the sheaf of the wave offering, which was of barley.'' And it was now about the time of the passover, as appears from Joh 6:4, and had it been quite the time, and the barley sheaf had been waved, it might have been thought that these loaves were made of the new barley; but though barley was in use for bread among the Jews, as is evident, from the mention that is made of barley loaves and cakes, Kg2 4:42; yet it was bread of the coarsest sort, and what the meaner sort of people ate; see Eze 4:12. Yea, barley was used for food for horses and dromedaries, Kg1 4:28; and since therefore these loaves were, if not designed for the use of Christ and his twelve apostles, yet for some of his followers, and which they all ate of; it is an instance of the meanness and poverty of them: but however, they had better bread than this, even the bread of life, which is afterwards largely treated of in this chapter, which some of them at least ate of; and as our countryman Mr. Dod used to say, "brown bread and the Gospel are good fare:'' and it may be further observed, that the number of these loaves were but few; there were but "five" of them, for "five thousand" persons; and these do not seem to be very large ones, since one lad was able to carry them; and indeed, these loaves were no other than cakes, in which form they used to be made: and two small fishes; there were but "two", and these "small"; it is amazing, that five thousand persons should everyone have something of them, and enough: these fishes seem to be what the Jews (c) call and which the gloss interprets "small fishes": and by the word which is used of them, they seem to be salted, or pickled fishes, and such it is very probable these were; Nonnus calls them, , "fishes which were broiled", or perhaps dried in the sun; see Luk 24:42. But what are they among so many? everyone cannot possibly have a taste, much less any refreshment, still less a meal. (c) T. Bab. Cetubot, fol. 60. 2. & Sanhedrin, fol. 49. 1.

But that this point is true, that that number which is called five, which agrees in no respect with their argument, and does not harmonize with their system, nor is suitable for a typical manifestation of the things in the Pleroma, [yet has a wide prevalence,] will be proved as follows from the Scriptures. Soter is a name of five letters; Pater, too, contains five letters; Agape (love), too, consists of five letters; and our Lord, after blessing the five loaves, fed with them five thousand men. Five virgins were called wise by the Lord; and, in like manner, five were styled foolish.

(Hom. xlii. 2.) And let those of us, who are given to pleasure, observe the plain and abstemious eating of those great and wonderful men.

But John saith also, that they were "barley loaves," not mentioning it without object, but teaching us to trample under foot the pride of costly living. Such was the diet of the prophets also.

"Andrew, Simon's brother, said, There is a lad here, which hath five barley loaves, and two small fishes: but what are they among so many?" Andrew is higher minded than Philip, yet had not he attained to everything. Yet I do not think that he spake without an object, but as having heard of the miracles of the Prophets, and how Elisha wrought a sign with the loaves; on this account he mounted to a certain height, but could not attain to the very top.

What follows also expresses great weakness. For after saying, "hath five barley loaves," he addeth, "but what are they among so many?" He supposed that the Worker of the miracle would make less out of less, and more out of more. But this was not the case, for it was alike easy to Him to cause bread to spring forth from more and from less, since He needed no subject-matter. But in order that the creation might not seem foreign to His Wisdom, as afterwards slanderers and those affected with the disease of Marcion said, He used the creation itself as a groundwork for His marvels.

(de Con. Evang. ii. c. xlvi) Andrew's suggestion about the five loaves and two fishes, is given as coming from the disciples in general, in the other Evangelists, and the plural number is used.

(lib. lxxxiii. Quæst. q. 61. in princ.) The five barley loaves signify the old law; either because the law was given to men not as yet spiritual, but carnal, i. e. under the dominion of the five senses, (the multitude itself consisted of five thousand:) or because the Law itself was given by Moses in five books. And the loaves being of barley is also an allusion to the Law, which concealed the soul's vital nourishment, under carnal ceremonies. For in barley the corn itself is buried under the most tenacious husk. Or, it alludes to the people who were not yet freed from the husk of carnal appetite, which cling to their heart. (lib. lxxxiv. Quæst. qu. 61) The two fishes again, that gave the pleasant taste to the bread, seem to signify the two authorities by which the people were governed, the Royal, viz. and the Priestly; both of which prefigure our Lord, who sustained both characters. (Tr. xxiv. 5) The boy who had these is perhaps the Jewish people, who, as it were, carried the loaves and fishes after a servile fashion, and did not eat them. That which they carried, while shut up, was only a burden to them; when opened became their food.

What, then, think we that five loaves signify? As far as the meaning which commends itself presents itself to my mind, the five loaves are the five books of Moses. With reason are they not wheaten, but barley loaves; because they belong to the Old Testament. And ye know that barley is so formed that we hardly get at the marrow of it; for that marrow is clothed with a coating of husk, and the husk itself is tenacious and coherent, so that it is stripped off with difficulty. Such is the letter of the Old Testament; clothed with the coverings of carnal sacraments: but yet if we get at its marrow, it feeds and satisfies.

A certain boy, then, brought five loaves and two fishes. If we inquire who this boy was, perhaps it was the people of Israel, which, in a childish sense, carried the food, and ate not. For that which they carried, was a burden to them while closed; but when opened, was food for them. Moreover, the two fishes seem to me to signify those two sublime persons of the Old Testament, who were anointed for sanctifying and ruling the people, the Priest and the King. And at length came in the mystery He who was signified by them, He who was pointed out by the marrow of the barley, He who was concealed under the barley's husk. The same came, one person sustaining the two characters, of Priest and of King.

He both thinks and reasons akin to Philip, and is convicted of having a kindred apprehension of the Saviour Christ. For neither considering the power, nor yet led by the greatness of His preceding works unto Jesus' being able for all things, and that most easily; he points out what the lad has, but is evidently weak in faith: for what are these (he says) among so many? Albeit (for we must say it) in no unready way but resolutely rather ought he to go forth to the memory of those things which had been already miraculously wrought, and to consider that it was a work by no means strange or foreign from Him Who had transformed into wine the nature of water, had healed the palsied and driven away so great an infirmity by one word, that He, I say, should create food of that which had no being, and multiply Divinely the exceeding little that was found ready to hand. For the Authority that wrought in the one, how should it not be able to work in the other? Wherefore the pair of disciples answered more feebly than was meet. But herein we must consider this again. For those things which appear to have been little falls in the Saints, are oftentimes not without their share of profit, but have something wrapt up with them, helpful to the nature of that in regard to which is the charge of their apparent infirmity. For the above mentioned holy disciples, having considered, and openly said, one, that Two hundred pennyworth of bread is not sufficient for them that every one may take a little, the other, of the five loaves and two little fishes, that what are these among so many? raise the marvel to its height, and make the Might of the Saviour most marked, indicating by their own words the multitude that but now was to be filled, and the strength of their unbelief is converted into good testimony unto Christ. For in that they confessed that so large money would not suffice the multitude for even a slight enjoyment, by this very thing do they crown the Ineffable Might of the Host, when He, while there was nothing (for, as Andrew says, what were the lad's supplies among so many?) very richly outdid His work of love towards the multitude. The like littleness of faith we shall find in the wilderness in the all-wise Moses too. For they of Israel were weeping and, excited to a foul lusting after the tables of Egypt, were picturing to themselves unclean dishes of flesh, and turning aside after most strange pleasure, of onions and garlic, and the like unseemly things, and disregarding the Divine good things, were attacking Moses their mediator and leader. But God was not ignorant, for what the multitude were eagerly groaning, and promised to give them flesh. But since the promise of liberality was made in the wilderness, and the thing appeared hard of accomplishment, as regards man's understanding, Moses came to Him crying out, The people among whom I am, are six hundred thousand footmen, and THOU saidst, I will give them flesh, and they shall eat a whole month: shall the flocks and the herds he slain for them, and shall it suffice them? And what said God to these things? Will the Lord's Hand suffice not? For unto what can God be powerless? Therefore one may well say to the words of Philip and Andrew also, Will the Lord's Hand suffice not? And let us too taking the nature of the thing by way of example, hold that littleness of faith is the worst of sicknesses and surpasses all evil, and if God work or promise to do, be it full surely received in simple faith, and let not the Deity be accused, from our inability to conceive how what is above us shall happen, by reason of our own powerlessness unto ought. For it becomes the good and sober-minded and him that hath his reason sound, to consider this too in his mind, how the bodily eye too sees not surely as far as one would like, but as far as it can, and as the limit of our nature permits. For the things that are situated at too great a height, it cannot distinguish, even if it imagine them, with difficulty snatching even the slightest view of them. So do thou conceive of the mind of man also, so far as the bounds given it by its Maker it attaineth and stretcheth forth, even if it be wholly purified; for it will see none of those things that are beyond, but will give way, even against its will, to what is above nature, wholly unable to grasp them. The things then that are above us are received by faith, and not by investigation, and as he that so believes is admired, so he that falls into the contrary is by no means free from blame. And this will the Saviour Himself testify, saying, He that believeth on the Son is not condemned, but he that believeth not is condemned already. Now having once taken up the discourse upon the duty of not mistrusting God, come, let us again showing forth somewhat out of the sacred writings, put it forward, and blazon forth the punishment of the unbelief for the profit of our readers. Therefore (for I will go again to the hierophant Moses) he was once bidden, in the wilderness, when the people were oppressed with intolerable thirst, to take Aaron, and smite the rock with his rod, that it might gush forth fountains of water. But he, not wholly believing the words of Him Who bade Him, but fainthearted by reason of human nature, saith, Hear now, ye rebels, must we fetch you water out of this rock? And Moses lifted up his hand and with his rod he smote the rock once and again, and much water came out: and the Lord spake unto Moses and Aaron, Because ye believed Me not, to sanctify Me in the eyes of the children of Israel, therefore ye shall not bring this congregation into the land which I have given them. Is it not hence clear to every one, how bitter the wages of unbelief? And if Moses so great as he was, was reproved, whom shall God spare, upon whom will not He who thus respecteth not persons, inflict His wrath for their unbelief, since He would not spare even that Moses, to whom He had said, I know thee above all, and thou didst find grace in My Sight.

The five barley loaves signify the five books of Moses, that is, the whole law which gives as it were a coarser type of food.… But the fish signify good food attained through the fishermen, that is, the more delicate books of Christ's disciples. Within the latter, there are two distinct types, the preaching of the apostles and the proclamation of the evangelists, which shine forth among us.

“Master, we can find only five barley loaves; No one of us brought anything into the desert, But a child is here who has them. O Lover of man, no other resource is possible for us. For an enormous and boundless number of people, O Man of pity, How can these five loaves be sufficient? In addition, he has two fishes. But hurry and nourish them, since Thou art The heavenly bread of immortality.” When Christ heard these words of His disciples, He answered them in this way: “You are mistaken if you do not know That I am the Creator of the universe; I provide for the world; I now know clearly what these people need. I see the desert and that the sun is setting; Indeed I arranged the setting of the sun; I understand the distress of the crowd which is here; I know what I have in mind to do for them. I myself shall cure their hunger, for I am The heavenly bread of immortality.… “Even though you consider carefully, can you as mere men secure nourishment, Or can you, though you are worried, feed the people? Or, Life’ you cannot feed them, have you the power to keep silent? I, alone, as Creator take thought for all. I exist as good, God before the centuries. And I provide every kind of food for all people; But you, on beholding the multitude, are worried, And you do not consider the One who provides abundantly, As I am set before all, offering The heavenly bread of immortality. “I know in advance what you are thinking and what you are saying to each other, As you see the people, the means of provision, and the hour. You are reasoning, ‘Who will feed the entire crowd in the desert?’ Well, know clearly, friends, who I am. I fed Israel in the desert; I gave them bread from Heaven; In a region without water, I made water to flow from a rock; … Since I am The heavenly bread of immortality.

(Hom. in Luc. c. vi.) Barley is the food of cattle and slaves: and the old law was given to slaves and cattle, i. e. to carnal men. Or, by the two fishes are meant the saying or writings of the Prophets, and the Psalmist. And whereas the number five refers to the five senses, a thousand stands for perfection. But those who strive to obtain the perfect government of their five senses, are called men, in consequence of their superior powers: they have no womanly weaknesses; but by a sober and chaste life, earn the sweet refreshment of heavenly wisdom. (Aug. xxiv. 5) And well is it said, But what are these among so many? The Law was of little avail, till He took it into His hand, i. e. fulfilled it, and gave it a spiritual meaning. The Law made nothing perfect. (Heb. 7:19)

Having tested Philip as to whether he had faith, and having discovered that he was not yet free from human weakness, He finds Andrew to be the same, although his understanding was somewhat higher than Philip's. Philip said that "two hundred denarii worth of bread would not be enough." Andrew points to "five barley loaves and two fish," perhaps having recalled the miracles of the prophets, such as when Elisha performed a miracle with loaves when Samaria had reached the point of utter destruction (2 Kings 4:42–44). However, it turns out that Andrew also had a thought that was in no way worthy of the Lord. He says, "but what is this for so great a multitude?" He thought that the Lord would perhaps multiply these loaves, but that if there had been more of them, the multiplication would have been greater. Clearly, his thinking was not correct, for the Lord could have created loaves out of nothing in a number sufficient for the people. However, lest anyone think that creation is alien to His wisdom, He uses creation itself as an instrument for performing miracles, and taking the loaves as a kind of material occasion, He thus manifests the miracle. Let the Manichaeans be put to shame, who say that bread and all created things are the product of an evil god, and therefore, if someone offers them bread, they do not take it from his hands but order him to throw it from afar, while they themselves stand and curse the one who offered it: "May he who sowed you (bread) himself be scattered! May he who ground you himself be ground in body!" and other such things. Let them be put to shame, then, when they hear that Christ, the Son of the Good God, multiplied the loaves. For if they were an evil creation, the Good One would not have multiplied evil, not to mention that He Himself would not have eaten bread. Perhaps someone will ask: "Is this miracle of the loaves one and the same as the miracle described in the Gospel of Matthew?" (Matt. 14:15–21) It is one and the same. If there the disciples approach and remind Him about the crowd, that He should dismiss them, while here Jesus Himself asks how to feed the crowd, one should not be surprised at this. For probably both things happened: first the disciples reminded the Lord about dismissing the crowd, and then the Lord asked Philip how to feed them.

Andrew is in the same perplexity that Philip is; only he has rather higher notions of our Lord: There is a lad here which hath five barley loaves and two small fishes. This passage confounds the Manicheans, who say that bread and all such things were created by an evil Deity. The Son of the good God, Jesus Christ, multiplied the loaves. Therefore they could not have been naturally evil; a good God would never have multiplied what was evil.

Andrew, however, seems to sense that a miracle is going to take place. Perhaps he recalled the miracle performed by Elisha with the barley loaves, when he fed a hundred men with twenty loaves (2 Kgs 4:42). And so he says, There is a boy here who has five barley loaves. Still, he did not suspect that Christ was going to perform a greater miracle than Elisha: for he thought that fewer loaves would be miraculously produced from fewer, and more from a larger number. But in truth, he who does not need any material to work with could feed a crowd as easily with few or many loaves. So Andrew continues: but what are these for so many? As if to say: Even if you increased them in the measure that Elisha did, it still would not be enough. It is Andrew who mentions the second kind of teaching, that of the law. He does not want to buy other bread, but to feed the crowd with the loaves of bread they had, that is, those contained in the law. And so he was better disposed than Philip. So he says: There is a boy here who has five barley loaves. This boy can symbolize Moses, because of the imperfection found in the state of the law: "The law brought nothing to perfection" (Heb 7:19); or the Jewish people, who were serving under the elements of this world (Gal 4:3). This boy had five loaves, that is, the teaching of the law: either because this teaching was contained in the five books of Moses, "The law was given through Moses" (above 1:17); or because it was given to men absorbed in sensible things, which are made known through the five senses. These loaves were of barley because the law was given in such a way that what was life-giving in it was concealed under physical signs: for the kernel in barley is covered with a very firm husk. Or, the loaves were of barley because the Jewish people had not yet been rubbed free of carnal desire, but it still covered their hearts like a husk: for in the Old Testament they outwardly experienced hardships because of their ceremonial observances: "A yoke, which neither our fathers nor we were able to bear" (Acts 15:10). Further, the Jews were engrossed in material things and did not understand the spiritual meaning of the law: "A veil is over their hearts" (2 Cor 3:15). The two fishes, which gave a pleasant flavor to the bread, indicate the teachings of the Psalms and the prophets. Thus the old law not only had five loaves, i.e., the five books of Moses, but also two fishes, that is, the Psalms and the prophets. So the Old Testament writings are divided into these three: "The things written about me in the law of Moses, and in the prophets and in the Psalms" (Lk 24:44). Or, according to Augustine, the two fishes signify the priests and kings who ruled the Jews; and they prefigured Christ, who was the true king and priest. But what are these for so many? for they could not bring man to a complete knowledge of the truth: for although God was known in Judea, the Gentiles did not know him.

Jesus passes the sea of Tiberias, and a great multitude follow him, Joh 6:1-4. He feeds five thousand with five loaves, and two fishes, Joh 6:5-13. They acknowledge him to be the prophet that should come into the world, Joh 6:14. They purpose to force him to become their king; and he withdraws from the multitude, Joh 6:15. The disciples take ship, and go towards Capernaum, and are overtaken with a storm, Joh 6:16-18. Christ comes to them, walking upon the water, Joh 6:19-21. The people take boats and follow him, Joh 6:22-24. He reproves their fleshly motives, Joh 6:25-27. They profess a desire to be instructed, Joh 6:28. Christ preaches to them, and shows them that he is the bread of life, and that they who reject him are without excuse, Joh 6:29-40. They are offended, and cavil, Joh 6:41, Joh 6:42. He asserts and illustrates his foregoing discourse, Joh 6:43-51. They again cavil, and Christ gives farther explanations, Joh 6:52-59. Several of the disciples are stumbled at his assertion, that unless they ate his flesh and drank his blood they could not have life, Joh 6:60. He shows them that his words are to be spiritually understood, Joh 6:61-65. Several of them withdraw from him, Joh 6:66. He questions the twelve, whether they also were disposed to forsake him, and Peter answers for the whole, Joh 6:67-69. Christ exposes the perfidy of Judas, Joh 6:70, Joh 6:71.

There is a lad here - Παιδαριον, a little boy, or servant, probably one who carried the apostles' provisions, or who came on purpose to sell his bread and fish. Five barley loaves - Barley scarcely bore one-third of the value of wheat in the east: see Rev 6:6. That it was a very mean fare appears from Eze 13:19, where the false prophetesses are said to pollute the name of God for handfuls of barley, i.e. for the meanest reward. And Plutarch, in Apoph. p. 174, speaking concerning the flight of Artaxerxes Mnemon, says he was reduced to such distress as to be obliged to eat barley bread. See Kypke. From this and other circumstances we may plainly perceive that the self-denying doctrine preached by Christ and his apostles was fully exemplified in their own manner of living. Two small fishes - Δυο οψαρια. The word of οψαριον signifies whatever is eaten with bread, to perfect the meal, or to make it easy of deglutition, or to help the digestion. There is no word in the English language for it, which is a great defect. The inhabitants of Scotland, and of the north and north-west of Ireland, use the word kytshen, by which they express what ever is eaten with bread or potatoes, as flesh, fish, butter, milk, eggs, etc., no satisfactory etymology of which word I am able to offer. In the parallel places in the other three evangelists, instead of οψαρια, ιχθυας is used; so that the word evidently means fish in the text of St. John: see on Joh 21:5 (note).

FIVE THOUSAND MIRACULOUSLY FED. (Joh 6:1-13) a mountain--somewhere in that hilly range which skirts the east side of the lake.