Philip, who had formerly announced Him to Nathaniel as Him of Whom Moses and the Prophets did write. But though that declaration seemed so promising, and Philip had since seen so many Miracles, he could not now recognise the Father in the Son, and thought only of purchasing, and named two hundred denarii, seemingly a greater sum than they possessed, as barely sufficient to buy a little food for them all. The only course that suggested itself to them was to dismiss them to the neighbouring villages, to provide for themselves. It is strange that they did not anticipate His meaning, recollecting how Elijah and Elisha had wrought a similar Miracle, though on a smaller scale. In computing the number fed, they do not speak by guess, for the disposition of the people in squares of a determinate length, enabled them to calculate with certainty. Jesus did not think it beneath Him to order His disciples to gather up the fragments. This was a convincing proof that there could have been no delusion; but the reason He assigns, that nothing may be lost, is eminently deserving of our attention; for as by feeding these thousands He sets us an example of liberality, so by this speech He teaches us, that frugality and charity should be united. Constitutional liberality borders upon prodigality, but Christian charity will be directed by the example and the precepts of Christ; and since He to Whom the earth and the fulness thereof belongs, is not lavishly wasteful of His property; so we, to whom He assigns only a portion of it as a trust, should be careful to expend our share in such a manner, as that in the due appropriation of it nothing may be lost. The effect of this Miracle was peculiar; it was the only one that drew from any considerable assembly of the Jewish people an acknowledgment of Him as the Messiah. Its similarity to the feeding of their fathers in the wilderness by bread from heaven, seems to have led them to the conclusion, that He was the Prophet like unto himself, whom Moses had taught them to expect: they wished therefore to force Him to declare Himself, being satisfied, from His ability to feed thousands in the desert, that every obstacle must give way before Him; and conceiving too that He would not be unwilling to be constrained to assume His Sovereignty. So important in its consequences was this Miracle, that it is the only one recorded by all the Evangelists, and the last shews the supplementary character of His, by adding what is more imperfect to us, the Discourse which it occasioned. 64, Jesus walks on the Sea. Matt. xiv. 22-33. Mark vi. 45-53. John vi. 15-21. As the Apostles might be disposed to concur in the design, Jesus constrained them to embark without Him; and then dismissing the crowd, instead of resting after His fatigue, withdrew to a mountain to pray. He had no sins to confess, and no wants to state; but knowing the future, He had before His view the temptations that awaited Him, and the work He had to accomplish. He had also the cause of His disciples and His Church to plead, and no doubt also delighted in communion with His Father. Meantime the Apostles encountered a violent contrary wind; and though they had embarked in the evening, they had made not above three miles, when, about the dawn, three hours before sunrise, Jesus walked upon the lake to overtake them. At first they cried out from fear, supposing it to be an apparition; and He increased their alarm, by seeming as if He would pass them; but as soon as He addressed them, they took courage; and Peter, raised to a high degree of confidence by this second Miracle, sought permission to come to Him. His Master suffered him; and as long as his faith was fixed upon His power, he was enabled to walk upon the waves; but the boisterous element soon drew off his attention to his apparent danger, his faith staggered, and he began to sink. Yet in his extremity he still relied upon Jesus, who stretched forth His hand in answer to his cry, and kept him up, rebuking him at the same time gently for his want of faith; not saying, Why didst thou come? but, Why didst thou distrust? They embarked, and the ship instantaneously, and therefore miraculously," self-moving, without winds, or aid from oars," reached the coast, not as was intended at Bethsaida, but at Capernaum. The Apostles, amazed beyond measure, seem to have been more impressed by this than by any preceding Miracle, for they worshipped Him in consequence, not merely as a superior, but as the Son of God, His right to which title He had so strikingly shewn, first by providing for so many a table in the wilderness; (Psalm lxxxviii. 26.) and now by treading upon the waves of the sea. 65. The Discourse of Jesus, concerning eating His flesh and drinking His blood, which causes many of His disciples to leave Him, but elicits a confession of adherence to Him from Peter. John vi. 22-71. The next morning, the multitude, disappointed in His not returning to them from the mountain, came after Him in boats to Capernaum, where they expressed a natural surprise, as the wind was contrary, at His arrival before them. Instead of satisfying their curiosity, He blamed them for their motive in Thus expressed in the Paraphrase in hexameter verse of St. John's Gospel, by Nonnus, in the fifth century. ἐπεὶ θεοδινίϊ παλμῷ Οἷα νέος πτερόεις, ἀνόμων δίχα, νόσφιν ἐρισμῶν seeking Him; which they did, not because His Miracles had convinced them that He was a Teacher of righteousness, but that they might make Him a king, in order to enjoy secular advantages. He exhorts them, instead of labouring for the perishable food of the body, to labour for that food of the soul, which lasteth for ever. Finding that faith in Him was the work that He required, and seeing that such doctrine had nothing congenial with their carnal expectations, their admiration began to die away, and suspicions to arise; and they asked what miracle He would work, that should induce them to believe in Him; what evidence He could show, to convince them that He could bestow upon them eternal life? He had once fed, they allowed, some thousands in a desert with ordinary food; but what was He in comparison with their lawgiver, who in a country as unproductive had fed in a miraculous. manner the whole nation of their ancestors for forty years with bread from heaven? In reply, He took up the figure which they had introduced, and contrasted the mauna of which they spoke with the true bread from heaven, which giveth life to the world. Lord, they exclaim, not perceiving His meaning, which was to draw them off from literal to spiritual feeding, from the food of the body to that of the soul, evermore give us this bread. He then plainly declared that He was speaking of Himself, and that though they deserted Him, He should not be left without disciples, for all whom His Father had given to Him would come unto Him, and He would reject none who came. None that seek salvation from Him need ever fear to be cast out; for it is His Father's will, that will to accomplish which He came down from heaven, that whoever seeth the Son, that is, contemplateth Him in all His offices, and believeth in Him, shall have everlasting life. He then showed the inferiority of the manna to the genuine living Bread, which is of such a nature, that he that feedeth upon it shall live for ever; and added, that this Bread is His flesh, which He will give for the life of the world. At this statement they strove among themselves, saying, How can this Man give us His flesh to eat? Now it is remarkable, that upon this expression of their amazement, our Lord, instead of softening down His previous declaration, aggravated the difficulty which embarrassed them, by affirming in the most solemn manner, that except they ate the flesh of the Son of Man, and drank His blood, they had no life in them. That His declaration should appear harsh and incredible, is not surprising; for though Instruction had been spoken of as the food of the soul, no Instructor had yet called himself the Bread of life; and the notion of feeding upon Him must have been alike repulsive to their reason and their feelings. The language seems to favour the doctrine of an actual feeding on Him, and was so understood by the audience; for they said it was a hard saying; and we also might have taken the words literally, did not we know, from our Lord's subsequent explanation, that He was misunderstood. It is remarkable, that this meaning was not put upon it by the Fathers; and Augustine expressly says, "that in these words Christ seems to command an heinous crime, or a flagitious deed. The passage, therefore, is a figure, enjoining us to communicate in the Passion of our Lord, and admonishing us to lay it up sweetly and usefully in our memory, because for us His flesh was crucified." "The disciples themselves were hard, and not the saying; they received it foolishly, they thought it carnally." "Believe, and thou hast eaten." "Whosoever believeth in Him, that person eateth'." Our Lord, finding this declaration to be a stumbling-block to His disciples, endeavoured to remove it by adding, Doth this cause you to stumble? What then shall ye do, if ye shall see the Son • De Doctrina Christiana, iii. 15. 16. d Augustin Enarratio in Ps. xcviii. Tract. xxvi. e d |