ACC ~ John 6 v1 - 15

OVERVIEW:

John recounts the miracle of the bread, one of the only miracles to be recorded by all four Evangelists. But John is most concerned with bringing out the doctrinal content (THEODORE). Christ leaves Jerusalem in order to calm the opposition and evade those who would persecute him by going to the other side of the Sea of Galilee (CYRIL OF ALEXANDRIA). The crowd follows Jesus, motivated by the miracles rather than his teaching, which may explain the lack of miracle accounts in John during this intervening period. In a practice worthy of emulation, Jesus retires alone with his disciples and without the crowds and confusion (CHRYSOSTOM).

This account occurs one year before the passion of our Lord, coinciding with the Passover that followed shortly after the beheading of John the Baptist (BEDE). Jesus does not go up for the feast because he was quietly annulling the old law rather than forcing a direct confrontation (CHRYSOSTOM). In one of the aspects of the account where there are some discrepancies with the other Evangelists (AUGUSTINE, CHRYSOSTOM), Jesus asks Philip about the lack of food so that later on Philip might remember the situation and confess the miracle Jesus performed (CHRYSOSTOM). He tests Philip so that he would learn that everything is to be entrusted to God (THEODORE). In the end, Christ’s feeding of the multitude is an example for all of us to be bold in believing that with God all things are possible (CYRIL OF ALEXANDRIA).

Despite the disciples’ skepticism, the one who created the universe is surely able to create abundance from five loaves and two fish (ROMANUS). The number of the five loaves as coarser food suggests the five books of Moses, whereas the more delicate two fish suggest the teaching of the apostles and Evangelists (CYRIL OF ALEXANDRIA). A related prophetic reading is that the kernel of barley (Christ) was hidden in the husk (Old Testament) but when broken becomes multiplied, while the two fish symbolize the priests and kings whose roles are fulfilled in Christ (AUGUSTINE). There was much grass at this time of year during the month of Nisan, when the weather was getting warmer (THEODORE). The five thousand fed foreshadows the five thousand fed in faith mentioned in Acts 4 (HILARY). Unlike in many of his other miracles, Jesus prays first as he prepares to feed them, in order to show his solidarity with the Father and the Spirit, who were also present with him in his first creative act (ROMANUS), and to teach us that when we begin our meals we ought to give thanks to God as well (CHRYSOSTOM).

The miracle was most likely not evident to those present at the time when it occurred but only realized afterwards (HILARY). What happened was beyond anything the five senses could comprehend (CLEMENT). The creator of grain multiplies those grains as though they were seeds committed not to the earth but to his own fertile creative hands, which bring life. In the breaking of the loaves, the bread is multiplied, just as the Old Testament was broken open by the presence of Christ (AUGUSTINE). As the broken bread was scattered on the mountains and then was gathered together to become one, so may the church be gathered together from the ends of the earth into the one kingdom of God (DIDACHE). The leftover bread in this miracle demonstrates that God always provides more than we need (EPHREM). The gift of bread Christ gave that day through his apostles continues in the life of the church even now and until the end of the world (ORIGEN). Christ’s miracle of superabundance has ancient precedent in Elijah (TERTULLIAN). We too should learn to be generous with the gifts God has given us, since God can make much out of even a little (CYRIL OF ALEXANDRIA).

After Jesus performed the miracle, the people realize that the prophet who would be like Moses had come into the world (EPHREM). Yet this miracle is really no greater than the miracles that occur every day through God’s preservation and care of his creation (AUGUSTINE). When the people saw the miracle, they sought to make him king because they were so enamored with earthly power; but Christ, who despised worldly dignity (CHRYSOSTOM), knew that he was already a king (AUGUSTINE). As his followers, we too will flee from worldly glory (CYRIL OF ALEXANDRIA) since our power does not lie in political power but in weakness (AMBROSE). Jesus escapes from the crowd to a mountain to pray, teaching us that whenever escape is necessary, so is prayer (AUGUSTINE).

6:1 | The Other Side of the Sea of Galilee

JOHN’S DOCTRINAL PERSPECTIVE

THEODORE OF MOPSUESTIA: From here the evangelist passes to the account of the miracle of the bread, which all the other evangelists related as well. However John reports this episode because of the doctrine that was drawn by our Lord from it and that was omitted by the others. He believed that this (doctrine) needed especially to be related in his narrative. COMMENTARY ON JOHN 3.6.1. [1]

[1] CSCO 4 3:130.

JESUS EVADES HIS PERSECUTORS FOR A TIME

CYRIL OF ALEXANDRIA: [If] our enemies persecute us, it is possible for us to behave well towards them by leaving them for a time, even when there is no harm in remaining. By evading their attacks and avoiding their rage, we may find that their anger abates and thus we may undercut the boldness of their arrogance…. To do the work of love then is not necessarily enduring those who wish us evil, nor to remain among one’s enemies, causing them to become even more bitter and angry because they are unable to soften our opposition. Love then, as Paul says, “does not insist on its own way,” [1] and this was [certainly true] in Christ. COMMENTARY ON THE GOSPEL OF JOHN 3.4. [2]

[1] 1 Cor 13:5.

[2] LF 43:315**.

6:2 | The Multitude and the Signs

SIGNS MOTIVATE THE MASSES, NOT TEACHING

CHRYSOSTOM: Though favored with such teaching as Jesus had done, they were influenced less by this than by the miracles—a sign of the low level of faith they had. For miracles, it says, are not for believers but for unbelievers. [1] Those described by Matthew did not act this way; rather, he says, they “were astonished at his doctrine because he taught as one having authority.” [2] HOMILIES ON THE GOSPEL OF JOHN 42.1. [3]

[1] Chrysostom has in mind here 1 Cor 14:22 which actually deals with the gift of tongues.

[2] Mt 7:28-29.

[3] NPNF 1 14:151**.

THE LACK OF MIRACLE ACCOUNTS

CHRYSOSTOM: Observe, in a whole year, the evangelist has told us of no miracles of Christ, except of his healing of the paralytic and the nobleman’s son. His purpose was not to enumerate them all (which would have been impossible), but to record the great principal acts of our Lord. HOMILIES ON THE GOSPEL OF JOHN 42.1. [1]

[1] NPNF 1 14:151*.

6:3 | Jesus Went Up on the Mountain and Sat Down with His Disciples

A MOUNTAIN VANTAGE POINT

CHRYSOSTOM: He went up onto the mountain because of the miracle he was going to do. The disciples alone ascended with him which implies that the people who stayed behind were at fault for not following. He went up to the mountain too as a lesson to us to retire from the tumult and confusion of the world. For solitude is appropriate for the study of wisdom. Jesus often went up alone onto a mountain in order to pray, even spending the night there. He did this in order to teach us that the one who will come most near to God must be free from all disturbance and must seek times and places away from all the confusion. HOMILIES ON THE GOSPEL OF JOHN 42.1. [1]

[1] NPNF 1 14:151**.

6:4 | The Passover Feast Was at Hand

ONE YEAR BEFORE THE PASSION

BEDE: Matthew and Mark make mention of the murder of John [the Baptist] in connection with the miracle of the bread while John here mentions it was near the day of the festival of Pascha of the Jews. It is evident that the festival of the Passover here coincides with the beheading of John the Baptist, and that a year later [the evangelist] returns again to the time of the Pascha when the mystery of the Lord’s passion was completed. EXPOSITION ON THE GOSPEL OF MARK 2.6. [1]

[1] CCL 120:512.

JESUS’ RETICENCE TO GO UP TO JERUSALEM

CHRYSOSTOM: Why doesn’t he go up to the feast, some might ask, especially when everyone else is pressing towards Jerusalem? Why instead does he go into Galilee, and even at that, he does not go alone but takes his disciples with him and proceeds to Capernaum? He did this because he was quietly annulling the law, taking occasion from the wickedness of the Jews. HOMILIES ON THE GOSPEL OF JOHN 42.1. [1]

[1] NPNF 1 14:151*.

6:5 | How Are We to Buy Bread?

DISCREPANCIES WITH JOHN’S ACCOUNT?

AUGUSTINE: If our Lord, according to the narrative of John, on seeing the multitude, asked Philip (having in view to test him), where they could buy food for them, it is difficult at first to see how it can be true, according to the other account, that the disciples first told our Lord to send away the multitude. [1] … There is also the fact that our Lord replied, “They need not depart; you give them something to eat.” [2] … We must understand then it was after saying this that our Lord saw the multitude and said to Philip what John had related, which has been omitted by the rest. HARMONY OF THE GOSPELS 2.46.96. [3]

[1] Mt 14:15.

[2] Mt 14:16.

[3] NPNF 1 6:149**.

TWO DIFFERENT ACCOUNTS?

CHRYSOSTOM: [Or], the two are entirely different accounts. HOMILIES ON THE GOSPEL OF JOHN 42.1. [1]

[1] NPNF 1 14:151**.

THE GREATNESS OF THE MIRACLE

CHRYSOSTOM: Jesus spoke the same way to Moses in the Old Testament, for he did not bring about a sign until he had asked him, “What is that in your hand?” Because things that happen unexpectedly and all at once are liable to throw us into forgetfulness of what happened previously, Jesus first involved Philip in a confession of the present circumstances. In this way, when the astonishment comes upon him, afterwards he might be unable to drive away the memory of what he had confessed, and thus might learn by comparison the greatness of the miracle, which in fact takes place in this instance. HOMILIES ON THE GOSPEL OF JOHN 42.1. [1]

[1] NPNF 1 14:151*.

6:6 | This He Said to Test Him

QUESTION MEANT TO INSTILL DOUBT

THEODORE OF MOPSUESTIA: Through his question to Philip, he intended to expose his disciples to doubt, so that they might observe more clearly the miracle he would do. Even though he appears to speak to one disciple only, his words concerned all for the common benefit. By explaining the purpose of that question the evangelist added: “He said this to test him, for he himself knew what he was going to do.” “To test him,” he says, but he means, rather, to provide the proof. Indeed, he first kept Philip in doubt and difficulty because of the shortage of food, but then, when Philip would see the miracle accomplished, he would learn that everything must always be committed to God and that he should never feel embarrassed because of any shortage. COMMENTARY ON JOHN 3.6.5. [1]

[1] CSCO 4 3:130-31.

WEAKNESS OF FAITH

CYRIL OF ALEXANDRIA: Smallness of faith is the worst sickness and surpasses all evil. If God works or promises to do anything, then let it be believed in simple faith. Just because we are powerless to accomplish anything, we should not let God be accused by our inability to understand how he will accomplish things beyond our understanding…. What is then beyond our comprehension is received by faith and not by investigation. Therefore, just as one who believes is admired, so also one who doubts is not free from blame. The Savior himself testifies about this when he says, “He who believes in him is not condemned; he who does not believe is condemned already.” [1] COMMENTARY ON THE GOSPEL OF JOHN 3.4. [2]

[1] Jn 3:18.

[2] LF 43:324-25**.

6:7-9 | Divine Provision in Five Barley Loaves and Two Fish

THE CREATOR OF THE UNIVERSE WILL PROVIDE

ROMANUS MELODUS:

“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, then, if 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; [1]

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; [2]

I gave them bread from Heaven;

In a region without water, I made water to flow from a rock; [3] …

Since I am

The heavenly bread of immortality.

KONTAKION ON THE MULTIPLICATION OF LOAVES 13.12-17. [4]

[1] Ps 136:25 (135:25 LXX).

[2] Ex 16:4.

[3] Ps 78:16; Ex 17:6-7.

[4] KRBM 1:132-33*.

THE SIGNIFICANCE OF FIVE LOAVES AND TWO FISH

CYRIL OF ALEXANDRIA: 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. COMMENTARY ON THE GOSPEL OF JOHN 3.4. [1]

[1] LF 43:329**.

THE HUSK OF THE PENTATEUCH FULFILLED IN CHRIST THE KERNEL

AUGUSTINE: To provide a brief explanation: the five loaves are understood as the five books of Moses; rightly they are not wheat but barley because they belong to the Old Testament. For you know that barley was created in such a way that one can scarcely get to its kernel. For this kernel is clothed with a covering of husk, and this husk is tenacious and adhering, so that it is stripped off with effort. Such is the letter of the Old Testament, clothed with the coverings of carnal mysteries; but if one gets to its kernel, it feeds and satisfies.

And so a boy was carrying five loaves and two fishes. If we should seek to know who this boy was, perhaps he was the people of Israel, carrying the loaves and fish with a childlike understanding and not eating of them itself. For those things that it was carrying, when kept shut, were a burden, but when opened, were food. Moreover, the two fish seem to us to signify those two sublime personages in the Old Testament who were anointed to make holy and rule the people, the priest and king. TRACTATES ON THE GOSPEL OF JOHN 24.5.1-2. [1]

[1] FC 79:234-35**.

6:10 | Abundant Grass, Abundant People

THE SEASON

THEODORE OF MOPSUESTIA: “Now there was a great deal of grass in the place,” and therefore the place where they sat down was pleasing, and the weather was good. It was Nisan (more or less April), when the earth usually becomes adorned with growing weeds, especially in those regions with hotter weather. He also had indicated this above by saying, “Now the Passover was near.” COMMENTARY ON JOHN 3.6.10. [1]

[1] CSCO 4 3:132. Theodore also posits that the disciples were afraid of malcontents among the crowd.

FIVE THOUSAND FED IN JOHN AND ACTS

HILARY OF POITIERS: And so, taking the loaves and fishes, the Lord looked up to heaven, then blessed and broke them, giving thanks to the Father that, after the law and the prophets, he has himself become the evangelical bread. And when he had commanded the people to sit down on the grass, not to lie prone on the earth, but to sit upheld by the law, each one spread his own good works, like the grass of the earth, under him. The bread is also given to the apostles, because it is through them the gifts of the divine grace are to be given. Then the people ate of the five loaves and two fishes and were filled. And of the fragments of the bread and of the fishes, after all who had sat down were satisfied, there remained over enough to fill twelve baskets: that is, the hunger of the multitude is satisfied by the word of God coming to them from the teaching of the law and the prophets. And the abundance of the divine goodness, kept in reserve for the people of the Gentiles, has overflowed from the source of eternal food unto the filling of the twelve apostles.

And the number of those who ate is, we find, the same as that of those who were to believe. For, as we learn from the book of the Acts, out of the numbers of the people of Israel five thousand believed. [1] For, the miracle of these things extends even to the measure of the reason that underlies them. The bread together with the fishes broken for the feeding of the people increased to the need of the number of people who believed, and to the number of apostles chosen to be filled with heavenly graces. The quantity conformed to the number, and the number to the quantity. ON MATTHEW 14.11. [2]

[1] Acts 4:4.

[2] SSGF 2:120*; PL 9:1000-1001.

6:11 | When He Had Given Thanks

BE FRUITFUL AND MULTIPLY

ROMANUS MELODUS:

Christ had brought to Him the five loaves of bread,

And straightway, lifting His eyes to the Father, He said:

“I am doing Thy deeds; for I am Thy Son;

For in the beginning, I created the whole world

Together with Thee and the Holy Spirit; for I am

The heavenly bread of immortality.”

Behold how the masters, the servants of Christ, were arranged and attended

The Servant, Jesus; and they found Him at once.

For the Lord blessed the five loaves of bread,

Speaking to them as follows in spiritual fashion:

“Grow and multiply perceptibly,

And nourish now all who are assembled here.”

And immediately the loaves obeyed the Lord;

They multiplied invisibly

As Christ spoke to them, for He is

The heavenly bread of immortality.

KONTAKION ON THE MULTIPLICATION OF LOAVES 13.19-20.

THANKSGIVING BEFORE THE MEAL

CHRYSOSTOM: But why did he not pray when he was about to restore the paralytic, nor when he was raising the dead, or bridling the sea, while he does so here over the loaves? It was to show that when we begin our meals, we ought to give thanks to God. He does not do this because he needs to, but to show in both lesser and greater things it is fitting. HOMILIES ON THE GOSPEL OF JOHN 42.3. [1]

[1] NPNF 1 14:153*.

MIRACLE NOT EVIDENT WHILE HAPPENING

HILARY OF POITIERS: Five loaves are then set before the multitude, and broken. While the apostles are dividing them, a succession of newly created portions passes— they cannot tell how—through their hands. The loaf which they are dividing does not grow smaller and yet their hands are continually full of the pieces. The speed of the process baffles the sight. You follow with the eye a hand full of portions, and in the meantime you see that the contents of the other hand are not diminished. And all the while the heap of pieces grows. The carvers are busy at their task, the eaters hard at work at theirs. The hungry are satisfied and the fragments fill twelve baskets. Neither sight nor any of the other senses can discover how such an amazing miracle happened. What did not exist was created; what we see passes our understanding. It only remains for us to believe that God can do all things. ON THE TRINITY 3.6. [1]

[1] NPNF 2 9:63**.

GOING BEYOND THE FIVE SENSES

CLEMENT OF ALEXANDRIA: So very mystically the five loaves are broken by the Savior, and fill the crowd of the listeners. For great is the crowd that keep to the things of the senses, as if they were the only things in existence. “Cast your eyes round, and see,” says Plato, “that none of the uninitiated listen.” [1] Such are they who think that nothing else exists but what they can hold firmly with their hands; but do not admit as in the department of existence, actions and processes of generation, and the whole of the unseen. For such are those who keep by the five senses. But the knowledge of God is a thing inaccessible to the ears and other organs of the senses with this kind of people. STROMATEIS 5.6. [2]

[1] Plato Theaetetus 155.

[2] ANF 2:452*.

THE CREATOR OF GRAIN MULTIPLIES IT

AUGUSTINE: He therefore created as God creates. For, just as he multiplies the produce of the fields from a few grains, from that same source of power he multiplied in his hands the five loaves. There was power, indeed, in the hands of Christ. And those five loaves were like seeds, not indeed committed to the earth, but multiplied by him who made the earth. TRACTATES ON THE GOSPEL OF JOHN 24.1. [1]

[1] NPNF 1 7:158*.

IN BREAKING, LOAVES ARE MULTIPLIED

AUGUSTINE: And he who was signified through them [i.e., the loaves] in mystery now came at last. He came now at last who was shown by the kernel of the barley but was hidden by the husk of the barley. He came, himself, one person carrying both personages in himself, priest and king. He is priest through the victim which he offered for us to God—himself. He is king because we are ruled by him. And those things that were being carried concealed [i.e., barley husks] are opened. Thanks be to him. He fulfilled through himself what was promised in the Old Testament. And he ordered the loaves [1] to be broken; by breaking they were multiplied.

Nothing is truer. For those five books of Moses, how many books have they made when they are explained, as if by breaking [them], that is, by discussing [them]? TRACTATES ON THE GOSPEL OF JOHN 24.5.3-4. [2]

[1] The five loaves symbolize the five books of Moses.

[2] FC 79:235**.

6:12 | Gather the Pieces That Are Left Over

SCATTERED BREAD, GATHERED CHURCH

DIDACHE: Now concerning the Eucharist, give thanks as follows…. concerning the broken bread: “We give you thanks, our Father, for the life and knowledge which you have made known to us through Jesus, your servant; to you be the glory forever. Just as this broken bread was scattered upon the mountain and then was gathered together and became one, so may your church be gathered together from the ends of the earth into your kingdom; for yours is the glory and the power through Jesus Christ forever.” DIDACHE 9.1-4. [1]

[1] AF 259-61.

GOD ALWAYS PROVIDES MORE THAN WE NEED

EPHREM THE SYRIAN: But it was not because he had the ability to multiply it [the loaves of bread and the fish] that he did thus multiply them, but rather because there would then be enough food for those who would eat them. His miracle, therefore, was not in proportion to his own power, but rather in proportion to the hunger of those who were hungry. For if his miracle were to be proportional to his power, there would be no way to measure how much his power overcame. Rather, his miracle was in proportion to the hunger of thousands, and it surpassed the number of the twelve baskets. In the case of all artisans, the desire of those who seek their services is greater that the ability of the artisans, for the artisans are unable to work in line with the desires of those who need them. For God, however, his activity surpasses [the desires of] those who need him. [He said], “Gather up the pieces so that absolutely nothing may be lost,” so that it not seem concerning him that he had made use of an apparition; but when a remainder for a day or two was left, they might believe that he had truly acted, and that this was not some vacuous vision. COMMENTARY ON TATIAN’S DIATESSARON 12.4. [1]

[1] CB709:78.

6:13 | They Filled Twelve Baskets

THE GIFT OF BREAD THAT KEEPS ON GIVING

ORIGEN: In the Psalms it is written of Joseph, “His hands had served in baskets.” [1] And the disciples of Jesus, the Twelve, I believe, gathered up twelve baskets of the remainder of the broken bread. These baskets were not half filled but full. And with the disciples of Jesus, as the teachers of the multitudes, now and until the end of the world, remain the twelve baskets of fragments of the living Bread that the multitudes could not eat. COMMENTARY ON MATTHEW 11.2. [2]

[1] Ps 81:6 (80:7 LXX).

[2] SSGF 2:111*; PG 13:908.

ANTECEDENTS OF THE MIRACLE

TERTULLIAN: Such was the greatness of his miracle that he willed the slender supply of food not only to be enough but even to prove superabundant. Here he followed ancient precedent. For in the same way during the famine in Elijah’s time, the scanty and final meal of the widow of Zarephath was multiplied by the blessing of the prophet through-out the period of the famine…. O Christ, even in your novelties you are old! AGAINST MARCION 4.21. [1]

[1] ANF 3:381*.

CHRIST MULTIPLIES OUR GOOD WORKS

CYRIL OF ALEXANDRIA: Initially the disciples were reluctant to feed the hungry, but seeing this, the Savior gave to them in abundance from the fragments. This teaches us as well, that we, by expending a little for the glory of God, shall receive richer grace according to the saying of Christ, “a good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap.” [1] Therefore, we must not be slothful regarding the communion of love toward our brothers and sisters but rather put away from us, as far as possible, the cowardice and fear that lead to inhospitality. Thus we might be confirmed in hope through steadfast faith in the power of God to multiply even our smallest acts of goodness. COMMENTARY ON THE GOSPEL OF JOHN 3.4. [2]

[1] Lk 6:38.

[2] LF 43:330**.

6:14 | The Prophet Who Is to Come into the World

A PROPHET LIKE MOSES

EPHREM THE SYRIAN: Thus, when they were satisfied, they saw that he had fed them in the wilderness, as Moses [had done] with prayer, and they cried out, saying, “This is the prophet about whom it was said that he is coming into the world.” They were repeating the [prophecy] of Moses that “The Lord will raise up a prophet for you,” not someone ordinary, but rather “like me,” [1] who will fill you with bread in the desert; “like me,” he walked on the sea, [2] and appeared in the cloud. [3] He set his church free from circumcision, and he appointed John, the virgin, in place of Joshua son of Nun. He entrusted Mary, his church, to him, [4] as Moses his flock to Joshua, [5] so that this [prophecy] “like me” would be fulfilled. COMMENTARY ON TATIAN’S DIATESSARON 12.5. [6]

[1] Deut 18:15.

[2] HE WORD IN THE BEGINNING | JOHN 1:1

[3] See Mt 17:5.

[4] See Jn 19:25-27.

[5] See Deut 31:7-8.

[6] CB709:78-80.

EVERYDAY MIRACLES NO LESS MIRACULOUS

AUGUSTINE: The divine substance is not visible to the eye, and the miracles of the divine government of the world and ordering of the whole creation are overlooked because of their constancy. … Because of this, God has reserved for himself acts that are above and beyond the established course and order of nature that he does at suitable times. He does this so that those who overlooked the daily course of nature might be roused to wonder by the sight of what was different from—though not at all greater than—what they were used to. The government of the world is certainly a greater miracle than satisfying the hunger of five thousand with five loaves; and yet no one wonders at this. The miracle excited wonder, not from any real superiority in it but because it was rare…. But it would be wrong to gather no more than this from Christ’s miracles…. Let us understand that the Lord on the mount is the Word on high…. He saw the multitude and knew they were hungry, and so he mercifully fed them not only in virtue of his goodness but also of his power. For what could mere goodness do when there was not even enough bread to feed the hungry crowd? If power had not accompanied goodness, the crowd would have remained fasting and hungry. In short, the disciples, hungry themselves, also wanted to feed the multitudes, but they did not have the wherewithal to feed them. TRACTATES ON THE GOSPEL OF JOHN 24.1-3. [1]

[1] NPNF 1 7:158-59**.

6:15 | They Attempt to Force Kingship

CHRIST DESPISED WORLDLY DIGNITY

CHRYSOSTOM: Wonderful! How great is the tyranny of gluttony, how great the fickleness of people’s minds! No longer do they vindicate the law, no longer do they care for the violation of the sabbath, and no longer are they zealous for God. All such considerations are thrown aside when their bellies have been filled. He was a prophet in their eyes, and they were about to choose him for a king. But Christ flees. Why? To teach us to despise worldly dignities and to show us that he needed nothing on earth. For the one who chose all the ordinary things of life, such as mother, house, city, nurture and clothing, would not afterwards be made illustrious by things on earth. HOMILIES ON THE GOSPEL OF JOHN 42.3. [1]

[1] NPNF 1 14:153*.

HE IS ALREADY A KING

AUGUSTINE: Yet he who shrank from being made a king, was a king [already]; not made king by people but one who would bestow a kingdom on people…. For he ever reigns with the Father, in that he is the Son of God, the Word of God, the Word by which all things were made. The prophets had foretold his kingdom. Christ, by being made man, made the believers in him Christians. There will consequently be a kingdom of Christians that at present is being gathered together, being prepared and purchased by the blood of Christ. And this kingdom will be made manifest after the judgment when the glory of his saints shall be revealed…. The disciples, however, and the multitude who believed in him thought that he had come to reign immediately, and so they would have taken him by force to make him a king, seeking to anticipate his time, which he kept secret. TRACTATES ON THE GOSPEL OF JOHN 25.2. [1]

[1] NPNF 1 7:160-61**.

FLEE FROM WORLDLY GLORY

CYRIL OF ALEXANDRIA: When Christ flees from those who want to give him honor and refuses that highest earthly prize of a kingdom,… he teaches us that it is unseemly for those who pursue divine grace and thirst for everlasting glory to seek after worldly greatness. We must then forego the love of glory, the sister and neighbor of arrogance, residing not far from its borders. Let us have nothing to do with illustrious honor in this present life which is hurtful. Let us rather seek after a holy humility giving preference to one another. COMMENTARY ON THE GOSPEL OF JOHN 3.4. [1]

[1] LF 43:333**.

OUR POWER IS NOT POLITICAL POWER BUT WEAKNESS

AMBROSE: Under the Old Testament, imperial power was bestowed by priests, not despotically claimed, and it is commonly said that emperors aspired to the priesthood rather than priests to the imperial power. Christ fled lest he be made a king. We have a power of our own. The power of the priest is weakness. He [Paul] said, “When I am weak, then I am strong.” [1] LETTER 60 (TO MARCELLINA). [2]

[1] 2 Cor 12:10.

[2] FC 26:373-74.

WHENEVER ESCAPE IS NECESSARY, SO IS PRAYER

AUGUSTINE: Indeed our Lord teaches us here that whenever escape is necessary, there is an even greater necessity for prayer. HARMONY OF THE GOSPELS 2.47.100. [1]

[1] NPNF 1 6:150**.