Luke 9:12-15

2 d. Luke 9:12-15. The Preparations.

It was absolutely impossible to find sufficient food in this place for such a multitude; and Jesus feels Himself to some extent responsible for the circumstances. This miracle was not, therefore, as Keim maintains, a purely ostentatious prodigy. But in order to understand it thoroughly, it must be looked at from the point of view presented by John. In the Syn. it is the disciples who, as evening draws near, call the attention of Jesus to the situation of the people; He answers them by inviting them to provide for the wants of the multitude themselves. In John it is Jesus who takes the initiative, addressing Himself specially to Philip; then He confers with Andrew, who has succeeded in discovering a young lad furnished with some provisions. It is not difficult to reconcile these two accounts; but in the first we recognise the blurred lines of tradition, in the second the recollections of an eyewitness full of freshness and accuracy.

The two hundred pennyworth of bread forms a remarkable mark of agreement between the narrative of John and that of Mark. John does not depend on Mark; his narrative is distinguished by too many marks of originality. Neither has Mark copied from John; he would not have effaced the strongly-marked features of the narrative of the latter. From this coincidence in such a very insignificant detail we obtain a remarkable confirmation of all those little characteristics by which Mark's narrative is so often distinguished, and which De Wette, Bleek, and others regard as amplifications.

Jesus has no sooner ascertained that there are five loaves and two fishes than He is satisfied. He commands them to make the multitude sit down. Just as though He had said: I have what I want; the meal is ready; let them be seated! But He takes care that this banquet shall be conducted with an order worthy of the God who gives it. Everything must be calm and solemn; it is a kind of passover meal. By the help of the apostles, He seats His guests in rows of fifty each (Matthew), or in double rows of fifty, by hundreds (Mark). This orderly arrangement allowed of the guests being easily counted. Mark describes in a dramatic manner the striking spectacle presented by these regularly-formed companies, each consisting of two equal ranks, and all arranged upon the slope of the hill (συμπόσια συμπόσια, πρασιαὶ πρασιαί, Luke 9:39-40). The pastures at that time were in all their spring splendour, and John and Mark offer a fresh coincidence here, in that they both bring forward the beauty of this natural carpet (χόρτος πολύς, John; χλωρὸς χόρτος, Mark; Matthew says, οἱ χόρτοι). In conformity with oriental usage, according to which women and children must keep themselves apart, the men alone (οἱ ἄνδρες, John 6:10) appear to be seated in the order indicated. This explains why, according to the Syn., they alone were counted, as Luke says (Luke 9:14), also Mark (Mark 6:44), and, more emphatically still, Matthew (Matthew 14:21, “without women and children”).