Church Fathers Commentary Luke 9:10-17

"And the apostles, when they were returned, declared unto him what things they had done. And he took them, and withdrew apart to a city called Bethsaida. But the multitudes perceiving it followed him: and he welcomed them, and spake to them of the kingdom of God, and them that had need of healing he cured. And the day began to wear away; and the twelve came, and said unto him, Send the multitude away, that they may go into the villages and country round about, and lodge, and get provisions: for we are here in a desert place. But he said unto them, Give ye them to eat. And they said, We have no more than five loaves and two fishes; except we should go and buy food for all this people. For they were about five thousand men. And he said unto his disciples, Make them sit down in companies, about fifty each. And they did so, and made them all sit down. And he took the five loaves and the two fishes, and looking up to heaven, he blessed them, and brake; and gave to the disciples to set before the multitude. And they ate, and were all filled: and there was taken up that which remained over to them of broken pieces, twelve baskets." — Luke 9:10-17 (ASV)

St. Augustine of Hippo: Taking the opportunity from what had just occurred, Matthew and Mark relate here how John was killed by Herod. But Luke, who had given an account of John’s sufferings long before, immediately adds after mentioning Herod’s perplexity as to who our Lord was, And the apostles, when they were returned, told him all that they had done.

The Venerable Bede: But they not only tell Him what they had done and taught, but also, as Matthew implies, the things which John suffered while they were busy teaching are now reported to Him either by His own disciples or, according to Matthew, by John’s disciples.

Isidore of Pelusium: Our Lord, because He hates men of blood and those who dwell with them as long as they do not depart from their crimes, left the murderers after the murder of the Baptist and departed. As it follows, And he took them, and went aside privately into a desert place belonging to the city called Bethsaida.

The Venerable Bede: Now Bethsaida is in Galilee, the city of the Apostles Andrew, Peter, and Philip, near the Lake of Gennesaret. Our Lord did not do this from fear of death (as some think), but to spare His enemies, so that they would not commit two murders, and also to wait for the proper time for His own sufferings.

St. John Chrysostom: He did not depart before, but only after He was told what had happened, manifesting in every detail the reality of His incarnation.

Theophylact of Ohrid: Our Lord went into a desert place because He was about to perform the miracle of the loaves, so that no one could say the bread was brought from the neighboring cities.

St. John Chrysostom: Or, He went into a desert place so that no one might follow Him. But the people did not turn back; instead, they accompanied Him, as it follows, And the people, when they knew it, followed him.

St. Cyril of Alexandria: Some were asking to be delivered from evil spirits, while others desired Him to remove their diseases. Those who were delighted with His teaching also attended Him diligently.

The Venerable Bede: But He, as the powerful and merciful Savior, showed how pleased He was with their devotion by receiving the weary, teaching the ignorant, curing the sick, and feeding the hungry. As it follows, And he received them, and spoke to them of the kingdom of God, etc.

Theophylact of Ohrid: This is so you may learn that the wisdom within us is expressed in both word and deed, and that it is fitting for us to speak of what has been done and to do what we speak of. But when the day was wearing away, the disciples, now beginning to care for others, took compassion on the multitude.

St. Cyril of Alexandria: For, as has been said, they sought to be healed of various diseases. Because the disciples saw that what they sought could be accomplished by His simple consent, they said, "Send them away, so that they will not be distressed any longer." But notice the overflowing kindness of the One who was asked. He not only grants what the disciples ask, but to those who follow Him, He also supplies a bountiful provision, commanding that food be set before them. As it follows, But he said to them, Give you them to eat.

Theophylact of Ohrid: Now, He did not say this because He was ignorant of their answer, but because He wished to prompt them to tell Him how much bread they had. In this way, a great miracle would be revealed through their own confession when the amount of bread was made known.

St. Cyril of Alexandria: But this was a command the disciples were unable to obey, since they had with them only five loaves and two fish. As it follows, And they said, We have no more but five loaves and two fishes; except we should go and buy meat for all this people.

St. Augustine of Hippo: In these words, Luke has indeed combined into one sentence both Philip’s answer—as John relates it, Two hundred pennyworth of bread is not sufficient for them, that every one of them may take a little—and Andrew’s answer: There is a lad here, which hath five barley loaves, and two small fishes. When Luke writes, We have no more but five loaves and two fishes, he is referring to Andrew’s statement. But the part he added, except we should go and buy meat for all this people, seems to belong to Philip’s answer, except that Luke is silent about the two hundred pennyworth, although this might also be implied in Andrew’s own words.

For when Andrew had said, There is a lad here, which hath five barley loaves, and two small fishes, he added, but what are they among so many? This is the same as saying, "...unless we go and buy food for all this people." From this diversity of words but harmony of events and opinions, it is sufficiently clear that we are given this wholesome lesson: we must not look for anything in the words except the meaning of the speaker. To explain this meaning clearly ought to be the concern of all truthful authors whenever they relate anything concerning man, angel, or God.

St. Cyril of Alexandria: To enhance the magnitude of the miracle even more, the number of men is stated to have been quite large. As it follows, And there were about five thousand men, besides women and children, as another Evangelist relates.

Theophylact of Ohrid: Our Lord teaches us that when we entertain anyone, we ought to make them sit down to eat and enjoy every comfort. Hence it follows, And he said to his disciples, etc.

St. Augustine of Hippo: The fact that Luke says here that the men were ordered to sit down by fifties, while Mark says by fifties and hundreds, is not a contradiction, since one spoke of a part and the other of the whole. If one had mentioned only the fifties and the other only the hundreds, they would seem to contradict each other greatly, and it would not be clear which was said. But who would not admit that one detail was mentioned by one Evangelist and the other by another, and that this becomes clear if considered more attentively? I have said this much because things of this kind often exist which, to those who pay little attention and judge hastily, appear to be contradictions when they are not.

St. John Chrysostom: And to make people believe that He came from the Father, Christ looked up to heaven when He was about to perform the miracle. As it follows, Then he took the five loaves, etc.

St. Cyril of Alexandria: He also did this intentionally for our sake, so that we might learn that at the beginning of a meal, when we are about to break bread, we ought to offer thanks for it to God and draw down the heavenly blessing upon it. As it follows, And he blessed, and broke.

St. John Chrysostom: He distributes the food to them by the hands of His disciples, honoring them in this way so that they might not forget the miracle after it was over. Now, He did not create food for the multitude out of nothing, in order to silence the Manichaeans who claim that created things are independent of Him. He did this to show that He Himself is both the Giver of food and the same One who said, Let the earth bring forth, etc. He also makes the fish increase, to signify that He has dominion over the seas as well as the dry land. But He performed a special miracle for the weak, at the same time that He also gives a general blessing in feeding all the strong as well as the weak. And they did all eat, and were filled.

Gregory of Nyssa: For them, the heavens did not rain manna, nor did the earth bring forth grain according to its nature; rather, the blessing was poured forth from the indescribable storehouse of divine power. The bread is supplied by the hands of those who serve it, and it increases even as it is eaten to fullness. The sea did not supply their needs with its fish; rather, it was He who placed the fish in the sea.

St. Ambrose of Milan: It is clear that the multitude was filled not by a meager meal, but by a constant and increasing supply of food. In an incomprehensible way, you could see the pieces multiplying in the hands of those who distributed them, pieces they did not break; the fragments, too, touched by the fingers of those breaking them, spontaneously increased.

St. Cyril of Alexandria: Nor was this the end of the miracle. As the text continues, And there was taken up of fragments that remained to them twelve baskets. This serves as a clear proof that a work of love for our neighbor will claim a rich reward from God.

Theophylact of Ohrid: And so that we might learn the value of hospitality and how much our own store is increased when we help those in need.

St. John Chrysostom: But He did not cause whole loaves to be left over, but fragments, to show that they were the remnants of the original loaves. And the number of baskets was made to be twelve, so there would be as many baskets as there were disciples.

St. Ambrose of Milan: After the woman who was a type of the Church was cured of her issue of blood, and after the Apostles were appointed to preach the Gospel of the kingdom of God, the nourishment of heavenly grace is imparted. But notice to whom it is imparted: not to the lazy, not to those in a city, not to those with rank in the synagogue or in high secular office, but to those who seek Christ in the desert.

The Venerable Bede: He Himself, having left Judea—which through unbelief had deprived itself of the source of prophecy—dispenses the food of the word in the desert of the Church, which had no husband. But many groups of the faithful, leaving the city of their former way of life and their various opinions, follow Christ into the deserts of the Gentiles.

St. Ambrose of Milan: But those who are not proud are received by Christ, and the Word of God speaks with them, not about worldly things, but about the kingdom of God. And if any have the ulcers of bodily passions, He willingly provides their cure. But everywhere the order of the mystery is preserved: first, the wounds are healed through the remission of sins, and afterward, the nourishment of the heavenly table abounds plentifully.

The Venerable Bede: Now, when the day was ending, He refreshes the multitudes. This signifies the time when the end of the world approaches, or when the Sun of Righteousness sets for us.

St. Ambrose of Milan: Although the multitude is not yet fed with stronger food. For first, like milk, there are five loaves; second, seven loaves; and third, the Body of Christ is the stronger food. If anyone is afraid to seek this food, let him leave everything that belongs to him and listen to the word of God.

Whoever begins to hear the word of God begins to eat, and the Apostles begin to see him eating. And if those who eat do not yet know what they are eating, Christ knows. He knows that they are not eating this world’s food, but the food of Christ. For they did not yet know that the food of a believing people was not to be bought or sold. Christ knew that we are, rather, to be bought with a ransom, but that His banquet is to be without price.

The Venerable Bede: The Apostles had only the five loaves of the Mosaic law and the two fish of the two covenants, which were hidden in the secret place of obscure mysteries, as if in the waters of the deep. But because humans have five external senses, the five thousand men who followed the Lord signify those who still live in worldly ways, knowing how to use the external things they possess. For those who entirely renounce the world are raised up to enjoy His Gospel feast. The different groupings of the guests indicate the different congregations of Churches throughout the world, which together compose the one Catholic Church.

St. Ambrose of Milan: But here, the bread that Jesus broke is, mystically, the word of God and the discourse concerning Christ, which increases when it is divided. For from these few words, He provided abundant nourishment to the people. He gave us words like loaves, which are doubled while they are tasted by our mouths.

The Venerable Bede: Now, our Savior does not create new food for the hungry multitudes; instead, He took what the disciples had and blessed it. Since He came in the flesh, He preaches nothing other than what was foretold, but He demonstrates that the words of prophecy are pregnant with the mysteries of grace. He looks toward heaven to teach us to direct the eye of our mind there and to seek the light of knowledge. He breaks the bread and distributes it to the disciples to be placed before the multitude, because He revealed to them the Sacraments of the Law and the Prophets so that they might preach them to the world.

St. Ambrose of Milan: It is not without meaning that the fragments left over after the multitudes had eaten were collected by the disciples, since you can more easily find divine things among the elect than among the people. Blessed is he who can gather the things that remain, which are beyond the grasp of even the learned. But why did Christ fill twelve baskets, if not to give meaning to that saying concerning the Jewish people: "His hands served in the basket"? That is, the people who before collected mud for making pots now, through the cross of Christ, gather up the nourishment of heavenly life. Nor is this the task of a few, but of all. For by the twelve baskets, representing each of the tribes, the foundation of the faith is spread abroad.

The Venerable Bede: Or, the twelve baskets represent the twelve Apostles and all succeeding teachers, who are indeed despised by those outside, but are inwardly loaded with the fragments of saving food.