John Calvin Commentary Matthew 14:19

"And he commanded the multitudes to sit down on the grass; and he took the five loaves, and the two fishes, and looking up to heaven, he blessed, and brake and gave the loaves to the disciples, and the disciples to the multitudes." — Matthew 14:19 (ASV)

He blessed. In this passage, as in many others, blessing denotes thanksgiving.

Now Christ has taught us by his example that we cannot partake of our food with holiness and purity unless we express our gratitude to God, from whose hand it comes to us.

Accordingly, Paul tells us that every kind of food God bestows on us is sanctified by the word of God and prayer (1 Timothy 4:5). By this, he means that brutal men, who do not regard God's blessing by faith and do not offer Him thanksgiving, corrupt and pollute by the filth of their unbelief all that is by nature pure; and, on the other hand, they are corrupted and defiled by the food they swallow, because to unbelievers nothing is clean.

Christ has therefore laid down for his followers the proper manner of taking food, that they may not profane their own persons and the gifts of God by wicked sacrilege.

Raising his eyes towards heaven. This expresses warm and earnest supplication. It is not that such an attitude is always necessary when we pray, but rather that the Son of God did not choose to disregard the outward forms which are suited to aid human weakness. It should also be taken into account that to raise the eyes upwards is an action well suited to rouse us from sloth when our minds are too strongly fixed on the earth.