as the Sermons on the Mount and on the Plain; and He continued to instruct them until "the day began to wear away.' Though they were weary and faint, all were chained to the spot, listening to Heavenly mysteries, filled with the conviction that He was the Great Deliverer, Whose coming as King of Israel was foretold in their Scriptures. "And when it was evening His disciples came to Him, saying, 'This is a desert place, and the time is now past; send the multitude away, that they may go into the villages, and buy themselves victuals.'" They might well be astonished at the answer; "They need not depart; give ye them to eat." Several thousands on the mountain! and there were but five loaves and two small fishes, which a lad carried in a basket,-perhaps for their own provision. "He saith unto Philip, 'Whence shall We buy bread that these may eat?' And this He said to prove him: for He Himself knew what He would do." His mind already embraced the whole difficulty. He had fed the hundreds of thousands under Moses in the vast wilderness, from the Red Sea to Jericho, for forty years, with manna from Heaven; and in the same power He would now provide for these wandering sheep of His fold.

He commanded the disciples to make all sit down by companies on the green grass. And they sat down in ranks by hundreds and fifties; in number about Five Thousand men, besides women and children. And He took the five loaves and the two fishes, and looking up to Heaven, He blessed them, and brake." The bread, being blessed by the Son of God, was not only hallowed, but had a mysterious power given to it.1 He distributed the food to His disciples, and they to the multitudes. They had already been initiated into the Sacramental office of Baptism, having baptized in His name; and now the giving of bread foreshadowed their future priestly office in the other Sacrament of His appointment. In passing through the hands of the Apostles to the multitude, the bread lost none of the virtue, which had been imparted to it by Christ: they did all eat, and were filled. The loaves

"Accepit panes, et gratias egit, hoc est benedixit et sanctificavit, hoc est non solum Deum laudavit, sed et divinâ authoritate et potentiâ adauxit, fœcundavit, et multiplicavit panes quos in manu gestabat." Guilliaudus in Joan.,

and fishes, visible to the eyes, sensible to the touch and taste of all who received them, grew supernaturally by distribution: they were eaten, yet not diminished: they had a multiplying power by which they satisfied the necessities of all who partook their quantity became greater each moment they were being consumed; for, when all had had enough, "Jesus said unto His disciples, Gather up the fragments that remain, that nothing be lost.' Therefore they gathered them together, and filled twelve baskets." One loaf fed a thousand, and the twelve baskets of fragments exceeded the original supply. The Saviour of the world had no palace nor home on Earth: the mountain was the table of His hospitality; but there His fainting people were bountifully fed. "When Thou openest Thine hand, Thou fillest all things living with plenteousness."

"Hic panis quem frangit Jesus, mystice quidem Dei verbum est, et sermo de Christo: qui quum dividitur, augetur. De paucis enim sermonibus, omnibus populis redundantem alimoniam ministravit. Dedit sermones nobis velut panes, qui in nostro dùm libantur ore, geminantur. Visibiliter quoque panis iste, incredibili satione dum frangitur, dum dividitur, dum editur, sine ulla dispendii comprehensione cumulatur." "Comprehende, si potes, tanta rerum miracula. Hic edentibus populis crescunt suis fragmenta dispendiis, et de quinque panibus majores reliquiæ quàm summa est colliguntur.”—Ambrose, Comment., lib. vi., Lucæ, Opera, vol. iv. p. 87. See the question considered, "De modo faciendi istud miraculum, scilicet quomodo panes fuerunt multiplicati: Licet multipliciter fieri poterit." "An ista multiplicatio panum fiebat in manibus Christi, vel in manibus discipulorum, vel in manibus turbarum?"Tostatus Abulensis, In Matt. xiv., Quæst. 103 and 104. See Wordsworth's Greek Test., Matt. xiv. 20. “Cùm panes fregisset ac dedisset, quinque illi panes in discipulorum manibus multiplicantur, ac fontis in morem scaturiebant, adeo ut non suffecerint solùm, verumetiam superabundaverint. Non integri quidem panes, sed fragmenta, ut ostenderent illorum panum has reliquias esse, utque ad omnes quod factum esset pervenire facilius posset. Propterea et esuriisse turbas permisit, ne quispiam phantasma id fuisse opinaretur." Chrysostomus, Hom. 1. in Matt., Op. Ed. Lat. 1556, tom. ii. p. 371.

CHAPTER XXIX.

CHRIST HAVING FED THE FIVE THOUSAND, THE PEOPLE DESIRE TO MAKE HIM KING-HE SENDS HIS DISCIPLES IN A SHIP FROM BETHSAIDA TO CAPERNAUM-HE

COMES TO

THEM WALKING ON THE SEA-HIS MIRACLES IN GALILEE NEAR TO CAPERNAUM.

Matt. xiv. 22-36. Mark, vi. 45-56. John, vi. 14—21.

THE multitudes on the mountain at Bethsaida Julias, who had been so abundantly fed, could not fail to be struck with awe and reverence for their Benefactor. No wonder they should say among themselves, "This is of a truth that Prophet that should come into the World," of Whom Moses had declared, that He should be a Prophet like unto himself.1 They saw indeed a strong likeness between Jesus and their great lawgiver. Both had performed many miracles; and as Moses had fed the children of Israel in the wilderness, so now Five Thousand men could vouch that they had been refreshed and nourished by the substance of bread, growing out of five loaves, whilst twelve baskets full of fragments had been gathered up. If Moses in ancient days had given them the Law from Mount Sinai, Jesus, claiming to be the Son of God, had declared the glad tidings of a new Kingdom, which He called the Kingdom of Heaven. Therefore they thought He could be no less than the Great Messiah, Who was to free them from the tyranny of the Romans, even as Moses had delivered their forefathers from bondage in Egypt.

A glorious prospect seemed to open to their view; and they resolved that He should be their King. Thus their hearts deceived them. Jesus "knew what was in man:"- -no

1 Deut. xviii. 18.

sooner would they meet Him again in the synagogue at Capernaum, on the other side of the Lake, than all their feelings of wonder and admiration would be forgotten. They would demand further signs of His Divine Mission, and require to be fed with manna from Heaven. Now they vainly proposed, that He should set up a claim to the throne of David. They would have Him become the leader of a seditious and fickle people, who had never ceased to go astray from the pure worship of God, notwithstanding all His mercies, and all His judgments wrought upon them; yet within twelve months they would cry out against Him, "Away with this man;""Crucify Him, crucify Him;" "We have no King but Cæsar." "When therefore He perceived that they would come and take Him by force, to make Him a King,” He constrained His disciples to get into the ship without Him, and return to the other side, whilst He sent the multitudes away. When it was evening "He went up into a mountain apart to pray," as St. John says, "Himself alone." Meanwhile the disciples, in obedience to His command, embarked for Capernaum; and night overtook them. Α high and contrary wind arose, so that they could not carry sail. They toiled with rowing for five and twenty or thirty furlongs until it was dark, driven to and fro by the wind in the midst of the sea; and their dear Master was away. They were not, however, less under His protection: He was aware of their distress, though He was on the distant mountain: His eye penetrated the darkness; and He knew that the wind and the swelling sea had no power to prevail against His Will.1

But He

Behold, about the fourth watch of the night, One stands alone upon the solitary shore! It is the Lord! He is to pass over to the other side; and no ship is there. needs none to bear Him on His mysterious way. All nature is subject to the control of her Creator. He steps down upon the obedient water, which becomes as a crystal pavement beneath His hallowing feet. "He spreadeth out the heavens, and treadeth on the waves of the sea."2 He gives

1 See the question considered, "An ista tempestas naturalis fuerit vel supernaturaliter suscitata ?"-Tostatus, In Matt. xiv., Quæst. 148.

2 Job, ix. 8.

to the element a sustaining faculty beyond its known laws. It is the hour of early sunrise;1 long shadows are cast over the water; the mists of the morning hang upon the hills, when the disciples perceive in the distance a strange figure, walking on the sea!" As it drew nigh unto the ship, a feeling of awe crept over them; for they knew not Who it was, and He seemed as though He would pass by. They said, "It is a spirit,' [pavтaoua, a phantom] and they cried out for fear." They who had so lately cast out demons, when ordained to that office, now trembled at what they thought a shadowless spectre. Such is man's natural terror of the unseen world, since the day when Adam, conscious of sin, was afraid at hearing "the voice of the Lord walking in the garden." But the alarm of the disciples is quickly dispelled; for Jesus speaks to them. Although they could not distinguish His form, they at once recognized the wellknown voice. Those blessed words, which are ever the hope and consolation of believers, "Be of good cheer, it is I," quieted their fears. “Be not afraid," He said; and all was peace within. Christ is the halcyon of the soul, making it calm in every tempest.

No sooner did these comforting words reach the ear of Peter, always fervid in zeal, strong in faith, and self-confident, than he said, "Lord, if it be Thou, bid me come unto Thee on the water:" and Jesus said, "Come." At his Master's command he dared do all, waiting for permission, but prompt to obey. "Come" was the only word of passport; yet enough for all willing servants, who desire to draw near to Him. The presence and command of his Lord, however, gave him but a short-lived confidence; for when he "was come down out of the ship," and walked on the water to go to Jesus, seeing "the wind boisterous," and the waves high, he was afraid, and began to sink. It was the infirmity of his faith; yet in the very moment of terror he knew where to place his trust he cried out, "Lord, save me;" "and immediately Jesus stretched

1 For an explanation of the four watches of the night among the Jews, see Tostatus, Matt. xiv., Quæst. 151.

A small water-fowl, to which the ancients ascribed the power of tranquillizing the sea. Theocritus, Idyll vii. 1. 57. Silius Italicus, Punica, lib. xiv. 1. 275. Ovid Met., lib. xi. ll. 745-749. See especially Orpheus Eucharisticus, p) 227.