We have, for another thing, in this miracle, a lesson about the office of ■mi?iisters. We see the apostles receiving the bread from our Lord's hands, after He had blessed it, and distributing it to the multitude. It was not their hands that made it increase and multiply, but their Mas- ter's. It was His almighty power that provided an unfailing supply. It was their work to receive humbly, and dis tribute faithfully.
Now here is a lively emblem of the work which a true minister of the New Testament is meant to do. He is not a mediator between God and man. He has no power to put away sin, or impart grace. His whole business is to receive the br-ead of life Avhich his Master provides, and t« distribute it among the souls among whom he labours. He cannot make men value the bread, or receive it. He can- not make it soul-saving, or life-giving, to any one. This is not his work. For this he is not responsible. His whole business is to be a faithful distributor of the food which his Divine Master has provided ; and that done, his office is discharged.
We have, lastly, in this miracle, a lesson about the suffi- ciency of the Gospel for the wants of all mankind. We see the Lord Jesus supplying the hunger of a huge multi- tude of five thousand men. The provision seemed, at first sight, utterly inadequate for the occasion. To satisfy so many craving mouths with such scanty fare, in such a wilderness, seemed impossible. But the event showed that there was enough and to spare. There was not one who could complain that he was not filled.
There can be no doubt that this was meant to teach the adequacy of Christ's Gospel to supply the necessities of the wliole world. Weak, and feeble, and foolish as it may seem to man, the simple story of the Cross is enough for all the children of Adam in every part of the globe. The tidings of Christ's death for sinners, and the atonement made by