The Pulpit Commentary — Mark — Volume 1 — Section 334

more than their necessary food." Our Lord multiply the loaves. Bct as man he ga.ve on his pnrl we.s so full of zee.l for their good, th1tnks. And yet, e.s Dr. Westcott excel- thnt during all the.t time, with little inter• lenUy re1narks, "The thanksgiving was not ve.l, he he.d been pree.C'hing to them, denying for any uncertain or 'unexpected gift. H himself rest, refreshment, e.nd sleep. So true wns rather a proclamation of his fellowship were those words of his, " My meat is to do with God. So that the true nature of the will of him the.t sent me, e.nd to finish prayer in the case of our blt1~sed Lord was his work." the conscious realization of the Di vine will, Ver. 3.-li'or divers of them co.me from far. and not 11. petition for that which was contin- These words, e.s they ste.nd in the Authorized gent." And having given thanks, he brake, Version, might be supposed to be e.n obser- and gavo to hill disciples (l,c11....,.,, ,cal io£oou ). vation thrown in by the evangelist himself. Observe the aorist and the imperfect. The But the correct rendering of Jl,c<i111 is not giving was a continual act, till all were " came," but have come, or rnther, are come ; filled. and instead of .,.,vh -ya.p at the beginning of Ver. 8.-A.nd they did eat, and were filled the clause, the more correct reading is ,c,zl Uxo;rrd.1181111av). Wycliffe renders it, "were Tivh. This change makes thecle.use almost fulfild; " according to the original meaning of necessity to be a pa.rt of our Lord's own of "to fulfil," namely," to fill full." And words going before. It was not until the they took up, of broken pieces that remained third day that our Lord interposed with a over, seven ba.skets--a.s mo.ny as there were miracle, when the people were absolutely loaves. In the record of the other similar without food, and would therefore feel more miracle, the number of baskets corresponded sensibly the hlessing as well as the grentness to the number of the disciples. Here, as in of the miracle. Their extremity was his the former miracle, far more food remained opportunity. after all were fed than the original supply Ver. 4.-Whence shall one be able to :fill on which our Lord exercised his miraculous these men with bread here in a desert ple.oo 1 power; for each basket would contain mnch St. Matthew (xv. 33) gives the question thllB: more than one loaf. The Greek word here "Whence should we have so many loaves in renclered "basket" (111rVpls) is a different a desert place, as to fill so great a multi· word from th11t used for " basket " in the tude ? " The disciples, measuring the diffi- record of the other miracle ( oh. vL 43). culty by human roe.son, thought that it was There it is ,c6,pwos. The ,co,pivos was a hand- impossible to find so many loaves in the desert. b11sket of stout wicker-work. The 1111"up£, But Christ in this necessity, when human was a much larger basket, made of a more resources fe.il, supplies Divine; e.nd mean- flexible material, perhaps" rushes," like our while the disciples' estimate of the im- "frail." It was by means of such a basket, possibility illustrates the grandeur of the called in Acts ix. 25 111rVp£s, but 11"P"Ycl.,,1/ miracle. in 2 Cor. xL 33, that St. Paul was let down Ver. 5.-The seven loaves and the few through a window o.t Damascus. This amall fishes appear to have been .the modest supplies another evidence, if it were needed, provision for our Lord and his disciples. that these two recorded miracles took place As he often retired into the desert, they were on different occasions. Cornelius~ Lapide no doubt aocustomed to carry small supplies mentions o.n opinion that the a,rvpls was about with them, though poor and scanty. double the size of the 1e&q,111os, a large basket In the former miracle of the multiplying of carried by two. the loaves (eh. vi. 85), we find that their Ver. 10.-He entered into a ship (•ls To 11took consisted of five loaves and two fishes. ,r/1.oiov)-litere.lly, into the boat ; probably the It we.s, of course, just as easy for our Lord to same boo.t which he had ordered to be in multiply the smaller quu.ntity o.s the lo.rger. attendo.nce upon him (eh. iii. 9)-e.nd ea.me But he chose so to order it thut the original into the parts of Da.l.me.nutha. St. Mo.tthew quantity of food, as well as the number re- (xv. 39) has "the coasts of Magda.In;" more quiring to be fed, should in ea.oh case be properly, "the borders of l'llnguden." Thie different, in order tho.t it might be evident plo.ce wo.s in o.11 probability aLout the middle that they were different occasions, although of the western shore of the Sea of Galilee, the miracles were of the same kind. where now sto.nd the ruins of the village of Ver. 6.-And he oomme.ndeth the multitude El-MejdeL to sit down ( ci,,..,..•.,.,..,)-litero.lly, to recline- Ver. 11.-And the Pharisees came forth- on the ground ( /,rl riis -y;Js) ; not the green St. Mo.tthew (xvi. 1) says that the Saddu- grass, as before. It was o. different seoson cees ea.me with them-e.nd began to question of the year. "He gave thanks." In this with him, seeking of him a sign from heaven, exp1·ession is included the recognition of the tempting him, They had already asked for Divine power to enable him to work the a sign from heaven (Matt. xii. 88); but now miro.cle. Obrist indeed, as God, was able this mirncle gives them occasion to ask of bill own will and by his own power to again. For when they saw how greatly iii  THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO S'r. MARK. [cH, vm. 1-38.