John 6:1-15.
After this, Jesus sailed across the sea from the city of Tiberias in Galilee. And great multitudes followed him, because they saw the miracles which he did on them that were sick. And Jesus went up into a mountain, and sat there with his disciples. Now the feast of the Jews, Easter, was at hand. And Jesus lifted up his eyes, and behold, a great multitude come unto him, and saith unto Philip, Where shall we buy bread, that these may eat? (This he said to tempt him, for he knew well what he would do). Philip answered him, Two hundred pennies worth of bread is not enough for them, that every one of them may take a little. One of his disciples, Andrew, Peter's brother Simonis, said to him, "There is a boy here who has five barley loaves and two fish; but what is this among so many? And Jesus said, Make the people lie down. And there was much grass in the place. And about five thousand men encamped there. And Jesus took the loaves, and gave thanks, and gave them to the disciples; and the disciples to them that were encamped: and the same also of the fishes, as much as he would. And when they were full, he said unto his disciples, Gather the fragments that remain, that nothing perish. So they gathered, and filled twelve baskets with fragments, of the five barley loaves that remained for those who had been fed. When the people saw the sign that Jesus had done, they said: This is indeed the prophet who is to come into the world. When Jesus therefore perceived that they would come and take him, that they might make him king, he departed again into the mountain by himself.
*Lätare is the fourth Sunday in Lent. D. Red.
(1) Now in this gospel Christ teaches us once the faith, that we should not provide for our belly and food, and tempts us with a miracle; as if he should say here by deed, that he says Matth. 6, 33. in words: "Seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things shall be well for you. For here we see that since the people follow him because of God's word and sign, and thus seek God's kingdom, he does not leave them and feeds them abundantly; so that he indicates that before those who seek God's kingdom should suffer hardship, the grass in the wilderness should rather become grain, or one morsel of bread should become a thousand loaves; or one morsel should feed as well and as much as a thousand loaves, so that it might stand, as he says Matth. 4:4, "Man feedeth not on bread alone, but on every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God." And to strengthen this, he himself begins, and provides for them what they should eat, and asks Philip before they complain or ask for it; so that we should let him take care of us, and know that he takes care of us more and sooner than we do ourselves.
3 Second, he demonstrates an example of great love, which is manifold. First of all, that he does not only let such a miracle with the food come to the good of the pious who followed him because of the works and words, but also to the servants of the belly who only eat and drink and seek temporal honor in him; as it follows that they quarreled with him in Capernaum about the food and he tells them Joh. 6, 26: "You seek me because you have eaten" etc., item, that they wanted to make him king. So he lets rain and the sun shine on the evil and the good, Matth. 5, 45. On the other hand, that he bears his disciples' rudeness and weak faith so kindly. For the fact that he tempted Philip, and that he came with his reason, and that Andrew spoke so childishly, was done so that the apostle's imperfections might come to light, and so that his love and friendly dealings with them might shine all the more beautifully and sweetly, to provoke us to faith in him, and to make us believe in him.
that we should do likewise, just as the members of the body and all creatures teach us among themselves. For all things are full of love, that one bears, helps and saves the other, which God has created.
3) By taking the five loaves and giving thanks, etc. he gives us to understand that nothing is too little for his own, and that he may bless their little so that they have abundance, since even the rich do not have enough of all their riches; as also Psalm 34, 11. says: "Those who seek the Lord have no lack of any good, but the rich must suffer hunger. And Mary in her hymn Luc. 1, 53: "He feeds the hungry with good things, and leaves the rich alone."
4 Again, because he is called to pick up the pieces so diligently, he teaches us to be prudent, and to keep and use his goods, lest we tempt God. For as he would have us believe when we have nothing, and be sure that he will give; so also he will not be tempted, nor despise the things he has given, nor leave them to perish, nor wait for others from heaven by miraculous signs: but what is, let us receive and use; and what is not, let us believe and wait.
II. the allegories.
(5) That Christ by this miraculous feeding provoked us to spiritual feeding, and meant that we should seek him and be fed, is evident from the whole sixth chapter of John, where he calls himself the heavenly bread and the right food, and refers the Jews to himself from this bodily food, and says v. 26, 27: "Verily I say unto you, Ye seek me not because ye have seen signs, but because ye have eaten of the bread, and been filled. 26, 27: "Verily I say unto you, Ye seek me not because ye saw signs, but because ye did eat of the bread, and were filled. Work the meat that perisheth not, but abideth unto life eternal, which the Son of man shall give unto you." Accordingly, let us also seek this Gospel story in hidden understanding and interpretation.
6) On the first, there was much hay or grass in the place. That could not leave the evangelist outside, so it seems not great from-
But means the Jewish people, who therefore green and blossom like the grass through outward holiness, wisdom, honor, good etc., as Isaiah Cap. 40, 6. 7. speaks: "All flesh is hay and all its glory is grass flowers. But the grass perisheth, and the flower withereth: for the Spirit of the Lord bloweth in it. Yea, the people are hay." Among such a people the word of God went out and gave us the right food, for salvation came from the Jews, John 4:22. Just as the grass is not the food of men, but of cattle, so all the holiness of the outward Jewish holiness is nothing but a fattening of the cattle, carnal hearts, which neither know nor have anything of the Spirit.
7 This also means that the people sit on the grass, because the true saints despise outward holiness, as Paul does Phil. 3, 8, that he considers his former holiness as dirt and damage. But it is only the simple and hungry people who accept the word of God and feed themselves. For here you see that neither Caiphas nor Annas, nor the Pharisees and scribes follow Christ and see the miraculous sign; but despise it, they are grass and grass-eaters. It also happens near the paschal feast of the Jews; for the real paschal feast, when Christ was to be sacrificed, was near at hand, when he began to feed with the word of God.
8. five loaves signify the outward, bodily word fasted in the voice, heard through the senses; for the fifth number signifies the sensual, outward thing of man for the sake of the five senses in which man lives; as the five and five virgins also show, Matth. 25, 1. these loaves are locked in the basket, that is, in the Scriptures. And these are carried by a boy, that is, the servant people and priesthood among the Jews, who had the speech of God, commanded them and trusted them, Rom. 3:2, even though they did not enjoy it. But the fact that Christ takes them into his hands and thereby blesses and increases them means that through Christ's work and his deeds, and not through our deeds or reason, the Scriptures are opened, rightly understood and preached. Then he gives the disciples and the disciples
to the people. For Christ takes the word from the Scriptures; so the teachers all take it from Christ and give it to the people, so that it may stand that he says Matt. 23:10: "One is your Master, Christ who sits in heaven," and teaches us all by the mouth and word of the preacher with his Spirit, that is, against false teachers who teach their own thing.
The two fishes are the examples and testimonies of the archfathers and prophets, which are also in the basket; for by them the apostles confirm and strengthen the doctrine and the believers, as St. Paul does Rom. 4, 2. 6. when he introduced Abraham and David etc. But theirs are two; for such examples of the saints are full of love, which cannot be alone, as faith does, but must exercise itself toward the neighbor. They are roasted for this purpose; for such examples are well killed by much suffering and torture, so that nothing carnal is found in them, nor do they comfort by false faith in works, but always point to faith and kill works with their confidence.
(10) The twelve baskets full of fragments are all the Scriptures and books which the apostles and evangelists left behind them; therefore the same is twelve as the apostle, and the same books are nothing else but the rest which is taken and multiplied from the Old Testament. Which is also why the fifth number means that Moses has five books; for as John Cap. 21, 25: "Books could be written full of Christ for the whole world," which was all written and proclaimed by Christ beforehand in the Old Testament.
(11) The fact that Philip gives advice with the pennies on how to feed the people, and yet despairs of it, means the teachers of men, who would gladly help the soul with teachings, but the conscience feels that it does not help. For this questioning, which Christ holds here with his disciples, is done so that they may see and grasp that it would of course be impossible to feed such a people with their provisions, and that this miraculous sign would become all the more evident. Therefore, he also lets us sift *) and work with human loaves.
(*) söhlen (sülen), that is, sudeln. D. Red.
so that we may see and grasp how necessary and delicious God's word is and how nothing can help the teaching without God's word.
(12) But Andrew, who shows the loaves and the babes, and yet doubts them much more, signifies the teachers, who by the laws of God would make men godly and quiet them; but the conscience cannot have satisfaction nor rest in it, but only grows more and more vexed, until Christ comes with the word of grace: who alone is and does enough, saving from sins and death, giving peace and full joy, and doing it of himself, unbidden, against and above all hope and delusion, that we may know how the gospel is not to be preached through
We are not to be blamed for the fact that we have done something wrong, but rather that we have been blessed with a gift of grace.
Thirteen: The last thing thou seest here in the gospel, that Christ, who kept the gospel poverty to the utmost, and did not provide for the morrow, as he teacheth, Matt. 6:34, yet had victuals, as two hundred pennies, and five loaves, and two fishes; that we might learn how such poverty and freedom from care is not in having nothing, as the barefooted caves and monks pretend, and yet keep not themselves; but is in a free heart and a poor spirit. For Abraham and Isaac also had great goods, and yet lived without care and in poverty, as the best Christians.