And whithersoever he entered, into villages, or cities, or country, they laid the sick in the streets, and And whithersoever he entered, into villages, or cities, or country, they laid the sick in the streets, and besought him that they might touch if it were but the border of his garment: and as many as touched him were made whole.
And wheresoever he entered into villages, or cities, or country, they laid the sick in the streets, and besought him that they might touch if it were but the border of his garment - having heard, no doubt, of what the woman with the issue of blood experienced on doing so (Mark 5:25-29), and perhaps of other unrecorded cases of the same nature.
And as many as touched him (or 'it'-the border of His garment), were made whole. All this they continued to do and experience while our Lord was in that region [as is implied in the imperfect tenses here employed - eiseporeueto (G1531), etithoun (G5087), parekaloun (G3870), esoozonto (G4982)]. The time corresponds to that mentioned (John 7:1), when He "walked in Galilee," instead of appearing in Jerusalem at the at the Passover, "because the Jews," that is, the rulers, "sought to kill Him" - while the people sought to enthrone Him!
Remarks:
(1) What devout and thoughtful reader can have followed the graphic details of this wonderful section without hearing the tread of divinity in the footstep and voice, and beholding it in the hands and eyes of that warm, living, tender humanity whose movements are here recorded? While yet on the western side of the lake, the Twelve return to Him and report the success of their missionary tour. Almost simultaneously with this, tidings reach Him of the foul murder and descent burial of His loving and faithful forerunner. He would fain get alone with the Twelve, after such moving events, but cannot, for the crowds that kept moving about Him. So He bids the Twelve put across to the eastern side, to "rest a while." But the people, dismayed at the sight of His departure, and having no boats, run round by the head of the lake, hastily cross the river, and observing the direction in which His boat made for the land, were there before Him.
He pities them as shepherdless sheep, and instead of putting them away, preaches to them, until the decline of the day warns Him to think of the meat that perisheth as now needful for them. The Twelve were for dispersing them in search of victuals, but He bids them supply them with these themselves. But how can they? Let them see what they can muster. The exact quantity in hand is given with precision by all the four Evangelists. The barley loaves-they are five; and the small fish, two. But what will these do? They will suffice. Direction is given to make the vast multitude sit down on the rank green grass in orderly form, by hundreds and by fifties. It is done, and He stands forth, we might conceive, within an outer semi-circle of 30 hundreds, and an inner semi-circle of 40 fifties; the women and children by themselves, it may be in groups, still nearer the glorious Provider. All eyes are now fastened upon Him as He took up the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up to heaven, blessed them as heaven's bountiful provision for that whole multitude, and then gave them to the Twelve to distribute among them.
Who can imagine the wonder that would sit upon every countenance, as the thought shot across them, How is this handful to feed even one of the fifties, not to speak of the hundreds? But as they found it passed by the Twelve from rank to rank unexhausted, and the last man, and woman, and child of them fed to the full and the leavings, both of the loaves and of the fish, greatly more than the whole provision at the first-the baskets filled with these being twelve, and the number fed five thousand, besides women and children-what must they have thought, if they thought at all? It is true, we have faint precursors of this glorious miracle in the doings of Elijah (1 Kings 17:14-16), and still more of Elisha (2 Kings 4:1-7; 2 Kings 4:42-44); but besides the inferiority of the things done, those prophets acted always as servants, saying, "Thus saith the Lord," when they announced the miracles they were to perform; whereas, the one feature which most struck all who came in contact with Jesus was the air of Personal authority with which He ever taught and performed His miracles, thus standing confessed before the devout and penetrating eye as the Incarnate Lord of Nature:
`Here may we sit and dream Over the heavenly theme, Till to our soul the former days return;
Till on the greasy bed! Where thousands once He fed, The world's incarnate Maker we discern" - KEBLE
But the scene changes. The transported multitude, in a frenzy of enthusiasm, are consulting together how they are to hasten His Installation in the regal rights of "the King of Israel," which they now plainly saw Him to be. (What a testimony, by the way, is this to the reality of the miracle-the testimony of five thousand participants of the fruit of the miracle!) They have taken no action, but "knowing their thoughts," He quickly disperses them; and retiring for the night to a solitary mountain-top, overlooking the sea, He there pours out His great soul in prayer, watching at the same time the gathering tempest and the weary struggle of the disciples-whom He made to put out reluctantly to sea without Him-with the contrary wind and the beating waves; until, after some eight hours' trial of them in these perilous circumstances, He rises, descends to the sea, and walks to them, creating the roaring billows; and when the sight of His dim figure only aggravates their terror and makes them cry out for fear, He bids them be calm and confident, because it was He-Himself as unmoved as on dry land and under a serene sky.
This reassures them; insomuch that Peter thinks even he would be safe upon the great deep if only JESUS would order him to come to Him upon it. He does it; and for a moment-as he looks to HIM only-the watery element, obedient to its Lord bears him up. But looking to the angry roar of the wind, as at whisked up the sea, he is ready to be swallowed up, and cries for help to the mighty Lord of the deep, who gives him His hand and steps with him into the ship, when at His presence the storm immediately ceases, and before they have time to pour forth their astonishment they are in port. The thing which is so amazing here is scarcely so much the absolute command which Jesus show over the elements of nature in all their rage, as His own perfect ease, whether in riding upon them or keeping His poor disciple from being swallowed up of them, and gently chiding him for having any fear of the elements so long as HE was with him. Not all the chanting of the Old Testament over Yahweh's power to "raise the stormy wind which lifteth up the waves," and then to "make the storm a calm, so that the waves thereof are still" (Psalms 107:25-29, etc.) makes such an impression upon the mind, as the concrete manifestation of it in this sublime narrative. In the one, we hear of Him by the hearing of the ear; in the other, our eye seeth Him. It is like the difference between shadow and substance. Indeed, the one may be regarded as the incarnation of the other.
(2) Since all Christ's miracles had a deeper significance than that which appears on the surface of them, we cannot doubt that the multiplication of the loaves, which was one of the most stupendous, has its profound meaning also. We may say, indeed, that as this multitude had made such exertions and sacrifices to be with Jesus and drink in His wonderful teaching, and were not sent away empty, but got more than they expected-even the meat that perisheth, when they seemed to look only, for that which endureth to everlasting life-so if we "seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, all these things will be added unto us." But this and similar lessons hardly reach the depth of this subject, much less exhaust it. As the Lord Jesus multiplied on this occasion the meat that perisheth, so is the meat that endureth to everlasting life capable of indefinite multiplication. Look at the Scriptures at large; look at the glorious Gospel History; look at this one stupendous section of it.
In bulk, how little is it-like the five barley loaves and the two small fish it tells of. But what thousands upon thousands has it fed, and will it feed, in every age, in every land of Christendom, to the worlds end! And is this true only of inspired Scripture? There, we may say, it is Christ Himself that ministers the bread of life. But just as Elijah and Elisha did some thing of the same kind-though on a small scale, and with a humble acknowledgment that they were but servants, or instruments in the hand of the Lord-so have the ministers of the Lord Jesus been privileged, from a little portion of "the oracles of God," to feed the souls of thousands, and that so richly as to leave baskets of fragments unconsumed. Nor can the writer refrain from testifying to all who read these lines, what a feast of fat things he has found daily for himself as he passed from section to section of this wonderful History, exhilarating him amidst the considerable labour which this work involves; nor can he wish anything better for his readers than that they also may have fellowship with him, for truly his fellowship in this bread of life has been with the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ.
(3) In these poor disciples, after this day of wonders, we have a picture of the blindness of the best of us ofttimes to the divine purpose and our own mercies. How reluctant were they to put out to sea without their Master; but had He not stayed behind, they had missed-and along with them the Church in all time had missed-the one manifestation of His glory which He saw fit to give in that majestic form, of walking upon the sea, and that too when the waves thereof roared by reason of a mighty wind. Doubtless, when they urged Him to come with them, if He would not let them spend the night with Him on the eastern side, He would assure them that He was coming after them. But how little would they dream of what He meant! Anxiously and often would they back, to see if they could descry any other wherry by which He might have set sail at a later hour; and when, after eight hours' beating against the storm they found themselves, before the morning light dawned on them, alone and helpless in the midst of the sea, how would they say one to another, 'O that we had not parted from Him! Would that He were here! When that storm as we crossed with Him to the country of the Gadarenes, though He was fast asleep in the stern-end of the ship, how quickly, on our awaking Him, did He hush the winds and calm the sea, even with one word of command; but now, alas we are alone!' At length they descry a dark object. What can it be? It draws nearer and nearer them; their fears arise; now it near enough to convince them that it is a living form, in quest of them. And what can a living, moving fore upon the waters be but a spectre? and what can a spectre want with them? At length, as it approaches them, they shriek out for fear. And yet this is their Beloved, and this is their Friend-so eagerly longed for, but at length despaired of!
Thus do we often miscall our chiefest mercies; not only thinking them distant when they are near, but thinking the best the worst. Yes, Jesus was with them all the while, though they knew it not. His heart followed them with His eye, as the storm gathered; though in body far away, in spirit He was with them, giving command to the furious elements to be to them as was the burning fiery furnace to the Hebrew youths when they were in it, and the lions when Daniel was in their den-to do them no hurt. He pitied them as He "saw them toiling in rowing," but for their own sake He would not come to them until the right time. But O what words were those with which He calmed their fears - "Be of good cheer: it is I; be not afraid"! The re-assuring word was that central one "I" х Egoo (G1473)]; and after what they had seen of His glory but a few hours before, in addition to all their past experience, what a fullness of relief would be to them wrapt up in that one little word "I" And what else need even we, tossed, and O how often! upon a tempestuous sea-at one time of doubts and fears, at another, of difficulties and wants, at another, of sorrows and sufferings - "toiling in rowing" to beat our way out of them: What need we, to stay our souls when all these waves and billows are going over us, and to cheer us with songs in the night, but to hear that Voice so loving, so divine, "Be of good cheer: IT IS I; be not afraid"!
(4) When sure of a divine warrant, what may not faith venture on, and so long as our eye is directed to a present Saviour, what dangers may we not surmount? But when, like Peter, we direct our eye to the raging element, and "see the wind boisterous," fear takes the place of faith; and beginning to sink, our only safety lies in casting our critical case upon Him whose are all the elements of nature and providence and grace. Happy then are we, if we can feel that warm fleshly Hand which caught sinking Peter and immediately ascended with him into the ship! For then are we at once in the haven of rest.
`Thou Framer of the light and dark, Steer through the tempest thine own ark; Amid the howling wintry sea We are in port if we have Thee!'
(-KEBLE)