Then Jesus called his disciples unto him, and said,
I have compassion on the multitude, because they continue with me now three days, and have nothing to eat: and I will not send them away without food, lest they faint in the way.
Read Chapter 15
George Leo Haydock
AD 1849
They continue with me now three days, eager to hear his divine instructions, and to witness the greatness of his miracles. The disciples, as if not remembering what Jesus had done on a similar emergency, (see Matthew, xiv. 16,) expressed their solicitude and uneasiness for the hungered multitude. (Haydock)
Both above, when going to do this miracle, He first healed them that were maimed in body, and here He does the self-same thing; from the healing of the blind and the lame, He goes on to this again.
But why might it be, that then His disciples said, Send away the multitude, but now they said not so; and this, though three days had past? Either being themselves improved by this time, or seeing that the people had no great sense of hunger; for they were glorifying God for the things that were done.
But see how in this instance too He does not proceed at once to the miracle, but calls them forth thereunto. For the multitudes indeed who had come out for healing dared not ask for the loaves; but He, the benevolent and provident one, gives even to them that ask not, and says unto His disciples, I have compassion, and will not send them away fasting.
For lest they should say that they came having provisions for the way, He says, They continue with me now three days; so that even if th...
In this way, by his speech, Christ had so disposed their souls that they had even become selfforgetful and had taken no care to provide for food or other inevitable needs. They had not grown weary, even in the desert, of being with Christ. But Christ understood the weakness of our nature and that we require food for the health of our bodies. He makes preparation even for this, that it might be evident that he is concerned not only about our souls but about our bodies as well. For he himself is the Creator of both soul and body. He is not merely the Lord of one or the other, as the lunacies of the Manichaeans hold. They teach different creators, one for the soul and another for the body.
. The multitude did not dare to ask for bread, as they had come for healing. But He Who loves mankind takes thought for them. So that no one could say, "They have other provisions," He says, "Even if they had, they would have been used up, for it has already been three days." He shows that they came from a distance when He says, "lest they faint on the way." He says these things to the disciples, wishing to encourage them to say to Him, "You are able to feed them as you did the five thousand." But the disciples still lack understanding.
