He took five loaves and two fishes, and looked up to heaven, and blessed and broke the loaves, and gave them to his disciples, that they might distribute to them; And he divided the two fishes among all. And they all ate, and were satisfied. And they gathered up pieces of bread and the remains of the fish, twelve full baskets. And there were about five thousand men who ate bread.

The Lord looks to heaven, firstly, in order to teach us to ask for food from God, and not from the devil, as people do who live on unrighteous gains, and secondly, in order to show the people that Christ is not an opponent of God, on the contrary, He Himself calls God. He gives the loaves to the disciples, so that they would not forget about the miracle after they received the loaves with their own hands. And the twelve baskets of surpluses remain for the same purpose, so that each of the apostles, carrying a box on his shoulders, would always keep the miracle in his memory. And not only to feed such a multitude of people, but also to leave surpluses, is a sign of the abundant power in Christ. Although Moses gave manna, it was only for the needs of everyone, for worms were bred in what was left. And Elijah, feeding a well-known wife, brought just as much as was enough for food. On the contrary, Jesus, as Lord, produces that which turns out to be an excess. This is a historical meaning. In a figurative sense, the five loaves mean the books of Moses, of which there are five: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. Two fish signify the words of the fishermen – the Apostle and the Gospel. It is with them that our five senses, signified by the five thousand people, are nourished. However, we cannot eat everything, but much will remain in abundance, which only the apostles can bear. Thus, the most difficult aspects of understanding the Law and the Gospel we, who are still subservient to the five senses, cannot bear, but only the Apostles can.

And immediately he compelled his disciples to enter the boat and go forward to the other side to Bethsaida, until he would let the people go. And having dismissed them, he went to the mountain to pray. In the evening, the boat was in the middle of the sea, and He was alone on the land. And he saw them in distress at sea, for the wind was contrary to them; And about the fourth watch of the night he came to them, walking on the sea, and would have passed by them. When they saw Him walking on the sea, they thought it was a ghost, and they cried out. For everyone saw Him and were afraid. And straightway he spoke to them, and said to them, Be of good cheer; it is I, do not be afraid. And he went into their boat, and the wind stopped. And they were exceedingly amazed and amazed, for they did not understand the miracle of the loaves, because their hearts were hardened.

"He forced the disciples." The disciples are separated from Him only by compulsion, and they themselves did not want to part, partly because of their love for Him, partly because they were perplexed as to how He could come to them without a boat. And He, having dismissed the people, ascends (to the mountain) to pray in private, since prayer requires solitude and a calm state. The Lord allows the disciples to be overwhelmed by the sea, so that they may learn patience. For the same reason He does not immediately appear to them, but allows them to be in danger from the storm all night long, in order to accustom them to be patient and to wait for deliverance not at the very beginning of the dangers. But note another circumstance, that is, that before He ceases the danger, He plunges them into greater fear; for when they saw him, they cried out in fright, thinking that he was a ghost. Then the Lord immediately encourages them with His voice, saying: "Do not be afraid"; then, entering the boat, he gives them complete comfort, because the wind has suddenly stopped. To walk on the sea is a great miracle and is characteristic of the one true God; and because there was confusion among the disciples and a contrary wind, the miracle is even more exalted. As for the apostles, they, not knowing (Christ) from the miracle of the loaves, knew Him from the real miracle on the sea. Therefore, it can be thought that Christ allowed them to be in danger so that they, not having known Him from the miracle of the loaves, would now know Him from the miracle over the sea, and from there they would derive benefit for themselves.

And having crossed over, they came to the land of Gennesaret, and landed on the shore. When they got out of the boat, immediately the inhabitants, recognizing Him, ran around the whole country and began to bring the sick on beds to where He was heard, as they heard. And wherever He went, whether in villages, in cities, or in villages, they laid the sick in open places and asked Him to touch at least the hem of His garment; and those who touched Him were healed.

The Lord arrived in this place, it seems, after a considerable time (absence); That is why the Evangelist says: "When they recognized Him, they began to bring in the sick." They did not yet call Him to their homes, but they themselves brought the sick, begging them to touch at least the hem of His garment. For the miracle of the bleeding woman came to the attention of all, and made them all the more faithful.

Chapter Seven

The Pharisees and some of the scribes who had come from Jerusalem gathered to Him, and when they saw some of His disciples eating bread with unclean, that is, unwashed, hands, they reproached Him. For the Pharisees and all the Jews, adhering to the tradition of the elders, do not eat without washing their hands thoroughly; and when they come from the market, they do not eat without washing. There are many other things that they adopted to hold onto: to observe the washing of cups, mugs, cauldrons and benches. Then the Pharisees and scribes asked Him: Why do Thy disciples not act according to the tradition of the elders, but eat bread with unwashed hands?

Taught to adhere to one virtue and not to be concerned with anything else besides it, the disciples of the Lord ate without intent and in simplicity with unwashed hands. Meanwhile, the Pharisees, wishing to find a pretext for censure, seize this incident and accuse the apostles, although not as transgressors of the Law, but as transgressors of the tradition of the elders, for in the Law there is no prescription to wash one's hands up to the elbows before eating, but they adhered to this as the traditions of the elders.

And he answered and said unto them, Isaiah hath prophesied well concerning you hypocrites, as it is written, These men worship me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me, but in vain they worship me, teaching doctrines, the commandments of men. For you, having forsaken the commandment of God, hold fast to the tradition of men, the washing of cups and cups, and do many other things like this. And he said to them; is it good that you abolish the commandment of God in order to keep your tradition? For Moses said, Honor your father and your mother; And he who curses his father or mother, let him die. And you say, "Whoever says to his father or mother, 'Corban,' that is, the gift to God that which you would use from me, you already allow him to do nothing for your father or your mother, removing the word of God by your tradition, which you have established; and do many similar things.

In order to rebuke the Jews more strongly, the Lord also brings a prophet who condemns them. They blamed the disciples for transgressing the tradition of the elders, and the Lord directs a much stronger accusation against them, namely, that they transgress the law of Moses. The law, He says, teaches: "Honor your father and your mother"; but you teach children to say to their parents thus: what you want from me is corban, that is, it is consecrated to God. For the Pharisees, desiring to take advantage of the property of the common people, taught the children (when the children had any property and the parents demanded of them) to say the following: I have already consecrated this to God, and thou shalt not demand that which is consecrated to God. Thus deceiving children and persuading them to dedicate to God from their possessions, the Pharisees thereby forced them to neglect their parents, and they themselves devoured what was consecrated to God. It is this that the Lord accuses them of transgressing the Law of God for the sake of gain.

And having called all the people, he said to them, "Hear me, all of you, and understand that nothing that enters into a man from without can defile him; but what proceeds from it defiles man. If anyone has ears to hear, let him hear! And when he entered into the house from the people, his disciples asked him about the parable. He said to them, "Are you also so incomprehensible? Do you not understand that nothing that enters into a person from without can defile him? For it does not enter into his heart, but into his belly, and goes out, whereby all food is cleansed. Then he said; That which proceeds from man defiles man. For from within, out of the heart of man, proceed evil thoughts, adultery, fornication, murder, theft, covetousness, malice, deceit, lewdness, an envious eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness, all these evils proceed from within, and defile man.

Teaching people to understand the precepts of the Law of Food not in a carnal way, the Lord begins here to gradually reveal the meaning of the Law and says that nothing that enters inside defiles anyone, but defiles that which proceeds from the heart. By "envious eye" he means either envy or debauchery: for even the envious one usually casts a sly and sarcastic glance at the envious, and the depraved, looking with his eyes, strives for an evil deed. Insulting God is called "blasphemy": if, for example, someone begins to say that there is no Providence of God, then this will be blasphemy: which is why the Lord copulates "pride" with it. Pride is a kind of disregard for God, when someone, having done a good deed, attributes it not to God, but to his own power. By "madness" he means resentment against one's neighbors. All these passions defile the soul, and arise and proceed from it. The Lord did not speak to the people in this way quite clearly, which is why He remarked: "He who has ears to hear, let him hear," that is: he who understands, let him understand. As for the Apostles, who understood the Lord's speech more deeply and came to ask Him about the "parable," that is, about this hidden speech (a parable is a hidden speech), the Lord first rebuked them, saying: "Are you really so incomprehensible?" but then He allowed them what was incomprehensible to them.

And departing from thence, he came to the borders of Tyre and Sidon; and when he entered into the house, he would not let anyone know; but he could not hide himself. For a woman heard of Him, whose daughter was possessed by an unclean spirit, and when she came, she fell down at His feet; and the woman was a pagan, a Syrophoenician by birth; and she asked Him to cast out a demon from her daughter. But Jesus said to her, "Let the children be satisfied first, for it is not good to take the bread of the children and throw it to the dogs." And she answered and said to him, "Yes, Lord; But the dogs under the table also eat crumbs from children. And he said to her, For this word, go; A demon came out of your daughter. And when she came to her house, she found that the demon had come out and her daughter was lying on the bed.