Why did not our Lord Jesus Christ make stones into bread when the devil offered them to Him, but later, when the people gathered around Him were hungry, in the twinkling of an eye He created a huge amount of bread from a small quantity, so that after the meal there was more than there was at the beginning? Because the first miracle would be inexpedient, unnecessary and superfluous, and the second would be expedient, necessary and appropriate.

Why did the Lord not want to show a sign from heaven to the Pharisees, when they demanded it of Him, but countless times He showed these signs from heaven, these unprecedented miracles over the sick, lepers, demon-possessed, fearful, and dead? Again, because any sign from heaven before the envious and vain Pharisees would have been inexpedient, unnecessary, and superfluous, while in other cases it would have been expedient, necessary, and appropriate.

Why did the Lord not move the mountains from place to place and cast them into the sea? No doubt He could have done it—why didn't He do it? He, Who could forbid the stormy sea and the winds, could without any doubt move the mountains and throw them into the sea. But what was the need for this? No. That is why the Lord did not do this. However, the need to calm the sea and stop the winds was extreme, for people were drowning and crying out for help.

Why did the Lord not make the earth gold, and the ravens doves? If He could make water wine, surely He could do that. But to what? There was never any need for Him to make the earth gold, or ravens pigeons. However, once, at one marriage, there was an urgent need to find wine for the guests. And in order to help this need and protect the owner from shame, the Lord made water wine.

Only demons and sinners demanded from Christ aimless, unnecessary and unnecessary miracles. Just look at what foolishness the devil demands of Christ: to make a stone in the wilderness bread and throw himself down from the temple! And see how inveterate sinners, Pharisees and scribes, being eyewitnesses of many beneficial miracles of Christ, demand from Him also some sign, some aimless and superfluous miracle, such as, for example, the movement of mountains, the transformation of the earth into gold, and ravens into doves! That is why the Lord rejected the proposals of both the devil and sinners. But He never refused to perform a miracle if it was expedient and necessary for the salvation of people.

And today's Gospel reading describes one of such expedient and necessary miracles: the multiplication of loaves in an empty place, but not in a place where there are no people, not in a desert where there is only the devil, but where there were, perhaps, more than ten thousand hungry human creatures (for it is said that there were more than five thousand, not counting women and children).

And Jesus went out, and saw a multitude of people, and had compassion on them, and healed their sick. This happened after King Herod executed John the Baptist. Hearing of this, our Lord Jesus Christ departed in a boat to a deserted place alone. All four Evangelists describe this event, some with more detail, others with less detail. According to the Gospel of John, the Lord got into a boat in the vicinity of Tiberias and sailed across the Sea of Galilee, and according to the Gospel of Luke, He landed on the northwestern shore of the sea and went up the mountain, to an empty place, near the city called Bethsaida.

The Lord had the custom of often secluding himself in desert places and on the mountains. He did so for three reasons. First, in order to make a brief pause in His hasty and abundant work, so that people, so to speak, would digest all the teaching revealed to Him, and all the miracles revealed by Him. Secondly, in order to show the Apostles and us an example that it is necessary to seclude ourselves, to enter the room (Matthew 6:6), prayerfully remaining one's soul alone with God. For solitude and silence purify, humble, clarify and strengthen a person. And thirdly, in order to justify and encourage wilderness life and monasticism, showing us that a good and profitable person cannot hide anywhere, just as a city that stands on the top of a mountain cannot hide (Matt. 5:14).

The history of the Church has shown thousands of times that a great desert dweller, a man of prayer or a miracle-worker could never hide from the people. Many people unreasonably ask: "What is a monk to do in the desert? Is it not better for him to be among people, serving them?" In the desert, in solitude, a monk carries his soul like an unlit candle, in order to kindle it with fasting, prayerful reflection and work. And if he succeeds in kindling it, then the light will be visible to all people, and people will go to him and find him, even if he takes refuge in sands, in impassable mountains or inaccessible caves. No, a monk is not useless, on the contrary, he can be useful to the people more than all other people. This is clearly shown by the incident that happened to our Lord Jesus Christ. In vain did He hide Himself from the people in a desert place - a multitude of people followed Him.

And when He saw them, He had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd. Down in the cities, the synagogues were full of self-styled shepherds, who were in fact wolves in sheep's clothing. People knew and felt this, just as they knew and felt the immeasurable mercy and love of Christ for them. People saw and felt that Christ is the only Good Shepherd, sincerely and compassionately caring for them. That is why they fled after Him even to a deserted place. And the Lord healed their sick. The people feel that they need Christ, and they demand a miracle not out of idle curiosity, but because of extreme necessity and torment. And he began to teach them much, says the Apostle Mark.

And when evening came, His disciples came to him and said, "This place is desolate, and the time is late; let the people go, that they may go to the villages and buy food for themselves. The Evangelist Matthew does not tell what exactly the Lord did with the people for so long, reporting only that He healed their sick. However, the Evangelist Mark fills this gap with words and began to teach them much. You see how wonderfully the evangelists complement each other! So, the Lord taught the people until late in the evening. This was to last for many hours. And during such a time you can read the entire Gospel. This means that in this one case the Lord revealed as much of His Divine teaching as would have made up the whole Gospel. In this case, is not the Evangelist John right, who says that if we were to write down everything that Jesus did and said, then the world itself would not be able to contain the books written?

How merciful are the disciples! The place here is deserted and the time is late. People are hungry, it is high time to disperse. But their homes are far away, and they are very hungry. There are many women and children here. It is necessary that they get food as soon as possible. Let them go to the surrounding villages and villages, and buy themselves bread.

But is not Christ more merciful and compassionate than His disciples? How could He not know that the people were hungry? Of course, Christ is more merciful and compassionate than His disciples, and before they spoke, He remembered what the people needed. At the very beginning, as the Evangelist John writes, Jesus, lifting up His eyes and seeing that a multitude of people were coming to Him, said to Philip: "Where shall we buy loaves to feed them?" But then people surrounded him with their patients. The Lord first healed all the sick, and then began to teach the people. And this went on until dark. And only then did the apostles remember that the people were hungry and in need of food. Thus, the Lord foresaw this from the very beginning, but later He deliberately did not want to talk about it, waiting for the apostles themselves to remember. This was for two reasons: first, to strengthen their compassion and mercy, and second, to make their powerlessness manifest without Him. For Christ said to the apostles: "They need not go, you give them something to eat." He knows that they cannot do this, but He speaks in such a way that they will fully realize and confess their powerlessness. And they said to him, We have here only five loaves and two fishes. According to the testimony of the Evangelist John, this small amount of food was not theirs, but of a boy who was there. Here a boy has five barley loaves and two fish; But what is it for such a multitude? This is reported to the Lord by Andrew, the First-Called Apostle, who, although he had been with Christ the longest, was not yet perfect in the faith, once asked: "But what is this for such a multitude?" The bread was barley, which is also no coincidence. From this we must learn, as the all-wise Chrysostom says, that we should be content with simple food, and not choose the best, for, in his words, "voluptuousness is the mother of all diseases and passions."

Bring them to Me here, - the Lord commanded the disciples. Only now His turn has come. The people are unable to get food; The apostles also confessed their powerlessness to help the people. Now His time has come, now everything is ripe for a miracle.