1 Kings 19:1-8

Elijah Flees from Jezebel

19:1 Ahab told Jezebel all that Elijah had done, and how he had killed all the prophets with the sword. 2 Then Jezebel sent a messenger to Elijah, saying, "So may the gods do to me, and more also, if I do not make your life like the life of one of them by this time tomorrow." 3 Then he was afraid; he got up and fled for his life, and came to Beer-sheba, which belongs to Judah; he left his servant there.

4 But he himself went a day's journey into the wilderness, and came and sat down under a solitary broom tree. He asked that he might die: "It is enough; now, O LORD, take away my life, for I am no better than my ancestors." 5 Then he lay down under the broom tree and fell asleep. Suddenly an angel touched him and said to him, "Get up and eat." 6 He looked, and there at his head was a cake baked on hot stones, and a jar of water. He ate and drank, and lay down again. 7 The angel of the LORD came a second time, touched him, and said, "Get up and eat, otherwise the journey will be too much for you." 8 He got up, and ate and drank; then he went in the strength of that food forty days and forty nights to Horeb the mount of God. (1 Kings 19:1-8, NRSV)

The following comments are based on those of January 2, 2008 (Wednesday in the week of the First Sunday after Christmas, Reference for January 2, Year One), when comments were based on those of September 10, 2005 (Saturday of the week of the Sixteenth Sunday after Pentecost), of January 2, 2006, and of September 15, 2007 (Saturday in the week of the Sunday closest to September 7, Year One):

This reading is the third of four from 1 Kings in the current period, 1 Kings 17:17-24 (Wed., Dec. 30, 2009), 1 Kings 3:5-14 (Thur., Dec. 31, 2009), 1 Kings 19:1-8 (today), and 1 Kings 19:9-18 (tomorrow). In the interval between last Wednesday’s reading and today’s, Elijah is to predict the end of the three-year drought (18:1, vv. 41-45), and the ensuing encounters with Obadiah “who was in charge of the palace” (v. 3), and King Ahab (vv. 17-19), the confrontation with the 400 prophets of Baal is set up (vv. 19-20), and takes place with a decisive victory for Elijah and the LORD (vv. 21-40). This confrontation and victory is passed over here but is presented in the reading for Friday in the week of the Sunday closest to September 7, Year One (recently on Sept. 11, 2009). Nevertheless, It provides the context for today’s reading. It must have provided some exhilaration for Elijah, as he celebrates the rain on the mountain (18:41-46), and “the hand of the LORD was on Elijah; he girded up his loins and ran in front of Ahab to the entrance of Jezreel” (v. 47). From Mt. Carmel to Jezreel was some twenty miles by the scale of Map 9 (NOAB, 3^rd ed., augmented, 2007). Elijah’s running that distance in front of Ahab’s chariot was something of an athletic feat. This brings us to today’s reading

On Jezebel’s Vengeful Reaction to Elijah’s Slaughter of the Prophets of Baal

But if Elijah thought Ahab had been won over by the coming of rain, he would soon learn otherwise. “Ahab told Jezebel all that Elijah had done, and how he had killed all the prophets with the sword” (19:1). And the queen’s response was rage. “Then Jezebel sent a messenger to Elijah,” we are told, “saying, ‘So may the gods do to me, and more also, if I do not make your life like the life of one of them by this time tomorrow’ ” (v. 2). We note the use of a typical oath formula, but with reference to her gods, not the God of Israel (cf. 1 Sam 3:17). “Then,” says the narrator, “he [i.e., Elijah] was afraid; he got up and fled for his life, and came to Beer-sheba, which belongs to Judah; he left his servant there” (v. 3). Beer-Sheba was some 85 miles south of Jezreel (cf. the scale of Map 6, NOAB, 3^rd ed., augmented, 2007). According to Robert R. Wilson, “Beer-sheba, a city in the northern Negeb desert, marks the traditional southern boundary of Judah, so Elijah is well beyond Jezebel’s reach” (HarperCollins Study Bible, rev. ed., 2006, on 19:3).

On Elijah’s Flight from Jezebel

Having left his servant in Beer-Sheba (v. 3), Elijah heads further south. “But he himself went a day's journey into the wilderness, and came and sat down under a solitary broom tree. He asked that he might die: ‘It is enough; now, O LORD, take away my life, for I am no better than my ancestors’ ” (v. 4). Should we ask why he lost his nerve at this point? Provan puts it this way: “The realization that Jezebel will not be so easily cowed as her husband sends Elijah into retreat, both physical and mental. His fear takes him to Beer-sheba in the very south of the promised land (v. 3)–as far away from Jezebel as he can travel. Having reached Beer-sheba, he heads alone for the wilderness, seeking a lonely place in which to die; he has had enough (v. 4); cf. Jon. 1:3; 4:3) (op. cit., on 1 Kgs. 19:1-21). Probably exhausted, Elijah “lay down under the broom tree, and fell asleep” (v. 5a). “Like Moses before him,” says Wilson, “Elijah felt that he was not up to the task of providing religious leadership for Israel (cf. Num. 11:11-15)” (op. cit., on v. 4). But God has more plans for Elijah, and his angel touches Elijah and says “Get up and eat” (v. 5b). So Elijah obeys, but lies down again. “He looked, and there at his head was a cake baked on hot stones, and a jar of water. He ate and drank, and lay down again” (v. 6). Elijah was apparently still not ready for action, but “the angel of the LORD came a second time, touched him, and said, ‘Get up and eat, otherwise the journey will be too much for you’ ” (v. 7). When the angel repeats the command, Elijah responds with more vigor. “Again,” says Ziony Zevit, “though Elijah is hiding far from food sources, his needs are provided for (cf. 17:6). The theme of a prophet’s wishing for death out of a sense of isolation and failure in v. 4 are mimicked by the request and circumstances of Jonah in Jonah 4:3; that of being provisioned in the wilderness in vv. 5-6 parallels the story of Hagar in Gen. 21:14-19” (The Jewish Study Bible, 2004, on 1 Kgs. 19:4-7).

After being urged on by the angel a second time, Elijah responds with more vigor. “He got up, and ate and drank; then he went in the strength of that food forty days and forty nights to Horeb the mount of God” (v. 8). According to Zevit, “Horeb, meaning ‘dry place,’ is the name preferred by Deuteronomy for the mountain designated Sinai in Exodus, Leviticus, and Numbers” (ibid., on v. 8). Wilson says, “Elijah’s journey of forty days and forty nights, recalls Israel’s forty-year sojourn in the wilderness and also the forty days and nights that Moses spent at Sinai, where he did not eat or drink until he had written down the words of God’s covenant (Ex. 34:27-28)” (op. cit., on v. 8). Since we have seen that Elijah ran some twenty miles to Jezreel from the region of Mt. Carmel, running “in front of Ahab” (who was in a chariot, presumably) in the evening after the evening sacrifice, “the time of the offering of the oblation” (18:36), and after the killing of the prophets of Baal (18:40), whether he covered that distance in a short time–a feat comparable to the best marathon runners in the modern world–or not, he was able to keep ahead of Ahab’s chariot. So it probably did not take him “forty days and forty nights” to cover some two hundred miles and get to Mt. Horeb. Zevit explains the forty day journey:

Since an unencumbered person used to walking can cover 15-25 miles a day, depending on the terrain, and Elijah is said to have traveled 40 days, the mountain could be 600-1000 miles in any direction except north from some point south of Beer-sheba. Cf. Deut. 1:1-2. The forty days may suggest Moses who spent forty days and nights atop Sinai (Exod. 24:18). In both cases, forty may be understood as a formulaic number, not to be taken literally. (loc. cit.)

In going to Horeb/Sinai, Elijah returns to the source, not his personal source but the place where God established his covenant with Israel under Moses’ leadership. Elijah is presented as the faithful prophet at a time when the severe threat of the foreign Baalism introduced by Jezebel was threatening to wipe out Israel’s true religion.

Ephesians 4:1-16

Unity in the Body of Christ

4:1 I therefore, the prisoner in the Lord, beg you to lead a life worthy of the calling to which you have been called, 2 with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, 3 making every effort to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. 4 There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to the one hope of your calling, 5 one Lord, one faith, one baptism, 6 one God and Father of all, who is above all and through all and in all.

7 But each of us was given grace according to the measure of Christ's gift. 8 Therefore it is said,

"When he ascended on high he made captivity itself a captive;

he gave gifts to his people."

9 (When it says, "He ascended," what does it mean but that he had also descended into the lower parts of the earth? 10 He who descended is the same one who ascended far above all the heavens, so that he might fill all things.) 11 The gifts he gave were that some would be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, some pastors and teachers, 12 to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, 13 until all of us come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to maturity, to the measure of the full stature of Christ. 14 We must no longer be children, tossed to and fro and blown about by every wind of doctrine, by people's trickery, by their craftiness in deceitful scheming. 15 But speaking the truth in love, we must grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, 16 from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by every ligament with which it is equipped, as each part is working properly, promotes the body's growth in building itself up in love. (Ephesians 4:1-16, NRSV)

The following comments are based on June 7, 2009 (Trinity Sunday, Year One), when comments were repeated from January 19, 2009 (Monday in the week of the Second Sunday after the Epiphany, Year One), when comments were repeated from May 7, 2008 (Wednesday in the week of the Seventh Sunday of Easter, Year Two), when comments were repeated from January 15, 2007 (Monday in the week of the Second Sunday after the Epiphany, Year One), when comments were combined with revision and adaptation from January 17, 2005 (Monday in the week of the Second Sunday after the Epiphany, Year One), which were repeated on January 2, 2006 (Monday in the week of the first Sunday after Christmas, references listed for January 2, Year Two), and also repeated on May 31, 2006 (Wednesday in the week of the Seventh Sunday of Easter, Year Two), with material from May 22, 2005 (Trinity Sunday, Year One), which was repeated on January 15, 2006 (the Sunday after the Epiphany, Year Two).

This reading from Ephesians begins the second half of the book, in which Paul emphasizes practical advice for Christian living. But this advice is grounded in the doctrines expounded in the first three chapters: God’s blessed plan for our salvation through Christ, in whom “we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses” (Eph. 1:7), planned “for the fullness of time” (v. 19), a plan by which God has put all things under Christ’s feet and “has made him the head over all things for the church” (v. 22). This salvation brings us from death “through the trespasses and sins in which [we] once lived” (2:1-2), to being “made alive together with Christ” (v. 5), made so “by grace . . . through faith” (v. 8), so that, “the dividing wall” between Jews and Gentiles has been broken down (2:14) in “one body” (v. 16), the “household of God” (v. 19), a “holy temple in the Lord (v. 21).

In the transition from the “doctrinal half” of Ephesians to the ethical instructions of chapters 4-6, Paul begs us “to lead a life worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love” (Eph. 4:1-2). We are to make “every effort to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace” (v. 3). “Unity and peace,” says Jennifer K. Berenson Maclean, “are made possible by Christ (2:11-12), but must be consciously maintained” NOAB, 3^rd ed., augmented, 2007, on Eph. 4:3). Paul defines the unity of the Christian community in terms of what Maclean calls “seven bases of unity” (ibid., on vv. 4-6), listed with a seven-fold repetition of the numeral “one”: “There is one body ( e}n sw:ma, hen sōma), and one Spirit ( e}n pneu:ma, hen pneuma), just as you were called to the one hope (miva ejlpivV, mia elpis) of your calling, one Lord (ei|V kuvrioV, heis kyrios), one faith (miva pivstiV, mia pistis), one baptism ( e}n bavptisma, hen baptisma), one God (ei|V qeovV, heis theos) and Father of all, who is above all and through all and in all” (vv. 4-6).

Still with a view to the unity of the church ( ejkklhsiva, ekklēsia, 3:10, 21), Paul refers to our gifts of grace. “But to each of us was given grace (hJ cavriV, he charis) according to the measure (to; mevtron, to metron) of Christ’s gift ( dwreav, dōrea)” (v. 7). “On individualized measures,” says J. Paul Sampley, see Rom. 12:3” (HarperCollins Study Bible, rev. ed., 2006, on Eph. 4:7). In Romans, Paul says, “For by the grace (hJ cavriV, he charis) given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of yourself more highly than you ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith (mevtron pivstewV, metron pisteōs) that God has assigned” (Rom. 12:3). In Ephesians, Paul quotes a Psalm in reference to “gifts”: “Therefore it is said,

When he ascended on high he made captivity itself captive;

he gave gifts to his people. (Eph. 4:8, citing Ps. 68:18)

According to Maclean, “Ps. 68:18 is interpreted as Christ’s exaltation over the spiritual powers (1:20-22) and distribution of gifts to the church” (op. cit., on v. 8). Sampley says, “The quotation is derived from Ps. 68:18, which speaks, however, of God, not the people, receiving gifts” (op. cit., on v. 8). In parentheses (NRSV, cf. TNIV, AV/KJV), Paul explains: “(When it says, ‘He ascended,’ what does it mean but that he had also descended into the lower parts of the earth? He who descended is the same one who ascended far above all the heavens, so that he might fill all things)” (vv. 9-10). Henry Chadwick says, “Ps. 68:18 means [presumably according to Paul] that the apostolic ministry is a gift of the ascended, triumphant Christ; its authority is therefore his. The parenthesis, a distracting digression, is intended to justify the forced exegesis of the Psalm-text by the Rabbinic (and typically Pauline) argument that an ascent implies a previous descent” (Peake’s Commentary on the Bible, 1962, reprint 1972, sec. 859 d, p. 984, on Eph. 4:8-10). Sampley sees here “an example of early Christian exegesis, focusing on key words in the quotation; see also Rom. 10:6-10; Heb. 2:6-9)” (op. cit., on vv. 9-11).

“The gifts he gave,” says Paul, were that some would be apostles (oiJ ajpovstoloi, hoi apostoloi), some prophets (oiJ profhvtai, hoi prophētai), some evangelists (oiJ eujaggelistaiv, hoi euangelistai), some pastors and teachers (oiJ poimevneV kai; didavskaloi, hoi poimenes kai didaskaloi)” (v. 11). The list here reads like a list of church officers (clergy), but the emphasis is on the gifts for these ministries. The list ends with two plural nouns joined by the conjunction kaiv (kai, ‘and’) and preceded by one definite article oiJ (hoi, ‘the’), which leads some to see this as reference to one gift, or perhaps, one office. Daniel B. Wallace challenges this view.

Most commentators have seen only one gift here, but primarily because they erroneously thought that the Granville Sharp rule [‘In Greek, when two nouns are connected by kaiv and the article precedes only the first noun, there is a close connection between the two.’] absolutely applied to plural constructions. Also, against the ‘one gift’ view, there are no clear examples of nouns being used in a plural TSKS [article-substantive-conjunction-substantive] construction to specify one group. . . .

The uniting of these two groups by one article sets them apart from the other gifted leaders. Absolute distinction, then, is probably not in view. (Greek Grammar Beyond the Basics, 1995, pp. 284, 270).

Paul’s other lists of gifts of the Spirit (1 Cor. 12:8-10, 28-30; Rom. 12:6-8) appear to be representative, not definitive and conclusive. In 1 Corinthians 12:8-10 and Romans 12:6-8 the gifts emphasize functions, “utterance of wisdom,” “utterance of knowledge,” and so forth. The list here appears to focus on church officers, the role of church leaders (cf. 1 Cor. 12:28-30). Sampley says, “the list of gifts stresses leadership functions in the church.” And he asks, “Is the list representative or complete? Rom. 12:6-8; 1 Cor. 12:28-30 suggest the former” (op. cit., on v. 11). But the stated purpose of these offices, or the functions of these leaders, is

to equip the saints (oiJ a{gioi, hoi hagioi) for the work of ministry (eijV e[rgon diakonivaV, eis ergon diakonias), for building up the body of Christ, until all of us come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to maturity, to the measure of the full stature of Christ. (Eph. 4:12-13, NRSV)

While a{gioV (hagios, “holy,” “saint”) means, according to Frederick William Danker, “set apart for dedication to the interests or expectations of deity, holy,” it is never used specifically of church leaders or officers as distinguished from what we call lay persons, but “frequently of believers in general oiJ a{gioi [hoi hagioi] God’s people, special people, saints” (The Concise Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament, 2009, s.v. a{gioV, hagios and meaning b.) The “work of ministry” (diakoniva, diakonia), is the work of “saints,” that is, “Christian people.” The role of the church leaders listed, “apostles . . . prophets . . . evangelists . . . pastors and teachers” is to “equip the saints for the work of ministry.” But of course these leaders are not excluded from “the work of ministry.” Elton Trueblood has pointed out that the list in verse 11 comes to a focus in verse 12. He refers to pastors as “player-coaches.” The concept envisions the work of ministry as the work of all Christian believers, not just of the “clergy” (cf. The Company of the Committed), however defined. With reference to “ministry (Greek diakonia),” Sampley says, “As the cognate of this term, servant [diavkonoV, diakonos], was applied to Paul in 3:7, recipients of the Letter are invited to join with Paul in service to the gospel” (op. cit., on v. 12). So the work of “the saints” here, facilitated by the list of “leaders,” is the work of the body of Christ, and compares well with the expectations Paul outlined for the gifts of the Spirit in 1 Corinthians. But the perspective is broader here, perhaps universal, whereas in 1 Corinthians, it was focused on the Christian community of Corinth.

The admonitions that follow clearly apply to all Christians. “We must no longer be children,” he says, “tossed to and fro and blown about by every wind of doctrine, by people’s trickery, by their craftiness in deceitful scheming” (v. 14). On the contrary, “but speaking the truth in love, we must grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ” (v. 15). “The perfected church,” says Maclean, “is modeled on Christ himself” (op. cit., on vv. 13, 15). The “body of Christ” metaphor (v. 16) continues, for we must grow up into Christ, “from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by every ligament with which it is equipped, as each part is working properly, promotes the body’s growth in building itself up in love” (v. 16). In any case, fulfilling these admonitions should be the goal of us all: not to be swayed by false doctrine, but speaking the truth in love, and growing up in Christ in every way. If this is still about ministry, it is epitomized in verse 15, “speaking the truth in love.”

John 6:1-14

Feeding the Five Thousand (Mt 14.13-21; Mk 6.30-44; Lk 9.10-17)

6:1 After this Jesus went to the other side of the Sea of Galilee, also called the Sea of Tiberias. 2 A large crowd kept following him, because they saw the signs that he was doing for the sick. 3 Jesus went up the mountain and sat down there with his disciples. 4 Now the Passover, the festival of the Jews, was near. 5 When he looked up and saw a large crowd coming toward him, Jesus said to Philip, "Where are we to buy bread for these people to eat?" 6 He said this to test him, for he himself knew what he was going to do. 7 Philip answered him, "Six months' wages would not buy enough bread for each of them to get a little." 8 One of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter's brother, said to him, 9 "There is a boy here who has five barley loaves and two fish. But what are they among so many people?" 10 Jesus said, "Make the people sit down." Now there was a great deal of grass in the place; so they sat down, about five thousand in all. 11 Then Jesus took the loaves, and when he had given thanks, he distributed them to those who were seated; so also the fish, as much as they wanted. 12 When they were satisfied, he told his disciples, "Gather up the fragments left over, so that nothing may be lost." 13 So they gathered them up, and from the fragments of the five barley loaves, left by those who had eaten, they filled twelve baskets. 14 When the people saw the sign that he had done, they began to say, "This is indeed the prophet who is to come into the world." (John 6:1-14, NRSV)

On March 23, 2009 (Monday in the week of the Fourth Sunday of Lent, Year One), comments were repeated from January 10, 2009 (Saturday in the week of the Second Sunday after Christmas, ref. for Jan. 10, Year One), when comments were repeated from several earlier dates, as noted there. The following comments are based on those earlier comments.

The Feeding of the Five Thousand is the one miracle, apart from the resurrection of Jesus himself, that is reported in all four Gospels. Compare the table in the separate file, the Feeding of the Five Thousand. For recent comments on Matthew’s version, see the Archive for November 6, 2009 (Friday in the week of the Sunday closest to November 2, Year One); for recent comments on Mark’s version, see the Archive for July 28, 2009 (Tuesday in the week of the Sunday closest to July 27, Year One); and for recent comments on Luke’s version, see the Archive for May 26, 2009 (Saturday in the week of the Fifth Sunday of Easter, Year One).

In John, chapter 5, Jesus is in Jerusalem, where he heals the lame man by the pool Bethzatha (Jn. 5:2-9). The discussions that follow this healing fill the balance of the chapter, so as chapter 6 begins, “After this Jesus went to the other side of the Sea of Galilee, also called the Sea of Tiberias” (6:1), one might wonder, is this “the other side” from Jerusalem? That would imply a significant journey to the “other side,” which one might locate at or near Bethsaida, at the north end of the Sea of Galilee. Obery M. Hendricks says “the other side” would be “the eastern shore,” and he adds that the “Sea of Tiberias [was] so named after the city on the western shore, founded by Herod Antipas about 20 CE in honor of the Roman Emperor Tiberius” (NOAB, 3^rd ed., augmented, 2007, on Jn. 6:1). Since John is being selective about what he reports (20:30), a continuous chronology or sequence is not to be assumed. But Luke also locates the feeding at or near Bethsaida (Lk. 9:10b), after the disciples returned from the Mission of the Twelve (Lk. 9:1-6) and the report of Herod Antipas’s perplexity about Jesus (vv. 7-9) when he asks, “John I beheaded; but who is this about whom I hear such things” (v. 9). For Luke, the Baptist’s beheading is a past event, but in Matthew and Mark the Feeding of the Five Thousand (Mt. 14:13-21; Mk. 6:32-41) immediately follows the account of Herod’s birthday banquet when John was beheaded (Mt. 14:1-12; Mk. 6:14-29). And they describe Jesus’ departure in a boat “to a deserted place” (Mt. 14:13a; Mk. 6:32).

“A large crowd kept following him [i.e., Jesus],” says John, “because they saw the signs (ta; shmei:a, ta sēmeia) that he was doing for the sick” (Jn. 6:2; cf. 2:11, 23; 3:2; 4:48, 54). The other Gospels also report presence of the crowds. “Now saw them [i.e., Jesus and the ‘apostles,’ v. 30, cf. the sending of the twelve, vv. 7-13] going and recognized them and they hurried there on foot from all the towns and arrived ahead of them” (Mk. 6:33). The similar statement in Matthew and Luke focuses on Jesus himself rather than the disciples/apostles (Mt. 14:13b; Lk. 9:11). Only Luke reports on the content of Jesus preaching on that occasion: “he welcomed them [i.e., the crowds], and spoke to them about the kingdom of God, and healed those who needed to be cured” (Lk. 9:11b). Matthew reports curing the sick as well (Mt. 14:14b).

John is the only evangelist who describes the location as on a mountain. Matthew and Mark have Jesus coming ashore from the boat (Mt. 14: 14; Mk. 6:34). But John says, “Jesus went up the mountain (to; o[roV, to oros) and sat down there with his disciples” (Jn. 6:3). A map of “Palestine: Natural Regions” shows Capernaum as essentially below sea level, according to the color scheme. The Sea of Galilee is shown as 695 feet below sea level (compare the Dead Sea at 1286 feet below sea level). Some twenty miles north by northeast of Capernaum according to the scale, a high point is marked as 3949 feet above sea level, and some thirteen miles northwest of Capernaum a high point in a region called “Upper Galilee” is marked as 3435 feet above sea level. In the hilly country of “Lower Galilee” (west and southwest of the Sea of Galilee) the color code shows the elevation as from seal level to 250 or more feet above, thus around 900 feet above the level of the Sea of Galilee. Mount Tabor, six miles from Nazareth and eleven from the lower end of the Sea of Galilee (Herbert G. May et al., edd., Oxford Bible Atlas, 3^rd ed., rev. by John Day, 1984, reprinted 1985, p. 49). In these hilly regions, local people may well have thought of certain hills as “mountains,” perhaps even a lakeside hill. Raymond E. Brown says,

This ‘mountain’ in Galilee, always with the definite article, appears frequently in the Synoptic tradition and is associated with important theological events (Sermon on the Mount, Matt. v 1; call of the Twelve, Mark iii 13; post-resurrectional appearance, Matt. xxviii 116). There is no way of localizing it, although tradition associates it with the northwest shore of the lake and a hill called ‘the Mount of the Beatitudes.’ The Gospels may have simplified several localities into one which, as ‘the mountain,’ was thought of as a Christian Sinai. John vi has the same theme as Matthew’s Sermon on the Mount, namely, a contrast between Jesus and Moses. (The Gospel according to John I-XII, Anchor Bible, 29A, 1966, on Jn. 6:3).

John is also the only evangelist who reports that “the Passover, the festival of the Jews, was near” (v. 4), which puts the time in the spring, as is implied by the “green grass” in other Gospels (Mk. 6:39; cf. Mt. 14:19). “When he [i.e., Jesus] looked up and saw a large crowd coming toward him (cf. Mt. 14:14; Mk. 6:34; Lk. 9:11), Jesus said to Philip, ‘Where are we to buy bread for these people to eat?’ ” (Jn. 6:5). In the other Gospels, the disciples take this initiative. “When it grew late,” says Mark, “his disciples came to him and said, ‘This is a deserted place, and the hour is now very late; send them away so that they may go into the surrounding country and villages and buy something for themselves to eat” (Mk. 6:35-36; cf Mt. 14:15; Lk. 9:12). In these Gospels Jesus’ response corresponds to his question for Philip in John. “But he answered them,” says Mark, “ ‘You give (Dovte, Dote, 2^nd pers. plural imperative) them something to eat” (Mk. 6:37a; cf. Mt. 14:16; Lk. 9:13). In Mark, a discussion ensues: “They said to him, ‘Are we to go and buy two hundred denarii worth of bread (diakosivwn dhnarivwn a[rtoi, diakosiōn dēnariōn artoi) and give it to them to eat?’ And he said to them, ‘How many loaves have you? Go and see.’ when they had found out, they said, ‘Five, and two fish’ ” (Mk. 6:37b-38). In Matthew, the disciples simply reply, “We have nothing here but five loaves and two fish” (Mt. 14:17; cf. Lk. 9:13b).

Again, it is only in John that we learn the source of the “five barley loaves and two fish”(Jn. 6:9): Jesus’ question for Philip (v. 5, above), says John, was only “to test (peiravzwn, peirazōn, participle of peiravzw, peirazō ) him, for he himself knew what he was going to do” (Jn. 6:6). “Elsewhere in the Gospels,” says Brown, “this verb peirazein [peiravzein, infinitive of peiravzwn, peirazōn] has a pejorative sense of temptation, trial, trickery. This parenthetical verse is an editorial attempt to forestall any implication of ignorance on Jesus’ part” (op. cit., on v. 6). “Philip answered him,” says John, “Six months’ wages (Diakosivwn dhnarivwn a[rtoi, Diakosiōn dēnariōn artoi, lit. ‘bread of two hundred denarii,’ cf. Mk. 6:37) would not buy enough bread for each of them to get a little” (v. 7). With “six month’s wages,” the NRSV interprets the Greek number “two hundred denarii” (cf. NRSV text note c; cf. “almost a year’s wages,” TNIV and text note b; cf. “two hundred pennyworth,” AV/KJV). The word dhnavrion (dēnarion), according to Frederick William Danker, is “[Lat. denarius, a Roman silver coin orig. c. 4.55 gr., worker’s average daily wage] denarius” (The Concise Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament, 2009, s.v. dhnavrion, dēnarion). The NRSV interpretation undervalues the amount (ca. 180 days) by twenty days, or so. The TNIV overvalues it at ca. 365 days (by modern calendars).

While the disciples are unnamed in the other Gospels, John, in addition to Philip, names “Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother,” who said to him [i.e., to Jesus], ‘There is a boy here who has five barley loaves (a[rtoi krivqinoi, artoi krithinoi) and two fish. But what,” asks Andrew, “are they among so many people?” (Jn. 6:8-9). John also is the only one who identifies the loaves as “barley loaves” (the word krivqinoV, krithinos, occurs only here in the New Testament; cf. F. Wilbur Gingrich, Shorter Lexicon of the Greek New Testament, 1965, s.v. krivqinoV, krithinos). Compare “twenty loaves of barley” (Myr9foW4 MH,l,-Myr9W4f,, ‘eśrîm-lechem ś ^e‘ōrîm; LXX ei[kosi a[rtouV kriqivnouV) (2 Kgs. 4:42; cf. also Num. 5:15 LXX; Judg. 5:8 LXX A; 7:13 LXX; Ezek. 4:12 LXX). All of these have Myr9foW (ś ^e‘ōrîm) in Hebrew except Judges 5:8, where Septuagint manuscript A (Alexandrinus) misread “war in [of] the gates” (Myr97fAw4 MH,LA, lāchem š ^e‘ārîm) as “barley loaves” (Myr9foW4 MH,l,), which, in an unpointed text (i.e., a text without the vowel signs), would be the same. Jews would have been familiar with barley loaves.

John continues: “Jesus said, ‘Make the people sit down.’ Now there was a great deal of grass in the place” (Jn. 6:10a; cf. Mt. 14:19; Mk. 6:39; Lk. 9:14). In Matthew, they are to “sit down on the grass,” in Mark, “to sit down in groups on the green grass,” in Luke, to “sit down in groups of fifty.” John adds, “so they sat down, about five thousand in all” (Jn. 6:10b). The others number the crowd as “five thousand men” (Mk. 5:44; Lk. 9:14); Matthew as “about five thousand men, besides women and children” (Mt. 14:21), adding what was implied in Mark and Luke. “Then,” says John, “Jesus took the loaves, and when he had given thanks (eujcaristhvsaV, eucharistēsas, aorist participle of eujcaristevw, lit., ‘having given thanks’), he distributed them to those who were seated; so also the fish, as much as they wanted” (Jn. 6:11). For “gave thanks,” his translation, Brown says, “In both classical and secular Koine Gr. eucharistein [eujcaristei:n] has this meaning; it is distinguished from eulogein [eujlogei:n], ‘to bless’ (the verb of the Synoptic [Gospels]” (op. cit., on v. 11). Brown adds,

The relation to the thought that the Eucharist is an act of thanksgiving is obvious. However, J.-P. Audet, RB 65 (1958), 371-99, points out that the use of eucharistein-eucharistia in the NT reflects the Jewish use of bārak-b ^erākāh, ‘bless, blessing.’ He maintains that it was only in the 2^nd century A.D. that the ‘thanksgiving’ motif began to dominate in Christian circles as the ancient roots of the service were forgotten. Therefore, although for convenience we have translated eucharistein and eulogein, differently, we do not stress a difference in meaning as far as Jesus’ action in the multiplication is concern. We can see the interchangeability in Mark viii 6-7. (ibid.)

Mark’s version says, “Taking the five loaves and the two fish, he looked up to heaven, and blessed (eujlovghsen, eulogēsen, cf. Brown’s comment above) and broke the loaves, and gave them to his disciples to set before the people; and he divided the two fish among them all” (Mk. 6:41; cf. Mt. 14:19b; Lk. 9:16). Adela Yarbro Collins says, “Jesus’ actions (taking, blessed, broke, gave; cf. 8:6 [in the account of the Feeding of the Four Thousand]) were customary for a host at a Jewish meal; see also 14:22 [at the Last Supper]” (HarperCollins Study Bible, rev. ed., 2006, on Mk. 6:41).

Mark reports that “all ate and were filled” (Mk. 6:42; cf. Mt. 14:20a; Lk. 9:17a), but John expands on the crowd’s satisfaction. “Then Jesus took the loaves, and when he had given thanks, he distributed them to those who were seated; so also the fish, as much as they wanted. When they were satisfied, he told his disciples, ‘Gather up the fragments left over, so that nothing may be lost.’ ” (Jn. 6:11-12). And he notes the leftovers. “So they gathered them up, and from the fragments of the five barley loaves, left by those who had eaten, they filled twelve baskets” (v. 13). For the “barley loaves,” see the comments on verse 9, above. The other Gospels also note the “twelve baskets” of leftovers (Mk. 6:43; Mt. 14:20; Lk. 9:17).

While the Synoptic Gospels move on to other episodes, the Walking on the Water (Mt. 14:22-33; Mk. 6:45-52) or Peter’s Declaration about Jesus (Lk. 9:18-20; cf. Mt. 16:13-23; Mk. 8:27-33), after the Walking on the Water episode (also in John 6:16-21), John continues with a related discussion of the Bread from Heaven (vv. 22-59). A transition is made with statements also unique to John’s report, the people’s response to “the sign” (Jn. 6:14) and their desire to “make him king” (v. 15). “When the people saw the sign (shmei:on, sēmeion; in some mss. shmei:a, sēmeia, plural [p⁷⁵ B 091 and others, cf. 3:2]) that he had done, they began to say, ‘This is indeed the prophet who is to come into the world’ ” (Jn. 6:14; cf. Deut. 18:15, 18). “Most likely,” says Brown, “this is a reference to the expectation of the Prophet-like-Moses . . . for in vs. 31 these people draw a connection between the food supplied by Jesus and the manna given by Moses” (op. cit., on 6:14).

Today’s reading concludes at this point. But we may note that the people’s desire to make Jesus king (v. 15) anticipates the climax and conclusion of the Galilean ministry according to John in chapter six–and so, in a sense, represent John’s editorial structuring of the Feeding of the Five Thousand. But the details of time, place, the boy, the crowd’s satisfaction, strike one as details remembered by the beloved disciple. John Marsh suggests that “the nearness of the Passover is mentioned for theological rather than historical reasons” (St John, Westminster Pelican Commentaries, 1968, p. 285, on Jn. 6:4), but of the other details unique to John, Marsh mentions only the “barley” (on v. 9).

The reference to “Passover” is significant (6:4), not only because this is the only major Jewish Festival for which John does not place Jesus in Jerusalem–later Jesus will be crucified on “the day of Preparation” when the Passover lambs are being slaughtered (19:31)–but because, as a grassy place (6:10) on a mountainside (v. 3), a “deserted place,” according to Mark (Mk. 6:31, 35), the location was a reminder of the Israelites’ experience in the wilderness when, under Moses’ leadership, they were fed manna (cf. vv. 31-32). Jesus will discuss the manna (vv. 32-33), but he himself is “the true bread from heaven” (v. 32). “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty” (v. 35). The miracle of feeding satisfied the people (v. 12), but they, as others before them in John, misunderstand. They first say, “This is indeed the prophet who is to come into the world” (v. 14; cf. Deut. 18:15-18), but then decide “to come and take him by force to make him king” (v. 15). According to Brown, this misunderstanding anticipates “the deep misunderstanding of the multiplication and indeed of the whole bread of life discourse that [follows]” (op. cit., on Jn. 6:1-15).

Ronald D. Worden, Ph.D.

rdworden@hgst.edu

deanworden@comcast.net