Matthew 14:18 — Community Reflections

MATTHEW 14:18 — KING JAMES VERSION 0

“He said, Bring them hither to me.”

And he said: bring them here to me. The simple command — bring them to me — is the turning point of the feeding narrative. What is insufficient in the disciples' hands becomes sufficient in Jesus' hands. The inadequate resource brought to Jesus is the resource that will feed five thousand. The bringing to Jesus is the act of faith that precedes the multiplication.

Church Fathers on Matthew 14:18

It is a proof of the faith of these multitudes that they endured hunger in waiting for the Lord even till evening; to which purpose it follows, 'And when it was evening, his disciples came unto him, saying, This is a desert place, and the time is now past.'
Chrysostom · 4th century

Wherein He calls the Apostles to breaking of bread, that the greatness of the miracle might be more evident by their testimony that they had none.
Jerome · 4th century

It may perplex some how, if the Lord, according to the relation of John, asked Philip whence bread was to be found for them, that can be true which Matthew here relates, that the disciples first prayed the Lord to send the multitudes away, that they might buy food from the nearest towns. Suppose then that after these words the Lord looked upon the multitude and said what John relates, but Matthew and the others have omitted. And by such cases as this none ought to be…
Augustine · 4th century · De Cons. Ev., ii, 46

Read all 22 entries in the readerCatena Aurea · St. Thomas Aquinas, tr. J. H. Newman · public domain

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