longs along the shore of the lake, and was in breadth twenty. When Jesus came to the disciples, they had rowed about five and twenty or thirty furlongs; wherefore, as the lake was forty furlongs broad, the boat was miraculously driven in an instant, at least ten furlongs. The hushing of the storm, and their instantaneous arrival at the land, astonished the disciples exceedingly, and made them wonder at the greatness of their Master's power. For though he had so lately performed the miracle of the loaves; nay, though they had the sensible proof thereof before their eyes, in the baskets of fragments which they had taken with them into the ship, and perhaps had been talking of it before the storm came on, they were so stupified with their fear, that they did not reflect on that miracle. Mark vi. And they were sore amazed in themselves beyond measure, and wondered. 52. For they considered not the miracle of the loaves; for their heart was hardened. We need not therefore be surprized, that they did not call to mind a similar exertion of his power, which they had beheld while they sailed to the country of the Gadarenes. Matth. xiv. 33. Then they that were in the ship came and worshipped him, saying, Of a truth, thou art the Son of God, i. e. the Messiah. See § 15. Though on many occasions formerly, Jesus had given equal if not greater evidences of his power, the disciples did not till now make open confession of his dignity. It seems, when his miracles came thus to be multiplied, but especially when they followed upon one another so close, the apostles were more deeply affected with them, than by seeing him perform a single miracle only. No wonder, therefore, that they were now perfectly confirmed in the opinion which they had so justly conceived of him.-Mark vi. 53. And when they had passed over, they came into the land of Gennezareth, and drew to shore, xxi dianigararres mador em any ynr Ferraget, and having passed over, they arrived at the land of Gennezareth. See on John, ver. 16. x goowquidnoœr,. και προσωρμήθησαν, and they came to anchor; they fixed the ship in her station, a little while after she came to the land whither they went (John, ver. 21.) for between her arrival at land, and her being fixed in her station by casting anchor, the particulars happened which are told by Mark, ver. 52. and Matthew, ver. 33.

LXII. Jesus arrives at Capernaum. The sermon and conversation in the synagogue there, occasioned by the miracle of the loaves. During our Lord's stay in Capernaum, many miraculous cures are received by touching his clothes. Mat. xiv. 35, 36. Mark vi. 54, 55. John vi. 22,-71.

THE evangelists Matthew and Mark, omitting the conversation in the synagogue of Capernaum, which happened the day after the miracle of the loaves, and consequently on the very day that Jesus arrived at Capernaum, give us, in a few words, the transac

tions of several days, perhaps weeks, that is to say, the transactions of the whole space which passed between our Lord's arrival in Capernaum after the miracle of the loaves, and his departure to the passover, which John tells us was then at hand. These passages therefore naturally come in after the 6th chapter of John, because the miracles described in them were performed some days after the conversation in the synagogue, recorded in that chapter. Nevertheless, as the two evangelists have narrated these miracles in connection with our Lord's arrival at Capernaum, it will not be improper to speak of them here. Mark vi. 54. And when they were come out of the ship, straightway they (Matt. the men of that place) knew him. 55. And ran (Matt. They sent out) through that whole region round about. And began to carry about in beds those that were sick, where they heard he was. Jesus ordinarily resided in this neighbourhood; but he had been absent for some time. Wherefore, the inhabitants being well acquainted with him, knew him immediately on his landing to be that great prophet who commonly resided in the neighbouring town of Capernaum, and who had done numberless miracles among them. Being therefore glad that he was returned, they sent messengers to all their friends and acquaintance in the country round about who were sick, desiring them to come and be cured. This happened immediately on his landing, and before he entered Capernaum. The people rejoicing at the opportunity, came after a few days in great crowds, carrying their sick in beds, and bringing them to Jesus, whether he was in Capernaum or in the neighbouring country. For he tarried here till he took his journey to the passover. The number of the sick brought to him to be cured was so great, that he could not bestow particular attention upon each of them. They and their friends, therefore, besought him to grant them the favour of touching, if it were but the extremity of his clothes, being certain of obtaining thereby a complete cure. Nor were their expectations disappointed; for as many as touched him were made perfectly whole, whatever the distemper was which they laboured under. Matt. xiv. 35. And brought unto him all that were diseased. 36. And besought him that they might only touch the hem of his garment; and as many as touched were made perfectly whole, and that whether they were good or bad people; not because there was any virtue in his garments, otherwise the soldiers who gat them at his crucifixion might have wrought miracles, but because Jesus willed it to be so. For it was now the acceptable time, the day of salvation foretold by Isaiah, (chap. xliv. 8.) and Christ's volition was sufficient to remove any distemper whatsoever. This pitch of faith seems to have been wrought in the sick multitude, by the instance of her who had lately been cured of a flux of blood at Capernaum, upon touching the hem of VOL. II.

P

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our Lord's garment, Mat. ix. 20. and by the instances mentioned in the explication of Luke vi. 19. § 38.

And now, to return to the people whom Jesus had fed by miracle; notwithstanding he had ordered them to go home, after he had sent his disciples away, they did not leave the desart mountain. It seems they took notice that no boat had come thither, but the one belonging to the disciples; and because Jesus did not go with them, they concluded he had no design to leave his attendants. Wherefore, though by withdrawing into the mountain, he modestly declined the dignity which they had offered him, they persuaded themselves he would be prevailed upon to accept it the next day; especially as they might fancy the disciples were dispatched to prepare matters for that purpose. In this hope, they remained all night, about the foot of the moun tain in the clifts of the rocks, making the best shift they could to defend themselves from the storm; and as soon as the morning was come, they went up designing to wait on Jesus. But they did not meet with him, though they searched for him up and down the mountain. At length they began to think he had gone off in one of the boats belonging to Tiberias, which, during the storm, had taken shelter in some creek or other at the foot of the mountain. The most forward of the multitude therefore entering those boats, sailed to Capernaum, the known place of our Lord's residence, where they found him in the synagogue teaching the people, (John vi. 59.) and asked him with an air of surprise, how, and when he came thither? John vi. 22. The day following, i. e. the day after the miracle of the loaves, being the same day that Jesus arrived at Capernaum, when the people which stood on the other side of the sea saw that there was none other boat there, save that one wherein his disciples were entered, and that Jesus went not with his disciples into the boat, but that his disciples were gone away alone. 23. Howbeit, there came other boats from Tiberias, nigh unto the place where they did eat bread after the Lord had given thanks. 24. When the people therefore saw that Jesus avas not there, neither his disciples, they also took shipping, and came to Capernaum, seeking for Jesus. 25. And when they had found him on the other side of the sea, they said unto him, Rabbi, when camest thou hither?-26. Jesus answered them and said, Verily, verily, I say unto you, ye seck me not because ye saw the miracles. Ye are not come after me, because ye were convinced by my miracles of the truth of my mission, and are now disposed to hearken unto my doctrine, but because ye did ent of the loaves, and were filled: having been once fed, you expect that I will feed you frequently by miracle, and the satisfaction you found in that meal, has made you conceive great hopes of temporal felicity under my administration. These are the views with which you are following me; but you are entirely mistaken

mistaken in them; for your happiness does not consist in the meat that perisheth, neither is it that sort of meat which Messiah will give you. Wherefore, ye ought not to labour so much for the meat that perishesh, mere animal food, which nourishes and delights the body only, as for the meat that endureth to everlasting life, divine knowledge, and grace, which by invigorating all the faculties of the soul, makes it incorruptible and immortal. Neither ought you to follow the Son of man, the Messiah, with a design to obtain the meat that perisheth, but in expectation of being fed with the meat that endureth to everlasting life, for it is that meat which he will give you. 27. Labour not only (un being put here for (un povov, see on Luke xiv. 12. § 92.) for the meat that perisheth, but also for that meat which endureth to everlasting life, which the Son of man shall give unto you. For him hath God the Father sealed: by the miracle of the loaves, God the Father shews you that he hath enabled and authorized mé the Son of man, to bless you with the meat enduring to everlasting life, the food of your souls. The epithet of Father is elegantly given to God in this passage, as it expresses the relation he stands in to the person who in the precedent clause is called the Son of man. The metaphors of meat and drink being very familiar to the Jews, and frequently used in their writings to signify, wisdom, knowledge, and grace, (see Prov. ix. 1,-5. Isa, iv. 2, 3.) they might easily have understood what Jesus meant by the meat enduring to everlasting life. Nevertheless, they mistook him altogether, imagining that he spake of some delicious, healthful, animal food, which would make men immortal, and which was not to be had but under the Messiah's government. ⚫ Accordingly, being much affected with his exhortation, they asked him what they should do to work the works of God; they meant to erect the Messiah's kingdom, and obtain that excellent meat which he said God had authorized Messiah to give them; works which they imagined were prescribed them by God, and would be most acceptable to him. John vi. 28. Then said they unto him, What shall we do that we might work the works of God? 29. Jesus answered and said unto them, This is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath sent. The Jews having their minds filled with the notion of the great empire which Messiah was to erect, expected no doubt that Jesus would have bidden them first rise against the Romans, and vindicate their liberties, and then by the terror of fire and sword, establish Messiah's authority in every country. Wherefore, when he told them that the whole work which God required of them towards erecting Messiah's kingdom was, that they should believe on Messiah whom he had now sent unto them, they were exceedingly offended, thinking that he could not be the Messiah promised in the law and the prophets. And some more audacious than the rest,

had

[Sect. 62. had the confidence to tell him, that since he pretended to be Messiah, and required them to believe in him as such, notwithstanding his character was entirely different from that of the great deliverer described in their sacred books, being so humble and peaceable as to refuse the crown which of right pertained to Messiah, and which they had offered him, it would be proper that he should shew greater miracles than their law-giver had performed, otherwise they would not be to blame, if believing Moses and the prophets, they persisted in their ancient faith concerning Messiah, and concerning the duty which they owed him. 30. They said therefore unto him, What sign shewest thou then that we may see and believe thee (to be the Messiah ?) what dost thou work? Our fathers did eat manna in the desert; as it is written, (Ps. Jxxviii. 24.) He gave them bread from heaven to eat. By extolling the miracle of the manna, by calling it bread from heaven, and by insinuating that it was Moses' miracle, the Jews endeavoured to disparage both Christ's mission and his miracle of the loaves, which they affected to despise as no miracle in comparison. It was only a single meal of terrestrial food, at which nine or ten thousand had been fed. Whereas Moses, with celestial food, fed the whole Jewish nation, in number upwards of two millions, and that not for a day, but during the space of forty years in the wilderness. Wherefore, as if Jesus had done no miracle at all, they said to him, What sign sheavest thou? what dost thou work? Jesus replied, 32. Verily, verily, I say unto you, Moses gave you not that bread (tor agres, the bread) from heaven: it was not Moses who in ancient times gave you the manna: neither was the manna bread from heaven, though it be so called by the Psalmist, on account of the thing which it typified, for it dropped from the air only. But my Father giveth you the true bread from heaven: by the miracle of the loaves, my Father has pointed out to you the true, spiritual, heavenly bread which he himself giveth you, which the manna was only a symbolical representation of, and which is sufficient to sustain, not a single nation only, but the whole world. 33. For the bread of God is he which (is what) cometh dorn from heaven (yag agtos tu diu es19 ò xætabαivwv ex tu sçav) and giveth life unto the world. The manna which dropt from the air, and kept those who made use of it alive only for a day, cannot be called the bread of God; but that is the bread of God which cometh down from God, and maketh the eater virtuous, happy, and immortal like God.

It is reasonable to imagine, that the people who now heard our Lord, were of different characters. Many of them no doubt were obstinately perverse, heard him with prejudice, and wrested all his words. But others of them might be men of honest dispositions, who listened to his doctrine with pleasure, and were ready to obey it. This latter sort, therefore, having heard him

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