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THE K I N G ’ S BUS I NESS
hasty breaking up of the assembly—be cause the people were about to make Jesus King (Jn. 6:15), to avoid which He immediately scattered the people and sent away the disciples lest they should join with them.—Henry. In sending the disciples away Jesus was sending them into a terrific storm which He, of course, knew was coming. To day He sends us away from the place of quiet and refreshment to meet the mid night storm, but we are absolutely safe in the midst of the storm.—Torrey. v. 23. Went into mountain apart. We are disposed tcTpray up to pur suc cesses and to cease to pray in them. We become practical atheists in the midst of our successes. Unless we become closeted with God and see all things in their true' colors and proportion, we shall be lifted up in a most unholy and destructive pride. If in our triumphs we remain the humble companions of the Lord, our triumphs shall be repeated and enriched. — Jowett. To pray. Though Christ as God was Lord of all and was prayed to, yet Christ as man had the form of a servant and prayed.— . Henry. Jesus’ prayer life on earth was the expression of that communion He had with the Father before He came in to the world and which He continued after His ascension. He was superior to human intercession. He never asked one to pray for Him. In Gethsemane He asked the three to watch with Him but not to pray for Him. Paul repeat edly urges, “Brethren, pray for us,” but Jesus never.—Saphir. Though we, His disciples, are at sea, remember we have a Lord who is at prayer (Heb. 7: 25).—Sel. May we not look upon His •ascent of this mountain as a picture of His ascension into heaven, His prayer on the mount as a shadow of His heav- only intercession, and these disciples off in a boat by themselves, are they not a picture of the church after Christ had gone to His Father?—-Gibson. Jesus feeds many hungry people. Matt. 14:13-23. Memory Verse: “He blessed, and brake, and gave the loaves to His dis ciples, and the disciples to the multi tude.” Matt. 14:19. Approach: We have been learning . about sowing seed, and that we must always sow good seed in good ground.
thousands has it fed, will it feed, in ev ery age, in every land of Christendom, to the world’s end.-—D. Brown. Blessed and brake. The Jewish loaves were broad and thin like cakes. Hence we never read of cutting but always of breaking bread.—Holden. Gave to His disciples. What blessing for us like that of being the channel of blessing for others? What disciple can give to oth ers unless he first take for himself, and whither else shall he go for what he would give except to the fullness of Christ?—Horn. Com. As Jesus did not baptize, so He did not personally feed the multitudes but used the ministry of the apostles, thus preparing them for their future ministry.—Dummelow. We are the distributors of the bread of life.—Sel. Can we read this without thinking of what our Saviour did just a year later when He took bread and blessed it and brake and gave to the disciples, saying, “Take, eat, this is my body”? (Matt. 26:26). What He did becomes still more evident when we are told afterwards that He said, “I am the bread of life.”—Exp. Bible. v. 20. They were filled. This event took place at a time when the disciples had made their first trial of preaching the Word of the kingdom. This feeding of the multitude showed and was meant to show, how the living Word, Christ, in the preached Word, the Gospel, be comes bread of life to a perishing world.—Ludlow. All ages, conditions, diversities of character, rank, culture and circumstance, may find the satisfac tion of their souls’ hunger in Him. The world spreads a table at which there is satiety without satisfaction.—Ibid. Re mained twelve baskets. A beautiful hint of the abundance that would remain of the Gospel for the Gentile nations of the earth.—Gibson. V. 21. Five thousand men. Some critics explain it that the generosity of Jesus and His disciples in sharing their Iqw loaves and fishes, induced many more who had brought food with them, to distribute it so enough was found for all. But the theory does not explain how Mark, John and our Lord described it as a miracle (Mk. 8:19; Matt. 16:9) or why the multitude, who must have known the facts, were stirred to such enthusiasm by this scene that they were convinced He was the Messiah and sought to make Him King (Jn. 6:14, 15) «----Dummelow. v. 22. Constrained His _disciples. John giyes a particular reason for the
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