John 6:10

10 Jesus said, "Have the people sit down." There was plenty of grass there. They sat down, about five thousand of them.

John 6:10 Meaning and Commentary

John 6:10

Jesus said, make the men sit down
The Syriac version reads, "all the men"; and the Persic version, "all the people"; men, women, and children: Christ, without reproving his disciples for their unbelief, ordered them directly to place the people upon the ground, and seat them in rows by hundreds and by fifties, in a rank and company, as persons about to take a meal:

now there was much grass in the place;
at the bottom of the mountain; and it was green, as one of the evangelists observes, it being the spring of the year, and was very commodious to sit down upon:

so the men sat down, in number about five thousand;
besides women and children, ( Matthew 14:21 ) , so that there was but one loaf for more than a thousand persons.

John 6:10 In-Context

8 One of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter's brother, said,

9 "A youth here has five barley loaves and two fish. But what good is that for a crowd like this?"

10 Jesus said, "Have the people sit down." There was plenty of grass there. They sat down, about five thousand of them.

11 Then Jesus took the bread. When he had given thanks, he distributed it to those who were sitting there. He did the same with the fish, each getting as much as they wanted.

12 When they had plenty to eat, he said to his disciples, "Gather up the leftover pieces, so that nothing will be wasted."