John 6:10

10 Jesus said, "Have the people sit down." Now there was ¹much grass in the place. So the men sat down, in number about ²five thousand.

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 to Him,

9 "There is a lad here who has five barley loaves and two fish, but what are these for so many people?"

10 Jesus said, "Have the people sit down." Now there was much grass in the place. So the men sat down, in number about five thousand.

11 Jesus then took the loaves, and having given thanks, He distributed to those who were seated; likewise also of the fish as much as they wanted.

12 When they were filled, He said to His disciples, "Gather up the leftover fragments so that nothing will be lost."

Cross References

• 1. Mark 6:39
• 2. Matthew 14:21

Footnotes

• [a] Lit "recline(d)"
• [b] Lit "recline(d)"