13. Collegerunt ergo, et 13. They gathered up impleverunt duodecim cophinos therefore, and filled twelve fragmentorum ex quinque baskets with the fragments of panibus hordeaceis, quae the five barley loaves, which superfuerunt his qui remained over and above to manducaverant. them that had eaten. 13. “Observe how the four Evangelists use the word κοφίνους, _baskets_, in narrating this miracle, thus distinguishing it from a like one recorded elsewhere by Matthew and Mark, in which there were seven loaves, and 4,000 men, and seven _panniers_ (σπυρίδας) of fragments. It is difficult perhaps to point out distinctly how σπυρίς differed from κόφινος, but certain it is that they did differ, else they would never have been so nicely discriminated by the sacred writers in every instance” (M’Carthy: Gosp. of the Sundays, fourth Sunday of Lent).(54) 14. Illi ergo homines cum 14. Now these men, when they vidissent quod Iesus fecerat had seen what a miracle Jesus signum, dicebant: Quia hic est had done, said: This is of a vere propheta, qui venturus truth the prophet that is to est in mundum. come into the world. 14. *The prophet*, the Messiah, for whom their fathers and they had yearned so long (Luke vii. 19). 15. Iesus ergo cum 15. Jesus therefore when he cognovisset, quia venturi knew that they would come to essent ut raperent eum, et take him by force and make him facerent eum regem, fugit king, fled again into the iterum in montem ipse solus. mountain himself alone. 15. Jesus, knowing their thoughts and intentions, withdrew to _the_ mountain, where He had already been earlier in the day (verse 3). And He withdrew all alone, a circumstance which makes it extremely probable that He rendered Himself invisible, else some of the crowd would have followed. It may seem strange at first sight, how differently Christ treats the Jews, on their recognising Him as the Messias, from the way He treated the Samaritans in similar circumstances (iv. 42, 43). And yet His action in the two cases is intelligible enough. The Jews looked for a Messias who would improve their external condition, free them from subjection to any foreign power, and set them up as a powerful nation. But the Samaritans could have, and had, no such hope from the advent of a Jewish Messias. With the Jews, as we see in the present instance, the intention was to declare the Messias their King, and thus to throw off their allegiance to Rome. The consequence, of course, would have been great political excitement and rebellion, ending, doubtless, in the triumph of the Roman arms. But no matter what the success of such a rebellion, it would have prejudiced the Roman world against the teachings of Christ, and rendered more difficult the recognition of the spiritual character of Christ’s kingdom.