“The Jewish feast of Passover was near”
What was Jesus doing one year prior to His Passion? Tradition says that the Passion and Death of Jesus was in the year 33BC, so what was Jesus doing in 32BC at the time of the Passover? The multiplication of the loaves is found in all four Gospels (John 6:1-15; Matthew 14:13-21; Mark 6:30-44; Luke 9:10-17) and it is this event in the life of Jesus that takes place the year before His Passion.
In chapters four, five, and six of Saint John’s Gospel, it says that Jesus left Judea and returned to Galilee, going through Samaria (Chapter 4). In Galilee, He performs His second miracle in Cana (Chapter 4). After this Jesus travels from Cana to Jerusalem (Chapter 5) and then “went across the Sea of Galilee” (Chapter 6) to perform the miracle of the multiplication of the loaves. He then goes across the sea again, performing the miracle of walking on water and arrives in Capernaum where he gives the Bread of Life discourse (Chapter 6). In just three chapters Jesus is travels to four regions: Judea (Jerusalem), Samaria, Galilee (Cana and Capernaum), and the Decapolis, across the Sea of Galilee.
Why does Jesus travel so much? “For he preaches from place to place, testing the dispositions of the peoples; rendering more eager and solicitous the men of every city; hence: And a great multitude followed him.” [1] He travels from place to place because as He says it Himself, “The Kingdom of Heaven is at hand!” [2] He wanted to reach to as many as He could this Good News. This great multitude consisted of Jew, Samaritans, and Gentiles, those in the city and those in the country. Jesus wants to give all people the chance to follow Him. Although a great multitude follow Him, why are they following Him? Jesus wants to make sure that they are not following Him in a human sense or political since.
Psalm 146 says, “Put no trust in princes, in mortal men who cannot save. Take their breath, they return to clay and their plans that day come to nothing. He is happy who is helped by Jacob’s God, whose hope is in the Lord his God, who alone made heaven and earth, the seas and all they contain.” This Psalm is the offertory antiphon for the Third Sunday of Easter and is used throughout the Liturgy of the Hours. Jesus is living this Psalm out during the multiplication of the loaves. He is teaching the crowds and us to not put trust in man because man cannot save. Jesus on the other hand is both man and God, human and divine and therefore is the only man, that can save. His desire is that the crowds receive happiness and peace not from the fulfillment of worldly goods but rather, that they are happy because they are “helped by Jacob’s God” and have put there “hope in the Lord”. The passion, death, and resurrection are the fulfillment of this psalm. Man did take the breath of Jesus, but unlike men, Jesus did not return to the clay and His plans rather than coming to nothing, came to fulfillment in the Resurrection. After the multiplication of the loaves, Jesus “went across the seas to Capernaum.” [3] Psalm 146 says that it is God, “who alone made heaven and earth, the seas and all they contain.” Jesus shows proof that He is indeed God as He calms the seas of Galilee.
The people still put their trust in Jesus the man. They have hope that He is a great man and possibly even the Messiah but do not yet realize that Jesus is both human and divine. It is for this reason that “he [Jesus] withdrew again to the mountain alone.” “Many Jews and even certain Gentiles who shared their hope recognized in Jesus the fundamental attributes of the messianic ‘Son of David,’ promised by God to Israel. Jesus accepted his rightful title of Messiah, though with some reserve because it was understood by some of his contemporaries in too human a sense, as essentially political.” [4]
The multitude, whether they are Jew, Samaritan, or Gentile, are full of hope and are wondering who is this man. The people said, “This is truly the Prophet, the one who is to come into the world.” He is like Moses (a prophet). He was announced by Saint John the Baptist and is like Elijah (the one who is to come into the world). Malachi 3:1 says, “Lo, I am sending my messenger to prepare the way before me” and Malachi 3:23 says, “Lo, I will send you Elijah, the prophet, before the day of the Lord comes, the great and terrible day.” Jesus is like the prophet Elisha. “A man came from Baal-shalishah bringing the man of God [Elisha] twenty barley loaves made from the first-fruits, and fresh grain in the ear. ‘Give it to the people to eat,’ Elisha said. But his servant objected, ‘How can I set this before a hundred men?’ ‘Give it to the people to eat,’ Elisha insisted. ‘For thus says the Lord, ‘They shall eat and there shall be some left over.’ And when they had eaten, there was some left over as the Lord had said.” [5]
This excitement and desire of the people to “carry him off to make him king” takes place around the Sea of Galilee and surrounding areas. The multiplication of the loaves occurs almost exactly one year prior to the Passion of Christ. “If any one carefully studies the words of the Evangelist, he will easily learn that there was a space of one year between the beheading of John the Baptist and the Passion of Our Lord. For since Matthew says (14:13) that when Jesus heard of it He retired into a desert place, apart, and there fed the multitude. And John says that the pasch of the Jews was near at hand when He fed the multitudes. It is therefore clearly indicated that John’s beheading took place close to the Festival. With the passing of the space of one year Christ was put to death; at the time of the same Festival.” [6] Jesus knows what will occur one year. The crowds are excited now, but will they follow Him to Jerusalem, will they keep their excitement a year from now. The crowds show the excitement in the region of Galilee, but what about the crowds in Jerusalem how will they respond to Jesus.
How will Jerusalem welcome her Messiah? “Although Jesus had always refused popular attempts to make him king, he chooses the time and prepares the details for his messianic entry into the city of ‘his father David.’ Acclaimed as son of David, as the one who brings salvation (Hosanna means ‘Save!’ or ‘Give salvation!’), the ‘King of glory’ enters his City ‘riding on an ass.’ Jesus conquers the Daughter of Zion, a figure of his Church, neither by ruse nor by violence, but by the humility that bears witness to the truth. And so the subjects of his kingdom on that day are children and God’s poor, who acclaim him as had the angels when they announced him to the shepherds. Their acclamation, ‘Blessed be he who comes in the name of the LORD,’ is taken up by the Church in the ‘Sanctus’ of the Eucharistic liturgy that introduces the memorial of the Lord’s Passover.” [7]
What are the connections between the multiplication of the loaves and the entry into Jerusalem? Although the events are separated by a year, the multiplication being about one year prior, there are four main similarities. First, in both stories, the people want to make Jesus a king. Second, Jesus is seen as having something to offer, both physical (multiplication of loaves) and spiritual (entry into Jerusalem). Third, there is a “Sanctus” in both stories as the crowds praise Jesus in both word and deed. Fourth, after the “Sanctus” or praise of the crowds, Jesus teaches about the Eucharist. Directly after the multiplication of the loaves, Jesus gives the Bread of Life discourse in which He proclaims, “I am the living bread that comes down from heaven; whoever eats this bread will live forever; and the bread that I will give is my flesh for the life of the world.” [8] After the entry into Jerusalem, one short year after the multiplication of the loaves, Jesus fulfills His promise “the bread that I will give is my flesh” at the Last Supper.
What is the importance of the Sanctus (Holy, Holy, Holy) at Mass? As the Catechism says, it is the Sanctus that introduces the memorial of the Lord’s Passover. The Sanctus is our acclamation and after it we knee to enter deeper into the mystery of the Eucharistic prayer. Subtly at multiplication of the loaves and directly at the entry into Jerusalem, the crowds acknowledged Jesus as offering salvation and praised Him as the one sent by God. At Mass we, must acknowledge that Jesus offers salvation and praise Him as not only sent by God but God Himself. It is after this acknowledgement and praise that we approach Our Lord to receive Him. The Sanctus is a part of the Mass called the Ordinary, which means that it is ordinary or always a part of the liturgy. The Sanctus has two parts.
The first part acknowledges the holiness of Jesus and the salvation that He offers: Holy, Holy, Holy Lord God of hosts. Heaven and earth are full of your glory. Hosanna in the highest. The second part, called the Benedictus praises the divinity of Jesus as He comes in the name of the Lord: Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. Hosanna in the highest. As was stated early, Hosanna means “Save” or “Give Salvation”. In the Sanctus we are asking for Salvation, which Jesus Himself will soon give in the Eucharist.
How old is the Sanctus? “The Sanctus is the last part of the Preface in the Mass, sung in practically every rite by the people (or choir). It is one of the elements of the liturgy of which we have the earliest evidence. St. Clement of Rome (d. about 104) mentions it. He quotes the text in Isaiah 6:3, and goes on to say that it is also sung in church; this at least seems the plain meaning of the passage: ‘for the Scripture says . . . Holy, holy, holy Lord of hosts; full is every creature of his glory. And we, led by conscience, gathered together in one place in concord, cry to him continuously as from one mouth, that we may become sharers in his great and glorious promises’ (1 Corinthians 34:6-7 [9]).” [10]
What a blessing that at we are singing a prayer that has been in the liturgy since the 1st century. This Sanctus is from Mass II and is used for solemn feasts. When chanted the scripture can truly be prayed much more than if Sanctus is just said. At the Mass, we chant or sing this prayer with all of heaven as the end of the Preface states, “And so, with Angels and Archangels, with Thrones and Dominions, and with all the hosts and Powers of heaven, we sing the hymn of your glory, as without end we acclaim: Holy…” [11]
[1] The Sunday Sermons of the Great Fathers; Volume Two; Fourth Sunday of Lent; Theophylactus
[2] Matthew 3:2
[3] John 6:17
[4] Catechism of the Catholic Church; 439
[5] 2 Kings 4:42-44
[6] The Sunday Sermons of the Great Fathers; Volume Two; Fourth Sunday of Lent; Bede
[7] Catechism of the Catholic Church; 559
[8] John 6:51
[9] This is Pope Clement’s letter to the Corinthians, not Saint Paul’s
[10] http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/13432a.htm
[11] The Order of the Mass; End of Preface II in Ordinary Time