Cum sublevasset oculos Jesus.—JOH. vi. [5.]
ÞIS gospel telliþ a myracle how Crist fedde þe folk; and þis miracle techiþ men boþe good feiþ and vertues. It is seid bifore [See Sermon VII.] how Crist fedde þe folk þus twyes, and of þe secounde fedynge it is seid bifore, and of þe first fedynge shulde we speke now. Þe gospel seiþ þus, þat þis miracle was don whanne Jesus hadde cast up his eyen and seiȝ þat myche folk was comen to him, to here Goddis word, he saide to Philip, Whereof þei shulden bigge breed for to fede þis folk, for he wiste þat þei hungriden. Þis seide Crist to Philip for to tempte him, for he wiste ful wel what he hadde to do. And Philip seide to Crist, þat loves of two hundrid pens ne sufficiden not to hem, so þat ech on myȝte take a litil what of breed. But anoþir disciple, Andrew, Petris broþir, seide, þer was a child þat þere hadde fyve barly loves, and þerto two fishis, but what wolden þes be amonge so myche folke. And Jesus bade his apostlis to make þe men sitte doun to mete, for þere was much hay, þat þei myȝte sitte on, and þe men weren sette as it were fyve þousand. And Jesus tooke þan þes loves, and whan he hadde þanked God, he délide hem to þe sittinge men, and also of þe fishis as myche as þei wolden. And whan þei weren fillid, Crist seide to his disciplis, gedre ȝe þe relif þat lefte, þat it perishe not. And þei gedriden and filden twelve coffynes [In this word, by which Wyclif (as well as both Wycliffite versions in loco) simply Englishes the … of the original, we seem to have the source of the word 'coffin.'] of relif of fyve barly loves, þat weren lefte of þis folke þat eten. And þes men, whan þei hadden seen þe signe of þis myracle, saiden among hem|silfe, þat þis is a verrey prophete, þat is come in to þis world, as prophetis bifore hadden told. We shal suppose of þis myracle þat it is dyverse fro þe toþir; for ellis Mark wolde not have told þes myraclis so dyversly and in diverse places, for þat oon hadde
