Commentary on the Gospel According to John John Calvin
Commentary on John which he willingly obeyed. Although, therefore, he avoided the sight of men, yet he permits himself to be led by the hand of God as into a crowded theater; for there was a larger assembly of men in a desert mountain than in any populous city, and greater celebrity arose from the miracle than if it had happened in the open market-place of Tiberias We are therefore taught by this example to form our plans in conformity to the course of events, but in such a manner that, if the result be different from what we expected, we may not be displeased that God is above us, and regulates everything according to his pleasure.
5. He saith to Philip. What we here read as having been said to Philip alone, the other Evangelists tell us, was said to all. But there is no inconsistency in this; for it is probable that Philip spoke according to the opinion entertained by all, and, therefore, Christ replies to him in particular; just as John, immediately afterwards, introduces Andrew as speaking, where the other Evangelists attribute the discourse to all alike. Perceiving that they have no conception of an extraordinary remedy, he then arouses their minds, which may be said to be asleep, so that they may, at least, have their eyes open to behold what shall be immediately exhibited to them. The design of all that is alleged by the disciples is, to persuade Christ not to detain the people; and, perhaps, in this respect they consult their private advantage, that a part of the inconvenience may not fall upon themselves. Accordingly, Christ disregards their objections, and proceeds in his design.
7. Two hundred denarii. As the denarius, according to the computation of Budaeus, is equal to four times the value of a carolus and two deniers of Tours, this sum amounts to thirty-five francs, or thereby. 119 If you divide this sum among five thousand men, each hundred of them will have less than seventeenpence sterling 120 If we now add about a thousand of women and children, it will be found that Philip allots to each person about the sixth part of an English penny, 121 to buy a little bread But, as usually happens in a great crowd, he probably thought that there was a greater number of people present; and as the disciples were poor and ill supplied with money, Andrew intended to alarm Christ by the greatness of the sum, meaning that
119The value of the old French coins passed through so many changes, that all reasoning about them must be involved in uncertainty; but, so far as we have been able to ascertain, the value of a carolus of Tours, in Calvin's time, was nearly that of a penny sterling, and the denier was the tenth part of it, or nearly a modern centime of Paris. "Four times the carolus, with two deniers," would thus be 4 and 1/5 pence sterling, and, multiplying that by 200, we have three pounds, ten shillings. Again, taking the franc (as Cotgrave rates it) at two shillings, 35 francs are also equal to three pounds, ten shillings. This is, at least, a curious coincidence, and the reader may compare it with a computation made from the livre Parisis, (Harmony, volume 2, page 234, n. 2.) It would appear, however, that Budaeus and Calvin had estimated the denarius at little more than half its real value, which was sevenpence halfpenny sterling, taking silver at five shillings per ounce; so that two hundred denarii would be equal to six pounds, five shillings sterling. — Ed.
120"Quatorze (fourteen) sols Tournois." According to Cotgrave, the sol Tournois is the tenth part of our shilling, or one part in six better than our penny." — Ed.
121"Sesquituronicum;" — "un denier Tournois et maille;" — "one and a half denier of Tours."