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After these things Jesus went over the Sea of Galilee, which is the Sea of Tiberias. Then a great multitude followed Him, because they saw His signs which He performed on those who were diseased. And Jesus went up on the mountain, and there He sat with the disciples. Now the Passover, a feast of the Jews, was near. Then Jesus lifted up His eyes, and seeing a great multitude coming toward Him, He said to Philip, "Where shall we buy bread, that these may eat?" But this He said to test him, for He Himself knew what He would do. Philip answered Him, "Two hundred denarii worth of bread is not sufficient for them, that every one of them may have a little." One of His disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter's brother, said to Him, "There is a lad here who has five barley loaves and two small fish, but what are they among so many?" Then Jesus said, "Make the people sit down." Now there was much grass in the place. So the men sat down, in number about five thousand. And Jesus took the loaves, and when He had given thanks He distributed them to the disciples, and the disciples to those sitting down; and likewise of the fish, as much as they wanted. So when they were filled, He said to His disciples, "Gather up the fragments that remain, so that nothing is lost." Therefore they gathered them up, and filled twelve baskets with the fragments of the five barley loaves which were left over by those who had eaten. Then those men, when they had seen the sign that Jesus did, said, "This is truly the Prophet who is to come into the world."
Therefore when Jesus perceived that they were about to come and take Him by force to make Him king, He departed again to the mountain by Himself alone.
- John 6:1-15
On Tuesday, we read that Jesus healed a paralytic on the Sabbath, by the Sheep Gate at the Temple during the Feast of Weeks, or the Jewish Feast of Pentecost. On Wednesday, He spoke of His identity as Son and His relationship to the Father when He answered the questions of the leadership, who accused Him of breaking the Sabbath, and also of making Himself equal to God. In yesterday's reading, Jesus continued, "I can of Myself do nothing. As I hear, I judge; and My judgment is righteous, because I do not seek My own will but the will of the Father who sent Me. If I bear witness of Myself, My witness is not true. There is another who bears witness of Me, and I know that the witness which He witnesses of Me is true. You have sent to John, and he has borne witness to the truth. Yet I do not receive testimony from man, but I say these things that you may be saved. He was the burning and shining lamp, and you were willing for a time to rejoice in his light. But I have a greater witness than John's ; for the works which the Father has given Me to finish -- the very works that I do -- bear witness of Me, that the Father has sent Me. And the Father Himself, who sent Me, has testified of Me. You have neither heard His voice at any time, nor seen His form. But you do not have His word abiding in you, because whom He sent, Him you do not believe. You search the Scriptures, for in them you think you have eternal life; and these are they which testify of Me. But you are not willing to come to Me that you may have life. I do not receive honor from men. But I know you, that you do not have the love of God in you. I have come in My Father's name, and you do not receive Me; if another comes in his own name, him you will receive. How can you believe, who receive honor from one another, and do not seek the honor that comes from the only God? Do not think that I shall accuse you to the Father; there is one who accuses you -- Moses, in whom you trust. For if you believed Moses, you would believe Me; for he wrote about Me. But if you do not believe his writings, how will you believe My words?"
After these things Jesus went over the Sea of Galilee, which is the Sea of Tiberias. The Sea of Galilee is actually a lake about 7 miles wide and 13 miles long.
Then a great multitude followed Him, because they saw His signs which He performed on those who were diseased. And Jesus went up on the mountain, and there He sat with the disciples. Now the Passover, a feast of the Jews, was near. This fourth miracle, or sign, in John's Gospel takes place juxtaposed against yet another Jewish Festival, and is another symbol of the fulfillment of the Old Testament promises in the Person of Christ. In the crossing of the Sea of Galilee, we have the symbolism of the Israelites crossing the Red Sea. My study bible says, "The Passover coincided with the Feast of Unleavened Bread which commemorated not only the Exodus from Egypt, but the first food from grain eaten in the Promised Land after the crossing of the Jordan." Here, across the Sea of Galilee, we are in Galilee, a place of both Jews and Gentiles, symbolic of the New Dispensation going to all the world.
Then Jesus lifted up His eyes, and seeing a great multitude coming toward Him, He said to Philip, "Where shall we buy bread, that these may eat?" But this He said to test him, for He Himself knew what He would do. Philip answered Him, "Two hundred denarii worth of bread is not sufficient for them, that every one of them may have a little." One of His disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter's brother, said to Him, "There is a lad here who has five barley loaves and two small fish, but what are they among so many?" My study bible points out that Philip was tested in order that he may understand who Christ is, and that while Andrew sees the loaves and fish, he sees no potential in them. Their noted remarks will serve to illustrate qualities of the Son and the ways that God via the Spirit may work in the world. Barley was a less expensive grain than wheat and so generally used by poorer people, and the harvest was ready in springtime (at Passover).
Then Jesus said, "Make the people sit down." Now there was much grass in the place. So the men sat down, in number about five thousand. And Jesus took the loaves, and when He had given thanks He distributed them to the disciples, and the disciples to those sitting down; and likewise of the fish, as much as they wanted. My study bible notes that given thanks is from the Greek verb eucharisto/ευχαριστώ, from which we derive the word Eucharist. In the readings that follow, Jesus will give us the discourse on the Bread of Life. In this fourth sign we see paralleled (or fulfilled as type) the feeding of the Israelites with manna in the wilderness. My study bible suggests that we note the process: (1) giving of thanks; (2) distribution of the gifts, first to the disciples and then by the disciples to the people; and (3) partaking -- indeed a preview of the Eucharist.
So when they were filled, He said to His disciples, "Gather up the fragments that remain, so that nothing is lost." Therefore they gathered them up, and filled twelve baskets with the fragments of the five barley loaves which were left over by those who had eaten. My study bible notes: "As with the manna in the wilderness (Ex. 16:16-21), nothing of the gift of God should be lost. In contrast to the manna, here we have an abundance of twelve baskets of leftovers, one for each disciple."
Then those men, when they had seen the sign that Jesus did, said, "This is truly the Prophet who is to come into the world." Therefore when Jesus perceived that they were about to come and take Him by force to make Him king, He departed again to the mountain by Himself alone. My study bible says of this passage, "The Galilean Jews, with their misguided messianic enthusiasm, equate Jesus with the Prophet of Deut. 18:15-19, whom they expect to be an earthly, political leader who will lead them against the occupying Romans, as Moses led his people out of bondage. Because He is not to fulfill these expectations, Jesus withdraws from the crowd."
That Jesus does not wish to be made king is an intriguing addition to the story of the feeding in the wilderness. It should be noted that this particular miracle is recorded in all four Gospels. (In Matthew's Gospel, there are actually two feeding miracles reported.) While Jesus prevails over this miracle or sign, in a way that suggests a total reliance on Christ, it is contrasted by His refusal to be made king. Ordinarily, we associate any form of authority and power with a worldly sort of authority and power, but this will not be so for Jesus. His authority has to do with God's love and care, and He is here for a particular purpose. It's not for "the praise of men," but it is to serve a higher goal, to teach us about God's love, and for us to share in that love as well. In some sense (as we've noted in an earlier reading), this astounding miracle which gives us the Eucharist is a proclamation of the day of small things, in which is illustrated the power of God, and the power of faith in our relationship to God, and the working of God's power in the world, the Spirit. Note how the disciples Philip and Andrew are pushed to record the difficulty of the situation, and the small beginnings of five barley loaves and a few fishes, brought by a "lad." Christ allows us to begin with not only "small things" but also what looks like a ridiculously hopeless situation. But it is illustrative of a particular attitude He wishes us to cultivate. Faith in Christ means that everything is not defined by our outward circumstances. There is more to life than this. In some sense, we could look at one of the problems that plague our modern lives through this lens to see where our current reliance on image misses the boat regarding who we really are and what Christ teaches us. Many people suffer from a lack of self-esteem, or let's say a regard for themselves as something not worthwhile, unless their own image is affirmed in the eyes of others. Seemingly paradoxically, a real help for this is the cultivation of an appropriate sense of humility, in which the God of small things, or small beginnings, can truly teach us how we must see our lives and how we must see the world. Our outward circumstances do not determine the worth that God sees in us. For that, we need reliance and relationship to Christ. He is the one who refuses to be made king. His goal is not the praise of men, but the praise of God. As we read in yesterday's reading, this is the source of honor He cares for. The reliance, here on this mountaintop in today's reading, on Christ and His vision and power, is a reliance on something more than what the world will tell us about what potentials are in our circumstances, and certainly more than what the world will tell us about what or who is "great," what we should do with our lives, and what is the appropriate way to live for God's purposes. For that, we need the humility to cultivate a relationship with God, to put our faith in prayer, that teaches us where we need to go and who we need to become for an honor that is not necessarily what the world seems to honor. This tremendous feeding miracle seems to suggest that the greatness that God would find and complete even in small things is something we need to find in relationship to God, in order to complete our own sense of who we are, and what we may do that is truly honorable and worthwhile. We live so much by image, and the material abundance for which we may be truly grateful cannot determine a complete sense of true worth. We still rely on Him to teach us about glory and true honor, and that teaching has to come to us in love. The Bread of Life is so much more than what we seem to have at hand, and yet it feeds and sustains us in so many ways.
