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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 His 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
This week, the lectionary skips back to chapter 6. Last week, we read through most of chapters 7 and 8, in which Jesus was attending the Feast of the Tabernacles (an autumn festival, Sukkot in Hebrew) in Jerusalem. In our last reading, Jesus was speaking to the leadership in the temple: "He who is of God hears God's words; therefore you do not hear, because you are not of God." Then the Jews answered and said to Him, "Do we not say rightly that You are a Samaritan and have a demon?" Jesus answered, "I do not have a demon; but I honor My Father, and you dishonor Me. And I do not seek My own glory; there is One who seeks and judges. Most assuredly, I say to you, if anyone keeps My word he shall never see death." Then the Jews said to Him, "Now we know that You have a demon! Abraham is dead, and the prophets; and You say, 'If anyone keeps My word he shall never taste death.' Are You greater than our father Abraham, who is dead? And the prophets are dead. Who do You make Yourself out to be?" Jesus answered: "If I honor Myself, My honor is nothing. It is My Father who honors Me, of whom you say that He is your God. Yet you have not known Him, but I know Him. And if I say, 'I do not know Him,' I shall be a liar like you; but I do know Him and keep His word. Your father Abraham rejoiced to see My day, and he saw it and was glad." Then the Jews said to Him, "You are not yet fifty years old, and have You seen Abraham?" Jesus said to them, "Most assuredly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I AM." Then they took up stones to throw at Him; but Jesus hid Himself and went out of the temple, going through the midst of them, and so passed by.
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 His disciples. Now the Passover, a feast of the Jews, was near. My study bible points out the parallels in the whole of chapter 6 to the events of Passover and the Exodus of Israel from Egypt. In the Exodus account (Exodus 11-17), it says, god first performed signs against Pharaoh, then gave instructions on how to be saved at the time of Passover (Exodus 11:1-12:14). In today's passage, we read that the multitudes follow Christ because of His signs. We're also told it is the time of Passover. In the Exodus, the Jews ate unleavened bread because they were hastily driven out of Egypt and had brought no provisions (Exodus 12:39). Here the multitudes are fed with earthly bread because they had brought no provisions, rushing to see Him and taking no thought for other things. In the Exodus, Moses leads the people across the Red sea and walks on dry ground in the midst of the water (Exodus 14:15-31). In tomorrow's lectionary reading, we will see that Jesus sends His disciples across the sea and then walks on the sea as if it were dry ground. Finally, in the Exodus, God fed His people manna and gave them drink from a miraculous water source (Exodus 16:1-17:7). Later on in chapter 6, Christ declares Himself to be the true food and drink, the true bread that has come down from heaven. My study bible says, "These parallels show that Christ our God is the fulfillment of the old covenant, and that the breaking of His body and the shedding of His blood, which free mankind from the slavery of sin, fulfill the sacrifice of the Passover lambs (1:29), which brought the people out of slavery into the Promised Land."
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 suggests that Christ is testing Philip here to increase His faith and so that Philip would get help in understanding Him (14:8-10). Two hundred denarii is worth six months wages for a contemporary laborer. My study bible says that Andrew has greater faith than Philip. The prophet Elisha had multiplied bread for 100 men (2 Kings 4:42-44), and so he offers the food brought by a lad. Andrew, however, also shows a "weakness" in faith, questioning what five loaves could do for so many people.
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. This feeding of the multitude is so central to the message of Christ that it is reported in all four Gospels. It is the fourth sign given in John's gospel. Jesus' taking of the loaves, giving thanks (which is eucharisto in the Greek), and distribution of them prefigures the celebration of the Eucharist. Later on in this chapter, Jesus will teach about the bread of life.
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. The Prophet was a figure predicted by Moses (Deuteronomy 18:15-19). But the faith of these people that Jesus is "the Prophet" is predicated on their being fed with "earthly things," worldly goods, and misses entirely the spiritual dimension of worship and relationship to God. Because of this misunderstanding, says my study bible, Jesus departed from them. His mission is not to become a worldly king. It parallels the image of the people of Israel desiring a king to rule over them in the Old Testament, such as the Gentiles had. But Jesus is not that kind of King, and His is not that sort of Kingdom.
Over and over again, we return to Jesus' words to the Samaritan woman: God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth. Just doesn't want to be a worldly king. Perhaps, we could ask, if they had truly understood Him? But His disciples never ask Him to become king. Perhaps they expected that this would happen, that the coming of the Kingdom would really fully be a complete kingdom such as the Roman Empire was ruled by Caesar and had conquered pretty much the known world. Perhaps a king like Alexander the Great, who really had gone to the end of the continent and ruled from the Mediterranean across all of Asia. But none of this happens. This is a different thing going on here, a different call, a different kind of rule. This is a kingdom of love. Worldly rule is different. This gift given to the people is given from love. It's not a "proof" even though it is a sign of the presence of the Kingdom about which Jesus speaks. Jesus isn't looking for votes, either. But He's looking for hearts that will respond in spirit and in truth. He's looking for those who can "recognize" who and what He is. And He's looking for the hearts that love and respond to God the Father, and in them He will find His sheep. That's what this is all about. In that sense, this feeding in the wilderness is a sign to all about what kind of Kingdom this is. Giving thanks becomes a key to that in the sense that we understand the goodness of God, the goodness of the gifts were given, and that the gifts are given not as bribe or manipulation but as extension of love. That's where the reality of this Kingdom departs from, and become so much more than, the reality of what we call "worldly." Not that the world isn't part and parcel of the Kingdom, not that all that is of this world is somehow incorporated and transformed in the grace and energy of that Kingdom, but that the Kingdom is a kind of energy and reality that adds so much as to transfigure what a gift really is and means. It's the energy of love that transforms a gift into something that is truly of the heart, and reaching to the heart of the recipient. And that's where we "worship in spirit and truth," in the heart. What we give thanks for is that sort of a gift. It may look like our every day currency of life: bread and fish, food, which are also things we depend on. But this gift is tinged with something more than that; it's a gift from a Father who loves us and wants us to be fed with more, and to understand our need for spiritual food -- that this is inseparable from true well-being, wholeness, the fullness of who we really are and can be. That's how the Eucharist links us up with the body and blood of Christ. It becomes the presence of the Kingdom with us and in us. It becomes a kind of reality that infuses everything else, and that's the nature of grace. And this is what we have to remember about this Kingdom. It may touch everything. It fills with meaning. It gives everything another added dimension. It teaches us about spirit and truth. It also makes relationships, because its whole nature is love, as will be written in a letter of John, the author of this Gospel. It adds a boundless reality to that which we know with our five senses. Let's remember what this is, what it is to be fed with this, and the nature of this Kingdom. For all that, we may be truly grateful.
