This is truly the Prophet who is to come into the world

 After these things Jesus went over the Sea of Galilee, which is the Sea of Tiberius.  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

In yesterday's reading, Jesus continued speaking about Himself to the leadership in the temple at Jerusalem (at the Feast of Weeks):  "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 Tiberius.  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 first comments on the entire chapter we now begin, suggesting that it parallels the Passover and Exodus of ancient Israel in the Old Testament Scriptures.  First of all, in the Exodus account (Exodus 11-17), God's signs were initially performed against Pharaoh, then God gave instructions on how to be saved at the time of the Passover (Exodus 11:1-12:14).  In today's passage, we note that the multitudes initially follow Christ because of His signs, and this also takes place at Passover. 

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?"  Christ first tests Philip to increase his faith, as Philip needed help in understanding Him (14:8-10).  Two hundred denarii, my study bible says, corresponds to more than six months' wages for a laborer.  But Andrew's faith is stronger than Philip's.  He knows that the prophet Elisha had multiplied bread for 100 men (2 Kings 4:42-44).  Andrew offers the food brought by a certain lad.  But nevertheless, Andrew also is still weak in faith, as he questions what a mere five loaves could do for the number of people who are there. 

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.   Here there is a second parallel to the Exodus account.  In the Exodus, the Jews are said to have eaten unleavened bread because they were hastily driven out of Egypt, and they had therefore brought no provisions for themselves (Exodus 12:39).   In this passage, Jesus feeds the multitudes with earthly bread as they have brought no provisions, having rushed out to see Him.   This feeding of the multitude is the fourth of Christ's seven signs reported in John's Gospel.   This miraculous feeding is reported in all four Gospels.  The description given of Christ as He took the loaves, gave thanks (eucharisto in the Greek), and distributed them is a prefiguring of the celebration of the Eucharist.

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 that although Jesus had performed greater signs than this, the crowds are so desirous of an earthly Messiah (that is, an extraordinary man who would be king of Israel) that they declared Jesus to be the expected Prophet (Deuteronomy 18:15-19), only after they are filled with earthly things (see also verse 26).  Because of this misunderstanding, Jesus departed from them.

What would an "earthly" king or Messiah be like?  He would be something like King David, an extraordinary man, truly faithful to God, and a king who would possibly rule Israel within an eternal kingdom on earth, an Israel gloriously "resurrected" to its true place on earth with its fortunes properly restored.  But this is not the story of Christ, the Man who is also God.  This story will take a dramatically different turn.  Far from a glorious kingdom on earth that rules over all, in which bread and honey flow abundantly for all (Exodus 3:6-8), the story of Christ will take on a complex, puzzling, even strange (to us) history of the Church on earth, the Kingdom which struggles midst a world beset with evils.  It is not the story of "worldly success" on earthly terms.  There is little doubt of the beauty and benefits that the Church has brought into the world.  Throughout the centuries and around the world (and right from its beginnings), Christians as communities have been models of industriousness, of good works such as the establishment of hospitals and charities, of efforts at more humane justice systems and relief to enslaved populations.  (For the Eastern world, this took on one form, for example, of ransoming women enslaved in harems, with saints such as this one whose relics remain in central Athens risking and losing their lives in martyrdom to do so.)   Christ Himself, a victim of injustice, stands for us as our King, the One who rules heaven and earth, and whose return we await.  As His followers and subjects, our job is to live as He has taught us to live, to build His Kingdom in the world within us -- in ourselves and our communities.  We worship God in spirit and in truth, as He said to the Samaritan woman;  God's kingdom has no circumference and is found everywhere -- realized through faith which we carry within us and among us, conscious of the temptations, misunderstandings, lack of spiritual sight and hearing, and the myriad ways in which God is neglected and human beings can miss the mark of faith that is the promise of our own  make up which consists of more than the body, but also soul and spirit.  Christ's kingdom in the world will be one to which we come as volunteer citizens, fully engaged, and growing in that engagement and its depth within us, a synergistic human-divine enterprise, like its Founder.  It is consciousness to which we are called -- the so-much-more than merely "earthly" life that makes up the more abundant life that He has promised.  It is this depth of engagement that the miraculous feeding miracle in the wilderness promises, as Christ will come to teach in this chapter that He is the living bread for all of us.  Let us be ready to understand and consider the fullness of this promise, offered freely to all of us, and sometimes seemingly heard and claimed by so few.   He is so much more than simply a prophet, and offers us so much more in Himself.