There is a lad here who has five barley loaves and two small fish, but what are they among so many?

 

 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.  And 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 replied to the leaders:   "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.  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 comments that this next chapter which begins here is a parallel to the story of the Passover and Exodus of Israel from Egypt in many important ways.  Perhaps the first place we should start is here, where we're told that the Passover was near.  That means that at this point Jesus' ministry has continued for at least one full year, since we've already been given details of what happened at a previous Passover festival (in this reading).  In the Exodus account (Exodus 11-17), God first performed His signs against Pharaoh, and then gave instructions on how to be saved at the time of the Passover (Exodus 11:1-12:14).  In today's passage, my study bible notes, the multitudes follow Christ because of His signs, and it 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?"   My study bible comments here that Christ tests Philip in order to increase his faith, for Philip needed help to understand Him (14:8-10).   Two hundred denarii corresponds to over six months wages for a laborer, something quite meaningful to these disciples.  Andrew, my study bible points out, has greater faith than Philip:  knowing that the prophet Elisha had multiplied bread for 100 men (2 Kings 4:42-44), he offers the food which has been broad by a lad.  Andrew, however, is still weak in faith, and questions what a mere five loaves could do for the number of people present.

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 the fourth sign of seven which are given to us in John's Gospel.  It is of such significance that it plays an important role in each of the four Gospels.  Here in John's Gospel, as noted above, it plays a role paralleling the story of the Exodus of Israel.  At the Exodus, my study bible reminds us, the Jews were said to eat unleavened bread because they were quickly driven out of Egypt, and they had brought no provisions for themselves (Exodus 12:39).  Here, Jesus feeds the multitudes with earthly bread as they had brought no provisions, because they had rushed out to see Him.  In the ancient numbering system, it's the number of men who are given here (about five thousand).  But many more women and children were also present.  The description of Jesus as He took the loaves, gave thanks (in Greek, eucharisto/ευχαριστω), and distributed them prefigures the celebration of the Eucharist.

And 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 comments here that although Jesus had performed greater signs than this, these crowds so desired an earthly Messiah that they declared Jesus to be the expected Prophet (Deuteronomy 18:15-19) only when they were filled with earthly things (which Jesus will remark upon in verse 26).  Because of this misunderstanding, Jesus departed from them, going to the mountain by Himself alone.

There seem to be many lessons contained in today's reading.  First of all, let us note how things unfold.  None of this seems to be planned at all.  Jesus goes up on the mountain with His disciples, but a great multitude follows Him because of all the signs He's done.   But Jesus clearly understands something important, when we're told that He asks Philip about where they would get food to feed all of these people in order to test him.   And then there is the appearance of the five barley loaves and two small fish, which a boy happened to bring with him.  (Interesting to think that none of the men -- or women, for that matter -- who've followed had any thought for food.)   Although Jesus knew what He would do, as the text tells us, it seems also that there is a great message here about making do with what we have at hand.  When we find ourselves in a position of difficulty, we can't forget that we also have help with us all the time.  If it looks like we're not going to be able to cope with a particular circumstance in a way we understand, it's time to stop and pray, and ask for guidance.  It's time to reconsider if perhaps there isn't a way to begin with what we have, and find our way through with God's help.  This is the time when creative solutions, which might just surprise us -- I have found that they often do! -- can come into our hearts and hands and make do.  Often, these solutions that come with God's help turn out to be better than what we'd imagined was the way things should be done but it was impossible under the circumstances.  St. Paul says, "And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose" (Romans 8:28).  The text makes it clear that Jesus had no control over what all of these people would do, that they would follow Him, and so forth, because in the end the men decide to forcefully make Him king, something Jesus does not want.  It seems clear that the message here is all about God's power to multiply and to take what we have at hand, what the world might give us, so to speak, and make do in ways that might completely surprise us.  Even in the way that Jesus first gives thanks for the food, we're reminded to take time for God under all circumstances, and maybe most of all at the time when we're most hard-pressed to work out solutions to immediate problems.  By contrast, we notice Christ's response to the "earthly" ideas of the men, that they wish to forcefully make Him king.  This is not an idea accompanied by faith and prayer, but one made out of the response to being fed with "earthly" things, and it is therefore a "worldly" idea.  If we take these two aspects of today's reading together, it points to something Christ continually emphasized in yesterday's reading, in which He spoke to the leaders in Jerusalem about His relationship to God the Father.   As human beings, we turn to God in all things in the same way that Christ does.  He may be divine as Son, but lives His full life as Jesus the human being so that we may follow Him.  Let us take our time to root ourselves in prayer and faith for where we go and what we seek.  Ours is an imperfect learning curve, but it is His road for us nonetheless.