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 own; 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 His dialogue to the religious leaders, after healing a paralytic on the Sabbath, and declaring His unity with God the Father:   "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 see 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 chapter 6 of John's Gospel, which begins here, parallels the story of the Passover and Exodus of Israel from Egypt in several important ways.  Here we note that 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).  Here, we read that the multitudes 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?"   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 own; 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 is another parallel to the Exodus recorded in the Old Testament.  In the Exodus, my study Bible comments, the Jews were said to eat unleavened bread because they were so hastily driven out of Egypt, and could bring no provisions for themselves (Exodus 12:39).  But here, Jesus proceeds to feed these multitudes with earthly bread as they had brought no provisions,  because they had rushed out to see Him.   He tests Philip to increase his faith, for, my study Bible explains, Philip needed help in understanding Him (John 14:8-10).  Two hundred denarii corresponds to over six month wages for a laborer.  Andrew has greater faith than Philip.  He knows that the prophet Elisha had multiplied bread for 100 men (2 Kings 4:42-44), he offers the food brought by a lad.  Nonetheless, my study Bible says, Andrew is still weak in faith, as he questions what five loaves could do for such a number of people there.   The twelve baskets of leftover fragments symbolize that which the apostles would carry into the world.  

 

 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.  Although Jesus had performed greater signs than this, these crowds so desire an earthly Messiah that they declared Jesus to be the expected Prophet (Deuteronomy 18:15-19) only when they were filled with earthly things, my study Bible shows us.  Because of this misunderstanding, Jesus departed from them. 

 

This feeding of the multitude is the fourth of the seven signs of the Lord reported by John the Evangelist.  This feeding is so central to the story of Christ's ministry that it is recorded in all four Gospels.  My study Bible further comments that the description of Christ as He took the loaves, gave thanks (in Greek, Ευχαριστω/Euxaristo) and distributed them prefigures the celebration of the Eucharist.  Not only is it essential that we tie this important story to the Eucharist, and the feeding of the multitudes in the Exodus, it teaches us about the Lord's capacity to fulfill our needs.  Both the people who've followed Christ in this story, and the Israelites who hastily left Egypt in the Exodus, have done so in following the commands of God.  This multitude in today's story has followed Christ because of the signs He's performed which they've seen (so we are to understand there are many more signs done by Christ than the Gospel gives us), but they have also done so in haste and without thinking of provisions.  In this sense, Jesus is like the sun that draws those who need the light, and so "hungry" are they for what Christ offers that they follow Him up on the mountain.  They've put Him first before their need for food, and this is a sign of the search for something in which to put their faith.  So, just as the Lord fed the Israelites with manna, Jesus teaches the disciples to feed this multitude, and provides the miraculous sign in so doing.  Today's story also teaches us, however, that we need to be discerning in how we read and understand signs.  For not only is Jesus the One who can provide this multiplication of food in a miraculous way, He's also the One the signs point to as Lord -- the One who must teach them about the faith and the reality of God He is bringing into the world.  He does not come simply for material comfort, but to reveal God and how God will lead us forward in our lives, and teach us over the course of our lives to grow in dependence upon God, and also to learn what "works" God calls upon us to learn to do ourselves as we grow in that faith and dependence.  Opening up to Christ is a first step; He must also lead us the rest of the way up that mountain toward a deeper communion with God through our faith, and our lives.  Let us think about what it is Christ has with which to feed us.  We bring to Him our own meager or incomplete provisions as we seek to meet Him wherever we might, but from there we need also to follow Him forward on terms He teaches us, for He has come to lead and to heal.  Perhaps He asks us, in His way, about what we think we need, in order to teach us what it is we really need -- and what food there is that we don't know about (John 4:32).  The people at the end of this story today wish to forcefully make Him king, a political Messiah.  But Jesus has other plans, and greater things to achieve and to bring to us.  Jesus tells the disciples, "Gather up the fragments that remain, so that nothing is lost."  In Him, what there is that may feed us is never lost, and we may always turn to Him for more than we understood before.