The Gospel of John
6:1-14 - CHAPTER STUDY
 

The Sign (Miracle) of the Loaves and the Fishes

J. Deering, AncientPath.net


THE GOSPEL OF JOHN CHAPTER 6:1-14
The Gospel of John – Text Based Studies

THE TEXT:

The Sign (Miracle) of the Loaves and the Fishes

 

THE TEXT

Five Thousand Fed

After these things Jesus went away to the other side of the Sea of Galilee. 2 A large crowd followed Him, because they saw the signs which He was performing on those who were sick. 3 Then Jesus went up on the mountain, and there He sat down with His disciples.

 4 Now the Passover, the feast of the Jews, was near. 5 Therefore Jesus, lifting up His eyes and seeing that a large crowd was coming to Him, *said to Philip, “Where are we to buy bread, so that these may eat?” 6 This He was saying to test him, for He Himself knew what He was intending to do. 7 Philip answered Him, “Two hundred denarii worth of bread is not sufficient for them, for everyone to receive a little.” 8 One of His disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, *said to Him, 9 “There is a lad here who has five barley loaves and two fish, but what are these for so many people?” 10 Jesus said, “Have the people sit down.” Now there was much grass in the place. So the men sat down, in number about five thousand. 11 Jesus then took the loaves, and having given thanks, He distributed to those who were seated; likewise also of the fish as much as they wanted.

 12 When they were filled, He *said to His disciples, “Gather up the leftover fragments so that nothing will be lost.” 13 So they gathered them up, and filled twelve baskets with fragments from the five barley loaves which were left over by those who had eaten. 14 Therefore when the people saw the sign which He had performed, they said, “This is truly the Prophet who is to come into the world.”

COMMENTARY [6:1a]

“After these things”

About 6 months has passed since we left Jesus, in John 5:47, demonstrating "The Son's equality with the Father."

The following is a list of the events that have transpired since then:

1.   Mt, Mk, Lk, - Controversy over the disciples picking grain on the Sabbath

2.   Mt, Mk, Lk, - Healing of a man's withered hand on the Sabbath

3.   Mt, Mk - Jesus' withdrawal to the Sea of Galilee with a great multitude following

4.   Mk, Lk - The appointment of the Twelve Disciples

5.   Mt, Lk - The setting of the Sermon on the Mount

6.   Mt, Lk - SM Blessings of those who inherit the Kingdom of God and woes of those who don't

7.   Mt - SM Responsibility while awaiting the Kingdom

8.   Mt - SM Law, Righteousness and the Kingdom

9.   Mt - SM Six contrasts in interpreting the Law

10.                Mt - Three hypocritical practices to be avoided

11.                Mt, Lk - SM Three Prohibitions

12.                Mt, Mk - SM Application and conclusion

13.                Mt - SM The multitudes' reaction

14.                Mt, Lk - The healing of the Centurion’s servant

15.                Lk - A widow's son raised at Nain

16.                Mt, Lk - John The Baptist relationship to the Kingdom of God

17.                Mt, Woes upon two cities for failure to repent

18.                Lk - Christ's feet anointed by a woman

19.                Lk - The First Public Rejection of Jesus By Jewish Leadership
 

Jesus heals a demonic, blind, and mute man
Mt 12:24 "But when the Pharisees heard it, they said, "This man casts out demons only be Beelzebul the ruler of the demons."

Mk 3:22 "And the scribes who came down from Jerusalem were saying, "He is possessed by Beelzebul," and, "He casts out the demons by the ruler of the demons."

20.                Mt, Mk, Lk - Jesus begins to teach in Parables so that only those whom the Sprit of God has readied may understand His spiritual messages.

21.                Mt, Mk, Lk - The parable of the soils

22.                Mk - The parable of the seed's spontaneous growth

23.                Mt - The Parable of the tares

24.                Mt, Mk - The parable of the mustard tree

25.                Mt, Mk - The parable of the leavened loaf

26.                Mt - The parable of the hidden treasure

27.                Mt - The parable of the pearl of great price

28.                Mt - The parable of the dragnet

29.                Mt - The parable of the householder

30.                Mt, Mk, Lk - Jesus calms the storm on the sea of Galilee

31.                Mt, Mk, Lk - The healing of the two men possessed by demons

32.                Mt, Mk, Lk - The healing of the woman who touched Christ's garment

33.                Mt, Mk, Lk - The Raising of Jairus' daughter

34.                Mt - The healing of two blind men

35.                Mt - The healing of a dumb man possessed by demons

36.                Mt - Another Public Rejection of Jesus by Jewish Leadership

37.                Mt 9:34 "But the Pharisees were saying, "He casts out the demons by the ruler of the demons."

38.                Mt, Mk - The shortage of workers

39.                Mt, Mk, Lk - The commissioning of the Twelve

40.                Mt, Mk - Imprisonment and beheading of John the Baptist

41.                Mt, Mk, Lk - Antipas mistakes Jesus for a risen John The Baptist

Mt, Mk, Lk, John 6:1-3 - The Withdrawal from Galilee

After these things Jesus went away to the other side of the Sea of Galilee. 2 A large crowd followed Him, because they saw the signs which He was performing on those who were sick. 3 Then Jesus went up on the mountain, and there He sat down with His disciples.

Jesus travels some distance from where He has been performing His latest miracles. He moved Himself and His disciples up across the northern edge of the Sea of Galilee and then down along the eastern shore to a town recorded as Bethsaida. This Bethsaida is a second town called Bethsaida, but this one is to the northeast side of the sea. It’s there that Jesus picks out a hillside outside the town and it is there that “sat down with His disciples.”

“At this point in His ministry, Jesus’ relationship with the multitudes changed. Prior to this He made it a point for the most part to go to them, though there were exceptions. The following months were especially characterized by His withdrawal from them. Five factors have merit in accounting for these withdrawals:

1.   The Jealousy of Herod Antipas. Apparently the arrival of John’s disciples with the news of John’s burial coincided with the return of the twelve from their preaching tour of Galilee, which was part of Herod’s domain. Jesus left the area to avoid any further retaliatory steps by Herod because of the widespread publicity resulting from the tour of the twelve.

2.   The misguided zeal of followers who sought to force Jesus to accept the throne of Israel prematurely (John 6:15). Jesus avoided such a confrontation and its probable unfortunate aftereffects.

3.   The hostility of Jewish leaders. Opposition from those in high places had surfaced as the Galilean ministry progressed, but now It had developed to the point that further ministry in Galilee had to be curtailed radically.

4.   The disciples’ need for rest after their grueling tours. Departure from the hot shores of the Sea of Galilee to the cooler mountain areas afforded an opportunity to this.

5.   The opportunity for more personalized instructions of the disciples. In Galilee the disciples were either in the role of recipients of instruction or were profiting in a special way from Jesus’ dealing with others. Their ministries throughout Galilee had probably created many questions. The Lord thus gave them a different kind of opportunity to learn about and from Him.

This point marks a shift from a predominantly public ministry to a predominantly private one. Other transitions may be observed in progress at this point:

a.   An emphasis on the King replaced an emphasis on the Kingdom;

b.   Instruction was preparatory for a period of His absence in lieu of His presence

c.   And, with the exception of intermittent visits to Galilee, He limited His ministry to outside that area from this point on.” [1]

6:4

The Timing of the event

4 Now the Passover, the feast of the Jews, was near.

John includes this timing note to let us know why there was a crowd of people around this little town. Jewish pilgrims would be gathering along the roads to Jerusalem as they made their way to that city. So each little town along those roads would have a continuous stream of travelers on their way to celebrate the Passover in Jerusalem. Later, after the Passover, those pilgrims would once again flood these little towns where water and food could be obtained.

6:5-14 Jesus gives a lesson on “The Bread Of Life”

6:5-7 The Testing of Philip
Therefore Jesus, lifting up His eyes and seeing that a large crowd was coming to Him, *said to Philip, “Where are we to buy bread, so that these may eat?” 6 This He was saying to test him, for He Himself knew what He was intending to do. 7 Philip answered Him, “Two hundred denarii worth of bread is not sufficient for them, for everyone to receive a little.”

“The prominence of the disciples throughout this time underscores the importance of the learning experience for them. They learned something about their teacher’s power they had not realized before. Their doubt (John 6:7) needed to be replaced by confidence.”  [2]

Jesus uses Philip and his doubt to teach a very important lesson – Jesus, Himself, is able to provide for the physical needs of people because He is the “Bread of Life.” Phillip is the one who expresses the rather hopeless situation; there is a multitude of seekers and not only is there any bread for them, but there is also not enough money in their purse to buy enough bread.

When All four Gospels report this event none of them tells us the whole picture of the vast number of people. The writers only speak of the men who are there. The pilgrimage to Jerusalem and the Passover would involve men, women, wives, and children as well. Most scholars would say that there were in excess of fifteen thousand individuals present at this event.

Philip also pointed out that it would take the day’s wages of 200 men to provide enough money to buy just the bread needed. [3]

It says that Jesus asked the question “where are we to buy bread?” in order to move Philip’s heart to his mouth, and express his doubt. Jesus already knew of Philip’s doubt. All of the disciples were experiencing doubts. A careful reading of all four Gospels gives a pretty clear indication that it won’t be until after Jesus’ resurrection that even His closest disciples (John himself), who had lingering doubts as to what Jesus was up to – after all, for the most part, they were waiting for Jesus to usher in the Kingdom of the Jews and remove the yoke of Rome. They expected Him to rally the nation against the Herods and against Rome. It worried them that Jesus was doing miraculous things – but they weren’t leading to the building up of an army.

6:8-11 Andrew, A Man of Faith

8 One of His disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, *said to Him, 9 “There is a lad here who has five barley loaves and two fish, but what are these for so many people?” 10 Jesus said, “Have the people sit down.” Now there was much grass in the place. So the men sat down, in number about five thousand. 11 Jesus then took the loaves, and having given thanks, He distributed to those who were seated; likewise also of the fish as much as they wanted.

Apparently a young lad has brought a basket with five loaves of bread and two fishes as a meal offering to Jesus and His disciples. Andrew’s heart is revealed as he mentions the bread and the people’s needs, even though this offering would never begin to feed all.

Jesus then takes control of the situation and tells the disciples to tell the people who have gathered around them to sit down.  Harrison mentions that the timing would be just right for the growth of new soft grasses in that area, for Passover comes in the spring. It’s just a little note, but Jesus is not just concerned about feeding the thousands, but He also cares for their comfort. The book of Mark records that Jesus had them recline on the grass – for that would be the normal position for a person eating a meal. Jesus also asks them to recline in groups of fifties and one-hundreds. He alone knows what He is going to do and setting the people into smaller groups will facilitate the disciples’ delivery of the multiplied bread and fish.

Mark and Luke record that Jesus not only took the bread and blessed it but that He did likewise with the fish. We’ve talked before about Jesus and His being a servant of His Father while on earth. Jesus reaches out to His heavenly Father for every decision. He prays to His father continuously. The Scripture writers attest to this in every event. Jesus sets forth an example – even better a principle of the relationship between the members of the Godhead, and the relationship of the believer to Our God. Total loving dependence upon Him and the constant loving communication between Our God and we, His servants.

He took each loaf of bread, and each fish and continually broke each in half, and each time He was left with enough to do it again, and again, and again, until all five loaves and both fish were broken enough time to make sure that each and every person there was able to eat their fill.

 

6:12-14 The Feeding of the Multitudes is a “Sign” miracle

When they were filled, He *said to His disciples, “Gather up the leftover fragments so that nothing will be lost.” 13 So they gathered them up, and filled twelve baskets with fragments from the five barley loaves which were left over by those who had eaten. 14 Therefore when the people saw the sign which He had performed, they said, “This is truly the Prophet who is to come into the world.”

At the end of the meal Jesus calls upon the disciples to clean up every bit, even the smallest pieces. They picked up twelve baskets full. Jesus fed everyone there and they were satisfied with what they ate – and there was still twelve baskets of surplus.

When the crowd was finished and after the twelve baskets had been collected and displayed… “The people saw the sign which He had performed.” It takes a long time for 12 people to serve 15 thousand people. Imagine the scene, there’s Jesus in the center of the crowd. Everyone’s reclining and has visual contact with Jesus and the disciples standing. There’s no wagon piled with bread and fish. Jesus takes one fish and one loaf and divides fish 7500 times, and the loaf 3000 times, The second loaf of bread and divides that up another 3000 times and third loaf 3000 times. Then repeats the process. The second fish is divided 7500 times and the fourth loaf 3000 and the fifth load 3000 times. Just acquiring enough baskets would certainly make the crowd aware that something miraculous was happening. Trip after trip, back and forth, filling up the baskets, passing out the food – for a very long time. I can imagine the members of the crowd standing up, one at a time, as the drama of the moment heightens.

Their response is the recognition of the Old Testament prophecies. They together proclaim “This is truly The Prophet – Who comes into the world.” The Sign Miracle has done it’s job. Jesus has been authenticated by the people upon seeing this sign.

 

Key Verses to Understanding The Section [6:1-14]

Jesus offers Proof of His Deity as the provider of food miraculously.

6:2 The Crowd was following Him because of His signs and miracles.

6:5 The doubt of Philip – a doubt that is overcome by the nature of God.

6:9 The gift of the lad – Much is accomplished because of the small seed of faith.

6:10 The heart of Jesus – make the people comfortable.

6:11 The total reliance upon The Father God, for even a meal.

6:13 The provision of God is always abundant.

6:14 The recognition of “The Prophet – who comes into this world”
and the Authentication as “The Christ.”

Next Time: This great event turns sour!


[1] Thomas, Robert, and Gundry, Stanley, A Harmony of the Gospels, New American Standard, 1978 The Moody Bible Institute of Chicago

[2] ibid

[3] A single denarii was the payment for a single day’s wage for a man.

 


20170905