John 6:1-15 (ESV)

¹ After this Jesus went away to the other side of the Sea of Galilee, which is the Sea of Tiberias. ² And a large crowd was following him, because they saw the signs that he was doing on the sick. ³ Jesus went up on the mountain, and there he sat down with his disciples. ⁴ Now the Passover, the feast of the Jews, was at hand. ⁵ Lifting up his eyes, then, and seeing that a large crowd was coming toward him, Jesus said to Philip, “Where are we to buy bread, so that these people may eat?” ⁶ He said this to test him, for he himself knew what he would do. ⁷ Philip answered him, “Two hundred denarii worth of bread would not be enough for each of them to get a little.” ⁸ One of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, said to him, ⁹ “There is a boy here who has five barley loaves and two fish, but what are they for so many?” ¹⁰ Jesus said, “Have the people sit down.” Now there was much grass in the place. So the men sat down, about five thousand in number. ¹¹ Jesus then took the loaves, and when he had given thanks, he distributed them to those who were seated. So also the fish, as much as they wanted. ¹² And when they had eaten their fill, he told his disciples, “Gather up the leftover fragments, that nothing may be lost.” ¹³ So they gathered them up and filled twelve baskets with fragments from the five barley loaves left by those who had eaten. ¹⁴ When the people saw the sign that he had done, they said, “This is indeed the Prophet who is to come into the world!” ¹⁵ Perceiving then that they were about to come and take him by force to make him king, Jesus withdrew again to the mountain by himself.

The “Feeding of the Five Thousand” is the only miracle recorded in all four Gospels, Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. Many people were following Jesus because they heard about his miracles. When Jesus saw a massive crowd coming to him, he asked Philip, “How can we feed all these people?” Philip lived nearby and would know where to get food. Philip replied, “Even if we had two hundred days’ worth of wages (or about eight months of pay) we couldn’t feed them all.” Andrew chimed in and told Jesus of a boy present who had five loaves and two fish. But Andrew said that wouldn’t be of much help. John is the only Gospel author who mentions that the loaves were barley. What difference would that make? Barley was the lowest and cheapest form of grain available. Barley loaves were the food of the poor. The fish were also small and simply served to add flavor to the low-grade bread. John also records the abundance of grass. This lets the reader know it was springtime (Passover). Verse 10 states that five thousand men were present. That means the total would have been thousands and thousands more if the women and children who ate were added in, and many scholars suggest fifteen to twenty thousand were actually present.

The people hoped that Jesus would be a king who would continually provide them with food, eliminating their physical hunger. But Jesus came to satisfy a much deeper need: their spiritual hunger. The miracle of physical provision was to teach them about Jesus’ ability to satisfy the hunger of their souls. Verse 15 states, “Perceiving then that they were about to come and take him by force to make him king, Jesus withdrew again to the mountain by himself.” He knew there would be no kingdom established before he met the cross. The feeding of the five thousand or the fifteen thousand was a miracle. If you are feeling discouraged, like you only have a few barley loaves and a couple of sardines to offer, remember that Jesus is the one who can and will abundantly fill you. And he will fill you so that it will seem as if baskets full are leftover. Ask Jesus to satisfy the longings of your soul today, and expect him to do it.