¹ Some time after this, Jesus crossed to the far shore of the Sea of Galilee (that is, the Sea of Tiberias), ² and a great crowd of people followed him because they saw the signs he had performed by healing the sick. ³ Then Jesus went up on a mountainside and sat down with his disciples. ⁴ The Jewish Passover Festival was near.
⁵ When Jesus looked up and saw a great crowd coming toward him, he said to Philip, “Where shall we buy bread for these people to eat?” ⁶ He asked this only to test him, for he already had in mind what he was going to do.
⁷ Philip answered him, “It would take more than half a year's wages to buy enough bread for each one to have a bite!”
⁸ Another of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter's brother, spoke up, ⁹ “Here is a boy with five small barley loaves and two small fish, but how far will they go among so many?”
¹⁰ Jesus said, “Have the people sit down.” There was plenty of grass in that place, and they sat down (about five thousand men were there). ¹¹ Jesus then took the loaves, gave thanks, and distributed to those who were seated as much as they wanted. He did the same with the fish.
¹² When they had all had enough to eat, he said to his disciples, “Gather the pieces that are left over. Let nothing be wasted.” ¹³ So they gathered them and filled twelve baskets with the pieces of the five barley loaves left over by those who had eaten.
¹⁴ After the people saw the sign Jesus performed, they began to say, “Surely this is the Prophet who is to come into the world.” ¹⁵ Jesus, knowing that they intended to come and make him king by force, withdrew again to a mountain by himself.
His is not a kingdom of scarcity, but of lavish grace— He turns our little into His much
Thoughts
- Jesus Sees (1-5): The Jewish Passover Festival was near. This event is recorded in all four gospels, and is the second of three that John mentions, so we understand that some time has passed. Thousands and thousands of people who’ve followed Jesus to the middle of nowhere because they’re seeking something more—hot sun, crying kids and hangry wives. A dire situation. Jesus is no detached guru sitting up on the hill. He sees them and their most basic need: they’re hungry. Jesus is the greater Moses who feeds both body Exo 16 and soul (Bread of Life upcoming, Joh 6:25 ff.).
- ~~Share Your Lunch~~. Come to Jesus (6-9). Jesus pushes both Philip and Andrew with the impossibility of the problem. The barley flatbread and anchovies was a poor boy’s lunch. Not a call to ‘share your lunch,’ it’s a call to bring it to God who is with us, right here, right now (Immanuel Mat 1:22).
- He’s Got the Whole World in His Hands (10-13): Jesus demonstrates His absolute union with the Father: He looks up to heaven and gives thanks (εὐχαριστέω / eucharisteō), and breaks the bread Mat 14:19 and distributes. Think: the Last Passover, and our Sunday Eucharist (Communion). In His hands is superabundance— 12 baskets of leftovers, 12 tribes, 12 disciples. Here is the Word-Became-Flesh. Col 1:16,17 For in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him. He is before all things, and in him all things hold together*.
- **Prophet • Priest • King - Triplex Munus (14-15): The crowd recognized Jesus to be a great prophet Deut 18:15,18 and seeking deliverance from Rome, they wanted to make Him king. But first, He must act as the Final High Priest: Heb 2:17** For this reason he had to be made like them, fully human in every way, in order that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in service to God, and that he might make atonement for the sins of the people.*
Reflections
- Jesus turns a small boy’s meal into a banquet for thousands—can His abundance satisfy you, too? Where is one place this week where you can place your trust in His abundance?
