And Jesus went up into a mountain, and there he sat with his disciples.
Jesus went up into a mountain and sat there with His disciples for a brief secluded rest apart from the multitude before the crowd found Him. The grassy rise apart became the scene where He taught the way of salvation, healed and comforted the needy, and opened the feeding of the five thousand. Sitting there He took the chair of state as a teacher having authority, giving the people the Word which is the bread of life. The chapter's central lesson is that Christ Himself is the living bread from heaven, whose words are spirit and life to be received and lived by as essential as food and drink. In the miracle He is the source of the food and the disciples are the channel, receiving from Him and passing to the people what increases as it is shared.
Mountain Setting and Moment
Jesus went up into the mountain and sat there with His disciples in a secluded retreat for a brief time of quiet and peaceful rest apart from the multitude. He had landed unobserved and spent a little time apart with them before the crowd found Him. The solitude was soon broken, for people who noticed the direction He had taken came by land and by boat to meet Him, a multitude was waiting, and leaving His retreat He went to minister to them.
The place was a grassy eminence, a rise set a little apart, where He could be seen and heard by all. There He spent the day teaching the way of salvation, healing all the sick and afflicted brought to Him, and comforting sorrow. Seeing their need He was moved with compassion and left His retreat to teach and heal them.
Knowing the multitude would follow, He took advantage of the circumstances to become a field preacher. He went up the hill and sat there with His disciples, not at ease but in the chair of state as a teacher having authority. From that seat He gave the people the Word which is the bread of life.
By sitting there with His disciples before large numbers He condescended to bring them into prominence and give them reputation. In this way many would recognize that they worked as He worked.
The crowd had followed eagerly beyond the sea from Capernaum because of His miracles, to hear words of life and receive His instruction. They withdrew with Him away from the cities into quiet places. The Passover was near.
The setting was a wilderness and barren shore beside the Sea of Galilee, where food was not readily available and many lacked the means to buy it. It lay within sight of the place where the disciples later gathered and not far distant from Capernaum, the scene of many miracles. There no boat was left by which He could depart.
Feeding Miracle Details
This verse opens the feeding of the five thousand, in which the people sat in an orderly arrangement in His presence and He directed the disciples to help seat them and distribute the food multiplied from the small store. From five barley loaves and two small fishes He created food sufficient to feed thousands bounteously, supplying them from the small store until everyone was satisfied. The food did not run out but multiplied in His hands as it was passed from Him to the disciples and then to the people, making the disciples the channels through which He provided. As they distributed it, a few loaves and fishes multiplied among the people until five thousand men besides women and children, above ten thousand persons, had eaten and were satisfied.
At His direction the remaining pieces were gathered so that nothing would be lost, filling twelve baskets after all had eaten. Though apparently without food or means in a wilderness where food was not readily available and many lacked means to buy it, He knew their need and depended on His heavenly Father to provide. His command to give food to the needy carried power to provide what was needed even when the means at hand seemed small, showing that God can supply what is needed when His workers follow His directions. The miracle showed the source of His power as the Source of all blessings.
News of the miracle of feeding spread far and near, and on the following morning great numbers began to arrive early by land and water to the same spot where they had last seen Him, seeking Jesus. He had remained there with compassionate watch as the crowd departed on the barren shore where no boat was left by which He could depart. The crowd had been fed the preceding day, and the report of the loaves drew large crowds back the next morning.
When the risen Jesus broke food and divided it among the seven on the shore and bade them come and dine, it brought that mountainside breaking and dividing distinctly to their minds. There on the mountainside where He was with His disciples He had broken the bread and fish and divided them among them in feeding the five thousand. They knew and acknowledged Him, gazing upon Him in silent and mysterious awe as the memory of that feeding was recalled with wonder.
Bread of Life Meaning
John 6 belongs to the chapter whose central lesson is that Christ is the bread of life and the source of life for the world. He is the living bread come down from heaven who gives eternal life, and coming to Him and believing in Him satisfy spiritual hunger and thirst. That receiving of Christ by eating His flesh and drinking His blood is the divine antidote for the sin of the whole world, giving eternal life and resurrection at the last day, so that even if the believer dies the life of the Saviour is in him and his life is hid with Christ in God. Christ came to give life more abundantly and carries on the great process by which believers are made one with Him in this present life to be one with Him throughout all eternity.
Eating His flesh and drinking His blood means receiving and assimilating His words until they become part of the self. The bread of life must be taken into the mind, understood and practiced, with the whole life shaped by it and truth becoming part of daily life. Diligent study of the Word makes its divine principles a part of life, bringing its truths into daily experience and grasping the mysteries of godliness. The living oracles are the flesh and blood of the Son of God, living bread to be received and lived by, and His work as the substitute for sin was the only hope of ancient Israel. The New Testament does not cast aside the Old, but its light gives significance to the whole Jewish economy, and the practical directions for holiness and obedience given to ancient Israel remain part of the Christian life.
His words are spirit and life, bringing eternal life to those who receive Him. Feeding upon His words is as essential to spiritual life as food and drink are to physical life, for His words are represented as His flesh and blood and are received as the living bread from heaven for spiritual nourishment. Living by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God means living by what God has revealed, which is all that is necessary for salvation though not all has been revealed because it could not be borne. Truth is revealed only as known in Christ, and receiving and living by His words calls for less self and a deep, fervent piety, with youth learning God's law and the penalty for breaking it and God accepting the Saviour's ransom for them when they obey that law.
The sixth chapter gives the rich manna of heaven to feed upon, appointed to gain spiritual strength and comfort, to create soul hunger for God and keep love for Bible religion alive, giving peace, joy, hope and assurance. It supplies the bread sent down from heaven, the spiritual food by which men and women are built up in mind and spiritual growth, in contrast to worldly books and magazines that lead the mind astray, hinder spiritual growth, and leave those ministering in word and doctrine dull of understanding. It presents a question of life or death in choosing whom to serve, requiring an undivided heart, because filling eyes and ears with theatrical performances closes the heart to light from the throne of God and destroys hunger for God. Lived out in practical life, the instruction of John 6 together with John 13 through John 17 cures dissension and seeking the highest place, producing unity with one another and with Christ and giving strength to withstand Satan's assaults and to stand the test.
Studying the chapter teaches what study of the Word means and what dependence on Christ rather than on human beings means. Its principles are to be brought home to the soul by eating the Word of God, that is, by not departing from its precepts but bringing its truths into daily life. His Word is not to be left for the suppositions of men, but learned through prayer, communion with God, and proving the very mind of God as those striving for eternal life who must have a knowledge of His will. The whole chapter is very instructive but is only faintly understood, containing most precious and important lessons for all being educated in schools and giving the education that endures through time and eternity when its wonderful truths are brought into practical life. Jesus teaches in it what He is to each person and what advantage comes to each one individually from eating His words, realizing that He Himself is the great center of life, and His words in it are to be taken in so that privileges may be understood.
The Word as the bread of life representing the body and blood of the Son of God does not address the understanding alone as a book of mathematical formulas addresses the intellect alone. It aims at the heart, addresses the moral nature, and takes possession of the will, casting down imaginations and every high thing exalted against the knowledge of God and bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ. The feeding with the loaves and fishes connects directly to His walking on the water and to His declaration that He is the Bread of life, a teaching that caused some of His disciples to turn from Him. The chapter also defines the righteousness of Christ, and accepting that righteousness is necessary to have the wedding garment and be fit for the wedding.
The miracle of feeding the multitude serves as a figure of His work, showing that as bread gives the body strength, faith in Christ and obedience to His teaching give the soul spiritual vigor and everlasting life. Eating His flesh and drinking His blood means receiving Him and living by Him, and those who do so have eternal life, dwell in Him, and will be raised at the last day.
Responses to Christ
His teaching and healing had already nearly convinced the people of His divinity, and this mighty miracle which no human power could do crowned their growing conviction with entire belief, so that while eating the food He provided they decided He was indeed the Messiah of divine power. Thoughtful and candid witnesses who saw it were led to take exalted views of His character and office, with evidence heaped upon evidence sufficient to convince any mind open to evidence. The Jewish leaders nevertheless remained unbelieving and demanded another sign, and unbelieving hearers heard only with their ears with understanding closed.
They wanted to take Him by force and make Him king and claim for Him David's throne, a plan that would have interrupted His work of mercy and teaching, but He refused to become king. Judas helped distribute the food to the hungry multitude and helped bring the sick and suffering to Christ, seeing what relief and joy and gladness came through healing and feeling the satisfaction that comes in service to God. Yet blinded by his own selfish desires for high place in an earthly kingdom in Jerusalem, he was first to take advantage of the enthusiasm excited by the miracle and set on foot the project to seize Christ by force and make Him king, with high hopes and bitter disappointment when it failed and when his attempt was rebuked, having hoped to gain prominence by prompting that crisis. After the refusal His popularity began to wane, and He devoted Himself more earnestly to teaching His disciples.
He unfolded truths that the priests and rulers and even many of the disciples did not understand in order to lead the people to decide for or against Him and to lead His hearers to reveal the real sentiments of their hearts. These truths had to be spoken so that those not wholly with Him would manifest themselves in a decided manner before His crucifixion, because all who were not wholly with Him then would take a position against Him at His trial and would otherwise tempt the disciples in their great trial to dishonor their Master. Many sought Him not because they saw the miracles but because they ate of the loaves and were filled, coming only for the temporal advantages they could obtain and for supply of immediate physical needs. He made the miracle the occasion for His sermon on the bread of life, and when they heard the conditions of eternal life and entrance into the kingdom of God, many went back and walked no more with Him almost immediately.
Those who later asked Him for a sign had been among those miraculously fed, yet they wanted Him to repeat the miracle and show how He increased the food. He meant the feeding to awaken faith in Him as the Son of God and the Bread of life, but they missed its lesson and were unwilling to receive Him, not recognizing His divine mission. The sign did not overcome hearts seeking an excuse to avoid the self-denial involved in following Him. His plain testimony offended many, and they rejected its reproof, preferring human praise to God's admonition.
Receiving to Impart
On the mountain Jesus stands as the source of the food while the disciples serve as the channel through which He gives it to the people, receiving from the Father and giving to the disciples who pass it to the people. Those united to Him receive from Him the bread of life and pass on to others what they receive, for their own strength cannot meet spiritual need. They can give spiritual food only as they receive it from Christ the Bread of Life, for they are channels between Him and the people and not a source in themselves. Their work as His representatives is to give the bread of life to the people, and to do so they must seek spiritual food from God, not for self-gratification or personal credit, for all glory belongs to God.
As they give what they have received they are supplied with more to share, the gift increasing as it is shared. Giving what they receive does not leave them without supply, for as they continue to impart they continue to receive. The small supply entrusted to Christ multiplied as He distributed it through the disciples, and after the people were fed Christ and the disciples ate of the gathered fragments, sustained in their work by God's power. Those who work with God receive grace from Christ to pass on to people in need.
He appointed His representatives to give the bread of life, foreseeing how often their faith would be tried in unexpected positions where they would realize their human insufficiency. Hungering souls would come to them when feeling destitute and helpless, and they must receive spiritual food or they would have nothing to impart. Yet they are not to turn one soul away unfed, for Christ directs them to the source of supply and God who sent His servants to feed the hungry will supply their need for His own work.
Supplying temporal food to the hungry opened the way to place Him in the chair of instruction, and deeds of mercy open a door for His disciples when they break the bread of life to hungry souls. By sitting there with His disciples before large numbers He brought them into prominence to give them reputation, so that many would recognize that they worked as He worked. In accommodating a tired, hungry multitude and providing for them through food distributed by the disciples, He showed that those who share what they receive from Him with people in need may receive both temporal and spiritual blessings.
His ministry of going among the people, teaching and giving them spiritual life while attending to bodily needs, is the model for reaching people beyond the church and sharing the light He gives. He used the beauty and works of nature to direct minds to God and help them remember sacred truths. His followers are to share what they have with those who lack the truth, making it possible for seekers after salvation to hear the word of life and removing obstacles that make coming to Him difficult. They are not to neglect people when hungry or weary, for helping them and caring for their need is Christian duty.
Lessons for Daily Life
After all were fed He had the disciples gather the fragments so that nothing was lost, teaching by His own example of industry and frugality the careful use of Providence's bounties, with economy and thrift especially in difficult circumstances. That lesson binds all workers to waste nothing, even outside their own assigned part, to work for God's scrutiny rather than human praise, with those in leading positions to set the example. The bounties of Providence are not given to be squandered nor to be used in an aimless, wasteful manner, but gifts received at His hand are to be carefully used. This was applied as a call to share honestly what God has given rather than gain by gambling or cheating others.
The lesson was given as much for today as for that day, proving that the Son of God cares for the necessities of temporal life and requires economy even when He could create supply at will. All are dependent on God for life, for food, for health, and even for the very air breathed, and He foresaw the need for this lesson on economy throughout the centuries. When His workers follow His directions in a wilderness where food is not readily available and many lack means to buy it, He knows their need and depends on the Father to supply what is needed. In such difficult circumstances people are to use wisdom and not create avoidable troubles through reckless choices, but when they have followed His way and still face need they should seek God's wisdom and help with confidence and not give up in discouragement.
What seems like a meager supply, only five loaves and two fishes, can become enough to satisfy people and provide something to share, with twelve baskets of fragments remaining after everyone had eaten. The miracle illustrates God's creative power continually providing food in the growth of harvests, where ordinary work in growing grain and making bread does not remove God's agency in providing it. The life that makes seed grow, together with rain, air, and sunshine, comes from God; people cooperate by tending grain and preparing bread, but must not mistake human work or natural processes for the divine source. The miracle teaches to recognize God's gifts, give Him glory, and use those gifts as blessings rather than for selfish purposes.
The simple meal met a genuine need and shows His sustaining power works through both ordinary natural provision and through miracle, while its simplicity shows His provisions had been distorted by indulgence in unnatural tastes. The same One who fed one hundred men in former times supplied His people in the wilderness not only with bread but with clear flowing streams, and as the Coming One cast His glory upon the people He was guiding just as upon those He taught in His humanity. Though He walked this earth in lowliness and poverty He was greater than Moses, and it is the grace of God on the small portion that makes it all-sufficient. By the touch of His hand He can multiply a scanty portion a hundredfold and from His resources spread a table in the wilderness for more than a million people.
God can bless and multiply a small provision so it supplies the needs of many, and offerings made to help His work can be blessed and multiplied in the same way. He will multiply small scattered means placed in missionary work as they are imparted to others so that all may eat and be filled, enabling those who use the resources they have and trust Him to reach multitudes hungry for the bread of life. Faith should therefore lay hold upon God and expect success, planning and working in faith to diffuse the gospel over the whole earth without stopping work or measuring advance by the means at hand, since measuring by means shows very limited faith. The feeding is thus an object lesson that God can accomplish great things for His people with resources that appear insufficient.
Food increased as it passed from Christ to those who received it, and in the same way God's truth multiplies as it is passed on, so that even a torn page containing the message may influence a seeker, an application to sharing publications. The disciples gathered the remaining fragments so that nothing was lost. The event provides an example for food work to use simple, inexpensive methods that do not require large investments, and to keep selfish private interests from obstructing the work. In answer to earnest prayer He will supply wisdom, skill, talent and ingenuity to devise means and manufacture necessary, wholesome, inexpensive foods to feed the hungry, clothe the naked and teach the ignorant.
This provision is needed more in the Southern states than in any other part of America, so that wholesome productions of the earth can be prepared and sold to the poor at as low a rate as possible. He meets people's physical need for food and His generous provision is not limited to that occasion, for He can also give His people knowledge to find food in different places and ways, and as the heavenly Provider of all foods He will not leave His people in ignorance about preparing the best foods for all times and occasions. Gifts given with thanksgiving and prayer are multiplied and blessed just as the food given to the disciples was, and making the best use of available means enables God to use His people to feed multitudes starving for the bread of life. This includes giving money and self-denying effort to advance sanitarium and soul-saving medical missionary work.
Human restrictions on food production should not place people where God should be or prevent them from doing work God has given them, for the Lord is Father and Keeper. The food distributed among the multitude was created by God and handed out as goods lent in trust, and in the same way all that rich men have is lent them in trust by God by which they are tested and proved. Because the goods belong to the Lord none is to be spent in riotous living for tobacco, tea and coffee, or intoxicating liquor, and life is not given to be squandered by gross intemperance. After the feeding He held an interview with His disciples in which they received much precious instruction, until it was interrupted by those searching for Him bringing their sick and afflicted, when He repaired to the synagogue.
The chapter gives the rich manna of heaven to feed upon, appointed to gain spiritual strength and comfort, to create soul hunger for God and keep love for Bible religion alive, giving peace, joy, hope and assurance. It supplies the bread sent down from heaven, the spiritual food by which men and women are built up in mind and spiritual growth, in contrast to worldly books and magazines that lead the mind astray, hinder spiritual growth, and leave those ministering in word and doctrine dull of understanding. It contains most precious and important lessons for all who are being educated in schools, giving the education that endures through time and eternity when its wonderful truths are brought into practical life. Filling eyes and ears with theatrical performances closes the heart to light from the throne of God and destroys hunger for God, presenting a question of life or death in choosing whom to serve and requiring an undivided heart.
Its teaching that receiving and living by His words brings spiritual life calls for less self and a deep, fervent piety. Feeding upon His words is as essential to spiritual life as food and drink are to physical life, for His words are represented as His flesh and blood. Youth should learn God's law and the penalty for breaking it, and God accepts the Saviour's ransom for them when they obey that law. The practical directions for holiness and obedience given to ancient Israel remain part of the Christian life, and the New Testament does not cast aside the Old Testament but its light gives significance to the whole former economy.
The account shows He can multiply a very small supply of food so that it is enough for many, an object lesson that God can accomplish great things with resources that appear insufficient. The account shows His power to meet people's needs, opening the miracle in which He provided bread for five thousand besides women and children as an act expressing His love for the children of men, with such miracles of provision and healing part of His mission. The miracle showed the source of His power as the Source of all blessings, revealing His divinity. It should have helped the disciples recognize the Father revealed through Him. The feeding took place where thousands had gathered to listen to His teachings and became hungry, and He fed a large crowd miraculously with loaves and fishes by His power.
Jesus went up into a mountain and sat there with His disciples for a brief secluded rest apart from the multitude before the crowd found Him. The grassy rise apart became the scene where He taught the way of salvation, healed and comforted the needy, and opened the feeding of the five thousand. Sitting there He took the chair of state as a teacher having authority, giving the people the Word which is the bread of life. The chapter's central lesson is that Christ Himself is the living bread from heaven, whose words are spirit and life to be received and lived by as essential as food and drink. In the miracle He is the source of the food and the disciples are the channel, receiving from Him and passing to the people what increases as it is shared.
Mountain Setting and Moment
Jesus went up into the mountain and sat there with His disciples in a secluded retreat for a brief time of quiet and peaceful rest apart from the multitude. He had landed unobserved and spent a little time apart with them before the crowd found Him. The solitude was soon broken, for people who noticed the direction He had taken came by land and by boat to meet Him, a multitude was waiting, and leaving His retreat He went to minister to them.
The place was a grassy eminence, a rise set a little apart, where He could be seen and heard by all. There He spent the day teaching the way of salvation, healing all the sick and afflicted brought to Him, and comforting sorrow. Seeing their need He was moved with compassion and left His retreat to teach and heal them.
Knowing the multitude would follow, He took advantage of the circumstances to become a field preacher. He went up the hill and sat there with His disciples, not at ease but in the chair of state as a teacher having authority. From that seat He gave the people the Word which is the bread of life.
By sitting there with His disciples before large numbers He condescended to bring them into prominence and give them reputation. In this way many would recognize that they worked as He worked.
The crowd had followed eagerly beyond the sea from Capernaum because of His miracles, to hear words of life and receive His instruction. They withdrew with Him away from the cities into quiet places. The Passover was near.
The setting was a wilderness and barren shore beside the Sea of Galilee, where food was not readily available and many lacked the means to buy it. It lay within sight of the place where the disciples later gathered and not far distant from Capernaum, the scene of many miracles. There no boat was left by which He could depart.
Feeding Miracle Details
This verse opens the feeding of the five thousand, in which the people sat in an orderly arrangement in His presence and He directed the disciples to help seat them and distribute the food multiplied from the small store. From five barley loaves and two small fishes He created food sufficient to feed thousands bounteously, supplying them from the small store until everyone was satisfied. The food did not run out but multiplied in His hands as it was passed from Him to the disciples and then to the people, making the disciples the channels through which He provided. As they distributed it, a few loaves and fishes multiplied among the people until five thousand men besides women and children, above ten thousand persons, had eaten and were satisfied.
At His direction the remaining pieces were gathered so that nothing would be lost, filling twelve baskets after all had eaten. Though apparently without food or means in a wilderness where food was not readily available and many lacked means to buy it, He knew their need and depended on His heavenly Father to provide. His command to give food to the needy carried power to provide what was needed even when the means at hand seemed small, showing that God can supply what is needed when His workers follow His directions. The miracle showed the source of His power as the Source of all blessings.
News of the miracle of feeding spread far and near, and on the following morning great numbers began to arrive early by land and water to the same spot where they had last seen Him, seeking Jesus. He had remained there with compassionate watch as the crowd departed on the barren shore where no boat was left by which He could depart. The crowd had been fed the preceding day, and the report of the loaves drew large crowds back the next morning.
When the risen Jesus broke food and divided it among the seven on the shore and bade them come and dine, it brought that mountainside breaking and dividing distinctly to their minds. There on the mountainside where He was with His disciples He had broken the bread and fish and divided them among them in feeding the five thousand. They knew and acknowledged Him, gazing upon Him in silent and mysterious awe as the memory of that feeding was recalled with wonder.
Bread of Life Meaning
John 6 belongs to the chapter whose central lesson is that Christ is the bread of life and the source of life for the world. He is the living bread come down from heaven who gives eternal life, and coming to Him and believing in Him satisfy spiritual hunger and thirst. That receiving of Christ by eating His flesh and drinking His blood is the divine antidote for the sin of the whole world, giving eternal life and resurrection at the last day, so that even if the believer dies the life of the Saviour is in him and his life is hid with Christ in God. Christ came to give life more abundantly and carries on the great process by which believers are made one with Him in this present life to be one with Him throughout all eternity.
Eating His flesh and drinking His blood means receiving and assimilating His words until they become part of the self. The bread of life must be taken into the mind, understood and practiced, with the whole life shaped by it and truth becoming part of daily life. Diligent study of the Word makes its divine principles a part of life, bringing its truths into daily experience and grasping the mysteries of godliness. The living oracles are the flesh and blood of the Son of God, living bread to be received and lived by, and His work as the substitute for sin was the only hope of ancient Israel. The New Testament does not cast aside the Old, but its light gives significance to the whole Jewish economy, and the practical directions for holiness and obedience given to ancient Israel remain part of the Christian life.
His words are spirit and life, bringing eternal life to those who receive Him. Feeding upon His words is as essential to spiritual life as food and drink are to physical life, for His words are represented as His flesh and blood and are received as the living bread from heaven for spiritual nourishment. Living by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God means living by what God has revealed, which is all that is necessary for salvation though not all has been revealed because it could not be borne. Truth is revealed only as known in Christ, and receiving and living by His words calls for less self and a deep, fervent piety, with youth learning God's law and the penalty for breaking it and God accepting the Saviour's ransom for them when they obey that law.
The sixth chapter gives the rich manna of heaven to feed upon, appointed to gain spiritual strength and comfort, to create soul hunger for God and keep love for Bible religion alive, giving peace, joy, hope and assurance. It supplies the bread sent down from heaven, the spiritual food by which men and women are built up in mind and spiritual growth, in contrast to worldly books and magazines that lead the mind astray, hinder spiritual growth, and leave those ministering in word and doctrine dull of understanding. It presents a question of life or death in choosing whom to serve, requiring an undivided heart, because filling eyes and ears with theatrical performances closes the heart to light from the throne of God and destroys hunger for God. Lived out in practical life, the instruction of John 6 together with John 13 through John 17 cures dissension and seeking the highest place, producing unity with one another and with Christ and giving strength to withstand Satan's assaults and to stand the test.
Studying the chapter teaches what study of the Word means and what dependence on Christ rather than on human beings means. Its principles are to be brought home to the soul by eating the Word of God, that is, by not departing from its precepts but bringing its truths into daily life. His Word is not to be left for the suppositions of men, but learned through prayer, communion with God, and proving the very mind of God as those striving for eternal life who must have a knowledge of His will. The whole chapter is very instructive but is only faintly understood, containing most precious and important lessons for all being educated in schools and giving the education that endures through time and eternity when its wonderful truths are brought into practical life. Jesus teaches in it what He is to each person and what advantage comes to each one individually from eating His words, realizing that He Himself is the great center of life, and His words in it are to be taken in so that privileges may be understood.
The Word as the bread of life representing the body and blood of the Son of God does not address the understanding alone as a book of mathematical formulas addresses the intellect alone. It aims at the heart, addresses the moral nature, and takes possession of the will, casting down imaginations and every high thing exalted against the knowledge of God and bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ. The feeding with the loaves and fishes connects directly to His walking on the water and to His declaration that He is the Bread of life, a teaching that caused some of His disciples to turn from Him. The chapter also defines the righteousness of Christ, and accepting that righteousness is necessary to have the wedding garment and be fit for the wedding.
The miracle of feeding the multitude serves as a figure of His work, showing that as bread gives the body strength, faith in Christ and obedience to His teaching give the soul spiritual vigor and everlasting life. Eating His flesh and drinking His blood means receiving Him and living by Him, and those who do so have eternal life, dwell in Him, and will be raised at the last day.
Responses to Christ
His teaching and healing had already nearly convinced the people of His divinity, and this mighty miracle which no human power could do crowned their growing conviction with entire belief, so that while eating the food He provided they decided He was indeed the Messiah of divine power. Thoughtful and candid witnesses who saw it were led to take exalted views of His character and office, with evidence heaped upon evidence sufficient to convince any mind open to evidence. The Jewish leaders nevertheless remained unbelieving and demanded another sign, and unbelieving hearers heard only with their ears with understanding closed.
They wanted to take Him by force and make Him king and claim for Him David's throne, a plan that would have interrupted His work of mercy and teaching, but He refused to become king. Judas helped distribute the food to the hungry multitude and helped bring the sick and suffering to Christ, seeing what relief and joy and gladness came through healing and feeling the satisfaction that comes in service to God. Yet blinded by his own selfish desires for high place in an earthly kingdom in Jerusalem, he was first to take advantage of the enthusiasm excited by the miracle and set on foot the project to seize Christ by force and make Him king, with high hopes and bitter disappointment when it failed and when his attempt was rebuked, having hoped to gain prominence by prompting that crisis. After the refusal His popularity began to wane, and He devoted Himself more earnestly to teaching His disciples.
He unfolded truths that the priests and rulers and even many of the disciples did not understand in order to lead the people to decide for or against Him and to lead His hearers to reveal the real sentiments of their hearts. These truths had to be spoken so that those not wholly with Him would manifest themselves in a decided manner before His crucifixion, because all who were not wholly with Him then would take a position against Him at His trial and would otherwise tempt the disciples in their great trial to dishonor their Master. Many sought Him not because they saw the miracles but because they ate of the loaves and were filled, coming only for the temporal advantages they could obtain and for supply of immediate physical needs. He made the miracle the occasion for His sermon on the bread of life, and when they heard the conditions of eternal life and entrance into the kingdom of God, many went back and walked no more with Him almost immediately.
Those who later asked Him for a sign had been among those miraculously fed, yet they wanted Him to repeat the miracle and show how He increased the food. He meant the feeding to awaken faith in Him as the Son of God and the Bread of life, but they missed its lesson and were unwilling to receive Him, not recognizing His divine mission. The sign did not overcome hearts seeking an excuse to avoid the self-denial involved in following Him. His plain testimony offended many, and they rejected its reproof, preferring human praise to God's admonition.
Receiving to Impart
On the mountain Jesus stands as the source of the food while the disciples serve as the channel through which He gives it to the people, receiving from the Father and giving to the disciples who pass it to the people. Those united to Him receive from Him the bread of life and pass on to others what they receive, for their own strength cannot meet spiritual need. They can give spiritual food only as they receive it from Christ the Bread of Life, for they are channels between Him and the people and not a source in themselves. Their work as His representatives is to give the bread of life to the people, and to do so they must seek spiritual food from God, not for self-gratification or personal credit, for all glory belongs to God.
As they give what they have received they are supplied with more to share, the gift increasing as it is shared. Giving what they receive does not leave them without supply, for as they continue to impart they continue to receive. The small supply entrusted to Christ multiplied as He distributed it through the disciples, and after the people were fed Christ and the disciples ate of the gathered fragments, sustained in their work by God's power. Those who work with God receive grace from Christ to pass on to people in need.
He appointed His representatives to give the bread of life, foreseeing how often their faith would be tried in unexpected positions where they would realize their human insufficiency. Hungering souls would come to them when feeling destitute and helpless, and they must receive spiritual food or they would have nothing to impart. Yet they are not to turn one soul away unfed, for Christ directs them to the source of supply and God who sent His servants to feed the hungry will supply their need for His own work.
Supplying temporal food to the hungry opened the way to place Him in the chair of instruction, and deeds of mercy open a door for His disciples when they break the bread of life to hungry souls. By sitting there with His disciples before large numbers He brought them into prominence to give them reputation, so that many would recognize that they worked as He worked. In accommodating a tired, hungry multitude and providing for them through food distributed by the disciples, He showed that those who share what they receive from Him with people in need may receive both temporal and spiritual blessings.
His ministry of going among the people, teaching and giving them spiritual life while attending to bodily needs, is the model for reaching people beyond the church and sharing the light He gives. He used the beauty and works of nature to direct minds to God and help them remember sacred truths. His followers are to share what they have with those who lack the truth, making it possible for seekers after salvation to hear the word of life and removing obstacles that make coming to Him difficult. They are not to neglect people when hungry or weary, for helping them and caring for their need is Christian duty.
Lessons for Daily Life
After all were fed He had the disciples gather the fragments so that nothing was lost, teaching by His own example of industry and frugality the careful use of Providence's bounties, with economy and thrift especially in difficult circumstances. That lesson binds all workers to waste nothing, even outside their own assigned part, to work for God's scrutiny rather than human praise, with those in leading positions to set the example. The bounties of Providence are not given to be squandered nor to be used in an aimless, wasteful manner, but gifts received at His hand are to be carefully used. This was applied as a call to share honestly what God has given rather than gain by gambling or cheating others.
The lesson was given as much for today as for that day, proving that the Son of God cares for the necessities of temporal life and requires economy even when He could create supply at will. All are dependent on God for life, for food, for health, and even for the very air breathed, and He foresaw the need for this lesson on economy throughout the centuries. When His workers follow His directions in a wilderness where food is not readily available and many lack means to buy it, He knows their need and depends on the Father to supply what is needed. In such difficult circumstances people are to use wisdom and not create avoidable troubles through reckless choices, but when they have followed His way and still face need they should seek God's wisdom and help with confidence and not give up in discouragement.
What seems like a meager supply, only five loaves and two fishes, can become enough to satisfy people and provide something to share, with twelve baskets of fragments remaining after everyone had eaten. The miracle illustrates God's creative power continually providing food in the growth of harvests, where ordinary work in growing grain and making bread does not remove God's agency in providing it. The life that makes seed grow, together with rain, air, and sunshine, comes from God; people cooperate by tending grain and preparing bread, but must not mistake human work or natural processes for the divine source. The miracle teaches to recognize God's gifts, give Him glory, and use those gifts as blessings rather than for selfish purposes.
The simple meal met a genuine need and shows His sustaining power works through both ordinary natural provision and through miracle, while its simplicity shows His provisions had been distorted by indulgence in unnatural tastes. The same One who fed one hundred men in former times supplied His people in the wilderness not only with bread but with clear flowing streams, and as the Coming One cast His glory upon the people He was guiding just as upon those He taught in His humanity. Though He walked this earth in lowliness and poverty He was greater than Moses, and it is the grace of God on the small portion that makes it all-sufficient. By the touch of His hand He can multiply a scanty portion a hundredfold and from His resources spread a table in the wilderness for more than a million people.
God can bless and multiply a small provision so it supplies the needs of many, and offerings made to help His work can be blessed and multiplied in the same way. He will multiply small scattered means placed in missionary work as they are imparted to others so that all may eat and be filled, enabling those who use the resources they have and trust Him to reach multitudes hungry for the bread of life. Faith should therefore lay hold upon God and expect success, planning and working in faith to diffuse the gospel over the whole earth without stopping work or measuring advance by the means at hand, since measuring by means shows very limited faith. The feeding is thus an object lesson that God can accomplish great things for His people with resources that appear insufficient.
Food increased as it passed from Christ to those who received it, and in the same way God's truth multiplies as it is passed on, so that even a torn page containing the message may influence a seeker, an application to sharing publications. The disciples gathered the remaining fragments so that nothing was lost. The event provides an example for food work to use simple, inexpensive methods that do not require large investments, and to keep selfish private interests from obstructing the work. In answer to earnest prayer He will supply wisdom, skill, talent and ingenuity to devise means and manufacture necessary, wholesome, inexpensive foods to feed the hungry, clothe the naked and teach the ignorant.
This provision is needed more in the Southern states than in any other part of America, so that wholesome productions of the earth can be prepared and sold to the poor at as low a rate as possible. He meets people's physical need for food and His generous provision is not limited to that occasion, for He can also give His people knowledge to find food in different places and ways, and as the heavenly Provider of all foods He will not leave His people in ignorance about preparing the best foods for all times and occasions. Gifts given with thanksgiving and prayer are multiplied and blessed just as the food given to the disciples was, and making the best use of available means enables God to use His people to feed multitudes starving for the bread of life. This includes giving money and self-denying effort to advance sanitarium and soul-saving medical missionary work.
Human restrictions on food production should not place people where God should be or prevent them from doing work God has given them, for the Lord is Father and Keeper. The food distributed among the multitude was created by God and handed out as goods lent in trust, and in the same way all that rich men have is lent them in trust by God by which they are tested and proved. Because the goods belong to the Lord none is to be spent in riotous living for tobacco, tea and coffee, or intoxicating liquor, and life is not given to be squandered by gross intemperance. After the feeding He held an interview with His disciples in which they received much precious instruction, until it was interrupted by those searching for Him bringing their sick and afflicted, when He repaired to the synagogue.
The chapter gives the rich manna of heaven to feed upon, appointed to gain spiritual strength and comfort, to create soul hunger for God and keep love for Bible religion alive, giving peace, joy, hope and assurance. It supplies the bread sent down from heaven, the spiritual food by which men and women are built up in mind and spiritual growth, in contrast to worldly books and magazines that lead the mind astray, hinder spiritual growth, and leave those ministering in word and doctrine dull of understanding. It contains most precious and important lessons for all who are being educated in schools, giving the education that endures through time and eternity when its wonderful truths are brought into practical life. Filling eyes and ears with theatrical performances closes the heart to light from the throne of God and destroys hunger for God, presenting a question of life or death in choosing whom to serve and requiring an undivided heart.
Its teaching that receiving and living by His words brings spiritual life calls for less self and a deep, fervent piety. Feeding upon His words is as essential to spiritual life as food and drink are to physical life, for His words are represented as His flesh and blood. Youth should learn God's law and the penalty for breaking it, and God accepts the Saviour's ransom for them when they obey that law. The practical directions for holiness and obedience given to ancient Israel remain part of the Christian life, and the New Testament does not cast aside the Old Testament but its light gives significance to the whole former economy.
The account shows He can multiply a very small supply of food so that it is enough for many, an object lesson that God can accomplish great things with resources that appear insufficient. The account shows His power to meet people's needs, opening the miracle in which He provided bread for five thousand besides women and children as an act expressing His love for the children of men, with such miracles of provision and healing part of His mission. The miracle showed the source of His power as the Source of all blessings, revealing His divinity. It should have helped the disciples recognize the Father revealed through Him. The feeding took place where thousands had gathered to listen to His teachings and became hungry, and He fed a large crowd miraculously with loaves and fishes by His power.