John 6:5, commentary and pictures

On a barren mountainside by the Sea of Galilee near Passover, after a full day of teaching and healing toward evening, Jesus saw more than ten thousand hungry, weary people who had followed Him and had been without food, and He turned to Philip with the question where bread could be bought to feed them. He asked not for counsel but to test Philip's faith, for He already knew how He would provide. Philip answered by human reckoning that the need was impossible, that two hundred pennyworth of bread would not give each even a little. Moved with pity for their temporal as well as spiritual need, Jesus would not send them away fainting, but took the only supply at hand of five barley loaves and two small fishes, blessed it, broke it and gave it through His disciples until all ate as much as they wanted and twelve baskets of fragments remained. The feeding reveals Him as the bread of life sent from heaven, whose words are spirit and life to be inwardly received by faith for eternal life, as temporal bread strengthens the body so faith in Him gives vigor to the soul.

Setting and Circumstances

The scene is on a mountain by the Sea of Galilee, on a barren shore and beach in a secluded place, near the Passover, at sunset in the evening after teaching and healing through the entire day. The great company came to Him by land and water, and He met them there as the sun was setting and the day's work was closing. The feeding itself took place on that beach by the Sea of Galilee where much ministry was passed.

The company was five thousand men besides women and children, above ten thousand persons in all. It is reckoned as about ten thousand people with five thousand children. No boat had been left by which departure could be made, and on the following morning large numbers returned at an early hour to the spot where they had last been seen.

They had followed eagerly because they had seen His miracles healing the diseased, to hear words of life such as had never fallen on their ears. They had listened all day and been without food since morning, becoming hungry, weary and faint far from home where food could not be obtained nearby. Many had come from far, and they had been with Him for three days until their food was used up. When He lifted up His eyes He saw the great company coming unto Him, noticed their hunger and weakness, and turning to Philip asked where bread could be bought that these might eat, thereby involving His disciples in providing food.

The question came despite interruption of His rest, for He Himself had labored without food or rest until pale from weariness and hunger. The disciples urged Him to send the people to the surrounding towns and villages to buy food, or to stop and rest. Yet He remained because their needs were urgent, saw them as sheep without a shepherd, found a place to minister to them and taught them the way of salvation.

Testing Philip's Faith

Jesus asked Philip where bread could be bought to feed the great company coming to Him, not because He lacked a plan but to test the faith of Philip and the disciples, for He already knew what He would do and how He would provide. The question was asked on a mountain by the Sea of Galilee near the Passover, as He lifted His eyes and noticed the large approaching crowd that had followed because they had seen His miracles in healing the diseased. It came at the close of a day in which He had taught and healed, after telling the disciples to feed the people themselves, while He Himself had labored without food or rest until pale from weariness and hunger and the disciples were urging Him to send the people to the surrounding towns and villages to buy food because many had come from far and had eaten nothing since morning. The testing arose from His attentive care for their practical needs as well as their spiritual needs, when the people had gone without food and the need seemed beyond their means.

Philip answered from human calculation that provision was impossible, judging that two hundred pennyworth of bread would not give each even a little, and that even a large amount would still leave everyone without enough. The practical problem was that they had listened all day and were hungry, having been without food since morning, while the human need was beyond human supply. His response revealed lack of faith despite having witnessed Jesus' works and power.

The question carries His charge that the disciples themselves give the people to eat, bringing their difficulties to mind. His command to feed others carries the power to provide, so great need and small means need not defeat faith. When people lack the bread of life, His followers should not respond in unbelief or assume help must come from someone far away, for Christ is present and they should commune with Him and bring Him what they have to use. The insufficiency was stark, with only five barley loaves and two small fishes from a lad available for about five thousand men besides women and children, yet He had the men sit on the grass, gave thanks, and distributed bread and fish through His disciples as much as they wanted, preparing the lesson to gather up the fragments that remain so nothing would be lost.

Compassionate Miraculous Provision

His lifting up His eyes to see the great company coming was an act of tender pity and benevolence, moved by compassion and love that cared for temporal need as well as spiritual need. He saw them as sheep without a shepherd, found a place to minister to them and taught them the way of salvation even though His own rest was interrupted. He would not send them away hungering, let them go home unrefreshed, or let them faint by the way, and He who would not work a miracle to satisfy His own hunger in the wilderness would not allow the multitude to suffer, for the miracle was part of His mission expressing His love.

The only supply at hand was five barley loaves and two small fishes from a lad, a few loaves and fishes that was nothing among so many, with about five thousand men besides women and children to be fed. He had the men sit on the grass, gave thanks and blessed the free-will offering, broke and divided it and gave it to the disciples to distribute to the multitudes as much as they wanted. The food multiplied and increased in His hands and in the hands of those who distributed it until all were fed, the crowd continuing to gather after He blessed it. This shows He can instantly multiply a very small supply and create food by infinite miraculous power, feeding thousands from that small store with enough left over to fill twelve baskets.

With no food or apparent means at hand, God's providence had placed Him there and He depended on His Father to meet the need, receiving from the Father and giving to the disciples who passed it to the people. The same power had fed one hundred men in Old Testament times and had spread a table in the wilderness for more than a million with bread and clear streams. Though He walked in lowliness and poverty He is greater than Moses, the Coming One who said Before Abraham was, I AM.

After all were satisfied He commanded the fragments to be gathered that nothing be lost, and twelve baskets of leftovers, reckoned as five or seven bushels, were gathered up. The gathering was not merely to save scraps but to make a lasting impression of the lesson, teaching that God's gifts are not to be wasted and nothing useful is to be squandered. The multiplication illustrates God's power in producing the harvest and His ongoing provision, for the creative power that multiplied the loaves multiplies seed and continually provides food for millions. It is the life that makes seed grow with rain, air and sunshine and through daily crops and bread, which people should recognize, receive as blessing and give Him glory for rather than overlook, misuse or use for selfish ends, since food for sustenance ultimately comes through His miracle-working power. He never works a miracle to exalt His power or add glory to His disciples, but works intelligently as necessity occurs to satisfy hunger and meet a genuine necessity, teaching that God provides life's needs.

Christ the Bread of Life

John 6 stands as the teaching that Christ is the bread of life sent down from heaven, the source of spiritual life for the world, and receiving Him inwardly and believing in Him satisfies the soul and brings eternal life and resurrection. The bread spoken of there is to be taken into the mind, understood and practiced, for spiritual nourishment comes through Christ and His word, and men and women are built up spiritually from the food they give the mind. The Bible supplies that heavenly bread for spiritual growth, and comprehending these important statements requires prayer to God for clearness of understanding.

His words are spirit and life, the very flesh and blood that sustain spiritual life. The Word is living bread from heaven that addresses the heart and moral nature, takes possession of the will, and must become part of the person and be taken into practical life as the source of life and joy. Receiving the Son of God is set forth as eating His flesh and drinking His blood, which means truth in Jesus must be taken into the life to be understood and appreciated and lived out daily, with His lessons calling people to receive and obey His words for eternal life. Christ is thus the center of life, and the value lies in receiving His words as spiritual food.

To eat the Word means to obey its precepts and to receive and assimilate Christ's words until they become part of life and of oneself. It means to feed on its truths instead of unprofitable reading, keeping magazines and worthless reading matter aside, for its principles are to be brought into the soul and daily life and not set aside for human opinions. Its lessons are for all, older and younger, to read and study and meditate upon and commit to memory, and this feeding upon Christ's words as His very flesh and blood is the important education for children and youth and men and women learning to become workers together with God. It is learning as newborn babes to desire the sincere milk of the Word that they may grow thereby, tasting that the Lord is gracious in real experience, being truly converted and born again, and cherishing the truth that works by love and purifies the soul. God has therein revealed what is necessary for salvation, though not everything.

The feeding of the multitude furnishes a figure of His work on earth, for as temporal bread imparts health and strength to the body, so faith in Christ and obedience to His teachings give spiritual vigor to the soul and life everlasting. The chapter plainly expresses God's will for His people and contains the divine antidote for the sin of the whole world, with instruction meant to cure dissension and produce unity when lived out. It defines the righteousness of Christ that must be accepted, without which a person does not have the wedding garment and is not fit for the wedding. Its statements are to be read and studied to understand dependence on God rather than on human beings and the need to look to Jesus for wisdom, strength, guidance and sufficiency, while affirming the Old Testament Scriptures as all-sufficient. It is Christ's plain testimony and plain teaching that mere outward connection with any church will not save a man, but personal faith in a personal Saviour brings the soul into spiritual union with Christ. There Jesus spoke truths that many priests, rulers and disciples did not understand, which tested the hearers and exposed their faults, forced a life-or-death choice of whom to serve, and led people to reveal their real sentiments and decide for or against Him.

The sixth chapter of John is rich manna of heaven and heavenly bread to feed upon for spiritual strength, comfort, joy and growth, and reading and feeding upon it gives soul hunger for God. In contrast, books and magazines that lead the mind astray, theater set before eyes and ears, and worldly entertainment and worthless reading destroy that soul hunger, close the heart to light from the throne of God, take away peace, joy, hope and assurance, kill love for Bible religion, and leave a divided heart that cannot serve God. Comprehending the chapter requires bringing its principles into the soul and daily life with prayer for clearness of understanding.

Crowd Response and Aftermath

His pure and simple doctrine laid hold of minds, His teachings sank into hearts with healing for the sick and comfort for sorrow, and while eating the food He provided the people decided He is indeed the Messiah. No other one could do so mighty a miracle, for no human power could create from five barley loaves and two small fishes food sufficient to feed thousands of hungry people. His teaching and healing had already nearly convinced them of His divinity, and this miracle crowned their growing conviction with entire belief that He is the promised Deliverer and divine. The feeding gave evidence heaped upon evidence sufficient to convince any mind open to evidence, leading thoughtful and candid witnesses to take exalted views of His character and office, though Jewish leaders later demanded a sign because they had closed their eyes to the light. That evidence of divinity and of the Father's work through Him should have led the disciples to recognize the Father revealed in Christ and should have strengthened their faith to endure His suffering and death.

They wrongly planned to take Him by force and make Him king of Israel and place Him on David's throne. Judas had helped distribute the food and saw the good that service brought, and had helped bring the sick and suffering to Christ, yet he seized on the crowd's enthusiasm to set that project on foot to have Jesus crowned king. He did so from his own selfish hopes while misunderstanding Christ's mission. Jesus refused to become king and rebuked the step with greater authority than He usually used. Judas was not satisfied with how affairs turned on that occasion, was provoked by the rebuke, and became more and more separated from Jesus in feeling and love. After this His popularity began to decline, and He devoted Himself more earnestly to teaching His disciples.

After news of the miracle spread the fed crowd returned in large numbers early the next morning to the spot, knowing no boat had been left, still seeking Jesus. They hoped for further material benefit and to learn how the food was increased. They followed not because they saw the miracles but because they ate of the loaves and were filled, coming only for temporal advantages and not because they recognized Him as the Teacher sent by God to save the world. Those who later asked for a sign had been among the people fed, yet wanted Him to repeat the miracle, for they missed the lesson and would not receive Him as the Son of God and the Bread of life. Christ made the miracle the occasion for His sermon on the bread of life, setting forth the conditions of eternal life and entrance into the kingdom of God, which require dying to self and practicing self-denial. When they heard those conditions almost immediately after the miracle, many went back and walked no more with Him. The same will happen again with those whose true character is self-seeking and ambitious to rule other men and unwilling to meet the demand of truth, so there is no cause for surprise or discouragement when they go back and make total shipwreck of the faith.

The account of the loaves and fishes stands together with Christ walking on the water and His declaration that He is the Bread of life, a saying and teaching after which some of His disciples turned from Him. The account holds many subjects together and is of the highest value and intense interest. The feeding was followed by precious instruction to the disciples. The disciples later remembered the mountainside feeding of above ten thousand persons from a few small loaves and fishes when Jesus fed them after His resurrection. That earlier miracle happened on a beach by the Sea of Galilee where much of His ministry was passed, and the beach lay within sight of the disciples as they gathered, filling their minds with the words and deeds of their Saviour. After they brought the fish they had just caught at His bidding to come and dine, His same breaking and dividing of the food repeated the mountain-side act for the seven by the lake, and by that act He was known and acknowledged by all seven. That repetition brought the earlier provision to their minds and showed that the risen Jesus still cared for them and would provide for their needs as they carried out His work, and mysterious awe put them in silence as they gazed upon the risen Saviour.

Sharing Receiving and Economy

The feeding establishes the order of supply: Christ receives from the Father and gives to the disciples, who hand it to the people as channels and means of communication. Those united to Him receive the bread of life from Him and can share with others only what they have first received from Him. The food increased as it passed from Christ to those who received it, multiplying in His hands and in the hands of those who distributed it. As they kept giving they kept receiving, and Christ continued to supply what was needed. The disciples themselves also ate from the same provision.

That order opens the disciples' work as His representatives to give the bread of life to the hungry, and it opens precisely when faith is tried by human insufficiency. They would be thrown into unexpected positions, with souls hungering for the bread of life coming to them while they felt destitute and helpless. In that lack they must not answer in unbelief or assume help must come from someone far away, for Christ is present. They are to commune with Him, bring Him what they have however small, dedicate themselves to receive the Holy Spirit, and seek spiritual food from the source of supply so they can feed others. They are not to turn one soul away unfed, and God who sent His servants to feed the hungry will supply their need for His own work when they ask. His very command to feed others carries power to provide, so great need and small means need not defeat faith.

After all were satisfied He directed that the fragments be gathered so nothing would be lost, and that direction teaches economy even in trying circumstances requiring close economy. God's gifts of food, money, and resources are not to be wasted or handled carelessly, and nothing useful is to be squandered. Methods for food work are therefore to be studied and conducted economically. The lesson reaches beyond food: no opportunity or advantage that can benefit others should be wasted, and those who received the blessed bread were to share it with others.

Small means placed in His hands in faith can become more than sufficient, for God blesses and multiplies what is imparted until all eat and are filled. Gifts and offerings sent in with thanksgiving and prayer, even in self-denial, are blessed and increased to feed multitudes starving for the bread of life through soul-saving work. Faith should therefore lay hold on God expecting success and diffuse the gospel without measuring advance by means at hand. To be connected with Christ means doing one's best however small and then casting the helpless soul on Him in faith that works by love and purifies the soul. His pity and sharing are to be studied and followed in practical compassionate effort, ensuring the tired and hungry can hear without being sent away faint or discouraged and removing obstacles to coming to Him, for He knew a tired hungry crowd could not receive spiritual benefit so He fed them while teaching. The food business is one of His instrumentalities to supply necessity, as the heavenly Provider teaches how to prepare the best foods and impresses minds to devise wholesome inexpensive foods from earth's productions through experiment to sell cheaply to the poor, a work especially needed in the Southern states. His benevolent care continues with knowledge to provide food, revealing the Father and Keeper as the source of power and blessing and giving tact, skill, and understanding to those who seek wholeheartedly and cooperate. Food and its production are not to be restricted to a favored few on terms putting people where God should be.

He took advantage of the circumstance to become a field preacher, at times standing upon a hill and sitting with authority in the chair of state, not at ease, to give the Word which is the bread of life. He did not merely give them Scriptures but fed them by miracle, enlarging a small substance of temporal food by free-will offering under blessing and thanksgiving until five thousand were satisfied and fragments were gathered. Temporal food thus supplied to the hungry opens the way to place Him in the chair of instruction, an occasion long remembered, with the distribution of grace in words together with the food preparing His way in many places. He condescended to bring His disciples before large numbers to give them reputation, so their workings would be recognized as done as Christ did, and His deeds of mercy open a door for them to break the bread of life to hungry souls. Even the weak may thus feed souls needy of instruction by speaking truth in love, for He who has all infinity's resources wastes no fragment, so all His words are to be gathered as bread of life and given to the multitude with none wasted. Food created by God and distributed among the people shows that food and resources people possess are likewise entrusted by God, and the abundance with the charge to gather fragments so none is lost teaches the value of His helpfulness.