n the Gospel of John, the feeding of the five thousand more clearly stresses the creative power and deity of Christ. This miracle was the fourth sign that Jesus is the Messiah and the Son of God.
6:3-4 – Jesus went up into the mountain, and he sat there with his disciples. The “Mountain may refer to the sloping hills of the Golan Heights. (It was common for Jesus to sit) down with His disciples, probably to teach (Read Matthew 5:1-2). This Passover would have been one year before Jesus’ crucifixion. The Passover commemorated the deliverance of Israel from the Egyptians through Moses, and messianic hopes ran high during this festival” (The Moody Bible Commentary).
6:5-7 – Jesus, seeing that a great multitude was coming to him, said to Philip, “Where are we to buy bread, that these might eat?” The disciple who should have known where to buy bread was Philip. He had lived in the neighboring town of Bethsaida (Read John 1:44). Philip’s attitude was there wasn’t enough money to feed the crowd. He should have been confident that the Messiah would provide enough food to feed the multitude.
6:8-9 – Andrew said to him (Jesus), “There is a boy here who has five barley loaves and two fish.” Jesus could have provided the food from nothing. However, He carried out a miracle similar to one carried out by the prophet Elisha (Read 2 Kings 4:42-44). Elisha’s miracle verified that he was sent by God. The miracle Jesus carried out verified that He is the prophet sent from God. In the Old Testament, there was no prophet who was as great as Moses. The promise of a
prophet like Moses remained unfulfilled (Read Deuteronomy 18:15). The promise of the Messiah’s coming was still in the future.
6:11 – Jesus took the loaves; and having given thanks, he distributed to the disciples and the disciples to those who were sitting down; likewise also of the fish as much as they desired.
6:12-13 –“Gather up the broken pieces which are left over, that nothing be lost.” It is a reminder that Jesus can always provide us with more than we need. In the Greek language, the word “leftover” means “abundance” (Read John 10:10).
6:14 –When therefore the people saw the sign which Jesus did, they said, “This is truly the prophet who comes into the world.” Unfortunately, the 5000+ followed Jesus because they wanted a Messiah who would take care of their physical needs. They did not realize life on earth is a preparation for eternity. What is more important for you? To have your physical needs met or your spiritual needs met? One last only temporarily. The other last eternally.
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