John 6:1-15

Read John 6:1-15 Jesus feeds a multitude of 5,000 by multiplying loaves of bread (“the loaves and fishes”)

This is the 4^th “sign” in John’s set of 7 signs that Jesus performed.

What happens in this story?

What verse stands out for you in the passage, and why?

Verse 6 tells us that Jesus already knew what he was going to do.  Why, then, do you think he asked the disciples to solve the problem?

Let’s look at the characters in this story:

• Philip appears in all the Gospels and Acts, but he appears more often in John.  He was from Bethsaida and was a friend of Peter and Andrew.  He is the one who invited Nathanael to “come and see” Jesus (John 1:43-46).  Philip is forthright and practical, so he is willing to tell Jesus that it is not possible to buy enough food to feed all the people.  In verse 7, he says that it would cost 200 denarii to feed the crowd, which is the equivalent of 200 days’ wages for a laborer.

Are there times when you are like Philip, who is practical and sure that nothing can be done?

• Andrew was a disciple of John the Baptist and one of Jesus’s first two disciples in John’s Gospel (John 1:35-42).  He introduces his brother Simon (later called Peter) to Jesus.  He is the one who ignores the impossibility of Jesus’s request and instead speaks up about what is available, even though he points out that it is not sufficient.

Are there times when you are like Andrew, who offered what was available, even though he knew it couldn’t possibly be enough?  How can you be more like Andrew in offering God what you have, which may open the door for God to work?

It doesn’t occur to Philip or Andrew that Jesus might have a solution.  When do you most tend to forget that Jesus might have answers to the problems in your life?

• We don’t know anything about the boy except that he appears to be willing to share what he has.  He has barley loaves.  Barley loaves were the food of the poor.

In what ways are you like the boy?

How can you be more like the boy?

Jesus involved other people in this miracle by using what they brought to him.  He didn’t just do the miracle alone.  Why?

When John says in 6:10 that Jesus had them sit on grass, this suggests that it was springtime (NABRE, John 6:10 fn.).  Passover was in the springtime, and John says in 6:4 that the Passover was near.  So there is coherence in the story.  Matthew also says the people sit on grass in the feeding of the 5,000 (Matt. 14:19) (whereas in the feeding of the 4,000 the people sit on the ground (Matt. 15:35)).

Is there something going on in your life right now where there is a need that seems impossible to meet?  How can you be like Andrew, give Jesus what you have, and trust him for what you need?

What is the message of this story for us?

There are many ways to apply this story to our lives, including the following:

- God cares about us and our everyday needs and provides for us.

- Even if I have doubts, even if I think I don’t have the means to address the problems before me, I can make myself available to God, identify the knowledge and resources that are available to me, and trust God to expand what I have until it is sufficient for the need.

- God can do what I cannot.  As God says to Paul in 2 Corinthians 12:9: “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is made perfect in weakness.”

- Always be open to sharing what you have.

This passage recalls two Old Testament passages.  Elisha fed of 100 men by the multiplication of 20 barley loaves and had some left over (2 Kings 4:42-44).  God provided manna to feed the people of Israel in the desert in Exodus 16.

Jews customarily offered a blessing before eating a meal.  In 6:11, John says that Jesus distributed the bread after he “had given thanks.”  The Greek word for “to give thanks” is eucharisteō, the same Greek word from which we get our word Eucharist, which is another word for the Christian celebration also known as Holy Communion.

John does not include the Last Supper in his Gospel.  Instead, he has the accounts of Jesus performing the miracle where he makes wine available (2:1-11) and the miracle where he makes bread available (6:1-15).  How do those two miracles relate to the Christian celebration of Holy Communion or the Eucharist?

In verse 12, Jesus tells them to gather what is left over, so that nothing is wasted.  What does this tell you about Jesus?

How might we apply to our own lives Jesus’s desire that what was left not be wasted?

When God does something in our lives, he doesn’t want us to waste it.  We should savor it and do something with what he has given us.

 In verse 14, the people say Jesus must be the Prophet.  This is a reference to Deuteronomy 18:15-19, where Moses says that God will raise up a prophet like him to lead the people.  How does Jesus react to their desire to make him a king?

John doesn’t tell us what Jesus does when he goes up the mountain, but Matthew tells us that he went up to pray (Matt. 14:23).  What do you think he was praying about, as he talks to his Father?

Why are mountains sometimes good places to pray?

Where do you go to “withdraw” from what is around you and pray?

How important are those times of “withdrawal,” and why?

Take a step back and consider this:

The people were happy to eat the food that Jesus provided freely to them, but at this point they were totally missing the point of his mission.

We may fall into the same trap: enjoying the blessings we receive from God without recognizing what he is trying to do in us and through us as he transforms us.

Are there blessings from God that you are taking for granted?  Are there blessings that you may be misinterpreting as signs that God likes what you are doing rather than as signs that God is calling you deeper into the work he is doing?

How can you further embrace God’s purposes, and not just his blessings, today?