1 Later, Jesus went across Lake Galilee (also known as Lake Tiberias). 2 A great crowd of people followed him because they saw the miraculous signsa he did in healing the sick. 3 Jesus went up on the side of the hill and sat there with his followers. 4 It was almost the time for the Jewish Passoverb festival.
5 Jesus looked up and saw a crowd of people coming toward him. He said to Philip, “Where can we buy enough bread for all these people to eat?” 6He asked Philip this question to test him. Jesus already knew what he planned to do.
7 Philip answered, “We would all have to work a month to buy enough bread for each person here to have only a little piece!”
8 Another follower there was Andrew, the brother of Simon Peter. Andrew said, 9 “Here is a boy with five loaves of barley bread and two little fish. But that is not enough for so many people.”
10 Jesus said, “Tell everyone to sit down.” This was a place with a lot of grass, and about 5000 men sat down there. 11Jesus took the loaves of bread and gave thanks for them. Then he gave them to the people who were waiting to eat. He did the same with the fish. He gave them as much as they wanted.
12 They all had plenty to eat. When they finished, Jesus said to his followers, “Gather the pieces of fish and bread that were not eaten. Don’t waste anything.” 13 So they gathered up the pieces that were left. The people had started eating with only five loaves of barley bread. But the followers filled twelve large baskets with the pieces of food that were left.
14 The people saw this miraculous sign that Jesus did and said, “He must be the Prophetc who is coming into the world.”
15 Jesus knew that the people planned to come get him and make him their king. So he left and went into the hills alone.
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“Jesus gave food to everybody.” Austin, 7
“Jesus meant we should crave him like we crave food or bread.” Denise, 11
“The source of life is Jesus, the Christ.” Dana, 10
“Jesus meant that if you listened to him or lived off his word that you would have everlasting life.” Rainey, 10
Bread at the time of Jesus’ ministry was the main food for many people. The white bread we eat today is nothing like the bread of Bible times. It was packed with fiber, vitamins and minerals.
The day before Jesus said, “I am the bread that gives life,” he used five loaves of bread and two fish to feed 5,000 people. It was a miracle. The next day these people came looking for Jesus. They wanted another free meal.
These people were shocked when Jesus said, “This bread is my body. I will give my body so that the people in the world can have life” (John 6:51). They didn’t understand.
But we know that Jesus was offering them himself as the bread of life who would satisfy them forever. Eating is a picture of faith. When you’re hungry, you don’t just look at bread. You eat it. In a similar way, you don’t enter into Jesus’ kingdom by thinking of him as a nice man. You must believe in your heart that Jesus is the Son of God who died on the cross for your sins. That’s eating the Bread of Life!
Not only is Jesus the bread of life, but he is also the great multiplier. He can take something small that we offer him and multiply it. When the Israelites wandered in the desert for 40 years, God caused it to rain bread from heaven (Exodus 16). Jesus could have asked his Father for bread from heaven to feed the 5,000 people, but he chose to use a boy’s lunch to do this mighty miracle.
If God could use such a small meal from a child to do so much, I wonder what he could do with something more? What if you offered Jesus your time, talents and money as a way of saying thank you? He gave his life so that you could live with him forever, but he wants to live through you now to share his love with others.
Think About This: Jesus is both God and man in one person, and he wants to live his life through you. WOW!
Memorize This Truth: “Here is a boy with five loaves of barley bread and two little fish. But that is not enough for so many people” (John 6:9).
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