John 6:1 - Meaning and Application

Here we have the story of Christ feeding five thousand men with five loaves and two fish. This miracle is especially striking because all four Gospel writers record it. John usually does not repeat what the earlier writers have already told, but he includes this account because of the teaching Jesus gives afterward.

Notice the place and time of the miracle, because these details help prove the story is true. It was not done in some unknown place, with no way to check it. The circumstances are named so the event could be examined. Jesus had gone across the Sea of Galilee, also called the Lake of Gennesaret, and here the Sea of Tiberias, named after the nearby city that Herod had recently enlarged and beautified. He did not cross straight over to the other side, but went by boat along the shore to another place on the same side. It is not a test of God to travel by water when that is the sensible choice, even if we could have gone by land, for Christ never tested the Lord his God (Matthew 4:7).

A great crowd followed him because they had seen his miracles (John 6:2). Jesus lived in the middle of a crowd while he went about doing good, and that brought him more trouble than honor. Those who serve God and help their generation should not complain when their work keeps them busy. There will be time enough to enjoy ourselves in the world where we will enjoy God fully. Many were drawn to Christ by his miracles, but not all were truly drawn to him. Their curiosity was satisfied by the wonder of his works, but their consciences were not changed by his power.

Jesus also put himself in a good place to meet the crowd’s needs (John 6:3). He went up a mountain and sat there with his disciples, so the crowd could see and hear him more easily. It was a natural pulpit, not a man-made one. He had to preach in the open field, but his word was no less good, and no less welcome, to those who valued it. The people kept following him, even when he went out to a deserted place and even when he went up a mountain, though hard walking tests the heart.

He sat there, as teachers do in the chair of instruction. He did not sit in comfort or display, but he sat with authority and was ready to receive anyone who came to him. He also sat with his disciples, giving them honor before the people and a preview of the glory in which they would soon sit with him. We are said to sit with him (Ephesians 2:6).

The time is also noted. The words “after these things” do not mean this happened right after the events in the previous chapter. Some time had passed. John tells us it was near the Passover (John 6:4). That may matter because it likely brought the apostles back from their own preaching trips, so they could go with their Master to Jerusalem for the feast. It also fits Jewish custom, since they would begin observing the Passover about thirty days ahead, repairing roads, fixing bridges, and talking about the feast and its meaning. The nearness of the Passover may also explain why the crowd pressed after Jesus so eagerly, since they knew he would soon go up to Jerusalem and be gone for a while. When we may lose our chances, we should use them with extra care. And when holy seasons are near, it is wise to prepare by listening to Christ’s word.

Now to the miracle itself. Jesus lifted up his eyes and saw a great crowd coming to him (John 6:5). They were poor, ordinary people, as crowds often are, especially in remote places. Yet Jesus was glad to have them near, and he cared about their needs. This teaches us to be willing to notice and help people of low status, and not treat Christ’s lambs like they are less important than our own flock. The souls of the poor are as precious to Christ as the souls of the rich, and they should be precious to us too.

Jesus then asked about feeding them. He spoke to Philip, who had been his disciple from the beginning and had seen all his miracles, including the turning of water into wine. Since Philip had seen so much, he should have known that Christ could easily feed the crowd. Those who have seen Christ’s works and benefited from them have no excuse if they still ask whether he can provide in hard places. Philip was from Bethsaida, near where Jesus was then, so he was the one most likely to know where food might be found. He may also have known many in the crowd and felt concern for them. Jesus asked, “Where can we buy bread for these people to eat?”

Jesus assumed they must all eat with him. One might think that after teaching and healing them, he had done enough. Some of the people may even have been wealthy, while Jesus and his disciples were poor. Yet he was concerned to feed them. Those who receive Christ’s spiritual gifts without paying for them will still be blessed for receiving them. He who first fed their souls with the bread of life also fed their bodies with good food, showing that the Lord cares for the body too. This encourages us to pray for daily bread and to follow his example of mercy toward the poor (James 2:15, 16).

His question was also, “Where can we buy bread?” Considering his poverty, one might expect him to ask where they could get money. But he was ready to spend all he had rather than let them go hungry. He would buy in order to give, and we should work so that we may have something to give (Ephesians 4:28). The whole question was meant to test Philip’s faith, for Jesus already knew what he was going to do (John 6:6). Our Lord Jesus is never confused in his plans. No matter how hard the situation is, he knows what he will do and what path he will take (Acts 15:18).

He knows the thoughts he has toward his people (Jeremiah 29:11), and he is never uncertain. When we do not know what to do, he still knows what he will do.

When Christ seems to puzzle his people, it is only to test them. The question he put to Philip left him at a loss, but Christ asked it to see whether Philip would look beyond ordinary means and trust Christ’s power.

Philip’s answer showed how little he expected from that direction. “Two hundred pennyworth of bread is not enough,” he said (John 6:7). In effect, he meant, “It is useless to talk about buying bread for this crowd, because the country cannot supply that much, and we cannot afford it. Ask Judas, the one who carries the money bag.” Two hundred pence was about six pounds in our money. If they spent all of it at once, they would empty their funds and leave themselves in need.

Grotius reckons that two hundred pennyworth of bread would barely feed two thousand people, but Philip would go only as far as he could see. He wanted each person to have just a little, and human nature is often content with little. This shows Philip’s weak faith. In this tight spot, he looked for help only in the usual way, as if his Master were just an ordinary man. Christ might have said to him, as he did later, “Have I been with you so long, and still do you not know me, Philip?” Or, like God said to Moses in a similar case, “Has the Lord’s arm grown short?” We are prone to distrust God’s power when visible means fail. That is, we often trust him only as far as we can see.

Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, gave Christ the information about the little food they had. Andrew was older than Peter in discipleship and had helped bring Peter to Christ, yet Peter later became so well known that Andrew is often described by his relation to Peter. He told Christ what they had on hand, and we can see two things in this.

First, we see the strength of his love for the people Christ had in view. He was willing to bring out all they had, even though he did not know whether they might need it themselves. Anyone might have said, “Charity begins at home.” He did not hide it, as if he were a better manager of their supplies than the Master was. Instead, he honestly reported everything they had.

There was a lad here, a paidarion, a little boy, likely one who usually followed the group, as camp followers do, carrying things to sell. The disciples had arranged to buy what he had for themselves. He had five barley loaves and two small fish. The bread was plain and common. Canaan was a land of wheat (Deuteronomy 8:8), and its people were usually fed with the finest wheat (Psalm 81:16), the fat of wheat (Deuteronomy 32:14). Yet Christ and his disciples were glad of barley bread. That does not mean we should force ourselves to live on such coarse food or make religion a matter of it. When God gives us better food, we should receive it with thanks. But it does mean we must not crave dainties (Psalm 23:3). If we are reduced to plain food, we should not complain. We should be content and thankful, because barley bread was what Christ had, and it is better than we deserve.

We should also not despise the poor person’s small provision or look down on it. We should remember how Christ himself was supplied. The food was also very limited. There were only five loaves, and they were so small that one little boy carried them all. In 2 Kings 4:42-43, we see that even twenty barley loaves, with some extra food, would not feed a hundred men without a miracle. There were only two fish, and they were small, so small that one of them was only a bite. I think the fish were pickled or salted, because there was no fire to cook them. There was little bread, and even less fish in proportion. They must have eaten many bites of dry bread before they could make a proper meal of it. Still, they were content with it. Bread is food for hunger, but those who complained for meat were said to be seeking food for their own desires (Psalm 78:18). Andrew was willing that the people should have this much, as far as it would go. A fearful concern that we may lack ourselves should not keep us from needed kindness to others.

Even so, Andrew’s faith was weak when he added, “What are these among so many?” To offer such a small amount to such a crowd seemed only to mock them. He and Philip were not thinking as fully as they should about Christ’s power, even though they had seen it before. Who fed Israel in the wilderness? He who could make one man chase a thousand could also make one loaf feed a thousand.

Christ then told the disciples to seat the guests (John 6:10). He said, in effect, “Make the men sit down, even though you have nothing to give them yet, and trust me for the rest.” It was as if providence were being sent to market, or as if they were buying without money. Christ was testing their obedience.

The setting for the meal was itself full of meaning. There was much grass in that place, though it was a desert place. See how generous nature is: it makes grass grow even on the mountains (Psalm 147:8). The grass had not been eaten down. God gives not only enough, but more than enough. And here was this abundance of grass where Christ was preaching. The gospel brings other blessings with it too. “Then the earth will yield its increase” (Psalm 67:6). The grass also made the place more fit for the people, who had to sit on the ground. It served them like cushions or bedding, for that is what they called the things they reclined on at meals (Esther 1:6). And when we think of what Christ says about the grass of the field (Matthew 6:29-30), these simple beds were better than Ahasuerus’s. The glory of nature is the most splendid.

There were about five thousand men, a great feast that points to the gospel feast, which is a banquet for all nations (Isaiah 25:6), a feast for all who come.

The food was then distributed, and John tells us that Jesus gave thanks. We should give thanks to God for our food, because it is a mercy to have it. We receive it from God’s hand, and we must take it with thanksgiving (1 Timothy 4:4-5). One of the sweet things about daily comforts is that they give us a chance to perform that excellent duty. And even if our provision is plain and small, with neither abundance nor delicacies, we must still thank God for what we have.

It was also handed out from Christ’s own hand through the hands of his disciples. All our comforts come to us first from Christ. Whoever brings them, it is Christ who sends them. He gives to those who then give to us.

In giving the bread of life to those who follow him, Christ is pleased to use the ministry of his disciples. They serve at his table, or, better still, they act as managers in his household, giving each person food at the proper time. The gift was also a complete satisfaction to all who ate. No one got only a small portion, but all had as much as they wanted. It was not a meager meal, but a full one.

This matters even more when we remember how long they had fasted, how hungry they were, and how welcome this miraculous food must have seemed. Those whom Christ feeds with the bread of life are not given a strict allowance (Psalm 81:10). There were only two small fish, yet everyone had as much as they wanted from them too. He did not save the better food for the important guests and leave the poor with only dry bread. He treated them all the same, because they were all equally welcome. Anyone who mocks this meal by calling fish-eating a kind of fasting is dishonoring the feast Christ provided, for it was a full banquet.

Now we come to the care taken with the leftover food. Christ gave clear orders about it (John 6:12). When everyone was full, and each person had a clear proof of the miracle within himself, Christ told the disciples, the servants he had used, to gather up the pieces that were left. We should always be careful not to waste any of God’s good gifts, because what we receive, even in plenty, comes with this condition, aside from wilful waste. God is right to let us feel lack when we waste what he gives us.

The Jews were very careful not to let bread be lost or trampled underfoot. They used to say, “Whoever despises bread falls into deep poverty.” Even though Christ could provide food whenever he wished, he still wanted the fragments collected. When we are full, we should remember that others are hungry, and that we may be hungry ourselves one day. Those who want to be generous should also be prudent. If the broken pieces had been left on the grass, animals and birds would have eaten them, but food fit for people is wasted when it is thrown to beasts.

Christ did not tell them to gather up the pieces until everyone was full. In the same way, we should not start hoarding before we have given what should be given. That would be holding back more than is right. Baxter notes here, “How much less should we lose God’s word, or his help, or our time, or greater mercies like these!” The disciples obeyed these orders (John 6:13). They filled twelve baskets with the leftover pieces. This proved not only that the miracle was real, since they were fed with actual food, as the leftovers showed, but also that it was great. They were not only filled, there was much left over.

See how generous God’s care is. He does more than fill the cup, he makes it overflow. There is enough, and more than enough, in our Father’s house. The twelve baskets of leftovers may have been one for each disciple, so they were repaid with interest for their willingness to give what they had for public service (2 Chronicles 31:10). The Jews also made it a rule for themselves that after a meal they should leave a piece of bread on the table, so the blessing after the meal could rest on it. For the wicked, however, it is a curse that none of their food is left (Job 20:21).

This miracle also affected the people who received its benefit (John 6:14). They said, “This is truly that prophet.” Even ordinary Jews had strong confidence that the Messiah would come into the world as a great prophet. Here they speak with certainty about his coming. The Pharisees despised such people as ignorant of the law, but it seems these people knew more about the one who is the goal of the law than the Pharisees did.

Christ’s miracles clearly showed that he was the promised Messiah, a teacher sent from God, the great prophet, and they could not help persuading the amazed crowd that this was the one who was to come. Many were convinced that he was that prophet who should come into the world, yet they did not sincerely receive his teaching, because they did not keep it. Such is the sad split within the sinful, unsanctified soul: a person may admit that Christ is that prophet and still refuse to listen to him.