This section of the text records the high point of Jesus' popularity. His following continued to build, and antagonism continued to increase. This is the only section in John that narrates Jesus' later Galilean ministry, which occupies so much of the Synoptic Gospels.
The importance of this sign is clear in that all four Gospels contain an account of it. Apparently John was familiar with the other evangelists' versions of this miracle as well as being an eyewitness of the event. His story compliments the others (cf. vv. 5, 15). This miracle demonstrated Jesus' authority over quantity.237It constitutes further proof that Jesus was the Son of God.
6:1 After an undesignated lapse of time (cf. 5:1), Jesus travelled to the east side of the Sea of Galilee. That was the more sparsely populated side where fewer Jews and more Gentiles lived. It was particularly to the northeast coast that He went (cf. Matt. 14:13; Mark 6:32; Luke 9:10). Evidently John's readers knew this lake as the Sea of Tiberias. Tiberias was the chief city on its western coast. Herod Antipas had founded it in 20 A.D. and had named it in honor of the current Roman emperor who ruled from 15 to 35 A.D.
6:2-3 Multitudes followed Jesus because they wanted to profit from His miraculous powers as well as to hear Him teach (cf. 2:23-25).
"Like the vast majority of men and women, they [these Galileans] supposed that their needs as human beings were limited to their physical requirements. They were, in consequence, very ready to accept Jesus as a political Christ, who would be a purveyor of cheap food and establish an economic Utopia, for that would render the task of satisfying these physical needs less laborious."238
Jesus went up on the mountainside to be alone with His disciples who had just returned from their mission to the towns of Galilee (Mark 6:30-32; Luke 9:10). He had just heard that Herod Antipas had beheaded John the Baptist (Matt. 14:12-13). The crowd soon found Him, and He healed many of the people and taught them (Matt. 14:14; Mark 6:33-34; Luke 9:11). Only John mentioned that this happened on a mountainside. Perhaps he did this so his readers would see a parallel with what happened on Mt. Sinai (vv. 31-32; cf. Exod. 16:21). Possibly it is just a detail that he as an eyewitness observed.
6:4 Evidently John identified the nearness of the Passover because of Jesus' later references to Himself as the Bread of Life (vv. 33, 35, 51), the fulfillment of what the Passover bread typified.
"The people were thinking in terms of blood, flesh, lambs, and unleavened bread. They longed for a new Moses who would deliver them from Roman bondage."239
This was John's second reference to a Passover feast during Jesus' ministry (cf. 2:13, 23; 11:55; 13:1). Evidently this event happened two years after Jesus' first cleansing of the temple and one year before He died on the cross. It would have taken place in April of 32 A.D.240
"The movement from the miracle to the discourse, from Moses to Jesus (vv. 32-5, cf. i. 17), and, above all, from breadto flesh, is almost unintelligible unless the reference in v. 4 to the Passover picks up i. 29, 36, anticipates xix. 36 (Exod. xii. 46; Num. ix. 12), and governs the whole narrative."241
The Passover was an intensely nationalistic celebration in Israel. This accounts for the extreme zeal that many of the Jews demonstrated when they sought to draft Jesus as their political deliverer (v. 15).
6:5-6 John telescoped the events of the day. He omitted mention of Jesus' teaching and healing ministry (Matt. 14:14; Mark 6:34; Luke 9:11) as well as the disciples' concern for food (Matt. 14:15; Mark 6:35-36; Luke 9:12). Instead he focused on the miracle. His account also shows Jesus' initiative in solving the food problem. Only John recorded that Jesus approached Philip about the need. This would have been normal since Philip was from Bethsaida, the nearest sizable town (1:44). John also explained that Jesus' question was a test in Philip's discipleship training, not an indication that Jesus wondered what to do initially.
6:7 Philip, too, as Nicodemus and the Samaritan woman, was thinking only on the physical level. Two hundred denarii represented about eight month's wages for a working man. Such a large sum might be the minimum they could scrape by with, but it would not provide enough bread to satisfy the people. Philip, as an accountant, put his mental calculator to work and concluded that the situation was hopeless.
6:8-9 Andrew had discovered a young lad (Gr. paidarion, a double diminutive) who had five small barley biscuits and two small fish (Gr. opsaria). Probably the fish would have served as a relish to eat with the bread.242Barley bread was the food of the poor. One writer called the boy's food mere "hors d'oeuvres."243Andrew seems to have felt embarrassed that he had even suggested such an inadequate solution to the problem.
John may have intended his unique inclusion of the details of this boy and his lunch to remind his readers of Elisha's similar miracle (2 Kings 4:42-44). The same Greek word for "boy"occurs in the Septuagint translation of that story (2 Kings 4:38, 41).244The main point, however, was the lack of adequate food and Jesus' ability to feed a multitude with such meager resources.
6:10 When the disciples had confessed their own inadequacy Jesus proceeded to demonstrate His adequacy. He instructed the disciples to seat the multitude on the comfortable grass. Perhaps we should view Jesus as the Good Shepherd making His sheep lie down in green pastures (cf. Ps. 23:2). Perhaps Jesus did this also to discourage the people from rushing madly for the food once they realized what was happening. All four evangelists recorded the size of the crowd in terms of the males present. This was customary since these people lived in a predominantly paternalistic culture. The scene also recalls Moses feeding the Israelites in the wilderness with bread from heaven.
6:11 Jesus first thanked God for the food in prayer, as pious Jews normally did (cf. v. 23). In this He set a good example. We should give thanks for what we have, and God will make it go farther. Jesus multiplied the food evidently as he broke it apart and distributed it to the people. John stressed the lavishness of Jesus' supply. The Son of God has always been the perfect sufficient provider of people's needs.
John probably did not intend that we make connections with the Lord's Supper. He omitted references that would have obviously connected the two meals such as the breaking of the bread and the distribution of the pieces. John omitted referring to the disciples' role in assisting Jesus by serving the people probably to keep Jesus central in the narrative. Obviously there is nothing in the text to support the popular liberal interpretation that the miracle consisted of Jesus making the people willing to share their food.
6:12-13 Everyone had enough to eat. Jesus satisfied everyone's appetite. There was even quite a bit of food left over that Jesus instructed His disciples to collect to avoid waste. All four evangelists noted that there were 12 large Jewish baskets (Gr. kophinos) of bread fragments left over. Commentators have suggested that they represent food for the disciples or food for Israel's 12 tribes. At least this detail proves the abundance of Jesus' provision for the people who were present. Each of the Twelve had his own evidence of Jesus' supernatural power and His adequacy.
6:14 The Jews who enjoyed Jesus' provision concluded that He must be the prophet whom Moses had predicted (Deut. 18:15-19; cf. John 1:21; 7:40, 52). Jesus had fed the Israelites in a wilderness area (Matt. 14:15; Mark 6:35) as Moses had with bread that came from heaven.
6:15 Moses had also provided military leadership for the Israelites and had liberated them from the oppression of the Egyptians. These Jews concluded that Jesus could do the same for them and sought to secure His political leadership forcefully. This decision marks the apogee of Jesus' popularity.Jesus realized their intention and withdrew from the crowd by ascending the mountainside farther by Himself to pray (Matt. 14:23; Mark 6:46). The time was not right for Him to establish His kingdom on the earth.
This sign demonstrated Jesus' identity as the Son of God, and it prepared for Jesus' revelation of Himself as the Bread of Life (vv. 22-59).
Notice that this sign illustrates three solutions to problems that people typically try. First, Philip suggested that moneywas the solution to the problem (v. 7). Second, Andrew looked to peoplefor the solution (v. 9). Third, Jesusproved to be the true solution (v. 11).245In satisfying the need of the people, Jesus used what someone made available to Him. In this case, as in most others, He used a very insignificant person, in the sight of other people, with very insignificant resources. Jesus did not create food out of thin air.
"The practical lesson is clear: whenever there is a need, give all that you have to Jesus and let Him do the rest. Begin with what you have, but be sure you give it all to Him."246
John probably included this incident for a number of reasons. It accounts for the return of Jesus and His disciples to the western shore of Galilee where Jesus gave the discourse on the Bread of Life. Perhaps he did so to continue the Exodus theme (cf. vv. 14-15). It is primarily further proof that Jesus was the Son of God as He claimed. The disciples went from the thrill of great success to the agony of great danger. The feeding of the 5,000 was a lesson, and Jesus' walking on the water was the test following the lesson.
6:16 "Evening"could refer to anytime in the late afternoon before sunset. The feeding of the 5,000 evidently happened on the northeast side of the Sea of Galilee south of Bethsaida Julius. This town stood immediately east of the place where the Jordan River empties into the lake on its northern coast. Some of the town may have been on the western side of the Jordan.247Evidently Jesus sent His disciples to this town by boat (Mark 6:45).
6:17-18 The disciples' ultimate destination was Capernaum. They evidently reached Bethsaida Julius and waited there for Jesus to join them. When He did not appear by nightfall, they decided to travel on to Capernaum without Him.
In John's Gospel darkness often has symbolic significance implying a bad situation (cf. 3:2; 13:30). Jesus' absence cast another foreboding cloud over the disciples. To make the occasion even worse a strong wind came up and created a storm on the lake. The wind normally came from the west, the direction in which the disciples headed. Mark described the disciples as straining at the oars (Mark 6:48).
6:19 The distance the disciples had rowed in the Greek text is 25 or 30 stadia, which is between two and three quarters miles and three and a half miles. Matthew and Mark wrote that the disciples were in the middle of the lake probably meaning that they were well out into it (Matt. 14:24; Mark 6:47). Some scholars wishing to depreciate this miracle have translated the Greek preposition epias "by"rather than "on."248However, the context and the Synoptics clearly present Jesus as walking on the water, not on the shore beside the water.
Mark reported that the disciples thought Jesus was a ghost (Mark 6:49). John simply described them as frightened. This emphasis has the effect of stressing Jesus' alleviation of their fear. The fear of the disciples and Jesus' ability to calm their fear is the point of John's record of this miracle. Jesus met the disciples between 3:00 and 6:00 a.m. (Matt. 14:25; Mark 6:48).
"Sometimes we are caught in a storm because we have disobeyed the Lord. Jonah is a good example. But sometimes the storm comes because we have obeyedthe Lord. When that happens, we can be sure that our Saviour [sic] will pray for us, come to us, and deliver us. . . . Jesus had led His people into the green pastures (John 6:10), and now He brought them into the still waters (Ps. 23:2) What a wonderful Shepherd He is!"249
6:20 Jesus identified Himself by saying literally "I am"(Gr. ego eimi). This is sometimes a way Jesus described Himself as God as John recorded Jesus' words (e.g., 8:24). However the clause does not always mean that since it is the normal way of identifying oneself (cf. 9:9). In those instances the translation, "It is I,"gives the intended meaning. Here Jesus was just identifying Himself to the disciples though obviously someone who could walk on water was more than a mere mortal.
6:21 When the disciples realized that it was Jesus, they willingly received Him into the boat. Perhaps Jesus met the disciples fairly close to their destination and so it did not take them long to arrive there. Perhaps with Jesus in the boat the remaining trip appeared to them to be a short one, or with the wind subdued it did not take them long to reach land. Any of these explanations could account for John's description. Many commentators believed that John referred to a second miracle and that the boat supernaturally reached Capernaum swiftly. There seems little point to such a miracle, however, and there is nothing in the text that explains it.
The feeding of the 5,000 presents Jesus as the provider of people's needs. His walking on the water pictures Him as the protector of those who trust and obey Him. The second of these two signs taught the disciples that Jesus had authority over nature (cf. Job 38:8-11; Ps. 29:3-4, 10-11; 65:5-7; 89:9; 107:29).250John undoubtedly recorded the incident to teach his readers the same lesson. Both miracles demonstrated Jesus' equality with the Father, whom Old Testament writers described as doing these things.
Jesus proceeded to clarify His identity by teaching the crowds and His disciples. He did so by developing the figure of the Bread of Life, which He claimed to be. Jesus used the feeding of the 5,000 as a basis for explaining His identity to the multitudes. He compared Himself to bread.
"Again, it was a ministry of grace and truth' (John 1:17). In grace, our Lord fed the hungry people; but in truth, He gave them the Word of God."251
Considerable discussion followed Jesus presentation of Himself as the Bread of Life. John noted the responses of many people who were following Jesus around, then the response of the Twelve, and finally the response of most of the Jews.
