John 6:1–14

 ¹ After these things Jesus went over the Sea of Galilee, which is the Sea of Tiberias. ² Then a great multitude followed Him, because they saw His signs which He performed on those who were diseased. ³ And Jesus went up on the mountain, and there He sat with His disciples. ⁴ Now the Passover, a feast of the Jews, was near. ⁵ Then Jesus lifted up His eyes, and seeing a great multitude coming toward Him, He said to Philip, “Where shall we buy bread, that these may eat?” ⁶ But this He said to test him, for He Himself knew what He would do. ⁷ Philip answered Him, “Two hundred denarii worth of bread is not sufficient for them, that every one of them may have a little.” ⁸ One of His disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, said to Him, ⁹ “There is a lad here who has five barley loaves and two small fish, but what are they among so many?” ¹⁰ Then Jesus said, “Make the people sit down.” Now there was much grass in the place. So the men sat down, in number about five thousand. ¹¹ And Jesus took the loaves, and when He had given thanks He distributed them to the disciples, and the disciples to those sitting down; and likewise of the fish, as much as they wanted. ¹² So when they were filled, He said to His disciples, “Gather up the fragments that remain, so that nothing is lost.” ¹³ Therefore they gathered them up, and filled twelve baskets with the fragments of the five barley loaves which were left over by those who had eaten. ¹⁴ Then those men, when they had seen the sign that Jesus did, said, “This is truly the Prophet who is to come into the world.”

Commentary

Vs. 1 “After these things Jesus went over the Sea of Galilee, which is the Sea of Tiberias.”

Jesus (along with the twelve disciples) now leaves the western region of Galilee and crosses over the Sea of Tiberias, which is the same as Sea of Galilee, Tiberias being the Roman designation for the Sea of Galilee.

Vs. 2 “Then a great multitude followed Him, because they saw His signs which He performed on those who were diseased.

 Now as Jesus and the disciples crossed many people followed them, “…because they saw His signs which He performed on those who were diseased.” Thus, they were being moved by the miraculous signs that He showed in healing those who were diseased. Which is fine, but one must not go looking for these as if one can only have faith in the Lord Jesus Christ by observing or experiencing these. For by default believing in Christ means that one believes in whom one does not see (consider John 20:29; Heb. 11:3). 

Vs. 3 “And Jesus went up on the mountain, and there He sat with His disciples.”

Having arrived there ahead of the multitudes, Jesus now goes up on the mountain (that is the highest point there) and sits down with His disciples. From that vantage point then they would’ve been looking over the Sea.

Vs. 4 “Now the Passover, a feast of the Jews, was near.”

Now that the commanded yearly Passover feast was near and people were still flocking to Jesus, rather than the appointed place for it to be observed is significant and revealing about both Jesus, (who is its fulfillment), and the people who were pursuing Him, who had not found fulfillment in observing it!

Vs. 5-6 “Then Jesus lifted up His eyes, and seeing a great multitude coming toward Him, He said to Philip, “Where shall we buy bread, that these may eat?” ⁶ But this He said to test him, for He Himself knew what He would do.”

When Jesus saw the multitude coming towards them His first thought was about their well-being, for He they had traveled at least a days journey by boat and that they would now be hungry, and so He now asks Philip (who was one of the twelve disciples with Him), “Where shall we buy bread, that these may eat?” However, in asking this Jesus was not seeking an answer from Philip, rather He was setting the stage for Himself to do a great work for, and show great sign to the multitudes, in the midst of His disciples. 

Vs. 7 Philip answered Him, “Two hundred denarii worth of bread is not sufficient for them, that every one of them may have a little.”

Philip then in considering Jesus’ question now realizes the impossibility of them feeding them, for he say’s to Jesus: “Two hundred denarii worth of bread is not sufficient for them, that every one of them may have a little.” And even if the disciples had two hundred denarii there was no place near in that region where they could buy bread and then bring it to them!

Vs. 8-9 ⁸ One of His disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, said to Him, ⁹ “There is a lad here who has five barley loaves and two small fish, but what are they among so many?”

Now Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother in likewise considering the pressing need could only see the impossibility of them meeting it, rather then seeing the reality of Jesus Christ’ s Person meeting the need through what we entrust to Him, who was right there in their midst! And so, Andrew points to a young lad who was there who had but five barely loaves and two small fish, but in Andrews mind there simply was not enough for them to do anything to help anyone, which is always crippling to steeping out in faith! For steeping out in faith is not something that we do in our own strengths, but in our weaknesses, for Christ’s strength is made perfect in our weaknesses! (2 Cor. 12:9).

Vs. 10 Then Jesus said, “Make the people sit down.” Now there was much grass in the place. So the men sat down, in number about five thousand.

And so, when Jesus heard that He said to the disciples, “Make the people sit down.” So, the disciples went through the crowds getting the people to sit down in groups of fifties on the grass (Luke 9:14) and the number of the people was about five thousand. This then is no small gathering, but this is 50x as much people as Elisha the prophet (who had a double portion of the spirit of the prophet Elijah resting on him) miraculously fed in ancient times (see 2 Kings 4:43).

Vs. 11 “And Jesus took the loaves, and when He had given thanks He distributed them to the disciples, and the disciples to those sitting down; and likewise of the fish, as much as they wanted.”

And so when the people were seated Jesus takes the loaves from the disciples, and when He had given thanks, (for what He had at hand), He now distributes the bread and the fish to the disciples, and then the disciples gave these to the multitudes of people sitting down, and not just a portion of food, but as much as they desired! Therefore, in this we see the multiplication work and principal of the Lord Jesus Christ who takes what we place in His hands and multiplies it, before returning it to us to distribute to meet whatever needs need to be met, both inside and outside of the house of faith. For in giving first we will have an abundance for every good work (2 Cor. 9:8)!

Vs. 12 So when they were filled, He said to His disciples, “Gather up the fragments that remain, so that nothing is lost.”

Now in saying this Jesus reveals that what He sows He sows with full regard of losing nothing, neither His Word, nor His disciples, or whatever He does in our lives, He does with the intent of losing nothing!

Vs. 13 “Therefore they gathered them up, and filled twelve baskets with the fragments of the five barley loaves which were left over by those who had eaten.”

The disciples then not only fed the multitudes and themselves but also there were twelve baskets with the fragments of the barely loaves that were left over, enough then to give everyone a piece of bread when they departed!

Vs. 14 Then those men, when they had seen the sign that Jesus did, said, “This is truly the Prophet who is to come into the world.”

The people then having seen the sign Jesus did in miraculously feeding them all, and having been filled by it, now declare of Jesus Christ, “This is truly the Prophet who is to come into the world.” Which is a designation that God had promised the children of Israel that He would raise up a Prophet for them who speak the Word of God directly to them all (Deut. 18:15-19). In Jesus Christ then these people have rightly discerned who His Person truly is! That said, a profession of faith built on seeing or experiencing miraculous signs and wonders can be a very fickle faith indeed. For as we will later see they will pursue Jesus not for who He is, (and thus wanting to be with Him because of who He is, and thus have and enjoy the life, and the Spirit fruits, and fellowship with God that He gives to us who believe in Him) but only for what He can do for them in meeting their immediate needs.

Scripture Quotations 

New King James Version (1982): Thomas Nelson.