In this chapter, the one miracle that appears in all the four gospels, the fourth sign, the feeding of the five thousand, surfaces.
Jesus went away to the other side of the Sea of Galilee, also called the Sea of Tiberias during John’s time, and a large crowd was following Him because of His healing of the sick. John noted that the Passover was at hand. The Sea was located near a set of mountains, from which Jesus taught His disciples.
Jesus, seeing the multitudes and seeking to test Philip’s faith and understanding, took the initiative by asking how bread could be purchased to feed the people. The fact that Phillip is asked is not surprising, because he was the local boy from nearby Bethsaida (Jn. 1:44). Philip’s reply is not surprising as it was not possible to provide bread for so many, even with 200 denarii (a denarii was a day’s wage for a labourer).
Jesus was setting up the event to instruct the disciples about who He is and what He is capable of doing. John noted that there were five thousand men present, making a crowd of about twenty thousand if women and children were counted as well. Andrew pointed out that there were five barley loaves and two fish from one of the young men present but this would not be sufficient for so many.
Jesus has the crowd sit down. He takes the loaves, gives thanks, and distributes as much as the people want of both the bread and the fish. He has the disciples gather up the remainder and the leftover bread alone fills twelve baskets full – the twelve baskets symbolising the twelve tribes of Israel which is a possible conclusion. The entire event shows Jesus’s supernatural ability to provide food and sustenance for life, for bread was the staple that sustains life. It is a miracle – because of its proximity to the Passover, that recalls the manna in the wilderness and brings forth favourable and even surpassing comparison with Moses, The miracle made them think of Jesus as a leader-prophet like Moses, or maybe even as the hoped-for ruling Messiah or even as the king. They do yet perceive the kind of kingdom and kingship Jesus intends to bring; Jesus’s feeding them did not involve a political goal, because His provision highlighted a more spiritual end. Their intention to make Him king caused Jesus to withdraw again to the mountains by Himself.
When evening came, the disciples started to cross the sea in a boat to Capernaum. It was dark and Jesus had not yet come to them. A strong wind arose and made their progress difficult. They were about half way across the lake when what they saw frightened them: Jesus was walking on the water. This was the fifth sign: Jesus was giving signs of the extent of His authority. Jesus simply announced, “It is I; do not be afraid.” They received Him gladly and they arrived safely on land. Jesus not only had walked on the sea, but He also calmed the seas and brought them safely to land – it gives the image of authority and protection, setting for the bread of life discourse, in which Jesus asserts His power over life and sustenance.
The crowd realised that Jesus had crossed somehow to the other side of the lake and they searched for Him and found Him in Capernaum.
Jesus rebuked the crowd for seeking Him because of the provision of bread rather than to find out what the ‘signs’ meant.
Jesus proceeds to explain the importance of the feeding; the crowd should not labour for food that will perish but instead, they should seek food that “abides to eternal life”.
The remarks about labour cause the crowd to ask what works they should do but Jesus refocuses the discussion on Himself. He redefines the work that a person must perform: “Believe in Him whom the Father has sent”. The crowd responds by asking a sign – it seems odd given that Jesus has performed so many signs already. However, the crowd seems to want Him to prove that He is greater than Moses who provided their ancestors with manna for some forty years.
Jesus corrects them by telling them that Moses was not the source of the manna (bread). The miracle of providing manna is the work of God His Father. Manna was only a hint of the bread of God that now comes down from heaven and “gives life to the world.” The crowd exclaims, “Give us this bread.”
Jesus responds by identifying Himself as this bread. This is the first of several “I am” statements in John – the rest: “I am the light of the world (8:12); the door (10:7, 9); the good shepherd (10:11, 14); the resurrection and the life (11:25); the way, the truth and the life (14:6); the vine (15:1, 5).
The one who partakes of this bread neither hungers nor thirsts. Jesus performs not His own will but the will of the One who sent Him. Their mission is united: the Father’s will is that all who see the Son and believe in Him should have eternal life, and the Son will raise them up on the last day when judgement is given. The Father’s sovereignty is highlighted here, but in a work that inevitably includes the Son.
Jesus’s claim to be the bread from heaven causes murmuring from the crowd who choose to focus on His earthly relations, Mary and Joseph. How could Jesus possibly claim a heavenly origin?
Jesus claims that He alone has seen the Father; He speaks as one who has a unique relationship with God that no one else has shared. Then Jesus adds a new detail: the bread that He will give for the life of the world is HIs own flesh. In other words, to provide life for others, He will give HIs own life.
Then Jesus made the analogy even more extreme, and promised that whosoever eats His flesh and drinks His blood has eternal life. This imagery shocked and repelled the Jewish leaders. For the Jews, blood may be shed for sacrifice but drinking blood was specifically prohibited. The imagery was misunderstood.
Jesus has stated: “The Spirit gives life; the flesh counts for nothing (or profits nothing). The words I have spoken to you are spirit and they are life.” Here is a powerful metaphor of faith – appropriating Christ, entering into union with Him, and sharing His life – that is what eating His flesh and drinking His blood means. The relationship with Christ symbolised by eating HIs flesh is initiated and sustained by faith’s participation in all that Jesus is and all He has done for us. It is an abiding, ongoing quality of faith that leads to a lasting living relationship in Him. It is like the living relationship that Jesus has through the Father who sent Him; it is about the reception of life with the Father through the divinely sent Son.
The crowd, including some who have been disciples, gives a mixed reaction to Jesus’s claims, with many unable to receive them. The disciples who walk away see Jesus’s teachings as too hard to accept. The departure of many who cannot accept His claims causes Jesus to turn to the twelve and ask them if they also wish to go away. Peter speaks for the group and affirms that Jesus has “words of eternal life” and they have believed and come to know what is going on. They accept Him as the “holy one of God”.