Faith Expressions

“I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst.” (John 6:35)

It was an incredible story. A multitude followed Jesus to an uninhabited place because they witnessed the healing that Jesus performed on people with diseases. When Jesus saw the crowd during the evening, he was moved and wanted to feed them, but he and his disciples had no food supplies nor the money to buy, in the town center, for the bread needed to feed 5 thousand men plus the women and children. One of the disciples – Philip – informed Jesus that half a year’s wage was needed in order to be able to buy the bread and the amount of bread that would be bought was not adequate enough to feed the multitude. Another disciple – Andrew – told Jesus there was a young boy with 5 loaves of bread and 2 fish. That was all Jesus needed. Jesus took the bread and fish, broke them, gave thanks to God, and the incredible thing happened: the 5 loaves of bread and 2 fish kept multiplying until all the people were fed sufficiently. And there were 12 basketfuls of leftovers!

There are some quite interesting things in the story. One, Jesus knew that he would need to perform a miracle in order to feed the multitude. Nevertheless, he asked his disciple, Philip, where shall they buy the bread for the people to eat. Jesus was being an endearing, charming leader and friend to Philip. Two, when Jesus took the 5 loaves of bread and 2 fish to multiply them, he blessed them. He gave thanks to God even when the multiplication of the bread and fish had not happened yet! By giving thanks to God, Jesus already claimed the miracle that eventually occurred. Third, the bread and fish Jesus used in the performance of the miracle came from a lad. That a young boy brought bread and fish with him in the desert revealed something that was not mentioned in the story.

In our present time, when someone goes out of town or to a place far from the town center or to a faraway place in the countryside, it is not unusual for that person to carry along with him or her some food. It is common sense or a “just in case” scenario. This same practice was applied by the young boy in the story. If someone young had the common sense to bring food in an uninhabited place, one can naturally assume that some of the adults who went to the deserted place to listen to Jesus’s teachings brought with them some food. Yes, there were many people who did not have food with them, as implied in the story. Perhaps, they got too excited about the event and forgot to bring food with them. Jesus knew about this and he also knew that the people, naturally, needed to eat something. So Jesus took the 5 loaves of bread and 2 fish from the lad, performed the miracle of multiplication before a crowd of more than 5 thousand people, distributed the “multiplied” bread and fish to his disciples who, in turn, distributed them to the people until everyone ate well.

Finally, one can assume, again, that those people who brought some food with them started to share their food with those who did not bring food with them. They witnessed the miracle Jesus performed and they witnessed the sharing Jesus and his disciples did. Thus, not only did Jesus performed the miracle of multiplying the number of bread and fish so that a multitude was fed adequately, but he also effectuated the miracle of sharing among the people who were following him and hearing his teachings.

The story of the multiplication of the bread and fish that was carried out by Jesus was truly an awe-inspiring story.

Jesus Multiplied the Bread and Fish

John 6:1-15 - From the Gospel of John, KJV Translation

1 - After these things Jesus went over the sea of Galilee, which is the sea of Tiberias.

2 - And a great multitude followed him, because they saw his miracles which he did on them that were diseased.

3 - And Jesus went up into a mountain, and there he sat with his disciples.

4 - And the passover, a feast of the Jews, was nigh.

5 - When Jesus then lifted up his eyes, and saw a great company come unto him, he saith unto Philip, Whence shall we buy bread, that these may eat?

6 - And this he said to prove him: for he himself knew what he would do.

7 - Philip answered him, Two hundred pennyworth of bread is not sufficient for them, that every one of them may take a little.

8 - One of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter's brother, saith unto him,

9 - There is a lad here, which hath five barley loaves, and two small fishes: but what are they among so many?

10 - And Jesus said, Make the men 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 to the disciples, and the disciples to them that were set down; and likewise of the fishes as much as they would.

12 - When they were filled, he said unto his disciples, Gather up the fragments that remain, that nothing be lost.

13 - Therefore they gathered them together, and filled twelve baskets with the fragments of the five barley loaves, which remained over and above unto them that had eaten.

14 - Then those men, when they had seen the miracle that Jesus did, said, This is of a truth that prophet that should come into the world.

15 - When Jesus therefore perceived that they would come and take him by force, to make him a king, he departed again into a mountain himself alone.

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