John 6:1-15
“Notice what you notice.” John’s account of the feeding of the 5,000… It is not clear in John’s gospel just what the time frame is. He begins the reading (and the chapter) with “After these things…”. John also begins chapters 5 and 7 in the same way, an indefinite expression. John seems to be less chronologically focused than the Synoptics, especially Luke and Mark. The immediate precedent in chapter 5 had Jesus in Jerusalem healing the man at the pool of Bethesda. So we go with the Synoptics and put Jesus back in Galilee.
As in Matthew and Mark, Jesus sets off in a boat to the other side of the Sea of Galilee (v. 1). We already saw that Luke has Him in Bethsaida. John offers a bit of additional evidence of this placement when Jesus asks Philip directly, Where are we to buy bread, so that these people may eat? (v. 5b). Directing the question to Philip was reasonable, since Philip was from Bethsaida. Even more compelling is the fact that, following Philip’s insufficient response, Andrew answers Jesus’ question, There is a boy here who has five barley loaves and two fish… (v. 9a). Andrew was also from Bethsaida (see John 1:44). Had he met the boy that he knew from home while he was mingling with the crowd? Intriguing.
John offers a (seemingly) out-of-context statement in verse 4: Now the Passover, the feast of the Jews, was at hand. Pastor David once said that there are no wasted words in Scripture. So I wonder, what’s the point of this sentence? Why mention Passover here? Is it to reflect back to the Exodus so that, by association, we are then looking forward to the provision of manna in the wilderness and drawing a parallel to Jesus feeding of the 5,000? Many writers (and preachers) have drawn this connection between the two events.
John further emphasizes this connection in verse 14: When the people saw the sign that he had done, they said, “This is indeed the Prophet who is to come into the world!” The Jews had been long expecting a “prophet like Moses”: The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you, from among your countrymen, you shall listen to Him. (Deuteronomy 18:15; see also Dt 18:18) So the people see this parallel, this feeding of the people in this “desolate place” and are ready to anoint Jesus as their king. But Jesus wouldn’t have it. Clearly, His time had not yet come.
Slava Bohu!
Thanks, Fred. I was struck by the word abundance. Not only was there enough to feed everyone, but there was an abundance, lots of extra bread and fish. Couldn’t Jesus figure out how much would be enough? I am thinking that he isn’t in the mindset of “enough”. That is how we think, what will be enough? But he thinks in abundance. So where did those baskets come from? And what was done with the extra food? What wonderful problems of abundance!
Wonderful thought, Debbie!