SUMMARY
JesusJesus is the Messiah whose life, death, and resurrection are God's saving act for humanity. feeds the five thousand which sets in motion the Bread of Life Discourse
ANALYSIS
The feeding of the five thousand is the only miracle of Jesus to appear in all four Gospels. Clearly, this was an important event in Jesus’ ministry. At the same time, there are some unique features of John’s narration of this miracle that connect to John’s portrait of Jesus. First, the feeding of the five thousand in John takes place when the feast of PassoverPassover commemorates the deliverance of the Hebrew people from Egypt as described in the book of Exodus. It is celebrated with worship and a meal on the fourteenth day of the month called Nisan, which is the first month of the Jewish year. The time... is near (6:4). This abundant provision of Jesus recalls God’s steadfast loveThe steadfast love (hesed) of God is the assurance of God's loving kindness, faithfulness, and mercy. This assurance rings throughout the Old Testament, and is affirmed more than 120 times in the Psalms. In some hymns of praise the response of the people was likely... in God’s deliverance of God’s people from the tenth plague, the killing of the firstborn in Egypt. Second, John says that there was a “great deal of grass” in the place (6:10). This detail of abundance recalls the abundant wine at the wedding at Cana and looks forward to the pastures of abundant life that Jesus as the good shepherd will provide for his sheep (10:9). Third, whereas in MatthewA tax collector who became one of Jesus' 12 disciples. (14:13-21), Mark (6:31-44), and LukeThe "beloved physician" and companion of Paul. (9:12-17), Jesus gives the bread and fish to the disciples, and they distribute the meal to the crowds, in John Jesus himself feeds the five thousand. Because of these distinctive features of John’s record of the feeding of the five thousand, the rest of the chapter unpacks the meaning of this miraculous sign (like chapter 5) through dialogue and Jesus’ Bread of Life discourse.
