Jn 6:1-15
1Jesus went across the Sea of Galilee [of Tiberias]. 2A large crowd followed him, because they saw the signs he was performing on the sick. 3Jesus went up on the mountain, and there he sat down with his disciples. 4The Jewish feast of Passover was near. 5When Jesus raised his eyes and saw that a large crowd was coming to him, he said to Philip, “Where can we buy enough food for them to eat?” 6He said this to test him, because he himself knew what he was going to do. 7Philip answered him, “Two hundred days’ wages worth of food would not be enough for each of them to have a little [bit].” 8One of his disciples, Andrew, the brother of Simon Peter, said to him, 9“There is a boy here who has five barley loaves and two fish; but what good are these for so many?” 10Jesus said, “Have the people recline.” Now there was a great deal of grass in that place. So the men reclined, about five thousand in number.
11Then Jesus took the loaves, gave thanks, and distributed them to those who were reclining, and also as much of the fish as they wanted. 12When they had had their fill, he said to his disciples, “Gather the fragments left over, so that nothing will be wasted.” 13So they collected them, and filled twelve wicker baskets with fragments from the five barley loaves that had been more than they could eat. 14When the people saw the sign he had done, they said, “This is truly the Prophet, the one who is to come into the world.” 15Since Jesus knew that they were going to come and carry him off to make him king, he withdrew again to the mountain alone.
Meals: By rough estimates, the 5,000 men (not counting women and children) who were fed by Jesus would represent half a city, 1 to 5 towns, and 10 to 50 villages—a mind-boggling gathering of people. Whether the number was actual or symbolic, the evangelist underlines that there were far too many people for the limited amount of food available.
Jesus works a miracle to feed this great number of people. His actions over the loaves and fish have Eucharistic overtones. Both here and at the Last Supper (see Lk 22:19), Jesus takes bread, says the blessing, breaks the bread, and gives the bread to the disciples.
Jesus himself distributes the bread and fish. He is the source of the bread for the hungry crowd, although he makes use of a boy’s provisions and of the Twelve’s help in the distribution. Moreover, the twelve baskets of leftover fragments have a symbolic reference to the Twelve. Just as the Twelve had a role in the feeding of the multitude in Jesus’ time, in the time of the evangelist, they now have a central role in the life of the early Christians gathered around them.