After this, Jesus went across the Sea of Galilee [of Tiberias]. 2 A large crowd followed him, because they saw the signs he was performing on the sick. 3 Jesus went up on the mountain, and there he sat down with his disciples. 4 The Jewish feast of Passover was near. 5 When 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?” 6 He said this to test him, because he himself knew what he was going to do. 7 Philip answered him, “Two hundred days’ wages worth of food would not be enough for each of them to have a little [bit].” 8 One 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?” 10 Jesus 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. 11 Then Jesus took the loaves, gave thanks, and distributed them to those who were reclining, and also as much of the fish as they wanted. 12 When they had had their fill, he said to his disciples, “Gather the fragments left over, so that nothing will be wasted.” 13 So they collected them, and filled twelve wicker baskets with fragments from the five barley loaves that had been more than they could eat. 14 When the people saw the sign he had done, they said, “This is truly the Prophet, the one who is to come into the world.” 15 Since Jesus knew that they were going to come and carry him off to make him king, he withdrew again to the mountain alone.
A large crowd followed Jesus as a result of the healing miracles he had performed in Galilee that demonstrated his divine power (Jn. 4 & 5). He crossed the Sea of Galilee, also known as the Sea of Tiberias, and went up on the mountain with his disciples to get away from the crowd. Jesus going up the mountain can symbolically represent his teaching authority, his communion with God through prayer, and his divine power and authority. Since Passover was near, Jerusalem would have been crowded with Jewish pilgrims who traveled to the city to participate in the festival. Jesus saw a large crowd coming to him and asked Philip a rhetorical question, “Where can we buy enough food for them to eat?” Jesus already had a plan in mind to address the situation, but he wanted to see how His disciples would respond. Philip's answer expressed doubts about being able to provide enough food for such a large crowd. Another disciple Andrew found a boy who had five barley loaves and two little fish which certainly could not feed the large crowd. Barley loaves were a staple food of the poor, and three small barley loaves could be consumed by a man when having a hearty meal (Lk. 11:5).
The crowd was estimated to be five thousand men plus women and children and Jesus had them sit on the grass in rows of 50 or 100 (Mk. 6:40). At a meal, it was customary for guests to recline on couches or mats around a low table. Jesus prepared a table for the crowd just as God prepared a table for the Israelites in the wilderness (Ex. 16). Jesus gave a customary Jewish blessing before meals and the disciples distributed the bread and fish. In miraculously multiplying the loaves and fishes, Jesus, using his divine power, provided for the crowd's spiritual and physical nourishment. When they gathered the fragments from the meal, they filled twelve wicker baskets. The twelve baskets filled with leftovers symbolize the abundance and completeness of God's provision, as well as the inclusion of the twelve tribes of Israel. The crowd recognized Jesus as the messianic prophet they were awaiting (Mal. 3:1,23) and would have made him king because of his mighty deeds, so Jesus withdrew to the mountain to avoid the fervor of the crowd.
Almighty God, you provide abundantly for your people, and your blessings overflow in our lives. Help us to trust in Your provision, both spiritually and physically, and to share generously with others both out of our need and our excess. This we pray through Christ our Lord. Amen!
__________________________________
References
Chiu, José Enrique Aguilar, et al. The Paulist Biblical Commentary. Paulist Press, 2018.
Brown, Raymond Edward, et al. The New Jerome Biblical Commentary. Upper Saddle River, NJ, United States, Prentice Hall, 1990.
Chiu, José Enrique Aguilar, et al. The Paulist Biblical Commentary. Paulist Press, 2018.
Brown, Raymond Edward, et al. The New Jerome Biblical Commentary. Upper Saddle River, NJ, United States, Prentice Hall, 1990.
Orchard, Bernard, et al. A Catholic Commentary on Holy Scripture. Feb. 1953.
Comments