“When Jesus looked up and saw a great crowd coming toward him, he said to Philip, “Where shall we buy bread for these people to eat?” He asked this only to test him, for he already had in mind what he was going to do. Philip answered him, “It would take more than half a year’s wages to buy enough bread for each one to have a bite!” Another of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, spoke up, “Here is a boy with five small barley loaves and two small fish, but how far will they go among so many?”…Jesus then took the loaves, gave thanks, and distributed to those who were seated as much as they wanted. He did the same with the fish. When they had all had enough to eat, he said to his disciples, “Gather the pieces that are left over. Let nothing be wasted.” So they gathered them and filled twelve baskets with the pieces of the five barley loaves left over by those who had eaten.”

‭‭John‬ ‭6‬:‭5‬-‭9‬, ‭11‬-‭13‬ ‭NIV‬‬

This is the only miracle recorded in all four gospels. gospels. Why is this story so significant? Was the miracle any greater than raising Lazarus from the dead after his body had begun to decompose? In the end, is any one miracle greater than another?   Whatever Jesus does that overcomes and transcends natural laws is miraculous. 

However, to understand the significance of what Jesus did, we must examine its purpose. To John, the seven miracles he recorded said something about Jesus. Some of them even ended with an “I am…” saying. 

How did this miracle happen? Matthew’s version gives us a peek  into the way Jesus worked. 

“And he directed the people to sit down on the grass. Taking the five loaves and the two fish and looking up to heaven, he gave thanks and broke the loaves. Then he gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the people.”

‭‭Matthew‬ ‭14‬:‭19‬ ‭NIV‬‬

As always, Jesus worked in partnership with the Father. Giving thanks first was His way of acknowledging His unity with the Father in everything He said and did. He always acted under the Father’s authority, speaking and doing the Father’s will on earth what was authorised in heaven. Breaking the bread was symbolic of His own part in the Father’s plan of redemption. 

If we keep in mind that Jesus’ miracles were the sign of a truth about Himself, we find the meaning in what He told the people about Himself. The following day, the crowd tried to find Him again. A free meal wasn’t an everyday happening! Jesus response was insightful. He knew exactly what they were after! 

“Once the crowd realized that neither Jesus nor his disciples were there, they got into the boats and went to Capernaum in search of Jesus. When they found him on the other side of the lake, they asked him, “Rabbi, when did you get here?” Jesus answered, “Very truly I tell you, you are looking for me, not because you saw the signs I performed but because you ate the loaves and had your fill…

‭‭John‬ ‭6‬:‭24‬-‭26 NIV‬‬

After this free meal, the people wanted more. This was great! Bring on the picnic meal! It was all so easy!

Jesus quickly recognised their opportunism. They were after bread, not truth. In a master stroke, He diagnosed their motive, selfishness, turned their religious argument about Moses towards Himself, and thrust in the sword of the Word. 

…“Very truly I tell you, you are looking for me, not because you saw the signs I performed but because you ate the loaves and had your fill. Do not work for food that spoils, but for food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. For on him God the Father has placed his seal of approval.”

‭‭John‬ ‭6‬:‭27‬ ‭NIV‬‬

“So they asked him, “What sign then will you give that we may see it and believe you? What will you do? Our ancestors ate the manna in the wilderness; as it is written: ‘He gave them bread from heaven to eat.’” Jesus said to them, “Very truly I tell you, it is not Moses who has given you the bread from heaven, but it is my Father who gives you the true bread from heaven. For the bread of God is the bread that comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.””

‭‭John‬ ‭6‬:‭30‬-‭33‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Jesus, not manna, He pointed out, was God’s bread from heaven. So, here is the meaning of the miracle…

Bread cannot feed anyone until it is broken. As Jesus fed a hungry  multitude by breaking the bread, so He feeds a hungry world with the “bread of life”, His own body broken for us. How did the miracle happen? He kept breaking the pieces. In the same way, He feeds the hungry world with truth, one person at a time, that His body was broken for them. 

To be continued…