The Fourth Sign Gospel Reading: John 6:1-14 Video clip: https://youtube/watch?v=UtrjViTgPHs The Fourth Sign: Feeding 5,000 6 After this, Jesus crossed the Sea of Galilee (or Tiberias). 2 And a huge crowd was following Him because they saw the signs that He was performing by healing the sick. 3 So Jesus went up a mountain and sat down there with His disciples. 4 Now the Passover, a Jewish festival, was near. 5 Therefore, when Jesus looked up and noticed a huge crowd coming toward Him, He asked Philip, “Where will we buy bread so these people can eat?” 6 He asked this to test him, for He Himself knew what He was going to do. 7 Philip answered, “Two hundred denarii worth of bread wouldn’t be enough for each of them to have a little.” 8 One of His disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, said to Him, 9 “There’s a boy here who has five barley loaves and two fish—but what are they for so many?” 10 Then Jesus said, “Have the people sit down.” There was plenty of grass in that place, so they sat down. The men numbered about 5,000. 11 Then Jesus took the loaves, and after giving thanks He distributed them to those who were seated—so also with the fish, as much as they wanted. 12 When they were full, He told His disciples, “Collect the leftovers so that nothing is wasted.” 13 So they collected them and filled 12 baskets with the pieces from the five barley loaves that were left over by those who had eaten. 14 When the people saw the sign He had done, they said, “This really is the Prophet who was to come into the world!” ***Verse 6:1-71*** The feeding of the crowd is another of Jesus’ messianic “signs” and aligns Him with God’s provision of manna to Israel through Moses (vv. 6:30-31). **Verse 6:1 ‘After this’ again refers to an undetermined period of time (5:1),…some commentaries suggest that a half year may have passed following the previous event. Sea of ‘Tiberias’ is another name often used for the Sea of Galilee. Herod Antipas founded the city of Tiberias, which was located on the Sea of Galilee, and so named the city in honor of the Roman emperor Tiberius [A.D. 14-37]. **Verse 6:3 ‘Mountain’ possibly was not referring to a specific mountain, but rather to the hill country east of the lake known today as the Golan Heights (Mt. 14:23; Mk. 6:46). Similar to other rabbis, Jesus sat down to teach (Mt. 5:1; Mk. 4:1; 9:35; Lk. 4:20), although teaching is not mentioned here. **Verse 6:4 ‘Passover’ …this is the second of three that were mentioned by John, and the only one that Jesus spent in Galilee. **Verse 6:5 The ‘huge crowd’ walked from several miles away, traveling around the north side of the lake and were able to catch up with Jesus and the disciples. ‘Philip’ was the logical one to ask purchasing bread in the area, as he, like Andrew and Peter were natives of nearby Bethsaida. Jesus’ question echoes Moses’ question in the wilderness: “Where can I get meat to give all these people?” (Nm. 11:13). Other parallels between Jn. 6 and Nm. 11 are the people grumbling; the description of manna; the reference to the eating of meat/Jesus’ “flesh’; and the overabundance of the provision. **Verse 6:7 ‘Two hundred denarii’ is thought to be roughly eight months wages, since one denarius was about one day’s pay for a common laborer (Jn. 12:5; Mt. 20:2). **Verse 6:9 ‘Boy’ can mean any age between young boy to a male in his early twenties. This same word is used in referring to young Joseph in Gn. 37:30 and Daniel and his friends in Dn. 1. ‘Barley’ was common food eaten by the poor of Jesus day; the ‘fish’ were probably dried or pickled as a means of preserving them. In a very similar manner Elisha fed 100 men with 20 barley loaves (2Kg. 4:42-44). **Verse 6:10 ‘The men numbered about 5,000’…additionally there were women and children (Mt. 14:21), and some scholars suggest that the number may have been as high as 15,000 people. **Verse 6: 13 The number of ’12 baskets’ may allude to Jesus’ symbolic restoration of the 12 tribes of Israel. **Verse 6:14 The reference to ‘the Prophet who was to come into the world’ refers to Dt. 18:15, 18). HCSB Study Bible, Holman Christian Standard Bible
Posted on: Sat, 10 Jan 2015 16:44:30 +0000