Jesus performed many miracles, but they were constantly downplayed in the Gospels. Although he would never deny anyone who asked him, he always turned down requests for demonstrations to amaze the crowds. Jesus recognised that the excitement generated by miracles did not always lead to true life-changing faith.
The miracle recorded here was the only one recorded in all four 4 Gospels. John the Baptist had just been beheaded (see Matthew 14: 1-12). Jesus probably wanted time alone, and crossed the lake to avoid the masses, but thousands followed him, and he had compassion on them.
| 1) | What was the motivation of the people in following Jesus (vs1-2)? |
| 2) | What are the differences between Philip and Andrew's responses to the seemingly impossible problem of feeding the enormous crowd (vs5-9)? |
| 3) | Jesus already knew what he was going to do (v6), but he still asked these two disciples for advice. Why do you think he did this? |
| 4) | As the disciples gathered up the leftover pieces, how do you think they felt? (vs12-13)? |
| 5) | What did the people want Jesus to do for them (vs14-15)? What sort of king were they looking for? |
| 6) | Who were the only witnesses of this miracle (vs16-21)? |
| 7) | Why did the crowd come to find Jesus again the next day? How does Jesus try to redirect their thoughts (vs25-33)? |
| 8) | What did Jesus mean by saying that he is the bread of life? Do you think people in the crowd understood what he was saying (vs32-42)? |
| 9) | What does it mean to eat Jesus' flesh and drink his blood (vs51-58)? Do you think this is something we only do once or is it an ongoing process? |
| v7-9 | Jesus wanted Philip to recognise the impossibility of this task on a human level. He also wanted to see the calibre of Philip's faith. Andrew brought what little he could find to Jesus, and was later amazed at the results! |
| v10-13 | Note that there were about 5,000 men, not including women and children. There were even 12 basketfuls left God's provision is often beyond our expectations. |
| v14-15 | The crowds simply wanted a leader to expel the Romans and restore their country. |
| v16-21 | This miracle was done out of necessity to join the disciples and was not seen by the crowds. Jesus did not tell them how he got to the other side (vs25-26). |
| v25-29 | Often we spend our time and energy working towards goals which are of no real significance. Jesus has come to give us complete satisfaction. |
| v53 | “To drink Jesus' blood” means to participate personally in his death, to accept his sacrifice on our behalf so that our sins can be forgiven and we can live a new life. “To eat Jesus' flesh” means digesting his words and acting upon them. Only then can we be transformed and begin to reproduce his holiness in our lives. |
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