(43-19a)
For this week’s study:
- Any time you read or study the Bible, always start with prayer, asking God to guide you, so you understand God’s message and learn His methods for living.
- Read John 6:1-21 several times using your Bible, and the two translations provided below, to understand the boundaries, content and flow of the study passage. (Reading the passage once a day from any of those translations is recommended.)
- Read and respond to the “Study Guide” and use the “Study Resources” provided below to learn more from this study passage.
Read the Passage
Berean Standard Bible
(BSB)
The Feeding of the Five Thousand
(cp. Matthew 14:13–21;
Mark 6:30–44; Luke 9:10–17)
<1>After this, Jesus crossed to the other side of the Sea of Galilee (that is, the Sea of Tiberias). <2>A large crowd followed Him because they saw the signs He was performing on the sick. <3>Then Jesus went up on the mountain and sat down with His disciples.
<4>Now the Jewish Feast of the Passover was near. <5>When Jesus looked up and saw a large crowd coming toward Him, He said to Philip, “Where can we buy bread for these people to eat?” <6>But He was asking this to test him, for He knew what He was about to do.
<7>Philip answered, “Two hundred denarii1 would not buy enough bread for each of them to have a small piece.”
<8>One of His disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, said to Him, <9>“Here is a boy with five barley loaves and two small fish. But what difference will these make among so many?”
<10>“Have the people sit down,” Jesus said. Now there was plenty of grass in that place, so the men sat down, about five thousand of them.
<11>Then Jesus took the loaves and the fish, gave thanks, and distributed to those who were seated as much as they wanted.
<12>And when everyone was full, He said to His disciples, “Gather the pieces that are left over, so that nothing will be wasted.”
<13>So they collected them and filled twelve baskets with the pieces of the five barley loaves left over by those who had eaten.
<14>When the people saw the sign that Jesus had performed,2 they began to say, “Truly this is the Prophet who is to come into the world.”
<15>Then Jesus, realizing that they were about to come and make Him king by force, withdrew again to a mountain by Himself.
Jesus Walks on Water
(cp. Matthew 14:22–33;
Mark 6:45–52)
<16>When evening came, His disciples went down to the sea, <17>got into a boat, and started across the sea to Capernaum. It was already dark, and Jesus had not yet gone out to them. <18>A strong wind was blowing, and the sea grew agitated.
<19>When they had rowed about three or four miles,3 they saw Jesus approaching the boat, walking on the sea—and they were terrified. <20>But Jesus spoke up: “It is I; do not be afraid.” <21>Then they were willing to take Him into the boat, and at once the boat reached the shore where they were heading.
Word Come Alive
(WCA)
(An extended translation)*
Feeding the 5,000
<1>Some time later Jesus went across to the far shore of the Sea of Galilee (also known as the Sea of Tiberias). <2>A huge crowd followed him, attracted by the miraculous signs they had seen him perform when he healed those who were ill. <3>Jesus went up the hillside and sat down with his apprentices. <4>The time for the Jewish Passover festival was approaching.
<5>When Jesus looked up and noticed a huge crowd coming towards him, he asked Philip, ‘Where can we buy enough food for all these people to eat?’ <6>Jesus asked Philip this question to test him—to stretch him to see if he would apply the lessons about Jesus’ identity and power—even though Jesus already knew what he himself intended to do next.
<7>Philip thought for a few moments, looked at the number of people and worked out the amount of money it would cost to feed them all. He answered, ‘Even if we had eight months’ wages, that still wouldn’t be enough to buy each one a little to eat!’
<8>Just then, another one of Jesus’ apprentices, Andrew (Simon Peter’s brother) spoke up, <9>‘There’s a young boy here with five small loaves of barley and two small fish, but that’s just a drop in the ocean compared to what’s needed for everyone here!’
<10>Jesus said, ‘Get the people to sit down.’ Because it was spring, a lot of fresh grass was growing in that place, so everyone could settle down comfortably. In fact, about 5,000 men, as well as many women and children, were there. <11>Then Jesus held the bread in his hands and spoke a prayer of thanksgiving to God. He gave it to his apprentices to hand out to everyone sitting down. As Jesus broke and distributed the bread, it multiplied miraculously. Then Jesus did the same with the fish. They all ate as much as they wanted until they were full.
<12>When all the people had eaten as much as they could, Jesus told his apprentices, ‘Collect up the leftovers. I don’t want anything to be wasted.’ <13>So they gathered together the pieces that had not been eaten. The leftovers from the five barley loaves filled up twelve baskets.
<14>When the people saw this miraculous sign Jesus had performed, they started to say, ‘This really must be the Prophet we’ve been waiting for!’ <15>But Jesus knew they had misunderstood his mission, and that they wanted to get hold of him and force him to become their earthly king. So he went off again up the hill to be by himself.
Jesus walks on water
<16>When it was evening, Jesus’ apprentices went down to the shore of the Sea of Galilee. <17>They got into a boat and started to row across the lake in the direction of Capernaum. By then it had become dark and they were by themselves, because Jesus hadn’t yet come to them. <18>A strong wind whipped up the waves and the lake became stormy. <19>When they had rowed about three or four miles they saw Jesus walking towards the boat across the rough waves. (At first they didn’t recognise it was Jesus.) They were gripped by terror, <20>but the man called out words of calm reassurance to them, ‘It’s me, Jesus, I am your friend. There’s no need to be afraid.’ (In those days it was believed that only gods could walk on water. By doing this and referring to himself as ‘I am’, Jesus claimed to be God.) <21>As they recognised it was Jesus, their fears disappeared, and they welcomed him on board the boat. All at once, miraculously, the boat reached the shore they’d been heading for.
* Words in italics are not translated from the original Greek text. They have been added to explain and at times apply the text, much as a preacher does on a Sunday or notes do at the foot of the page in a study Bible. These additions are integrated with the text itself, and are in italics, so readers can see what has been explained, changed or added.
Study the Passage
Study Guide
What is a miraculous sign? (See more information about miraculous sings HERE and HERE.)
What is a proper response to signs?
What signs did Jesus perform in this passage?
Feeding the 5,000 was a miraculous sign. What did the people believe about Jesus because of this sign? (6:14)?
What might have motivated them to believe this?
Was what they believed about Jesus correct?
What did the people intend to do because of this sign? (6:15)?
Was this a proper response to the sign?
What was Jesus’ response to their intention (6:15)?
What does Jesus’ response indicate about what they believed?
Study Resources
To learn more about this study passage, go to
https://www.bibleref.com/John/6/John-6-1.html. Read the commentary of each verse in the study passage. (Also read the Context Summary and the Chapter Summary.)
If you have any questions about this passage, type the verse reference or your question in the search box at the top of
https://www.gotquestions.org/ and explore the results.
If you have a study Bible, read the footnotes and study notes and see how they help you understand this passage. Also check out any maps, charts and articles related to the study passage.
Thessalonian Faith 