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Context No. 136 of 4322 · John

Context · Reflection

John 6:7-15: in context

7Philip answered him, “Two hundred denarii worth of bread is not sufficient for them, that every one of them may receive a little.” 8One of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, said to him, 9“There is a boy here who has five barley loaves and two fish, but what are these among so many?” 10Jesus said, “Have the people sit down.” Now there was much grass in that place. So the men sat down, in number about five thousand. 11Jesus took the loaves, and having given thanks, he distributed to the disciples, and the disciples to those who were sitting down, likewise also of the fish as much as they desired. 12When they were filled, he said to his disciples, “Gather up the broken pieces which are left over, that nothing be lost.” 13So they gathered them up, and filled twelve baskets with broken pieces from the five barley loaves, which were left over by those who had eaten. 14When therefore the people saw the sign which Jesus did, they said, “This is truly the prophet who comes into the world.” 15Jesus therefore, perceiving that they were about to come and take him by force to make him king, withdrew again to the mountain by himself.

A large crowd has followed Jesus around the Sea of Galilee, and he asks Philip where they can buy bread. This passage is the answer, the meal, and what the crowd tries to do afterward.

Philip does the arithmetic and reports failure: two hundred denarii of bread, roughly two thirds of a year's wages, would not give each person a little. Andrew offers a fact instead of a calculation. There is a boy here with five barley loaves and two fish. Barley was the cheap grain, the poor person's bread. Then Andrew undercuts himself: but what are these among so many? Jesus has them sit on the grass, gives thanks, and distributes. Everyone eats as much as they want, and twelve baskets of fragments are gathered, more left over than they started with.

Then the crowd draws its conclusion. This is the prophet who is to come, and they move to take him by force and make him king. He withdraws to the mountain alone. A man who can feed an army at no cost is exactly what a subject people wants for a king, and that is the reason he leaves. When something I did lands well, do I notice what people have decided to do with it, and whether I want any part of it?

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