It's striking that the feeding of the crowds is the one miracle of Jesus that occurs in all four gospels. What is so special about this miracle that it was picked up by each of the gospel writers? There may be several reasons, but one is that all the gospel writers are keen to show that Jesus is the fulfillment of the covenant, the faithful Israelite, the new Moses. So, as God fed the Israelites in the wilderness with manna, so the Son of Man will feed God's people with the "bread of life" (6:32-35).

A huge crowd gathers to hear and see Jesus, the great teacher and miracle worker. It's always a bit jarring to recognize just how popular Jesus was with the people. He was dogged by crowds wherever he went!

Jesus, looking out at the crowd, asks Philip, "Where shall we buy bread for these people to eat?" It's a ridiculous question, given the size of the crowd and the meager purse of the disciples. John adds that Jesus asked this to test Philip. What's that about? One thing it means is that we are constantly tested by circumstances that seem beyond our power to handle. When that happens, it's an opportunity to see what God can do.

Practical Philip responds with exasperation, "It would take more than half a year's wages to buy enough bread for each one to have a bite!" (6:7). Andrew floats the idea that somehow a young boy's lunch could be a start, but then acknowledges the impossibility himself.

Maybe Jesus smiled as he said, "Have the people sit down." Interestingly, John notes that there was "plenty of grass in that place"---perhaps a reference to the "green pastures" of Psalm 23? Jesus then takes that boy's lunch, the loaves and fish, and begins to pass them out to the crowd. Amazingly, the food just keeps coming until all the people have had their fill. Yet in the end there were twelve baskets full of leftovers! Notice Jesus' concern: "Let nothing be wasted"---a firm reminder for us in our day of huge plates of food and overflowing dumpsters.

The people, of course, are amazed. They consider Jesus a prophet for the miracle, and even want to somehow make him king. ("A chicken in every pot, and a free picnic on every hillside!") That's when Jesus got out of there.

John, as usual, calls this miracle a "sign," and the rest of chapter 6 riffs on it. Because the people misunderstand the sign, Jesus goes on to explain it. "I am the bread of life," he says later. And toward the end of the chapter, he ties this all up with a description of holy communion: "Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life" (6:53-56). In other words, the sign points beyond the miracle of eating to the miracle of the One who alone can satisfy our deepest needs and feed our deepest hungers.

While that's the larger point John makes in this chapter, there's a smaller, but still significant, point for the children in the group. A young boy offers his lunch to Jesus, and it turns out to be enough to feed a crowd. No matter who we are, and no matter how meager our offering may seem to others, Jesus can make something of it.