For this post, I see the feeding of the 5000 as one of several Kingdom lessons for the disciples as to who Jesus was, the Son of God and Messiah. This is in the third block of teaching about the Kingdom of God/Heaven. This lesson is found in all four of the Gospels and is one that John uses to stress the fact that Jesus was the Son of God. The references are Matthew 14:13-21, Mark 6:30 – 44, Luke 9:10 – 17 (See Bible 911-Luke), and John 6:1 – 15. Feeding the 4000 is in Matthew 15: 29 – 39, and Mark 8:1-10.  

The sending out of the Twelve (Block #2) is around or before the Feast of Tabernacles, which is the seventh month after Passover. The final harvest for the year is in and the people have no crops to gather, so more people would have been free to listen. John, Chapter 7, states these miracles and teachings about the kingdom happened before the Feast.

John the Baptist’s death was a gate that opened for Jesus to move forward. The sign of the feeding combined with the anger from John’s death would have pushed people to make Jesus king.  Saint John extends this thought through Chapter 6, where some followers find it very difficult to continue with Jesus.

Feeding the 5000 was a “parable” for the disciples who had returned from their first solo ministry trip. They did not understand they could have fed the people; the anointing was upon them. The lesson was taught and later explained to them. Matthew and Mark add the feeding of the 4000 and the teaching about where “clean and unclean” come from and the example of the yeast of religious leaders.

In the narrative, the actual miracle is very short, with just one verse. Since I am viewing this as a teaching lesson, do not discount the prep work and follow-up material that reinforces the main point.  

The leftovers are important because the little boy (I think it was John Mark) was paid back so that his cup ran over. They became part of the lesson (Matthew 16) and a blessing for people who were not there and were fed later. Miracles can keep on giving if you let them.

I have fun doing these. Below is a combination of all four Gospel accounts of the story from the KJV. The verse numbers were left to give you an idea of which Gospel they came from. Mark and John were used the most, my choice, but I think I got all of the major thoughts in. Anything in italics was added by me.

³⁰ And the apostles gathered themselves together unto Jesus, and told him all things, both what they had done, and what they had taught and when Jesus heard about John’s death.

³¹ And he said unto them, Come ye yourselves apart into a desert place, and rest a while: for there were many coming and going, and they had no leisure so much as to eat.

³² And they departed into a desert place belonging to the city called Bethsaida by ship privately over the sea of Galilee, which is the sea of Tiberias. When the people had heard thereof, they followed him on foot out of the cities.

² And a great multitude saw them departing, and followed him, because they knew him, and saw his miracles which he did on them that were diseased. They ran afoot thither out of all cities, and outwent them, and came together unto him.

¹⁴ And Jesus went forth, and saw a great multitude, and was moved with compassion toward them, and he healed their sick. He received them, and spake unto them of the kingdom of God, and healed them that had need of healing.

³ And Jesus went up into a mountain, and there he sat with his disciples. ⁴ And the Passover, a feast of the Jews, was nigh.

 ³⁴ And Jesus, when he came out (of the boat), saw much people, and was moved with compassion toward them, because they were as sheep not having a shepherd: and he began to teach them many things.

³⁵ And when the day was now far spent, his disciples came unto him, and said, This is a desert place, and now the time is far passed:

³⁶ Send them away, that they may go into the country round about, and into the villages, and buy themselves bread: for they have nothing to eat.

He saith unto Philip, Whence shall we buy bread, that these may eat? (Philip was from Bethsaida)

⁶ And this he said to prove him: for he himself knew what he would do.

⁷ Philip answered him, Two hundred pennyworth of bread is not sufficient for them, that every one of them may take a little.

¹⁶ But Jesus said unto them, They need not depart; give ye them to eat.

³⁸ He saith unto them, How many loaves have ye? go and see.

⁸ One of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, saith unto him,

⁹ There is a lad here, which hath five barley loaves, and two small fishes: but what are they among so many?

¹⁰ And Jesus said, Make the men sit down. Now there was much grass in the place. So the men sat down, in number about five thousand.

And he said to his disciples, Make them sit down by fifties in a company.

⁴⁰ And they sat down in ranks, by hundreds, and by fifties.

¹⁵ And they did so, and made them all sit down.

⁴¹ And when he had taken the five loaves and the two fishes, he looked up to heaven, and blessed, and brake the loaves, and gave them to his disciples to set before them; and the two fishes divided he among them all.

⁴² And they did all eat, and were filled.

¹² When they were filled, he said unto his disciples, Gather up the fragments that remain, that nothing be lost.

²¹ And they that had eaten were about five thousand men, beside women and children.

¹³ Therefore they gathered them together, and filled twelve baskets with the fragments of the five barley loaves, which remained over and above unto them that had eaten.

¹⁴ Then those men, when they had seen the miracle that Jesus did, said, This is of a truth that prophet that should come into the world.

¹⁵ When Jesus therefore perceived that they would come and take him by force, to make him a king, he departed again into a mountain himself alone.