John 6:1–15

The Fourth Sign: Feeding 5,000

6After ^ythis, Jesus crossed the Sea of Galilee ^z(or Tiberias ^a). ²And a huge crowd was following Him because they saw the signs that He was performing by healing the sick. ³So Jesus went up a mountain and sat down there with His disciples.

⁴Now the Passover, a Jewish festival, was near. ⁵Therefore, when Jesus looked up and noticed a huge crowd coming toward Him, ^bHe asked Philip, ^c“Where will we buy bread so these people can eat?” ⁶He asked this to test him, ^dfor He Himself knew what He was going to do.

⁷Philip answered, “Two hundred denarii ^eworth of bread wouldn’t be enough for each of them to have a little.”

⁸One of His disciples, Andrew, ^fSimon ^gPeter’s ^hbrother, said to Him, ⁹“There’s a boy here who has five barley loaves and two fish—but what are they for so many?”

¹⁰Then Jesus said, “Have the people sit down.”

There was plenty of grass in that place, so they sat down. The men numbered about 5,000. ⁱ¹¹Then Jesus took the loaves, and after giving thanks He distributed them to those who were seated—so also with the fish, as much as they wanted. ^j

¹²When they were full, He told His disciples, “Collect the leftovers so that nothing is wasted.” ^k13So they collected them and filled 12 baskets with the pieces from the five barley loaves that were left over by those who had eaten.

¹⁴When the people saw the sign ^lHe had done, they said, “This really is the Prophet ^mwho was to come ⁿinto the world!” ^o15Therefore, when Jesus knew that they were about to come and take Him by force to make Him king, ^pHe withdrew again ^qto the mountain by Himself.