Feeding 5000

When evening came, the apostles came to Jesus and said, “This is a desolate place, and the hour is already late. Dismiss the crowds so they can go to the villages in the surrounding countryside to buy something to eat and find lodging.

But Jesus told them, “They do not need to go away. You give them something to eat.”

Jesus said to Philip, “Where can we buy bread for these people to eat?” But He was asking this to test him, for He knew what He was about to do.

Philip answered, “Two hundred denarii would not buy enough bread for each of them to have a small piece.” For there were about five thousand men, in addition to the women and the children.

And hearing Philip, the other apostles asked Jesus, “Should we go out and spend two hundred denarii to give all of them bread to eat?”

Jesus told them, “Go and see how many loaves you have.”

One of His apostles, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, said to Him, “Here is a boy with five barley loaves and two small fish. But what difference will these make among so many?”

“Bring them here to Me,” Jesus said.

Now, there was plenty of green grass in that place. And Jesus directed the apostles to have the people sit. "Have them sit down in groups of about fifty each." The apostles did so and the people sat down in groups of fifties and hundreds.

Taking the five loaves and the two fish and looking up to heaven, Jesus gave thanks and He spoke a blessing. Then He broke the loaves and the fish and gave them to the apostles, and the apostles set them before the people.

All the people ate and were satisfied. Then Jesus said to His apostles, “Gather the pieces that are left over, so that nothing will be wasted.” And the apostles picked up twelve basketfuls of broken pieces of bread and fish that were left over. 

See Matthew 14:15-21; Mark 6:35-44; Luke 9:12-17; John 6:5-13

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