Thematic Bible: The twelve apostles return; he goes to the desert, multitudes follow him; he feeds five thousand (at lake galilee)


Thematic Bible



When Jesus heard it, He withdrew from there privately in a boat to a solitary place. But when the crowds heard of it, they followed Him [by land] on foot from the towns. When He went ashore and saw a great throng of people, He had compassion (pity and deep sympathy) for them and cured their sick. When evening came, the disciples came to Him and said, This is a remote and barren place, and the day is now over; send the throngs away into the villages to buy food for themselves. read more.
Jesus said, They do not need to go away; you give them something to eat. They said to Him, We have nothing here but five loaves and two fish. He said, Bring them here to Me. Then He ordered the crowds to recline on the grass; and He took the five loaves and the two fish, and, looking up to heaven, He gave thanks and blessed and broke the loaves and handed the pieces to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the people. And they all ate and were satisfied. And they picked up twelve [ small hand] baskets full of the broken pieces left over. And those who ate were about 5,000 men, not including women and children.

The apostles [sent out as missionaries] came back and gathered together to Jesus, and told Him all that they had done and taught. And He said to them, [ As for you] come away by yourselves to a deserted place, and rest a while -- "for many were [continually] coming and going, and they had not even leisure enough to eat. And they went away in a boat to a solitary place by themselves. read more.
Now many [people] saw them going and recognized them, and they ran there on foot from all the surrounding towns, and they got there ahead [of those in the boat]. As Jesus landed, He saw a great crowd waiting, and He was moved with compassion for them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd; and He began to teach them many things. And when the day was already far gone, His disciples came to Him and said, This is a desolate and isolated place, and the hour is now late. Send the crowds away to go into the country and villages round about and buy themselves something to eat. But He replied to them, Give them something to eat yourselves. And they said to Him, Shall we go and buy 200 denarii [about forty dollars] worth of bread and give it to them to eat? And He said to them, How many loaves do you have? Go and see. And when they [had looked and] knew, they said, Five [loaves] and two fish. Then He commanded the people all to recline on the green grass by companies. So they threw themselves down in ranks of hundreds and fifties [with the regularity of an arrangement of beds of herbs, looking like so many garden plots]. And taking the five loaves and two fish, He looked up to heaven and, praising God, gave thanks and broke the loaves and kept on giving them to the disciples to set before the people; and He [also] divided the two fish among [them] all. And they all ate and were satisfied. And they took up twelve [ small hand] baskets full of broken pieces [from the loaves] and of the fish. And those who ate the loaves were 5,000 men.

Upon their return, the apostles reported to Jesus all that they had done. And He took them [along with Him] and withdrew into privacy near a town called Bethsaida. But when the crowds learned of it, [they] followed Him; and He welcomed them and talked to them about the kingdom of God, and healed those who needed restoration to health. Now the day began to decline, and the Twelve came and said to Him, Dismiss the crowds and send them away, so that they may go to the neighboring hamlets and villages and the surrounding country and find lodging and get a supply of provisions, for we are here in an uninhabited (barren, solitary) place. read more.
But He said to them, You [yourselves] give them [food] to eat. They said, We have no more than five loaves and two fish -- "unless we are to go and buy food for all this crowd, For there were about 5,000 men. And [Jesus] said to His disciples, Have them [sit down] reclining in table groups (companies) of about fifty each. And they did so, and made them all recline. And taking the five loaves and the two fish, He looked up to heaven and [praising God] gave thanks and asked Him to bless them [to their use]. Then He broke them and gave them to the disciples to place before the multitude. And all the people ate and were satisfied. And they gathered up what remained over -- "twelve [ small hand] baskets of broken pieces.

After this, Jesus went to the farther side of the Sea of Galilee -- "that is, the Sea of Tiberias. And a great crowd was following Him because they had seen the signs (miracles) which He [continually] performed upon those who were sick. And Jesus walked up the mountainside and sat down there with His disciples. read more.
Now the Passover, the feast of the Jews, was approaching. Jesus looked up then, and seeing that a vast multitude was coming toward Him, He said to Philip, Where are we to buy bread, so that all these people may eat? But He said this to prove (test) him, for He well knew what He was about to do. Philip answered Him, Two hundred pennies' (forty dollars) worth of bread is not enough that everyone may receive even a little. Another of His disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter's brother, said to Him, There is a little boy here, who has [with him] five barley loaves, and two small fish; but what are they among so many people? Jesus said, Make all the people recline (sit down). Now the ground (a pasture) was covered with thick grass at the spot, so the men threw themselves down, about 5,000 in number. Jesus took the loaves, and when He had given thanks, He distributed to the disciples and the disciples to the reclining people; so also [He did] with the fish, as much as they wanted. When they had all had enough, He said to His disciples, Gather up now the fragments (the broken pieces that are left over), so that nothing may be lost and wasted. So accordingly they gathered them up, and they filled twelve [ small hand] baskets with fragments left over by those who had eaten from the five barley loaves. When the people saw the sign (miracle) that Jesus had performed, they began saying, Surely and beyond a doubt this is the Prophet Who is to come into the world!