At that time, 1 Jesus went to the other side of the Sea of Galilee, also called Tiberias.

 

At that time, 1 Jesus went to the other side of the Sea of Galilee, also called Tiberias. 2 A large crowd followed him, because they saw the signs he performed for the sick. 3 Jesus went up into the mountain and sat there with his disciples. 4 The Passover, the festival of the Jews, was at hand.

5 Looking up, and seeing that a large crowd was coming to meet him, Jesus said to Philip, “Where shall we buy bread that they may eat?” 6 He said this to test him, as he himself knew very well what he was going to do. 7Philip replied, “Not even two hundred pieces of silver would be enough to give everyone a piece of bread.” 8 One of the disciples, Andrew, the brother of Simon Peter, said: 9 “There is a boy here with five barley loaves and two fish. But what is this for so many people?” 10 Jesus said, “Set the people down.” There was a lot of grass in that place, and approximately five thousand men sat there. 11 Jesus took the loaves, gave thanks, and distributed them to those who were sitting, as much as they wanted. And he did the same with the fish. 12 When everyone was satisfied, Jesus said to his disciples, “Gather up the pieces that are left over, so that nothing is lost!” 13 They collected the pieces and filled twelve baskets with the remains of the five loaves left by those who had eaten. 14 Seeing the sign that Jesus had performed, those men exclaimed: “This is truly the Prophet, the one who must come into the world.” 15 But when he saw that they were trying to take him away to proclaim him king, Jesus withdrew again, alone, into the mountain. — Word of Salvation. Reflection Jesus crossed over to the other side of the Sea of Galilee or Tiberias. The term “sea” was given by Israel to any large quantity of water. Well, Jesus crossed this great lake or “sea” many times in order to announce the Kingdom also on the other side and test, perhaps, according to Theophylact, the will of the people and make the men of each city more eager and thoughtful in the faith (Catena Aurea, Gospel of Saint John, 208). The crowd that followed him was really eager, but for miracles; she knew that Jesus had healed the blind, the lame, the lame, cast out demons, among other important things. So, he could also perform some of these miracles there. Saint John Chrysostom says that the search for miracles indicates how coarse their souls were. The wisest, in turn, were inclined towards doctrine (Ut supra in Catena Aurea, 206). In fact, Jesus went up the mountain and sat down with his disciples to teach them. Among so many teachings, some of them referred to the hungry crowd and how his disciples would face this reality. Jesus puts them to the test, tests them in full teaching. This event is also treated by the synoptic evangelists. Certainly a very important event for the apostles and disciples and for the entire ecclesiastical community. In this chapter, Jo mentions, in addition to this multiplication, also Jesus' walk on the water and ends it with the speech about the bread from heaven and the crisis among many disciples. In this multiplication of the loaves, some themes are addressed, such as going to an abandoned place, the presence of a crowd, the Passover of the Jews, the people's misunderstanding of the sign operated by Jesus, the actions of the disciples and the Master's initiative in the action. and performance of the miracle. Well, Jesus sees the crowd coming to Him. It is not just any crowd, but a people hungry for both natural and spiritual food; a multitude of sufferers and unbelievers at the same time. In the synoptics, Jesus sees and has compassion, here, Jo only cites Jesus' initiative and the certainty of what he should do. In the synoptics, it is the disciples who take the initiative. The Johannine accent, in turn, is tremendously Christological both in the initiative of action and in the way of understanding what was happening to those people. In Jo it is the disciples who prepare the crowd, but it is Jesus who gives them food. The disciples prepare it, and Jesus grants the grace of saving food. An important fact is the fact that the crowd is COMING TO JESUS. This "coming to Jesus" also indicates, today, the people who tirelessly seek the house of God, in an attempt to be satisfied with their needs and who must find Jesus' disciples willing to provide them with essential food. The people keep "coming to Jesus." The question is whether the disciples are currently really with Him and for Him, willing to tirelessly serve for the salvation of these suffering souls. Jo brings two important things to this text: a reference to the Jewish Passover and a reference to supper. In fact, the way it is narrated reminds us of the Eucharistic celebration, which was already celebrated before the Johannine writings. What was already experienced by the Christian community is mentioned in the text. The liturgy precedes the writing of the New Testament. When, for example, care for leftover bread is mentioned, it is very reminiscent of the care given to leftover Eucharistic particles. The number 12 reminds of totality, fullness

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At that time, 1 Jesus went to the other side of the Sea of Galilee, also called Tiberias. 2 A large crowd followed him, because they saw the signs he performed for the sick. 3 Jesus went up into the mountain and sat there with his disciples. 4 The Passover, the festival of the Jews, was at hand. 5 Looking up, and seeing that a large crowd was coming to meet him, Jesus said to Philip, “Where shall we buy bread that they may eat?” 6 He said this to test him, as he himself knew very well what he was going to do. 7Philip replied, “Not even two hundred pieces of silver would be enough to give everyone a piece of bread.” 8 One of the disciples, Andrew, the brother of Simon Peter, said: 9 “There is a boy here with five barley loaves and two fish. But what is this for so many people?” 10 Jesus said, “Set the people down.” There was a lot of grass in that place, and approximately five thousand men sat there. 11 Jesus took the loaves, gave thanks, and distributed them to those who were sitting, as much as they wanted. And he did the same with the fish. 12 When everyone was satisfied, Jesus said to his disciples, “Gather up the pieces that are left over, so that nothing is lost!” 13 They collected the pieces and filled twelve baskets with the remains of the five loaves left by those who had eaten. 14 Seeing the sign that Jesus had performed, those men exclaimed: “This is truly the Prophet, the one who must come into the world.” 15 But when he saw that they were trying to take him away to proclaim him king, Jesus withdrew again, alone, into the mountain. — Word of Salvation. Reflection Jesus crossed over to the other side of the Sea of Galilee or Tiberias. The term “sea” was given by Israel to any large quantity of water. Well, Jesus crossed this great lake or “sea” many times in order to announce the Kingdom also on the other side and test, perhaps, according to Theophylact, the will of the people and make the men of each city more eager and thoughtful in the faith (Catena Aurea, Gospel of Saint John, 208). The crowd that followed him was really eager, but for miracles; she knew that Jesus had healed the blind, the lame, the lame, cast out demons, among other important things. So, he could also perform some of these miracles there. Saint John Chrysostom says that the search for miracles indicates how coarse their souls were. The wisest, in turn, were inclined towards doctrine (Ut supra in Catena Aurea, 206). In fact, Jesus went up the mountain and sat down with his disciples to teach them. Among so many teachings, some of them referred to the hungry crowd and how his disciples would face this reality. Jesus puts them to the test, tests them in full teaching. This event is also treated by the synoptic evangelists. Certainly a very important event for the apostles and disciples and for the entire ecclesiastical community. In this chapter, Jo mentions, in addition to this multiplication, also Jesus' walk on the water and ends it with the speech about the bread from heaven and the crisis among many disciples. In this multiplication of the loaves, some themes are addressed, such as going to an abandoned place, the presence of a crowd, the Passover of the Jews, the people's misunderstanding of the sign operated by Jesus, the actions of the disciples and the Master's initiative in the action. and performance of the miracle. Well, Jesus sees the crowd coming to Him. It is not just any crowd, but a people hungry for both natural and spiritual food; a multitude of sufferers and unbelievers at the same time. In the synoptics, Jesus sees and has compassion, here, Jo only cites Jesus' initiative and the certainty of what he should do. In the synoptics, it is the disciples who take the initiative. The Johannine accent, in turn, is tremendously Christological both in the initiative of action and in the way of understanding what was happening to those people. In Jo it is the disciples who prepare the crowd, but it is Jesus who gives them food. The disciples prepare it, and Jesus grants the grace of saving food. An important fact is the fact that the crowd is COMING TO JESUS. This "coming to Jesus" also indicates, today, the people who tirelessly seek the house of God, in an attempt to be satisfied with their needs and who must find Jesus' disciples willing to provide them with essential food. The people keep "coming to Jesus." The question is whether the disciples are currently really with Him and for Him, willing to tirelessly serve for the salvation of these suffering souls. Jo brings two important things to this text: a reference to the Jewish Passover and a reference to supper. In fact, the way it is narrated reminds us of the Eucharistic celebration, which was already celebrated before the Johannine writings. What was already experienced by the Christian community is mentioned in the text. The liturgy precedes the writing of the New Testament. When, for example, care for leftover bread is mentioned, it is very reminiscent of the care given to leftover Eucharistic particles. The number 12 reminds of totality, fullness