Feeding the 5,000+ — April 26 [Description]Overview of the Passages:Matthew 14:15-21, Mark 6:35-44, Luke 9:12-17, John 6:5-13 all recount the miracle of Jesus feeding over 5,000 people with just five loaves of bread and two fish.- Setting: A large crowd has followed Jesus into a remote place to hear His teaching and experience healing.- Problem: As the day grows late, the disciples urge Jesus to send the people away to find food.- Jesus’ Response: He tells the disciples to feed the crowd themselves, testing their faith and perspective.- Provision: A young boy offers five loaves and two fish (John emphasizes this detail), which Jesus blesses and breaks.- Miracle: The food is miraculously multiplied, satisfying everyone with 12 baskets of leftovers.- Significance: The miracle reveals Jesus’ compassion, His divine provision, and His ability to do more with our little when surrendered in faith. It also points symbolically to Jesus as the Bread of Life (John 6 theme).This story speaks powerfully about trusting Jesus with limited resources, seeing miracles through obedience, and believing that God can use anyone—regardless of age or offering—to impact thousands.

Bible discovery

Matthew 14:15-21365D 116.1

15 When it was evening, His disciples came to Him, saying, “This is a deserted place, and the hour is already late. Send the multitudes away, that they may go into the villages and buy themselves food.”365D 116.2

16 But Jesus said to them, “They do not need to go away. You give them something to eat.”365D 116.3

17 And they said to Him, “We have here only five loaves and two fish.”365D 116.4

18 He said, “Bring them here to Me.”365D 116.5

19 Then He commanded the multitudes to sit down on the grass. And He took the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up to heaven, He blessed and broke and gave the loaves to the disciples; and the disciples gave to the multitudes.365D 116.6

20 So they all ate and were filled, and they took up twelve baskets full of the fragments that remained.365D 116.7

21 Now those who had eaten were about five thousand men, besides women and children.365D 116.8

Mark 6:35-44365D 116.9

35 When the day was now far spent, His disciples came to Him and said, “This is a deserted place, and already the hour is late.365D 116.10

36 Send them away, that they may go into the surrounding country and villages and buy themselves ^{[g]NU something to eat and omits the rest of v. 36.} bread; for they have nothing to eat.”365D 116.11

37 But He answered and said to them, “You give them something to eat.” And they said to Him, “Shall we go and buy two hundred denarii worth of bread and give them something to eat?”365D 116.12

38 But He said to them, “How many loaves do you have? Go and see.” And when they found out they said, “Five, and two fish.”365D 116.13

39 Then He commanded them to make them all sit down in groups on the green grass.365D 116.14

40 So they sat down in ranks, in hundreds and in fifties.365D 116.15

41 And when He had taken the five loaves and the two fish, He looked up to heaven, blessed and broke the loaves, and gave them to His disciples to set before them; and the two fish He divided among them all.365D 116.16

42 So they all ate and were filled.365D 116.17

43 And they took up twelve baskets full of fragments and of the fish.365D 116.18

44 Now those who had eaten the loaves were ^{[h]NU, M omit about} about five thousand men.365D 116.19

Luke 9:12-17365D 116.20

12 When the day began to wear away, the twelve came and said to Him, “Send the multitude away, that they may go into the surrounding towns and country, and lodge and get provisions; for we are in a deserted place here.”365D 116.21

13 But He said to them, “You give them something to eat.” And they said, “We have no more than five loaves and two fish, unless we go and buy food for all these people.”365D 116.22

14 For there were about five thousand men. Then He said to His disciples, “Make them sit down in groups of fifty.”365D 116.23

15 And they did so, and made them all sit down.365D 116.24

16 Then He took the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up to heaven, He blessed and broke them, and gave them to the disciples to set before the multitude.365D 116.25

17 So they all ate and were ^[a]satisfied filled, and twelve baskets of the leftover fragments were taken up by them.365D 116.26

John 6:5-13365D 116.27

5 Then Jesus lifted up His eyes, and seeing a great multitude coming toward Him, He said to Philip, “Where shall we buy bread, that these may eat?”365D 116.28

6 But this He said to test him, for He Himself knew what He would do.365D 116.29

7 Philip answered Him, “Two hundred denarii worth of bread is not sufficient for them, that every one of them may have a little.”365D 116.30

8 One of His disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, said to Him,365D 116.31

9 “There is a lad here who has five barley loaves and two small fish, but what are they among so many?”365D 116.32

10 Then Jesus said, “Make the people sit down.” Now there was much grass in the place. So the men sat down, in number about five thousand.365D 116.33

11 And Jesus took the loaves, and when He had given thanks He distributed them ^{[b]NU omits to the disciples, and the disciples} to the disciples, and the disciples to those sitting down; and likewise of the fish, as much as they wanted.365D 116.34

12 So when they were filled, He said to His disciples, “Gather up the fragments that remain, so that nothing is lost.”365D 116.35

13 Therefore they gathered them up, and filled twelve baskets with the fragments of the five barley loaves which were left over by those who had eaten.365D 116.36