BIBLE STUDY LESSON 12

SERIES R --- THE GOOD SHEPHERD

FOOD FOR THOUSANDS

A MIRACLE OF LOAVES AND FISHES

From John 6:1-14

After this, Yeshua went back to the other side of the Sea of Galilee, sometimes called the Sea of Tiberias. A large crowd followed Him, for they had seen His miracles of healing. They even followed Him up into the hills where He went to teach His disciples. Many, of course, were on their way to the Passover feast in Jerusalem. When Yeshua looked around at all the people, He turned to Philip. [Where will we ever find enough bread to feed all those people?] He asked. Of course, Yeshua knew what He was going to do, and He said this only to test Philip. [To feed everyone a bite or two would cost more than we have,] said Philip. Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother said, [There is a boy here with five barley loaves and two small fish. But what will that do among such a large crowd?] When He heard that, Yeshua gave the disciples instructions. [Tell the people to sit down,] He said. This place was covered with grass, so the people sat down on it as they had been told. Altogether, there were more than five thousand people there. Then Yeshua took the five barley loaves, gave thanks for them, and began giving pieces to His disciples. When the disciples had served all those who were sitting, they distributed the fish in the same way. Everyone had all that he could eat and more. When all of the people had eaten their fill, Yeshua gave His disciples some further instructions. [Now gather the leftovers so that we do not waste anything.] The disciples gathered the leftovers and put them into baskets. When they finished, they had twelve baskets filled with pieces of the barley loaves.

THE MAN WHO WOULD NOT BECOME KING

From John 6:14-15

When the people realized what Yeshua had done, they said, [This man is certainly the Prophet Who has been promised to the world.] Yeshua knew that these people wanted to force Him to become the king over Israel, so He left them and went away to be alone in the hills.

COMMENTARY

THE MOSAICS OF TABGHA

Along the north-western shore of the Sea of Galilee is a peaceful place called Tabgha. For centuries, pilgrims have come to this place as the traditional site where Yeshua multiplied the loaves and fishes and fed the five thousand. In the fifth century, a beautiful church was built at Tabgha to commemorate the feeding of the five thousand. Through the centuries the church was destroyed, and a new one built. But some mosaic floors still remain from the fifth century church, with scenes of birds and flowers familiar to the people who lived around the Sea of Galilee. One large mosaic contains about seven million little pieces of coloured marble pressed into mortar that held them in place. It is so large that it could have taken six people about three years to finish. Since each tiny tile is only about a fraction of an inch square, it took hundreds of them to cover a square foot of floor. One of the mosaics shows two fish and a basket, commemorating the event for which the church was built, it is located behind the altar. Others show birds, flowers, and other wildlife which was familiar to the people there in the fifth century.