Two Fish and Five Loaves

After this Jesus went away to the other side of the Sea of Galilee, which is the Sea of Tiberias. And a large crowd was following him, because they saw the signs that he was doing on the sick. (John 6:1-2)

View of the Sea of Galilee from Capernaum

The second year of Jesus’ ministry is called “the year of popularity.” People were responding to His miracles and desired to hear His teachings. During Passover, people received word that Jesus was in the area and gathered to hear him near Tagba, on the shore of the Sea of Galilee. Tagba is a very fertile area where the fish are especially thick in the sea because seven warm springs release mineral rich water the area. (Read more about the area in Israel: Stories for Your Journey)

View of the north shore of the Sea of Galilee near Tagba

People gathered into a natural amphitheater near the warm springs in especially large numbers in order to listen to Jesus. The conservative count of the people who attended this teaching session was 5000 men, plus women and children. The crowd came from Capernaum, Bethsaida, Magdala, and other villages along the northern shore of the Sea of Galilee. There were also people from Gadara, Hippos and the eastern side of the sea.

A pond in the chapel at Taagba

The multitude of people listened attentively as Jesus taught. He taught with richness of content, clarity of words, and great authority. He shared beatitudes to be followed in life along with teachings on prayer, humility and charity. The people listened to every word. Jesus spoke for many hours, and the attentiveness of the people never wavered.

Gardens of the Heptagon at Tagba

As evening fell the disciples came to their teacher and suggested he allow the multitude to go find food for supper. Jesus knew they must be hungry and asked his disciples to find them food so they would not overwhelm the villages in the area. The disciples looked at the crowd and said this would be quite expensive and was not affordable. But Jesus insisted, “They do not need to go away. You give them something to eat.”

A statue of a disciple at the Heptagon at Tagba

While most of the disciples were wondering how to do this, Andrew went out into the crowd. He found a boy who brought a lunch with two fish and five pieces of bread. The boy had listened to Jesus so intently that he had not eaten his lunch. Andrew asked if the boy would offer his lunch to Jesus and the boy immediately said yes.

The altar where Jesus blessed the fish and the loaves

Jesus received the two fish from the boy, which had been caught in the waters of Tagba, blessed them along with the bread, and distributed the boy’s lunch to the disciples in order to be shared among the multitude of people. As the disciples broke tiny pieces off the loaves of bread and filet of fish, so they would not run out, both the minuscule serving and the source of the serving grew and replenished itself so the small meal brought by a young boy was enough to feed everyone. A miracle occurred which reminded the disciples of Elijah’s multiplication of flour and oil in 1 Kings 17. Jesus compared it to the provision of manna and quail during Israel’s forty years of living in the desert. [Mt 14:13-21; Mark 6:32-44; Luke 9:12-17; John 6]

Guidebook for Visitors to Israel

You can learn more about the place where the miracle took place in the book Israel: Stories for Your Journey, available on Kindle Reader for $2. Over 250 stories are contained in this new travel guide which covers most Christian tourist sites in Israel. This easy read will be of benefit to every person who plans on traveling to israel.

This book relates how the feeding of the 5,000 relates to Passover

The book Spring; Connecting with God contains many more details about the feeding of the 5,000, including how this seaside meal connects to the Passover of the Jews and Jesus’ Last Supper.