¹³ Now when Jesus heard [of the death of John the Baptizer], he withdrew from there in a boat to a lonely place apart. But when the crowds heard it, they followed him on foot from the towns.
¹⁴ As he went ashore he saw a great throng; and he had compassion on them, and healed their sick.
¹⁵ When it was evening, the disciples came to him and said, "This is a lonely place, and the day is now over; send the crowds away to go into the villages and buy food for themselves."
¹⁶ Jesus said, "They need not go away; you give them something to eat."
¹⁷ They said to him, "We have only five loaves here and two fish."
¹⁸ And he said, "Bring them here to me."
¹⁹ Then he ordered the crowds to sit down on the grass; and taking the five loaves and the two fish he looked up to heaven, and blessed, and broke and gave the loaves to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the crowds.
²⁰ And they all ate and were satisfied. And they took up twelve baskets full of the broken pieces left over.
²¹ And those who ate were about five thousand men, besides women and children.

• "Deserted place" (v.13) is not a desert because it's next to the Sea of Galilee, but it refers to the desert where Israel traveled for 40 years and ate manna.
• Jesus asked the disciples to feed the people, "you give them something to eat" (v.16). Jesus used the disciples' food (v.17f), and used the disciples themselves to distribute that food (v.19).
• "Sitting down" (v.19) can be translated more accurately as "reclining," the position for eating. In public places, men would be together, and women and children would gather separately.
• "He looked up to heaven, and blessed, and broke and gave the loaves": is similar to the language of the Eucharist (Mt 26:26), and also anticipates the banquet in heaven (Mt 8:11-12, or 22:1-10).
• The Jewish blessing before a meal is "Blessed are You, O Lord our God, king of the universe, who bring forth bread from the earth."
• A similar feeding story appeared in 2Kings 4:42-44, where the prophet Elisha ordered his hesitant servants to use twenty loaves to feed a hundred men. Jesus fed even more, showing his higher status.

Jesus fed the people. Compare the two feasts. King Herod Antipas dined on delicacies with a chosen few in his stately palace, and beheaded John the Baptist to reward a dancer (Mt 14:3-12, the preceding passage). King Jesus used simple food to feed anyone who followed him to a deserted area, and everyone was healed and satisfied.

1. What am I at the feast? A sick person to be healed, a follower to be fed, a disciple working with Jesus to feed the people, a bystander, or someone else? Or, am I a prince at Herod's birthday party instead?
2. What nourishes my life? My work, my achievement, my family, my money, grace from God, or what? Am I well-fed and satisfied, or malnourished and frustrated?
3. What can I do to stay close to the source of my nourishment, and to help Jesus feed people around me?

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A synthesis by the Vietnamese Christian Life (Dong Hanh) Community