Thalassophobia

Summary

Jesus takes the loaves, gives thanks, and distributes them, along with the fish. Everyone gets as much as they want, and then Jesus tells the disciples, “Gather up the fragments” (v. 12). They fill 12 baskets with leftovers, causing the people to stare at Jesus in amazement. They begin to say, “This is indeed the prophet who is to come into the world” (v. 14). The feeding of the 5,000 shows the power of Jesus to share the abundance of God. The crowd is so impressed that they seek to take Jesus by force and proclaim as their king. Jesus is nervous by the misguided attention of the crowd, so he withdraws “to the mountain by himself” (v. 15). He knows that he has the power of God, but he is not interested in being given the power of a king.