John 6:1-26: Two Misunderstood Miracles

6:1

After these things, Jesus went away [3S 2 Aor Act India aperchomai] to the other side of the Sea of Galilee, the Tiberias. 2Now a great crowd followed [3S Impf Act Indic akoloutheo] him, for they were saw [3P Impf Act Indic horao] the signs that he was doing [3S Impf Act Indic poieo] on those who were sick [Gen MS Pres Act Part astheneo]. 3Now Jesus went up [3S 2 Aor Act Indic anerchomai] onto the mountain and he sat [3S Impf Mid Indic kathemai] with his disciples. 4Now it was [3S Impf Act Indic eimi] near the Passover, the feast of the Jews. 5Therefore Jesus, having lifted up [Nom MS1 Aor Act Part epairo] his eyes and having seen [Nom MS 1 Aor Mid Part theaomai] that a great crowd comes [3S Pres Mid Indic erchomai] to him, he says [3S Pres Act Indic lego] to Philip, Where shall we buy [1P Fut Act Indic agorazo] bread that these might eat [3P 2 Aor Act Subj esthio]? 6(Now this he was saying [3S Impf Act Indic lego] to test [Nom MS Pres Act Part peirazo] him; for he knew [3S Perf Act Indic eido] what he was about [3S Impf Act Indic mello] to do [Pres Act Inf poieo].) 7Philip answered [3S 1 Aor Mid Indic apokrinomai] him, Two hundred denarii do not buy [3P Pres Act Indic arkeo] bread for these that each one might take [3S 2 Aor Act Subj lambano] a little! 8One of his disciples, Andrew the brother of Simon Peter, says [3S Pres Act Indic lego] to him, 9There is [3S Pres Act Indic eimi] a child here who has [3S Pres Act Indic echo] five barley loaves and two fish; but what are [3S Pres Act Indic eimi] these among so many? 10Jesus said [3S 2 Aor Act Indic lego], Make [3S 1 Aor Act Impf poieo] the people sit down [2 Aor Act Inf anapipto]. Now there was [3S Impf Act Indic eimi] much grass in the place. Therefore the people sat down [3P 2 Aor Act Indic anapipto], in number about five thousand. 11Therefore Jesus took [3S 2 Aor Act Indic lambano] the loaves and, having given thanks [Nom MS 1 Aor Act Part eucharisteo], he distributed [3S 1 Aor Act Indic diadidomi] to the seated ones [Dat MP Pres Mid Part anakeimai]; and in the same way from the fishes as many as they desired [3P Impf Act Indic thelo]. 12Now when they were filled [3P 1 Aor Pass Indic empimplemi], he says [3S Pres Act Indic lego] to his disciples, Gather up [2P 2 Aor Act Impv sunagago] the remaining [Acc NP 1 Aor Act Part perisseuo] fragments, that nothing be lost [3S 2 Aor Mid Subj apollumi]. 13Therefore they gathered them up [3P 2 Aor Act Indic sunagago], and they filled [3P 1 Aor Act Indic gemizo] twelve baskets with the fragments from the five loaves of barley that were left over [3P 1 Aor Act Indic perisseuo] from the eating-ones [Dat MP Perf Act Part bibrosko]. 14Therefore the people, having seen [Nom MP 2 Aor Act Part eido] the sign that he had done [3S 1 Aor Act Indic poieo], were saying [3P Impf Act Indic lego] that This one is [3S Pres Act Indic eimi] truly the coming-into-the-world [Nom MS Pres Act Part erchomai] Prophet! 15Therefore Jesus, knowing [Nom MS 2 Aor Act Part ginosko] that they were about [3P Impf Act Indic mello] to come [Pres Mid Inf erchomai] and take him by force [Pres Act Inf arpazo] that they might make [3P Pres Act Subj poieo] him king, he departed [3S 1 Aor Act Indic anachoreo] again into the mountain himself alone.
16

Now when evening came [3S 2 Aor Mid Indic ginomai], his disciples went down [3P 2 Aor Act Indic katabaino] on the sea 17and, entering [Nom MP 2 Aor Act Part embaino] into a ship, they went [3P Impf Mid Indic erchomai] across the sea toward Capernaum. And it was [3S Perf Act Indic ginomai] dark now, and Jesus had not yet come [3S Perf Act Indic erchomai] to them. 18And the sea, a great wind blowing [Gen MS Pres Act Part pneo], arose [3S Impf Act Indic diegeiro]. 19Therefore having rowed [Nom MP Perf Act Part elauno] about twenty-five or thirty stadia,1 they see [3P Pres Act Indic theoreo] Jesus walking [Acc MS Pres Act Part peripateo] on the see, and near to the ship drawing [Acc MS Pres Mid part ginomai], and they were afraid [3P 1 Aor Pass Indic phobeo]. 20Now he says [3S Pres Act Indic lego] to them, I AM [1S Pres Act Indic eimi]; do not be afraid [2P Pres Mid Impv phobeo]. 21Then they willingly [3P Impf Act Indic thelo] received [2 Aor Act Inf lambano] him into the boat, and immediately the boat arrived [3S 2 Aor Mid Indic ginomai] on the land where they were going [3P Impf Act Indic hupago].

1 ESV converts the measurement to three or four miles.

22

On the next day, the crowd which stood [Nom MS Perf Act Part histemi] on the other side of the sea saw [3S 2 Aor Act Indic eido] that another boat there was [3S Impf Act Indic eimi] not, except one, and that Jesus did not come with [3S 2 Aor Act Indic suneiserchomai] his disciples on the boat, but his disciples went away [3P 2 Aor Act Indic aperchomai] alone. 23But boats from the Tiberias came [3P 2 Aor Act Indic erchomai] near to the place where they ate [3P 2 Aor Act Indic esthio] the bread, the Lord having given thanks [Gen MS 1 Aor Act Part eucharisteo]. 24Therefore, when the crowd saw [3S 2 Aor Act Indic eido] that Jesus is [3S Pres Act Indic eimi] there, nor his disciples, they got on [3P 2 Aor Act Indic embaino] boats and went [3P 2 Aor Act Indic erchomai] to Capernaum, seeking [Nom MP Pres Act Part zeteo] Jesus. 25And having found [Nom MP 2 Aor Act Indic heurisko] him on the other side of the sea, they said [3P 2 Aor Act Indic lego] to him, Rabbi, when did you come [2S Perf Act Indic ginomai] here? 26Jesus answered [3S 1 Aor Pass Indic apokrinomai] them and he said [3S 2 Aor Act Indic lego], Truly, truly I say [1S Pres Act Indic lego] to you, you are seeking [2P Pres Act Indic zeteo] me not because you saw [2P 2 Aor Act Indic eido] signs, but because you ate [2P 2 Aor Act Indic esthio] from the loaves and you were satisfied [2P 2 Aor Pass Indic chortazo]. Comment:

6:1-15 The Misunderstood Loaves: The previous chapter (along with the healing of the paralytic on the Sabbath and the ensuing discussion of whether Jesus was justified to heal on the Sabbath) took place in the context of a feast of the Jews (5:1), where Jesus had gone up to Jerusalem. Now, Jesus leaves Jerusalem to the other side of the Sea of Galilee. With him are two groups of people: a large crowd and his disciples:
6:1 2

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. 3 Jesus went up on the mountain, and there he sat down with his disciples. The large crowd had followed Jesus because they saw the signs that he was doing on the sick. The issue of seeing signs is extremely important in this passage, because Jesus later accuses them of seeking him not because you saw signs, but because you ate your fill of the loaves (John 6:26). What would it mean for the crowd to follow him because they saw the signs that he was doing on the sick, and yet seek him not because you saw signs, but because you ate your fill of the loaves? The suggestion here (which will be developed more in the following passage, John 6:27-59) is that the people were impressed by the miracles Jesus performed, but that they did not perceive that the miracles Jesus performed were in fact signs that pointed to something greater than the miracles themselves namely, that Jesus himself is the Bread of Life (John 6:35). Lenski writes this: The statement that the crowds were attracted by beholding the signs he was doing [page] is intended to parallel 2:23 and to show that in general the situation herein Galilee was a duplication of the previous one which occurred in Jerusalem. Not the teaching but merely the signs were the great attraction. This John wants us to bear in mind for the sake of what follows.2

2 R. C. H. Lenski, The Interpretation of John's Gospel (Minneapolis: Augsburg Publishing House, 1961), 428-29.

John Piper explains this idea in his sermon on the passage through contrasting two opposite ways of seeing Jesus: (1) as primarily Giver; or (2) as primarily Gift. Is Jesus useful to give you what your unregenerate appetites crave, or does Jesus transform your unregenerate appetites by giving you new appetites to crave Jesus as the greatest, most satisfying Gift? The crowd in this story is enthusiastic about the wrong Jesusthey want the Giver Jesus, but they are not very interested in the Gift Jesus.3 But more on this later. So, Jesus heads up on the mountain with his disciples, and the crowd of 5000 (plus any accompanying women and children) follows him. Carson expands on this number: Jesus has the people (hoi anthropoi) sit down; the number of the men (hoi andres) was about five thousand. The same distinction appears in all four Gospels, with Matthew 14:21 emphasizing the point. The total number of people may well have exceeded twenty thousand or more. In the light of v. 15, where the people try to make Jesus king by force, it is easy to think that, at least in John, the specification of five thousand men is a way of drawing attention to a potential guerilla force of eager recruits willing and able to serve the right leader.4 Logistically, this is problematic, for how could all these people possibly be fed? Jesus, upon seeing the crowd approaching him, asks Philip, Where are we to buy bread, so that these people may eat? (6:5). Jesus asks this question, however, to test him, for he himself knew what he would do (6:6). Philip exclaims that 2/3 of a year's salary (200 denarii) would not cover the cost of purchasing food for everyone (6:7). Carson notes how Philip would have been the obvious person to ask: he came from the nearby town of Bethsaida (1:44).5 Andrew, the brother of Simon Peter, laments that the five barley loaves and the two fish he finds would not possibly be enough for everyone gathered there that day: but what are they for so many? (6:8). Lenski points out how Jesus builds up the hopelessness (from a human perspective) of this situation: To provide only a little something would cost two hundred denaria ( at 17 cents this would amount to $34), a sum far beyond the balance in the joint treasury of Jesus and the disciples. The genitive is one of price. Jesus, of course, wants to bring out the hopelessness of buying food for all these people. Philip stops at the prohibitive price; he might have added that no place to buy such a quantity of food was at hand. One impossibility was enough. The idea that the realization of this impossibility should turn Philip's thoughts into an entirely different direction, and that by means of his question Jesus tried to turn them thus, never occurred to Philip.6 Jesus, however, takes on the role of dinner host and begins to prepare the meal for these hungry people:
6:10

Jesus said, Have the people sit down. Now there was much grass in the place. So the men sat down, about five thousand in number. 11Jesus then took the loaves, and when he had given thanks, he distributed them to those who were seated. So also the fish, as much as they wanted. 12And when they had eaten their fill, he told his disciples, Gather up the leftover fragments, that nothing may be lost. 13So they gathered them up and filled twelve baskets with the fragments from the five barley loaves left by those who had eaten.

3 John Piper, The All-Providing King Who Would Not Be King, Nov. 1, 2009, <http://www.desiringgod.org/resource-library/sermons/the-all-providing-king-who-would-not-be-king>. 4 D. A. Carson, The Gospel According to John, PNTC (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1991), 270. 5 D. A. Carson, The Gospel According to John, PNTC (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1991), 269. 6 R. C. H. Lenski, The Interpretation of John's Gospel (Minneapolis: Augsburg Publishing House, 1961), 433.

In an extraordinary miracle, Jesus multiplies five loaves of bread and two fish to feed an incredible multitude of 5000 men, plus any women and children. This is not a nibble here and there, as though this feast must be well rationed to get a tiny amount of food to everyone, but rather we read that these people ate their fill (v. 12), and the leftover fragments fill up twelve baskets. Lenski draws our attention to see the great restraint John displays in recording such a dramatic miracle: Not even a single exclamation! Not one word beyond the bare facts that John saw and heard! Wea re not even told that a miracle was taking place; not even that the food kept multiplying as it was being handed out, or how many each sheet of bread and each fish served. Our familiarity with this account should not blind us to all these features.7 Carson expands on the leftover baskets of food: Twelve baskets are filled with leftovers: 'after all have been satisfied there is more left over than there was at the beginning!' (Bultmann, p. 213). That there were twelve baskets is almost certainly significant: the Lord has enough to supply the needs of the twelve tribes of Israel. All four Gospels draw attention to the number. From the time of Hilary of Poitiers (fourth century AD), it has been common to argue that the feeding of the five thousand represents the Lord's provision for the Jews, and the feeding of the four thousand, with seven baskets left over, represents the Lord's provision for the Gentiles. Certainly the word for 'basket' (kophinos) used in all four accounts of the feeding of the five thousand has peculiarly Jewish associations, whereas the 'basket' (spyris) used in the feeding of the four thousand (Mt. 15:37; Mk. 8:8) does not.8 We see here the miraculous, providential provision of Jesus. Our Lord cares for his people, and our Lord meets their needs. He is not stingy, but overflows our cup with blessings provided from his own hand. We should take great comfort in knowing that Jesus Christ can create whatever amount of bread is needed to feed his people. The people respond strongly to this miracle:
6:14

When the people saw the sign that he had done, they said, This is indeed the Prophet who is to come into the world! 6:15 Perceiving then that they were about to come and take him by force to make him king, Jesus withdrew again to the mountain by himself. By describing Jesus as the Prophet who is to come into the world, the people are referring to the prophecy of Moses in Deuteronomy 18:15-22:
18:15

The LORD your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you, from your brothersit is to him you shall listen16just as you desired of the LORD your God at Horeb on the day of the assembly, when you said, 'Let me not hear again the voice of the LORD my God or see this great fire any more, lest I die.' 17And the LORD said to me, 'They are right in what they have spoken. 18I will raise up for them a prophet like you from among their brothers. And I will put my words in his mouth, and he shall speak to them all that I command him. 19And whoever will not listen to my words that he shall speak in my name, I myself will require it of him. 20But the prophet who presumes to speak a word in my name that I have not commanded him to speak, or who speaks in the name of other gods, that same prophet shall die.' 21And if you say in your
7 R. C. H. Lenski, The Interpretation of John's Gospel (Minneapolis: Augsburg Publishing House, 1961), 436. 8 D. A. Carson, The Gospel According to John, PNTC (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1991), 271.

heart, 'How may we know the word that the LORD has not spoken?'22when a prophet speaks in the name of the LORD, if the word does not come to pass or come true, that is a word that the LORD has not spoken; the prophet has spoken it presumptuously. You need not be afraid of him. Now, at first, it might seem a bit odd for the people to relate Jesus' miracle here to Moses' prophecy of a New Prophet to come. Jesus hasn't spoken a single word of prophecy in this passage, so why consider him a Prophet? In fact, the people draw this correlation because the New Prophet was to be a man like Moses from among the people. And, where Moses had given the Israelites bread from heaven with the manna that fed them as they wandered in the wilderness, this New Prophet Jesus had just given them bread from heaven by miraculously multiplying five loaves and two fish to feed 5000+ people! Jesus is like Moses in this regard, and we shall have more to say about this later. For the moment, though, look at the response of the people who recognize Jesus as the New Prophet and the New Moses. Their impulse is to make Jesus king, and they are willing to do so by force if necessary. Jesus, however, eludes their grasp and withdraws to the mountain by himself. He refuses to become king on their terms. Here we find a tension in the text. Jesus is King. He is the King of kings. If he is indeed King, then why does he resist their efforts to make him king here? The answer becomes plain through the course of this chapter. Jesus begins to unfold to the people more of his identity, and he says very startling, radical things: I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst. (6:35) For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who looks on the son and believes in him should have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day. (6:40) Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. 54Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day. (6:53-54) As a result of Jesus' statements about his own identity, we read that After this many of his disciples turned back and no longer walked with him (6:66). This crowd who had only a day earlier been willing to use force to make Jesus king now abandoned him, no longer walking with him! This radical turnaround would come again toward the end of Jesus' life, when the crowds in Jerusalem go from praising his name and shouting Hosanna to the Son of David! on Palm Sunday, to shouting for Pilate to crucify Jesus on Good Friday. Obviously, Jesus is magnificent. He is powerful, wise, and downright intriguing in what he says and does. It should come as no surprise that many people are drawn to him. But these people do not actually care about the real Jesusat least, they don't care about the fullness of who the real Jesus is. As John Piper puts it in his sermon on this passage, they are enthusiastic for the

wrong Jesus.9 The want to make Jesus king for the wrong reasons, holding the wrong expectations of who he would be, and what he would do. In particular, the expect that making Jesus king will enable them to get what they want. They want Rome kicked out of Israel. They want Israel to be the leading super power in the world. They want to reign as kings alongside Jesus, even if they do not really wish to submit to Jesus as the main King. Carson writes: Against some contemporary commentators, it is important to note that John does not argue that the people are wrong in this judgment, but only in their estimate of its significance. Their attention was focused on food (v. 26) and victory (v. 15) not on the divine self-disclosure mediated through the incarnate Son, not on the Son as the bread of life, not on a realistic assessment of their own need.10 Jesus, then, will have no part in this. He refuses to be made King on those termsnot because he is not, in fact, the King, but because he has a better kingship in mind. In the reign and rule that Jesus intends, he himself will become the bread sent from heaven for his people. He will satisfy them, so that they eat their fill of him. He will satisfy every desire of his people, but he will do so by abolishing the old desires of their stony hearts, and giving them new, soft hearts of flesh with new desires that long for all that Jesus is. 6:16-21 I AM On the Sea To his disciples alone, Jesus reveals more of his identity to correct any mistaken notions of the nature of his kingship. In a second miracle, Jesus actually walks across the Sea of Galilee to them in their boat:
16

When evening came, his disciples went down to the sea, 17got into a boat, and started across the sea to Capernaum. It was now dark, and Jesus had not yet come to them. 18The sea became rough because a strong wind was blowing. 19When they had rowed about three or four miles, they saw Jesus walking on the sea and coming near the boat, and they were frightened. 20But he said to them, It is I; do not be afraid. 21Then they were glad to take him into the boat, and immediately the boat was at the land to which they were going. The translation veils Jesus' words here. He does not say It is I, but, very clearly, he says, I AM (ego eimi). The disciples are terrified to see Jesus actually walking toward them on the water of the sea, and to comfort them, he declares I AM; do not be afraid. Jesus is not some servant boy whom God sent into the world to do our bidding; this Jesus is the Great I AM. This Jesus is the very God who revealed himself to Moses in Exodus 3 through the burning bush:
3:13

Then Moses said to God, If I come to the people of Israel and say to them, 'The God of your fathers has sent me to you,' and they ask me, 'What is his name?' what shall I say to them? 14God said to Moses, I AM WHO I AM. And he said, Say this to the people of Israel, 'I AM has sent me to you.'

9 John Piper, The All-Providing King Who Would Not Be King, Nov. 1, 2009, <http://www.desiringgod.org/resource-library/sermons/the-all-providing-king-who-would-not-be-king>. 10 D. A. Carson, The Gospel According to John, PNTC (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1991), 271.

Carson's careful Greek exegesis reins us in from running too far with seeing Jesus' I AM statement in absolute terms, but as more of a subtle hint or foreshadowing of what would be revealed more fully later on in Jesus' teaching ministry: But the expression ['I am'] bears no necessary theological baggage: it is the perfectly normal way to say 'It is I' a point made clear when it appears on the lips of the man born blind, after he is healed (9:9)....The words make perfectly good sense in Greek as a form of self-identification, simply 'It is I' and doubtless that is how the disciples understood them. Thus, formally nothing is 'heightened'. We [page] are not to suppose that John's readers were supposed to compare his account of this episode, word for word, with that preserved in Mark, in order to ascertain John's meaning. On the other hand, the thoughtful reader who has read through this Gospel two or three times ought to observe the number and varied forms of 'I am' sayings..., and wonder if this occurrence in v. 20 may not be an anticipation of a clearer self-disclosure by Jesus. To that end, the Evangelist has contributed something by reducing the dialogue to the bare minimum. But it is important to see that the Evangelist has achieved this not by distorting the history but by subtly sharpening its foci so that the meditative reader will observe, once again, that he or she is privileged to grasp what the first disciples could no understand until later.11 Indeed, we have no mention of the disciples' being taken aback, nor put into shock over perceived blasphemy, nor even the least bit distracted from the impressiveness of the miracle of walking on water. Formally speaking, Jesus' words should be taken as a proof-text of his divinity; however, I see nothing wrong with observing that Jesus' words conveyed more than what the disciples understood him to be saying. Jesus reveals his divine identity to his disciples to comfort them, but his purpose goes beyond just that. Jesus here blows out of the water any suggestion of the idea that we might control him or use him for our own purposes. How could we lay claim to the right to control omnipotence such as this? Not only does this Jesus walk on water, but he reveals himself as the I AM who brought Israel out of the land of Egypt by great signs and wonders. And we think that he should do our bidding? That he should implement our agenda? Absolute foolishness. Jesus is the Great I AM, not our personal servant boy. 6:22-26 Jesus, the Greater Moses The next day, the crowd realizes that not only had Jesus' disciples left, but that Jesus had too. They know that he hadn't gone with the disciples on their boat, but they surmise that Jesus must have boarded one of the other boats from Tiberias that had come near the place where they had eatn bread after the Lord had given thanks (6:23). Once they realized that Jesus had left, they all get on other ships and head to Capernaum to seek out Jesus. Jesus, however, is still not inclined to acquiesce to their desires. He ignores their question about when he had come, and he instead confronts and undercuts their motives for seeking him out:
26

Jesus answered them, Truly, truly, I say to you, you are seeking me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate your fill of the loaves.

11 D. A. Carson, The Gospel According to John, PNTC (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1991), 276.

In other words, Jesus confronts their opportunistic greed. He says, You are not actually interested in me (that is, what the signs I performed testify about my identity), but you are only interested in getting a free lunch. You want me as long as I feed you, but you do not care about me beyond what I can do for you. More subtly, Jesus is demanding of them, Don't you know that you are speaking to the Great I AM? Don't you realize that I destroyed Pharaoh's army in the Red Sea? How could you possibly hope to set my agenda if you truly recognized that I AM WHO I AM? So the question for us becomes this: What exactly should the Israelites have seen in these signs that Jesus was performing? What exactly should they have realized about Jesus, and why would have been a proper motivation for seeking out Jesus? Jesus wants the Jews to see him not merely as the New Moses, but as the Greater Mosesthat is, as one who is like Moses and similar to Moses, but who moves beyond anything Moses was or anything Moses accomplished, because, shockingly, Jesus is the I AM whom Moses knew, worshiped, and obeyed. Jesus identifies himself as the Greater Moses in three specific ways. First, Jesus ushers in a new Passover. John tells us specifically that Jesus performs this sign while the Passover, the feast of the Jews, was at hand (6:4). At the direction of YHWH, Moses gave the Passover Feast to Israel as a commemoration of how YHWH passed over Israel, but destroyed every firstborn among the Egyptians, in order to liberate his people from their slavery. Lenski offers a caution about reading too much into what Jesus was doing with the Passover: Of course, the mention of the Passover marks the date of this narrative, which also much be John's intention. But it does more....Nor is this mention of the Passover to give a setting for the final discourse on the Bread of Life. The two events [page] are too far apart. In the entire discourse not even a slight reference is made to the Passover. The idea that Jesus would dispense the Bread of Life as a better substitute for the Jewish Paschal feast, a better feast also as typifying the Lord's Supper, is not only without support in Jesus' own discourse but contrary to Jesus' own action when a year later he celebrated his last Passover with the disciples in Jerusalem. Not until after that event was the Jewish Passover abrogated, because not until then was it completely fulfilled. We must not carry thoughts, attractive to ourselves, into the Scripture and then persuade ourselves that we have found them there. The reference to the Passover at this point in John's narrative is intended to explain the action of the multitude when after the miracle of the loaves they conceived the plan of forcing Jesus to go with them to Jerusalem, there to be made a king. Perhaps we may add that the approach of the Passover and the news of the Baptist's death foreshadowed to Jesus his own approaching death at the Passover a year hence.12 The view that Lenski addresses here is a bit more fantastical than the one I am seeing. I don't think that Jesus was trying to do away with Passover at this feast, and I think Lenski has good reasons to oppose such a view. Lenski only later explains what connection Passover has with the plan to force Jesus to go with them to Jerusalem, there to be made king. The idea is that so many people would be in the city for the feast that they would be able to get national support all at once:

12 R. C. H. Lenski, The Interpretation of John's Gospel (Minneapolis: Augsburg Publishing House, 1961), 429-30.

They would carry him to Jerusalem at the coming Passover (v. 4) in a grand, royal procession, gathering increasing adherents on the way, sweeping the capital off its feet in universal enthusiasm.13 Instead, I see the aspect of Passover fitting into a larger theme in these stories of how Jesus is the Greater Moses. Anything Moses could do, Jesus does better. Moses inaugurated the Passover Feast as God was bringing his people out of Egypt? Well, Jesus will offer the people of Israel a feast from food that he himself miraculously creates, multiplying only a few small loaves and fish to feed 5000+ people. Forget the Bread of Life discourse for the momentthe Feast that Jesus offers as an alternative to the Passover Feast is the feeding of the 5000. Carson goes far more into depth on the complex typological and theological implications of stating that this miracle was near the Passover: Although this is the second of three Passovers mentioned by John (cf. 2:13, 23; 11:55ff.), his reason for including this aside is not so much chronological as theological. The Jewish Passover celebrated the exodus from Egypt. Intrinsic to the celebration was the slaughter of a lamb in each household, which then ate it. In this Gospel Jesus is the Lamb of God (1:29, 36). The first Passover to be mentioned (2:13, 23) is in the context of Jesus' self-designation as the temple that would have to be destroyeda way of pointing to his death; the third Passover (11:55ff.) is at the time of his death. This intermediate one occurs about (John says it was near) the time of the feeding of the five thousand, which precipitates the bread of life discourse, in which Jesus identifies his flesh as the true bread that must be given for the life of the world (6:33, 51), the bread that must be eaten if people are to have eternal life. The connections become complx: the sacrifice of the lamb anticipates Jesus' death, the Old Testament manna is superseded by the real bread of life, the exodus typologically sets forth the eternal life that delivers us from sin and destruction, the Passover feast is taken over by the eucharist (both of which point to Jesus and his redemptive cross-work). 'The movement from the miracle to the discourse, from Moses to Jesus (vv. 32-5, cf. [page] i. 17), and, above all, from bread to flesh, is almost unintelligible unless the reference in v. 4 to the Passover picks up i. 29, 36, anticipates xix. 36 (Exod. xii. 46; Num. ix. 12), and governs the whole narrative' (Hoskyns, p. 281). At the same time, the Passover Feast was to the Palestinian Jews what the fourth of July is to Americans, or, better, what the anniversary of the Battle of the Boyne is to loyalist Protestants in Northern Ireland. It was a rallying point for intense, nationalistic zeal. This goes some way to explaining the fervour that tried to force Jesus to become king...14 Second, Jesus parts the sea in a new way, by simply walking over it. Moses obeyed YHWH, and in doing so, YHWH parted the Red Sea. Jesus, however, simply walks across the Sea of Galilee. Anything Moses could do, Jesus does better. Third, Jesus offers himself as the true Bread from Heaven. Moses simply pointed the people of Israel to the manna that came down from heaven, but, as Jesus points out, it was not Moses who gave you the bread from heaven, but my Father gives you the true bread from heaven (John 6:32). And, as Beasley-Murray insightfully points out,15 Moses in Num. 11:13 vented about his powerlessness to feed the people in a frustrated prayer to God:

13 R. C. H. Lenski, The Interpretation of John's Gospel (Minneapolis: Augsburg Publishing House, 1961), 439. 14 D. A. Carson, The Gospel According to John, PNTC (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1991), 268-69. 15 George R. Beasley-Murray, John, WBC (Waco, TX: Word Books, 1987), 84.

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Moses said to the LORD, Why have you dealt ill with your servant? And why have I not found favor in your sight, that you lay the burden of all this people on me? 12Did I conceive all this people? Did I give them birth, that you should say to me, 'Carry them in your bosom, as a nurse carries a nursing child,' to the land that you swore to give their fathers? 13Where am I to get meat to give to all this people? For they weep before me and say, 'Give us meat, that we may eat.' 14I am not able to carry all this people alone; the burden is too heavy for me. 15If you will treat me like this, kill me at once, if I find favor in your sight, that I may not see my wretchedness. Jesus quotes the question of Moses (Where am I to get meat to give to all this people?) to Philip not out of frustrated impotence, but out of the power and ability to accomplish what Moses was unable to do. As an aside, it is interesting that Jesus feeds the people not only with bread, but also with meatfish! In this story, however, Jesus actually gives the crowd of 5000 men (plus women and children) bread from heaven. But more importantly, Jesus would give his flesh and blood on the cross as bread to satisfy his people.