After this, Jesus went across the Sea of Galilee (of Tiberias). A large crowd followed him, because they saw the signs he was performing on the sick. Jesus went up on the mountain, and there he sat down with his disciples. The Jewish feast of Passover was near. When Jesus raised his eyes and saw that a large crowd was coming to him, he said to Philip, "Where can we buy enough food for them to eat?" He said this to test him, because he himself knew what he was going to do. Philip answered him, "Two hundred days' wages worth of food would not be enough for each of them to have a little (bit)." One of his disciples, Andrew, the brother of Simon Peter, said to him, "There is a boy here who has five barley loaves and two fish; but what good are these for so many?" Jesus said, "Have the people recline." Now there was a great deal of grass in that place. So the men reclined, about five thousand in number. Then Jesus took the loaves, gave thanks, and distributed them to those who were reclining, and also as much of the fish as they wanted. When they had had their fill, he said to his disciples, "Gather the fragments left over, so that nothing will be wasted." So they collected them, and filled twelve wicker baskets with fragments from the five barley loaves that had been more than they could eat. When the people saw the sign he had done, they said, "This is truly the Prophet, the one who is to come into the world." Since Jesus knew that they were going to come and carry him off to make him king, he withdrew again to the mountain alone. (Jn 6:1-15)
This experience takes place at the Passover time. The author wants the reader reflect of whatever is happening with Passover as its background. The extra-ordinary feeding of the crowds is given in such a way that the reader should recall to his mind the original Passover from Egypt. At that Passover God fed them in the wilderness, the whole crowd of them. It was with the bread from heaven.
Jesus fed this large crowd, who were far away from any nearby village or town (implying that they were in the wilderness) and food could not be bought or brought at will. Jesus fed them in spite of this. Hence the food is from heaven that is bread from heaven as in the case of the God feeding the crowd in the wilderness when they fled Egypt.
People’s reaction is that he is a prophet. The mind of the people falls back to the time of wilderness and come to the conclusion that Jesus is a prophet, like the prophet Moses. Like Moses Jesus has come into the world to lead the people into liberation, to salvation. All what is taking place is only to remind the people and to accept Jesus as the messiah who has come to redeem the world.
