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John
6:1-21
 | Reading the Text:
|
 | Historical References, Commentary and
Comparative Texts:
 | The
Five Gospels Parallels, John W. Marshall, University of Toronto. |
 | Primary comparative texts about
Prayer and Piety at Dr Mahlon H
Smith's Into His Own: Perspective on the
World of Jesus (Rutgers University). See esp "Hanina Stills A Storm."
|
 | "Bread and Fish," The Jesus Database, an online annotated inventory of
the traditions concerning the life and teachings of Jesus. Dr. Gregory C.
Jenks, FaithFutures Foundation. |
 |
XVIII.21-25,
30-34, 36, 41-42, 45-49;
XVIX.2, 11;
Tatian's
Diatessaron
(c. 150-160). |
 |
II.XXII.3,
II.XXIV.4,
III.XI.5,
Adversus
Haereses, Irenaeus of Lyons.
(c. 180) |
 |
Chapter XVIII,
On Idolatry,
Tertullian (c.
211) |
 |
XI.2,
XI.19,
Commentary
on the Gospel of Matthew,
Origen. (c.247) |
 | From Augustine's Tractates on John
 |
Tractate XXIV
(6:1-14)
 | "To run over it briefly:
by the five loaves are understood the five books of Moses; and
rightly are they not wheaten but barley loaves, because they
belong to the Old Testament. And you know that barley is so
formed that we get at its pith with difficulty; for the pith is
covered in a coating of husk, and the husk itself tenacious and
closely adhering, so as to be stripped off with labor. Such is
the letter of the Old Testament, invested in a covering of
carnal sacraments: but yet, if we get at its pith, it feeds and
satisfies us." |
|
 |
Tractate
XXV (6:15-44)
 | "But why did He ascend
after He knew that they wished to seize Him and make Him a king?
How then; was He not a king, that He was afraid to be made a
king? He was certainly not such a king as would be made by men,
but such as would bestow a kingdom on men." |
|
|
 | From the
Geneva Notes.
 | "They that follow Christ
sometimes hunger, but they are never without help." |
|
 | From
Matthew Henry's
Commentary.
 | "Observe the effect this
miracle had upon the people. Even the common Jews expected the
Messiah to come into the world, and to be a great Prophet. The
Pharisees despised them as not knowing the law; but they knew most
of Him who is the end of the law. Yet men may acknowledge Christ as
that Prophet, and still turn a deaf ear to him." |
|
 | From
Wesley's Notes.
 | "Jesus saith to Philip
- Perhaps he had the care of providing victuals for the family of
the apostles." |
|
 | From the
Commentary on the Whole Bible
(Jamieson, Fausset and Brown, 1871).
 | "passover . . .
was nigh--but for the reason mentioned (Joh
7:1), Jesus kept away from it, remaining in Galilee." |
|
 | From
The People's
New Testament, B.W. Johnson, 1891.
 | "The miracle of the Feeding of
the Five Thousand, which follows, is the only miracle of the Savior
recorded by all the four Gospels." |
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|
 | Contemporary Commentary, Studies, and Exegesis:
 |
Comments
(commentary) and
Clippings
(technical notes for in-depth study), Chris Haslam, Anglican
Diocese of Montreal. |
 |
"First
Thoughts on Year B Gospel Passages in the Lectionary: Pentecost
8" William Loader, Murdoch University,
Uniting Church in Australia.
 | "For many who are sensitive to
world poverty and disaster the images of multiplying food or walking
on water are painfully unreal, almost a cruel fantasy." |
|
 |
"Bones:
A Reflection on John 6:1-21," poetry by William R.G. Loader, Murdoch University,
Australia. |
 |
"Not Just Bread," Rev. Todd Weir,
bloomingcactus.
 | "It’s easy to fall into trap of those who are trying
to make Jesus the earthly King." |
|
 |
"Five Loaves and Two Fish, Walking on Water,"
Gospel Analysis, Sermons from
Seattle, Pastor Edward F. Markquart, Grace Lutheran Church, Seattle,
Washington. Detailed background and exegesis. |
 |
Marginally Mark, by Brian McGowan, Anglican priest in Western
Australia. |
 |
10th Sunday after Pentecost, John 6:1-71 -- The Bread Which Gives Life
to the World, Paul S. Berge, Word & World Texts in Context, Luther
Northwestern Theological Seminary, 1985. |
 |
Exegetical
Notes by Brian Stoffregen.
 | "What type of
"savior" do we try to make Jesus? Is it Jesus'
"job" to completely take care of us -- like a king for his
subjects? Is it Jesus' "job" to leave us alone so that we
can do whatever we want?" |
|
 |
Exegesis by Richard Donovan at lectionary.org.
 | "Jesus, seeing that they are about to
make him king by force, withdraws. He has a ministry to fulfill, but not
the one that these people envision." |
|
 |
"Generous or Greedy?" John and Robin McCullough-Bade, Daily
Discipleship Bible Study, Evangelical Lutheran Church in America,
2006. |
 |
"Does
Your Jesus Still Walk on Water?"
Jerry Goebel, One
Family Outreach.
"Focus on scripture from a justice perspective." Exegesis, study, and teen study
and activities.
 | "Now,
what about me? Am I willing to even bend my daily ritual to encompass
the outcast or am I so steeped in “my ways” that compassion doesn’t fit
in? The heart of the reading is this: Compassion is never inconvenient
to God and results in the miraculous; incomparable joy." |
|
 |
"Prayer Beyond Needs," Fr. Gerry Pierse, C.Ss.R., from
Sundays Into
Silence: Reflections on the Sunday Gospels in the Light of Christian
Meditation. Claretian Publications.
 | "In today's Gospel story we see Jesus
feeling frustrated because the people are seeking their basic needs and
are failing to recognize his call for a change of attitudes and a
deepening of values." |
|
 |
Wellspring of
the Gospel, Ordinary 17B, Catherine McElhinney and Kathryn
Turner, Weekly Wellsprings. |
 |
"The Gift of God,"
Ordinary 17B, Larry Broding's Word-Sunday.Com:
A Catholic Resource for This Sunday's Gospel. Adult Study, Children's
Story, Family Activity, Support Materials.
 | "What do you most appreciate in your
life? How hard did you work for those items or qualities? Do you deserve
those items or qualities?" |
|
 |
"Bread and Miracles," H. Stephen Shoemaker,
The Christian Century,
2000. At Religion Online.
 | "There are different kinds of hunger
and different kinds of bread. That is why, when the crowds come after him
-- their stomachs filled, awed by the miracle -- and want to make him
king, Jesus flees and goes off to be by himself." |
|
 |
"A Sign,"
analysis and reflections by Ed Schroeder, at Sabbatheology by
The Crossings
Community of St Louis, Missouri.
 | "Tricky is the translation and
interpretation of John's word "sign," a term crucial throughout John 6...The
miraculous is not the point here. Primary in John's use of "sign," are the
signals which Jesus gives that in his own words and deeds God is filling full--and
then--as John always adds throughout his Gospel--also exceeding--God's saving actions in
Israel's earlier history." |
|
 |
"Jesus
Feeds the Five Thousand,"
Rev. Bryan Findlayson, Lectionary Bible
Studies and Sermons, Pumpkin Cottage Ministry Resources. Includes detailed
textual notes. |
 |
"Reading
Behind the Signs," analysis and reflections by Cathy Lessmann,
at Sabbatheology by The Crossings Community of St Louis,
Missouri.
 | "When Jesus joined himself to
the disciples on the boat they arrived! And joined by Jesus, we
believers have arrived too." |
|
 |
"Israel's
Hour of Decision (John 6)," by Robert Deffinbaugh at the
Biblical Studies Foundation.
 | "Jesus had sought retreat from
the crowds, due to their heightened messianic expectations, but
instead they gathered about Him, and now He performed this miracle
which further added fuel to the flames of their hopes for Messiah.
It was difficult enough to deal with the crowd alone. His disciples
(with their own messianic hopes running high, perhaps higher than
the crowd’s) would have only made matters worse." |
|
 |
Commentary
by Hall Harris at the Biblical Studies Foundation.
 | "Note that the fish mentioned
previously (in 6:9) are not emphasized here. This is easy to
understand, however, because the bread is of primary importance for
the Evangelist in view of Jesus' upcoming discourse on the Bread of
Life." |
|
 |
"The
Messiah: Mightier Than Moses (John 6:1-21)," by Robert Deffinbaugh at the
Biblical Studies Foundation.
 | "The main thrust of this
chapter is our Lord’s “Bread of Life” discourse, which is
occasioned by the miracle of the feeding of the 5,000. John records
this miracle because it is the setting for what takes place in the
remainder of the chapter, much like the healing of the paralytic
sets the scene for the rest of chapter 5." |
|
|
 | Articles & Background:
 | "Meals, Food and
Tablefellowship." Jerome H. Neyrey, in The Social Sciences and New Testament
Interpretation, 159-82. R. L. Rohrbaugh, ed. Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson, 1996.
 | "How
can readers understand the particular ceremony of meals and table fellowship? Why are
meals so important as symbols of broader social relationships? How can we peer below the
surface and grasp the social dynamics encoded in meals and commensality, what
anthropologists call "the language of meals"?" |
|
 |
"The Old Testament in the New: A Jewish Perspective," David Daube, in
Appeasement or Resistance and Other Essays on New Testament Judaism.
University of California Press, 1987. (Scroll down to "VIII
- They Ate and Were Satisfied and Took Up What Was Left Over.") |
|
 | Articles in
ATLAS Journals. (Direct link when you are
subscribed and logged in to
ATLASerials online collection of Religion and Theology Journals.):
 | Bailey, Raymond,
"John 6," Review and Expositor, 1988. |
 | Burghardt, Walter J., S.J., and
Katharyn L. Waldron, "Jesus Feeding the Hungry: Miracle or Mandate?"
The Living Pulpit, 2007. (See also issue focus
"Hunger," Living Pulpit 16.1 (2007).)
Image Browse -
PDF |
 | Crossan, John Dominic,
"It Is Written: A Structuralist Analysis of John 6," Semeia,
1983. |
 | Kilmartin, S.J.,
"Liturgical Influence on John 6," Catholic Biblical Quarterly,
1960. |
 | Kim, Stephen S.,
"The Christological and Eschatological Significance of Jesus' Passover
Signs in John 6," Bibliotheca Sacra, 2007.
Image Browse -
PDF |
 | Lilly, Joseph L.,
"The Eucharistic Discourse of John 6," Catholic Biblical Quarterly,
1950. |
 | O'Day, Gail R.,
"Between Text and Sermon: John 6:1-15," Interpretation, 2003. |
 | Phillips, Gary A.,
"'This Is A Hard Saying. Who Can Be Listener To It?': Creating a Reader in
John 6," Semeia, 1983. |
 | Ross, J.M.,
"Further Unnoticed Points in the Text of the New Testament," Novum
Testamentum, 2003. (Section on John 6:11 begins on page 215.) |
 | Ruland, S.J., Vernon,
"Sign and Sacrament: John's Bread of Life Discourse," Interpretation,
1964. |
 | Rusch, Frederick A.,
"The Signs and the Discourse - The Rich Theology of John 6," Currents
in Theology and Mission, 1978. |
 | Temple, Patrick J.,
"The Eucharist in St John 6," Catholic Biblical Quarterly, 1947. |
 | Witkamp, L.Th.,
"Some Specific Johannine Features in John 6:1-21," Journal for the
Study of the New Testament, 1990. |
|
 | Reviews:
 | Anderson, Paul N., The Christology
of the Fourth Gospel: ITs Unity and Disunity in the Light of John 6.
Tubingen: Mohr (Paul Siebeck), 1966.
 |
Review by Andreas J. Kostenberger, Journal of the Evangelical
Theological Society, 1999. |
 |
Review by Sidney G Sowers, Anglican Theological Review, 1998. |
|
 |
Webster, Jane S., Ingesting Jesus: Eating and Drinking in
the Gospel of John. Society of Biblical Literature, 2003.
Reviews by
Francis J. Moloney, Peter-Ben Smit and Robert Baker in The Catholic
Biblical Quarterly, 2004. |
|
 | Sermons:
 |
"Plenty of Grass,"
Pentecost 8,
30
July
2006, David Zersen, Göttinger Predigten im Internet: Every Sunday Sermons based on the
RCL by a team of Lutheran theologians/ pastors. |
 |
"More than
Enough," the Rev. Dr. Ozzie E. Smith, Day 1, 2006. |
 |
"Five Loaves and Two Fish to Feed 5,000,"
"Walking
on Water," Pastor Edward F. Markquart, Grace Lutheran Church, Seattle,
Washington. |
 |
"Getting
the Sand out of the Gears," the Rev. Dr. William L. Self, Day 1,
2006. |
 |
"Living Loaves,"
the Rev. Debra Metzgar Shew,
Day 1, 2003. |
 |
"What Are You Looking For?"
Dean William Willimon, Duke Chapel Sermon
Archive, 1997. |
 |
"Enough Is
Enough," John Jewell,
2000. |
 |
"A Picnic on the
Mountainside," the Rev. Grace Imathiu,
Day 1, 2000. |
 | Father
Andrew M. Greeley, "Priest, Author, Sociologist,"
Commentary and Homily:
|
 | The Testing of Faith - John 6:1-15, Ray C. Stedman.
Text or
Real Audio. |
 | The New Resource - John 6:16-21, Ray C. Stedman.
Text or
Real Audio. |
|
 | With Children:
 |
"There's No Fear
in Jesus," Charles Kirkpatrick, Sermons4kids.com. |
 |
"A Poor Boy's
Favorite Toy,"
children's story by Larry Broding, word-sunday.com. |
 |
"Jesus Gives
Lunch to Thousands of People," Sunday School
Lessons: Family Bible Study, art projects, music, stories, etc. |
 |
"Feeding the
5000,"
children's study, puzzles, coloring sheet, etc. Higher Praise Christian
Center. |
 |
John 5 & 6 Word
Search, Don Crownover's Bible Puzzles. |
 |
"Sharing
What We Have," Mike Perks,
sermons4kids.com. |
|
 | Drama:
 |
"Five Loaves of Bread and Two Fish," from
A Certain Jesus by Jose
Ignacio and Maria Lopez Vigil. Ideal for catechetical and liturgical
dramatization of today's gospel. |
 |
"Feeding the Crowd," Penny Hewlett, Drama Southwest. |
 |
"There's Something Out There," Penny Hewlett, Drama Southwest. |
 |
"When a Little Is a
Lot," Nina Wallestad, Dramatic License.
Conditions
of Use. |
 |
"Bertie from
Bethsaida," Pete Smithies & Andy Lund, dramatix. |
 |
"How to
Feed a Party of 5000," Susan Cowsar, dramatix. |
 |
"Fish
and Loaves," Michelle Pitman, dramatix. |
 |
"The Boy and
His Lunch," monologue, Ross Olson. |
|
 | Graphics & Bulletin Materials:
 |
Clip Art,
John 6:13, Fr. Richard Lonsdale, Resources for Catholic Educators. |
 | Clip Art Images:
John 6:1-15, Misioneros Del Sagrado Corazón en el Perú. |
 |
John 6:1-15, at
Cerezo Barredo's weekly gospel illustration.
Liberation emphasis. |
 |
John 6:1-15,
John 6:1-21, Liturgical Drawing,
Maria d.c. Zamora,
Claretian Resources, Philippines. ("Download and use
these for free.") |
 |
Clip Art:
Jesus Walking on Water, Feeding the 5000, Julius Schnoor von Carolsfeld woodcuts, World Mission
Collection, Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod. |
 |
Commercial Site:
The Work of the People -
John 6 - Films/Visual Liturgy based on RCL texts. |
 |
Lunchtime
Trading,
Reverend Fun Cartoon, gospelcom.net. Check for printing
permissions at right-hand side of destination page. |
|
 | Hymns and Music:
|
 | Fine Arts Images Linked at The Text This Week's
Art Index:
|
 | Movies scenes with the following themes,
listed at The Text This Week's Movie Concordance:
|
 | The Text This Week's Study Pages for
Parallel Texts:
|
 | Study Links and Resources for the
Book of John |
|