John 6

Since John’s gospel is selective (John 20:30-31), he does not record events in the life of Jesus that do not help him fulfill his purpose. Between the healing of the paralytic (John 5) and the feeding of the five thousand, you have many events taking place, some of which are mentioned in Luke 6:1–9:10 and Mark 3:1–6:30. During this period our Lord preached the Sermon on the Mount (Matt. 5–7) and gave the parables of the kingdom (Matt. 13).

The feeding of the five thousand was a miracle of such magnitude that it is recorded in all four gospels. A great multitude had been following Jesus for several days, listening to His teaching and beholding His miracles. Jesus had tried to “get away” to rest, but the needs of the crowd pressed on Him (Mark 6:31-34). Because of His compassion, He ministered to the multitude in three different ways.