The apostles returned to Jesus and reported what they had done and taught. So many people were coming and going that Jesus and the disciples did not even have time to eat. He told them to go away by themselves to a quiet place and rest.
The apostles gathered again after completing the work for which they had gone out. Their report included both their actions and their teaching. Even after their return, the flow of people left no opening for a meal. Jesus answered their exhaustion by proposing rest away from the crowd.
They left by boat for a deserted place, but many people saw where they were going and ran there from the towns. They arrived first. Jesus saw the large crowd when he came ashore. They were like sheep without a shepherd, and he began to teach them many things.
Jesus and the apostles traveled over the water while the people moved along the land. Those who recognized the departure drew others from the surrounding towns, and the growing crowd ran ahead of the boat. The place intended for quiet had become crowded before Jesus stepped ashore.
Jesus did not dismiss the people who had interrupted the planned rest. He saw them as sheep without a shepherd and responded with compassion. His first action was to teach them at length. While that teaching continued, the day moved toward evening.
As the hour grew late, the disciples told Jesus that the place was deserted and the day was nearly over. They asked him to send the people away to buy food in the nearby villages. Jesus told them to give the crowd something to eat.
The disciples evaluated both the setting and the time. Food was not immediately available in the deserted place, so they expected each person to seek it in surrounding settlements. Jesus shifted the responsibility back to the disciples rather than sending the crowd away.
They asked whether they should spend two hundred denarii on bread. Jesus asked how many loaves they had and told them to find out. They came back with five loaves and two fish.
Their answer measured the need as two hundred denarii worth of bread and questioned whether they should make such a purchase. Jesus directed them away from estimating the cost and toward finding the food already present. Their search produced only five loaves and two fish.
Jesus did not wait for a larger supply. He first arranged for the crowd to become ordered groups that could receive food. The disciples who had wanted everyone dispersed now helped the people remain together.
Jesus directed the people to sit down in groups on the green grass. They sat in groups of hundreds and fifties. Jesus took the five loaves and two fish, looked up to heaven, gave thanks, and broke the loaves. He gave them to the disciples to set before the people and divided the fish among them all.
The green grass became seating for groups of fifty and one hundred. Jesus took the complete supply into his hands, looked toward heaven, and blessed it. He broke the loaves and repeatedly gave the portions to the disciples, who carried them to the seated people. The two fish were also divided among everyone.
Everyone ate and was satisfied. The disciples picked up twelve baskets of broken pieces and fish. The number of men who had eaten the loaves was five thousand.