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.
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 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.
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.
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 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.
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.