THE FIVE LOAVES AND TWO FISH

John 6:1-15

Key Verse: 6:9

"Here is a boy with five small barley loaves and two small fish, but how far will they go among so many?"

* JESUS' SHEPHERD'S HEART (1-9)

1. When and where did this event occur? (1,4; Mk 6:7,30,31) Why had Jesus and the disciples apparently come to that place? (3) Why had the crowd come? (2)

2. When Jesus saw the large crowd coming to him, what did he say? What does this reveal about his attitude toward them? (Compare Mk 6:34, Mt 9:36) How is Jesus different from most famous, busy people?

3. To whom was Jesus' question directed? (5) What was Jesus' purpose in asking this question? What was in his mind to do? (6) Why did Jesus test his disciples and what was he testing?

4. How did Philip answer? What does his answer show about him? Did he understand Jesus? Did he pass the test? Why or why not?

5. Which disciple spoke up? Where have we met him previously in this gospel? (Jn 1:40,41) What did he do and say? How was he different from Philip? What did he believe about Jesus? What can we learn from him about prayer?

* JESUS BLESSES ANDREW'S FIVE LOAVES AND TWO FISH (10-15)

6. How did Jesus cowork with his disciples? (10) Why was it important for them to participate?

7. How and why did Jesus bless the loaves and fish? (11) What shows the abundance of God's blessing? (11-15) What can we learn here about God's way of working? About the importance of living by faith instead of by calculation?