Jesus Feeds the Five Thousand

In March of 29 CE, Jesus was increasingly occupied with teaching. But he was also followed everywhere he went by people who wanted him to heal them or their sick relatives or friends. On March 27, he decided that he desperately needed a break from the crowds. He and the apostles planned to row across the lake unnoticed. But the multitudes did notice, and thousands followed him on that day and the following three days. By Wednesday, March 30, more than five thousand people had gathered in this large park. By the third day, food began to be an issue, as most people had not brought enough. Even the provisions that Jesus and the apostles had brought along were dwindling by this time. Rumors were going around that Jesus was going to use this spot to declare himself the king of the Jews, and the crowd was in a state of anticipation. On Wednesday, Jesus asked that the apostolic food be brought to him and, after organizing the large multitude in groups, he began to hand out food to the apostles who carried it to the evangelists and then into the crowd. By the end of the day, five thousand people had been miraculously fed from the apostolic stores of five barley loaves and two fishes. There were twelve baskets of food left over after everyone was fed, which were collected by the disciples.