9. “A boy who has five loaves of barley bread and two small fish is here. But they won’t go very far for so many people.”
10. Jesus said, “Have the people sit down.”The people had plenty of grass to sit on. (There were about 5,000 men in the crowd.)
11. Jesus took the loaves, gave thanks, and distributed them to the people who were sitting there. He did the same thing with the fish. All the people ate as much as they wanted.
12. When the people were full, Jesus told his disciples, “Gather the leftover pieces so that nothing will be wasted.”
13. The disciples gathered the leftover pieces of bread and filled twelve baskets.
14. When the people saw the miracle Jesus performed, they said, “This man is certainly the prophet who is to come into the world.”
15. Jesus realized that the people intended to take him by force and make him king. So he returned to the mountain by himself.
16. When evening came, his disciples went to the sea.
17. They got into a boat and started to cross the sea to the city of Capernaum. By this time it was dark, and Jesus had not yet come to them.
18. A strong wind started to blow and stir up the sea.
19. After they had rowed three or four miles, they saw Jesus walking on the sea. He was coming near the boat, and they became terrified.
20. Jesus told them, “It’s me. Don’t be afraid!”
21. So they were willing to help Jesus into the boat. Immediately, the boat reached the shore where they were going.
22. On the next day the people were still on the other side of the sea. They noticed that only one boat was there and that Jesus had not stepped into that boat with his disciples. The disciples had gone away without him.
23. Other boats from Tiberias arrived near the place where they had eaten the bread after the Lord gave thanks.
24. When the people saw that neither Jesus nor his disciples were there, they got into these boats and went to the city of Capernaum to look for Jesus.
25. When they found him on the other side of the sea, they asked him, “Rabbi, when did you get here?”
26. Jesus replied to them, “I can guarantee this truth: You’re not looking for me because you saw miracles. You are looking for me because you ate as much of those loaves as you wanted.