The Gospel According to John:
An Encounter with Grace & Truth

Lesson 7 A Lad with Five Barley Loaves
the Gospel According to John 6:1–21

Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition (RSVCE)*
New American Bible Revised Edition (NABRE)*
Catechism of the Catholic Church
ex libris (in our library)
glossary for the Gospel According to John
cross references in the Gospel According to John
next lesson: I Am the Living Bread

This material coordinates with Lesson 7 on pages 39–42 in The Gospel According to John: An Encounter with Grace & Truth.

“Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; but these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in his name.”—the Gospel According to John 20:30–31

welcome to our in-depth study of the Gospel According to John
We invite interested groups and individuals to check out the sample first lesson from this 25-lesson Turning to God’s Word Catholic Bible study. These online study pages link to our free lesson videos, as well as to a glossary and cross references in the biblical text. Other study aids include maps, additional commentary, and prayers based on the primary Scripture in each lesson. The Gospel According to John: An Encounter with Grace & Truth has been granted an imprimatur and can be purchased from our website shop. If you have a Bible-related question or comment, click on one of the “ask us your question” or “what do you think” buttons on any online study page.

open with prayer
It’s always wise to begin any Bible study with prayer, whether reading the Scriptures alone or meeting with others in a discussion study group. You can pray using your own words or use one of the opening prayers on our website. We especially like the following:

Lord Jesus, you promised to send your Holy Spirit
to teach us all things.
As we read and study your word today,
allow it to touch our hearts and change our lives. Amen.

let’s review—the Gospel According to John 5:1–47
In Lesson 6 Do You Want to Be Healed? Jesus heals a lame man, then gets in trouble with Jewish religious leaders because he instructs the man to rise, take up his pallet, and walk. Carrying a pallet flew in the face of Jewish sabbath regulations, which considered the act to be work and so was forbidden on the day God had set aside for rest. The argument moves from Jesus telling the man to carry his mat to Jesus performing a healing act on the sabbath, although no sabbath restriction against healing existed at that time. This raises the question of whether healing should be considered work. When questioned, Jesus’ response to the Jewish leaders is to tell them that his Father (God) is working so he also is going to work, a statement that highlights Jesus’ mission—God isn’t yet finished with Creation. Jesus then provides a number of witnesses to validate his authority to perform the signs he’s been doing, but the Jews remain unwilling to accept Jesus’ behavior. Learn more about the two biblical accounts of Creation in Lesson 1 And God Said, Let There Be Light and Lesson 2 It Is Not Good That the Man Should Be Alone, both in the Turning to God’s Word Catholic Bible study In the Beginning: The Book of Genesis.

map notes—Jesus goes back to Galilee
At the conclusion of the fifth chapter in the Gospel According to John, readers saw Jesus in Jerusalem for an unnamed religious feast—which scholars think had to be either Passover or Pentecost. In the context of the sixth chapter of that Gospel (the biblical text for this lesson and Lesson 8 I Am the Living Bread), a strong case can be made that religious feast likely was the Passover. The sixth chapter of the Gospel According to John finds Jesus in Galilee again, teaching a large crowd of people who’ve followed him to the shores of the Sea of Galilee, also called the Sea of Tiberias. From there Jesus goes to Capernaum, also in Galilee, making the trip by the unusual transportation mode of walking across the water during a storm. Click on the image (right) to enlarge the map, which appears on page 41 in The Gospel According to John: An Encounter with Grace & Truth. 

performative speech (01:04:26)
In the video for this lesson, Turning to God’s Word author Matthew Phelps talks about how all of Jesus’ signs so far have been brought about by Jesus’ words. Based on your previous knowledge of Scripture, how does this differ from the way some of Jesus’ miracles are described in the synoptic Gospels (the Gospels According to Matthew, Mark, and Luke)? What in the prologue to the Fourth Gospel suggested that the Evangelist made a conscious decision to portray Jesus’ signs in this way? Where can evidence be seen of God’s performative speech at work in the Church today? For more information about the implications of performative speech, read “Jesus’ Speech Is Performative” on page 40 in The Gospel According to John: An Encounter with Grace & Truth. 


The Scripture ranges for the videos that accompany this Catholic Bible study match the Scripture ranges for the sets of questions in The Gospel According to John: An Encounter with Grace & Truth. You can follow along with the video overview as Turning to God’s Word author Matthew Phelps discusses Lesson 7, “A Lad With Five Barley Loaves,” on pages 39–42 in the study book.

Jesus as prophet & king
The three Old Testament offices that Jesus fulfills are those of priest, prophet, and king. In the beginning of chapter six in the Gospel According to John, the people begin to think that Jesus is the prophet promised by Moses, and Jesus withdraws because he knows that they want to force him to become king. As we move forward in our study of the Fourth Gospel, we’ll see evidence that the priests and kings have failed in their duties toward God and the people. The only apparent prophet in Jesus’ day seems to be John (called “the Baptist” in the synoptic Gospels); the Evangelist depicts him as anything but a failure. The frequent mention of a prophet to come who will be like Moses raises the question of whether Jesus might be that prophet. The question of Jesus’ kingship will come up again during his Passion. There’s more background about why people expected Jesus to be a king like David throughout the Turning to God’s Word Catholic Bible study The United Kingdom: Saul, David & Solomon Foreshadow Christ the King, especially in Lesson 14 God’s Promise to David. (Tami Palladino’s illustration of Jesus and the lad with five barley loaves appears on the map, “Key Events in the Gospel According to John,” on page 146 of the study book.)

where is Jesus specifically described as a priest in the New Testament?
It’s more difficult to find mention of the priesthood of Jesus in any of the Gospels, although plenty of information can be found in the Letter to the Hebrews. These beginning verses of the sixth chapter in the Gospel According to John set the stage for the latter part of the same chapter in which the Evangelist switches from explaining Christian understanding of the sacrament of Baptism in terms of the life of Jesus to explain the Church’s understanding of the sacrament of the Eucharist in terms of Jesus’ Gospel teaching. The Letter to the Hebrews often is considered to be the best example of apologetic writing in the Bible. You can learn more in the Turning to God’s Word Catholic Bible study The Letter to the Hebrews: An Explanation of the Mechanism of Our Salvation.

a biblical factoid
The sign in which Jesus multiplies the loaves and fishes in the sixth chapter in the Gospel According to John is the only sign recorded as a miracle in the synoptic Gospels According to Matthew, Mark, and Luke. What might this suggest about what all four of the Evangelists found to be critically important for Christians to understand about what Jesus was doing and why he was doing it?

an uncomfortable idea
In this first section of the sixth chapter in the Gospel According to John, Jesus tests his disciples, something that gives present-day Christians pause. We’d prefer to think that God doesn’t test people, but the Scriptures contain many examples of God putting humanity to the test—and humanity frequently flunking. What idea do you think that the Evangelist is trying to emphasize at this point in the narrative when he mentions that Jesus tests Philip? You can learn about one of God’s most well-known Old Testament tests of humanity in Lesson 13 God Tests Abraham in the Turning to God’s Word Catholic Bible study In the Beginning: The Book of Genesis.

test—you could look it up in our archives
The idea of God testing his people doesn’t always sit well with Christians. Why do you think it is that so many people are alarmed by this thought? To learn about biblical use of the word “test,” read Lost in Translation, an online column in which Turning to God’s Word author Matthew Phelps helps readers connect with ideas expressed in the original languages of the Scriptures. New Lost in Translation entries are posted on Mondays, and past entries are archived on our website. Contact us if you’d like to receive Lost in Translation by email every week.

HOW MUCH MONEY do we need to solve our problems?
As tempting as it is to think that if we throw enough financial resources at a problem we can make it disappear, that isn’t Jesus’ message in the sixth chapter in the Gospel According to John.

?  In the Gospel According to John 6:7, Philip fails to distinguish the difference between bread and money, possibly in part because Jesus presents the problem of feeding the crowds in terms that suggest money is the necessary solution. Since Jesus certainly knows that he has no need of money to feed the crowd, why might he pose this question to Philip to suggest that money is what’s needed to solve the problem?
?  What is there about bread that leads people to sometimes use the word as a synonym for money? For additional commentary about this vocabulary anomaly, refer to “Bread” on page 40 in The Gospel According to John: An Encounter with Grace & Truth.
?  What about humanity’s attitudes toward food and money does it appear that Jesus is trying to emphasize when he tests Philip?
?  What about God’s attitude toward food and money is emphasized in the Gospel According to John 6:1–14? If necessary, refer to “Scarcity Is Not an Issue for God” on page 42 in The Gospel According to John: An Encounter with Grace & Truth.
?  What information about your own problems and how best to solve them can you take away from the first 14 verses in the sixth chapter in the Fourth Gospel?

don’t miss Jesus’ second ‘I AM’ statement
It’s easy to overlook Jesus’ second “I AM” statement, which occurs in the original Greek of the Gospel According to John 6:20. To learn more about the circumstances surrounding this statement and its significance, read “Jesus’ Second ‘I AM’ Statement” on page 42 in The Gospel According to John: An Encounter with Grace & Truth.

a connection to the prophet Elisha
The Gospel According to John 6:9, specifies that the loaves are barley loaves, a food associated with the poor. Jesus’ sign is foreshadowed in the Second Book of the Kings 4:42–44, in which the prophet Elisha multiplies a few barley loaves to feed 100 men. For more information about ways in which Elisha is a strong and frequently unrecognized Old Testament type of Jesus, watch the video that accompanies Lesson 10 Elijah’s Fiery Departure in the Turning to God’s Word Catholic Bible study Thus Says the LORD: God Speaks Through His Servants the Prophets—Volume I: A Kingdom Divided.

for additional reflection
Moving forward in our study of the Fourth Gospel, you might want to pay attention to the way in which the Evangelist continues to emphasize the importance of Jesus’ spoken words. The following questions are designed to help readers begin to form their own thoughts and ideas related to the Gospel According to John 6:1–21. For more reflection questions, refer to the introduction to Lesson 7 on page 39 in The Gospel According to John: An Encounter with Grace & Truth.

?  What might prevent men and women from freely accepting the idea that Jesus’s speech is performative?
?  What words has the Evangelist used so far in the Fourth Gospel to suggest that Jesus’ speech brings about whatever Jesus says?
?  How might performative speech be related to the truth?
?  Consider why the Evangelist fails to record specific words Jesus speaks when multiplying the loaves and fishes.
?  What information about those words does the Evangelist provide?
?  What is significant about that information? 
?  What evidence in the first 21 verses of the sixth chapter in the Gospel According to John can you see pointing toward the sacrament of the Eucharist?
?  What connections can be seen between Jesus’ spoken words throughout the Gospels and the sacrament of the Eucharist celebrated in Catholic churches?
?  Read the book of Deuteronomy 18:18, which records God’s promise to Moses that God will send another prophet to lead his people. Which of humanity’s five physical senses is emphasized in the description of this prophet?
?  Given that Moses is revered among the Jews for giving the law, why might people who see Jesus as the long-awaited prophet like Moses want to make Jesus into a king instead of expecting him to focus on spiritual legalities?

the best Catholic commentary about Scripture
To find out more about how Church teaching is supported by Scripture passages in The Gospel According to John: An Encounter with Grace & Truth, check out the Index of Citations in the Catechism of the Catholic Church. Links to the primary Scripture passages in the lesson (Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition [RSVCE*]) and relevant paragraphs in the Catechism are provided here. Not every passage in the biblical text for this study is referenced in a Catechism paragraph, however.

the Gospel According to John 6:1–21—paragraph 1338
the Gospel According to John 6:5–15—paragraph 549
the Gospel According to John 6:15—paragraphs 439, 559

ways our glossary might prove helpful
In addition to providing extra information about geographical locations, our glossary also points out persons and places mentioned in the biblical text under multiple names or spellings. If you can remember a name but aren’t sure in which lesson it shows up, you can find it in the glossary, which lists every proper noun that appears in the primary biblical text for The Gospel According to John: An Encounter with Grace & Truth.

to learn more, read more Scripture
If you’re having difficulty with a passage of Scripture, it can be helpful to read the relevant cross references—but looking these up can take time. To make that easier, we’ve compiled the cross references from the Revised Standard Version Second Catholic Edition (RSV2CE)—the translation that we reprint in our study books. That list can be found at the top of every online study page accompanying this study, and it includes links to each of the cross references in the primary biblical text for The Gospel According to John: An Encounter with Grace & Truth.

don’t forget about our indexes & extra online material
If you’re trying to locate information about a specific Scripture passage, you can look it up in the index at the back of the study book or sample lesson. If you want to find a particular commentary, you can look up its title in the topics index. To learn more about another book of the Bible for which there’s a Turning to God’s Word study, visit the online study directories to read the commentaries and watch any accompanying videos. Finally, if you have a question or would like to make a comment about any of our studies, you can use one of the “ask us your question” or “what do you think” buttons to email our authors.

ex libris—Church documents & books about religious topics
You can find links to magisterial documents referred to in Turning to God’s Word Catholic Bible studies at ex libris—magisterial documents. This page includes a listing of significant recent encyclicals as well as a number of historical Church documents. Recommended books related to Scripture study can be found at ex libris—main bookshelf.

wondering how to pronounce some of these words?
The following link is to a reading from the New International Version (NIV) Bible. To listen, click on the audio icon above the printed text. Although not taken from the translations used in our study materials, the NIV reading provides an audio guide to pronunciation of words in this lesson’s primary biblical text. A close online version of the translation of the Bible used in Catholic liturgy in the United States as well as an audio guide for daily Mass readings for the current month can be found on the website of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB).

the Gospel According to John 6:1–21 (NIV)

round black doveclose with Bible-based prayer related to this lesson
Many of our Catholic study groups like to conclude their discussions with a prayer based on the scriptural focus of their lesson, and some participants include Scripture-specific prayer in their individual study. If you’re uncomfortable composing your own Bible-based prayers, you can follow our four easy steps, or you can use the following prayer based on this lesson’s text from the Gospel According to John.

God our Father, you have authority over the land and the sea.
Help us to overcome the natural human fear
that accompanies witnessing Jesus’ power
in order that we might allow him to come to us
and calm the storms in our lives.
We ask this in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.

Lesson 8 I Am the Living Bread—the Gospel According to John 6:22–71
Lesson 6 Do You Want to Be Healed?—the Gospel According to John 5:1–47

you also may like our two-part study of the prophets
Thus Says the LORD: God Speaks Through His Servants the Prophets—Volume I: A Kingdom Divided examines the prophets in their historical context using the First and Second Books of the Kings and other Old Testament passages written before the Babylonian Exile in 586 B.C. Volume II: Restoration & Redemption looks at the post-exilic prophets. This 51-lesson Catholic Bible study builds on The United Kingdom of Israel: Saul, David & Solomon Foreshadow Christ the King. Click on the books’ covers to view a sample lesson from each volume.

start a Turning to God’s Word Bible study
Thank you for your interest in The Gospel According to John: An Encounter with Grace & Truth. Information about beginning a Turning to God’s Word Bible study can be found at start a Bible study. Tami, Matthew, and I are available to answer questions and offer support. Contact us if you’d like to start one of our studies or have your schedule listed with other TtGW study groups on our website. —Jennifer

*There are seven deuterocanonical books in the Old Testament—the Books of Tobit, Judith, Wisdom, Sirach, Baruch, and First and Second Maccabees, as well as some passages in the Books of Esther and Daniel. Protestants usually refer to these works as “apocryphal,” a word that means “outside the (Protestant) canon” because they’re excluded from most Protestant Bibles. The word “deuterocanonical” means “second canon”; Catholics use that word to refer to any section of the Catholic Old Testament for which there are no extant, or existing, Hebrew manuscripts. All of the deuterocanonical books appear in the Septuagint, the earliest remaining versions of which date to the 1st century B.C. This Greek translation of the Old Testament was in common use by Jews at the time of Jesus. Learn more by reading How Do Catholic & Protestant Bibles Differ?

Turning to God’s Word printed Bible studies use the 2006 Revised Standard Version Second Catholic Edition (RSV2CE) translation for all Scripture references except those to the Psalms, which are taken from The Abbey Psalms and Canticles, prepared by the Benedictine monks of Conception Abbey and published in 2020 by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB). All Scripture links for the online study pages for The Gospel According to John: An Encounter with Grace & Truth are to the 1966 Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition (RSVCE) translation. The New International Version (NIV) audio recordings follow the same chapter and verse numbering as the RSV Catholic translations, but the NIV translation doesn’t include the deuterocanonical books and passages.

The 1966 RSVCE uses archaic pronouns and verb forms such as “thee,” “thou,” “didst” in the Psalms and in direct quotations attributed to God. The 2006 RSV2CE replaces these with more accessible English. The few significant translation changes in the RSV2CE include rendering almah as “virgin” in the Book of Isaiah 7:14 and restoring the term “begotten” in the Gospel According to John 3:16.

Numbering varies for some passages in this Bible study. Turning to God’s Word studies (print and digital) follow the numbering in the Revised Standard Version Catholic translations (RSV2CE and RSVCE). Discrepancies in the New American Bible Revised Edition (NABRE) are noted in the Index of Scripture Citations in the study book and the online sample.

You can learn more about the Psalms by viewing a sample lesson from the Turning to God’s Word Catholic Bible study Sing a New Psalm: Communicating with God Through the Prayers of the Church—Volume I: Lauds & Vespers. The second part of that study, Sing a New Psalm: Communicating with God Through the Prayers of the Church—Volume II: Vigils, Day Prayer & Compline, is scheduled for publication in 2025. Some verse numbers may vary in different translations of the Psalms.