The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints produced this video. The words spoken by Jesus were taken from the King James Version of the Bible. You may enjoy exploring the complete list of 104 nondenominational videos.
Jesus fed the 5000 on the Plain of Bethsaida across the Sea of Galilee from Capernaum. The day following, two and one-half years into His ministry, Jesus gave His watershed sermon on the “Bread of Life,” which separated true believers from those who could not endure sound doctrine about Jesus and His divinity as the Son of God.
Jesus met with the apostles in Capernaum (?) and heard their report about the death of John the Baptist, as well as what they had taught and done in their ministries (see Mark 6: 27-33 KJV, NASB, NIV, ESV). Later the group sought seclusion to rest from their labors. The people, however, saw Jesus depart by boat with His disciples and ran ahead to meet them. After situating the multitude and teaching them about the kingdom of God and healing many, Jesus recognized their need for food and fed them all from five loaves and two fishes.
1 Jesus fed the 5000 for at least three reasons: (1) The people had left their villages to hear the word of the Lord. Now hungry, they were without the means to provide for themselves; (2) Jesus provided the food as a witness of His divinity. We should not be surprised that the One who created all things from the beginning was able to feed the people with another act of pure creation; (3) By performing the miracle, Jesus set the stage for His powerful sermon on the Bread of Life.
2 Jesus sent His disciples away while he went into the mountain to pray. En route to Capernaum, a storm arose, knocking the boat off course. Jesus walked to the disciples and quieted the storm. Why did Jesus walk on water? Two reasons come to mind: (1) To show that faith is a principle of power that controls natural forces. Recall how Peter, with great faith, walked on water to meet Jesus. Peter only began to doubt when he took his eye off the Master. Reassured by Jesus, Peter walked back to the boat with Him; (2) To show again that He was the Son of God, who had the powers of divinity within Himself.
3 After the storm had ceased, Jesus came with His apostles into the land of Gennesaret. While traveling northward to Capernaum, all who were sick or diseased were brought to Jesus, and He healed them. Compare the faith of these people with the people who caught up with Jesus in Capernaum. The folks in Capernaum came because of the loaves and fishes. They sought temporal nourishment but rejected the spiritual food Jesus was offering them.
4 In His sermon on the Bread of Life, Jesus declared that He is the living manna sent from God. The unbelieving among the people wanted a sign of proof. Feeding 5000 was nothing compared to feeding millions, which Moses did for forty years in the wilderness. Jesus corrected them. It was not Moses but He who gave the children of Israel manna from heaven. The people ate daily and hungered daily. The bread God offered through the life of His Son would satisfy their spiritual hunger forever. Indeed, Jesus was offering eternal life to all who follow Him and keep His commandments.
Conclusion: Yes, Jesus gives you and me the temporal bread needed to sustain life, but He also provides the spiritual bread and water that all must eat and drink to gain eternal life.
Feeding of the 5000
Christ walks on water
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Miracles in Gennesaret
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Jesus gives “Bread of Life” discourse
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The White Synagogue (4th century AD). You can just see the dome of the Church of the Twelve Apostles (right center).
Church of the Twelve Apostles and the Roman ruins in front of the White Synagogue.
View East: Looking across the Plain of Bethsaida toward the fortress of Gamla. In this area, maybe closer to the mountain (right side), Jesus fed the 5,000.
View North: Picture taken from Mount Arbel. Magdala was the home of Mary Magdalene. Kibbutz Ginnosar is home to the 1st century fishing boat. Zefat may be the “city on a hill” referred to by Jesus. The Plain of Bethsaida is where Jesus fed the 5,000.
View North: Picture taken from the hill above Tabgha. Wadi Hamam contained part of the route between Cana of Galilee and Capernaum. The Horns of Hattin was the site of the battle in which Saladin defeated the Crusaders in 1187 AD. Saladin was the first sultan of both Egypt and Syria.
View North: Valley (Wadi Hamam) below Mount Arbel (top left) that carries the breezes over the Sea of Galilee (see Smith’s description below).
View North: Rakat Valley north of Tiberias. Air is trapped below the cliffs looming over Tiberias (see Smith’s description below).
George Adam Smith [1879]: “The fresh westerly breezes which blow throughout the summer strike the lake well out upon its surface, and leave the air inshore below the cliffs stagnant and close [i.e., the shoreline below Mount Arbel and south of Rakat Valley]. Tiberias is very feverish. Capernaum and Bethsaida must have been more healthy, and through them besides ran the greatest of the Galilean thoroughfares, the Via Maris, pouring a steady stream of busy life. Life, both physical and mental, was more in current in the cities of our Lord’s choice than in that of Herod’s. Nevertheless, while Beth-saida and Capernaum have passed away, Tiberias endures; and the name of the morbid tyrant still stamps a region from which that of Jesus has vanished.”
Visit Bible Land Images for more photos of Capernaum.
Discovered in the Sea of Galilee near Kibbutz Ginnosar
History: This 1st century AD fishing boat was discovered in 1986 by two fisherman from Kibbutz Ginnosar. The boat was exposed when the waters of the lake receded during a drought. The boat is called by two names today: the Ancient Galilee Boat, as well as the Jesus Boat because of its 1st century date. The boat measures 27 feet (8.27 meters) long, and 7.5 feet (2.3 meters) wide. For more information, see the Wikipedia article.
Hebrew: כְּפַר נַחוּם, romanized: Kfar Naḥum, lit. ‘Nahum’s village’. Capernaum was a town on the northern end of the Sea of Galilee, identified with the ancient site known as Tell-Hûm. In New Testament times, Capernaum was one of the most prosperous and crowded in all of Palestine. Jesus lived here after the beginning of His ministry so that Capernaum is called “his own city.”
Capernaum was also the home of Peter and Andrew, and Matthew. Jesus performed many of His greatest miracles in Capernaum. And in the synagogue of Capernaum, Jesus spoke His excellent discourse on the Bread of Life. Later, Jesus upbraided the people of Capernaum for rejecting Him.
View North: Picture taken from Mount Arbel. Magdala was the home of Mary Magdalene. Kibbutz Ginnosar is home to the 1st century boat. Zefat is the “city on a hill”. The Plain of Bethsaida is where Jesus fed the 5,000.
View North: Picture taken from the hill above Tabgha. Wadi Hamam contained part of the route between Cana of Galilee and Capernaum. The Horns of Hattin was the site of the battle in which Saladin defeated the Crusaders in 1187 AD. Saladin was the first sultan of both Egypt and Syria.
View East: Looking across the Plain of Bethsaida toward the fortress of Gamla. In this area, maybe closer to a mountain, Jesus fed the 5,000.
