In the Gospel reading from Mark last week, I mentioned that the portion of the chapter we skipped was the feeding of the 5000. This event was so important that all four of the Gospels include it. Thus, we have the account of this feeding from the Gospel according to John this week. I find it interesting that the people who created the lectionary coupled this account with the event in 2 Kings which is also a feeding of a multitude – this time by Elisha.
There are many similarities between these two stories. In the case of Elisha, we are told that a man is bringing his offering to the man of God. This offering was from the first fruits of his harvest – primarily barley because it ripens earlier than wheat. We are told he brings twenty barley loaves and a sack of grain. While twenty loaves of bread sounds to us like a large amount, a normal person would eat three barley loaves in a single meal. Therefore, twenty loaves is only enough for three or four people. That is why the prophet’s servant struggled with the command to feed one hundred people with these loaves. Similar to the story in the Gospels, all were fed and there were leftovers. What are we to make of this?
