Jesus introduces us to the 'New Testament' during the Last Supper the evening before his crucifixion. We read Luke's account found in the gospel of Luke 22:19-20, "And he took bread, and gave thanks, and brake it, and gave unto them, saying, This is my body which is given for you; this do in remembrance of me. Likewise also the cup after supper, saying, This cup is the new testament in my blood, which is shed for you." Then again, in the gospel of Matthew 26:26-28 we read Matthew's account of the Last Supper, "And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and blessed it, and brake it, and gave it to the disciples, and said, Take, eat; this is my body. And he took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, Drink ye all of it; For this is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins."
What we have revealed to us in these Scriptures is the institution of the Eucharist (Eucharistia in Greek, aka the Thanksgiving). We refer to this as Holy Communion, and it is known in the Orthodox Church as the Mystical Supper. The Apostle Paul teaches us in his first letter to the Corinthians, 10:16, "The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not the communion of the blood of Christ? The bread which we break, is it not the communion of the body of Christ?" Paul adds to this revelation of Holy Communion with Christ Jesus saying, "For I have received of the Lord that which also I delivered unto you. That the Lord Jesus the same night in which he was betrayed took bread: And when he had given thanks, he brake it, and said, Take eat: this is my body, which is broken for you: this do in remembrance of me. After the same manner also he took the cup, when he had supped saying, This cup is the new testament in my blood: this do ye, as oft as ye drink it, in remembrance of me. For as often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye do shew the Lord's death till he come" (11:23-26).
The point I would like to make is that when Jesus introduces the reality of the new testament he does not say, "read this" or "study this", but he says "do this"! The New Testament is the eating of Christ's body, and the drinking of his blood. The New Testament is the Eucharist. Christian worship is to be centered upon the very command of Jesus himself when he said, "This do in remembrance of me." The New Testament was a sacrament (mystery) long before it ever started to become a document, according to the document. True worship, as found in the Ancient Faith of the Orthodox Church, is the foundation of the faith of Christ, not the Bible. And it is the bible that reveals this! You may want to ask yourself, "Why is the collection of twenty seven books, that we call the New Testament, called the New Testament?" It is because of their proximity to the Eucharist, that is, the New Testament! The Scriptures are guiding us into the heart of the Church. And what we discover when we arrive is the Eucharist, which is the actual communion of human beings with the undivided Holy Trinity; the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
The Gospel story of Jesus multiplying the loaves of bread and fishes, and feeding the 5000, is the only miracle that Jesus performed that is recorded in all four gospels; Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. This fact should inspire us to take a close look at why this is so. The Holy Spirit, who moved upon the authors of the gospels, is wanting His Church to understand something very significant. Our hearts are illumined to what that significance is when we take note that the three synoptic gospels (Matthew, Mark, and Luke) are written as an evangel to the world, but the gospel of John is written to reveal deep theology to the Church, to the believers in Jesus. The gospel of John is the theological gospel, the gospel that unveils the mysteries of God to the Church; that Jesus is the eternal Word and Son of God, and co-equal with the Father; the incarnation of the God-man is expounded, and the Father is introduced as well as the person and work of the Holy Spirit; the Holy Trinity is made known. The Apostle John is known to the Ancient Church as St John the Theologian, and for good reason. St John is the apostle who expresses mystical realities in his gospel. This is seen regarding our topic of the multiplication of the bread and fishes, and the 'Feeding of the 5000'. The Apostle John opens for us the meaning of the feeding of the 5000 by Jesus. John records Jesus's lengthy discourse in chapter 6 of his gospel where Jesus reveals that he is the bread of life that comes down from heaven for the life of the world.
It is through the Apostle John's discourse in chapter 6 that we are made to understand the meaning of the multiplication of the bread and fishes, and how there is no limit to the miraculous multiplication of the food being distributed to everyone in need.
Just as Jesus took the bread at the last supper, and gave thanks, he does the same thing here in the desert with the thousands in need of being fed. The next day many gather together around Jesus "where they did eat bread, after that the Lord had given thanks" (6:23). The people knew that it was at Jesus's giving of thanks to the Father that the food was multiplied. A dialogue begins, and Jesus says, "Labour not for the meat (food) which perisheth, but for that meat (food) which endureth unto everlasting life, which the Son of man shall give unto you: for him hath God the Father sealed" (6:27). The people speak of how Moses fed their ancestors manna in the desert, "He gave them bread from heaven to eat" (6:31). But Jesus corrects them saying, "Verily, verily, I say unto you. Moses gave you not that bread from heaven; but my Father giveth you THE TRUE BREAD from heaven. For the bread of God is HE which cometh down from heaven, and GIVETH LIFE UNTO THE WORLD" (6:32-33).
Jesus, in his feeding of the multitudes by miraculously multiplying the food when he gives thanks, is revealing the Eucharist of the Mystical and Last Supper which will take place just prior to his crucifixion (Matthew 26:26-29; Mark 14:22-25; Luke 22:19-20). Here in his gospel, John the Apostle records Jesus expounding the mystery of his body being eaten, and his blood being drunk by all those who believe in him. Jesus is the bread from heaven, being mystically multiplied for all those who believe.
Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me hath everlasting life. I am that bread of life. Your fathers did eat manna in the wilderness, and are dead. This is the bread which cometh down from heaven, that a man may eat thereof, and not die. I
am the living bread which came down from heaven: if any man eat of this
bread, he shall live for ever: and the bread that I will give is my
flesh, which I will give for the life of the world.
The Jews therefore strove among themselves, saying, How can this man give us his flesh to eat?
Then
Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except ye eat the
flesh of the Son of man, and drink his blood, ye have no life in you. Whoso eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, hath eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day. For my flesh is meat indeed, and my blood is drink indeed. He that eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, dwelleth in me, and I in him. As the living Father hath sent me, and I live by the Father: so he that eateth me, even he shall live by me. This
is that bread which came down from heaven: not as your fathers did eat
manna, and are dead: he that eateth of this bread shall live for ever" (John 6:47-58).
