The feeding of the five thousand appears to be taken from the Synoptic Gospels, which present the story as evidence that Jesus is the Messiah because he worked miracles. John reports the story as it was customarily understood, but the use that he makes of it is quite different from that of the earlier writers. For John, the amount of physical food that came into existence was not of primary importance. Instead, the important meaning of the story is the spiritual food that alone can sustain the quality of living that characterizes true followers of Jesus. Accordingly, the account of the miracles is followed immediately by a discourse in which Jesus says, "I am the bread of life." In an obvious reference to the Christian practice of celebrating the Eucharist, or the Lord's Supper, John quotes Jesus as saying, "Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me, and I in him." It is the presence of the Logos, or Spirit of God, in human life that really nourishes the spiritual quality of a person's life. Just as Jesus, by virtue of this spirit, gives the living water that brings eternal life, so he gives the food that can bring a new quality of life to the world.
When Jesus heals a man who was born blind, his disciples inquire of him, "Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?" In reply, Jesus says, "Neither this man nor his parents sinned, but this happened so that the power of God might be displayed in his life." The discussion that follows this exchange makes clear that John's major concern in this narrative is not physical sight in place of physical blindness but rather the curing of men and women of their spiritual blindness. Those who fail to understand Jesus and the purpose of his mission in the world are spiritually blind. Only by coming under the influence of his spirit can we pass from darkness into light.
