Feeding Of The Five Thousand

In John 6 we encounter many astonishing miracles of Jesus and the response of the crowds. The feeding of the five thousand (v1-15) is the fourth of nine miracles recorded in the Gospel. It is one of the most well-known, but what does it mean? Why did Jesus perform this miracle? How does He explain it? And, what are we to learn from it? Jesus makes these things very plain, but one must see chapter 6 as a whole in order to grasp the true meaning of this miracle and the responses of the people.