Interpretation of The Saint John's Bible: Multiplication of the Loaves and Fishes

By Joel Allen, Ph.D., Professor of Religion and Philosophy

Nov. 7, 2026

The story of the loaves and fish appears in two passages in Mark’s Gospel: Mark 6:35-44 and Mark 8:1-10. The left side of the pages’ illumination represents the Mark 6 version, and the right side illuminates the Mark 8 narrative. Note that there are five loaves on the left side (as in Mark 6) and seven loaves in the right panel (as in Mark 8). So, this page illuminates both stories with a powerful theological message—God’s kingdom is marked by divine, overwhelming sacred abundance. Jackson describes his experience in that while drawing this illumination, he just got carried away with the excitement of such abundance.

We see this abundance in Mark 6:39, where Jesus directs the crowd to recline on the green grass. The Greek word for “recline” indicates the posture of a banquet meal. Banquets were enjoyed by reclining on one side and eating with the free arm. In antiquity, sitting upright was for everyday dining, but reclining was reserved for festive celebration. Banquets were eaten lying down— a true indication of high rank. Jesus is not just multiplying loaves and fish; he’s preparing a banquet and inviting everyone over. We should picture the crowd there actually lying on their sides. This was an experience for human dignity and leisure.

And yet, the story isn’t only about folks eating a fancy meal while following Jesus. Jackson’s interpretation reveals the great sacrifice of Jesus. Each loaf of bread is marked with a cross, a sacramental reminder of what was impending. This meal, celebrated by Jesus with his disciples and other followers, was a harbinger of Christ’s impending crucifixion. The sequence of actions—taking, blessing, breaking, giving—strongly foreshadows the last supper where ordinary bread and wine become the precursor to Jesus’s body and blood.

This great miracle also creates community among people originally referred to as a great multitude—a big hungry mass of humanity. But Jesus invites them to sit down in orderly fashion in groups on the green grass. Jesus gathered people together in the experience of not only the miracle of multiplication, but also the miracle of community. We all know that nothing bonds folks together more than sharing a meal. This is especially the case after experiencing a full belly and baskets of leftovers.

Jackson’s beautiful illumination captures this movement from scarcity to plenty, from isolation to immersion, from hunger to banquet, from the insufficiency of our human powers to the overflowing generosity from God’s heart. Jackson shows us that the miracle story here is not about feeding a hungry crowd on a fine afternoon in June. It is that which reveals the character of God’s kingdom: the compassion and abundance. Sacramental banquets display a God whose grace and joy never are exhausted but seem to be replenished with the taking. The sacrifice depicted here in the cross on the loaves of bread is not simply a loss of life; it is the very mechanism through which divine grace may be multiplied and nourish a hungering world. This is a broken bread that feeds thousands, creates a new people and nourishes those called to this unlikely banquet.

Question: How can we increasingly encounter God’s abundant supply as depicted in this illumination and story?

Multiplication of The Loaves and Fishes (detail), Donald Jackson, © 2002 The Saint John’s Bible, Saint John’s University, Collegeville, Minnesota, USA. Scripture quotations are from the New Revised Standard Version of the Bible, Catholic Edition, Copyright 1993, 1989 National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used with permission. All rights reserved.

Dakota Wesleyan University is a community rooted in the values of learning, leadership, faith, and service. The Saint John’s Bible Heritage Edition, presented to the university in 2024, is a remarkable treasure, inspired by the first handwritten and illuminated Bible in over 500 years. Only 299 copies have been produced and the set housed at DWU is the only one in the Dakotas. This work of sacred art has been entrusted to DWU by long-time friends the Christen family. DWU makes these beautiful volumes available for viewing in the McGovern Library and Wagner Chapel, where anyone can experience the Word of God in a deeply personal way. You are welcome to turn the pages, read the scriptures, and immerse yourselves in their beauty.