Free Bible lesson for kids · Ministry in Galilee

Feeding the Five Thousand

A great crowd was hungry. A boy had five barley loaves and two small fishes. Jesus gave thanks, and everyone ate and was filled, with twelve baskets left over.

Teach this lesson: film, sheets and guide Print the coloring page

Bible passage: John 6:1–14 · Matthew 14:13–21 · Mark 6:30–44 · Luke 9:10–17
Big idea: Jesus gives more than enough, for He is the bread of life.
Memory verse: And Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst. John 6:35 (KJV)
Ages: Preschool to preteen (3 to 12), with tips for each age
Time: About 45 minutes
Included, free: Animated story film, coloring page, class sheet, teacher guide, questions and answers, a game

The story

A great crowd followed Jesus up a mountain by the Sea of Galilee (John 6:1–3). Jesus asked Philip, “Whence shall we buy bread, that these may eat?” He asked to test him, for He knew what He would do (John 6:5–6). Philip said two hundred pennyworth of bread would not be enough (John 6:7). Andrew told of a boy with “five barley loaves, and two small fishes: but what are they among so many?” (John 6:8–9).

Jesus had the people sit down, about five thousand men (John 6:10). He gave thanks for the loaves and fish, and everyone ate as much as they wanted (John 6:11). Then Jesus said, “Gather up the fragments that remain, that nothing be lost” (John 6:12). They filled twelve baskets with leftovers (John 6:13). The people said, “This is of a truth that prophet that should come into the world” (John 6:14).

Read it in the Bible: John 6:1–14 (KJV)

¹After these things Jesus went over the sea of Galilee, which is the sea of Tiberias. ²And a great multitude followed him, because they saw his miracles which he did on them that were diseased. ³And Jesus went up into a mountain, and there he sat with his disciples. ⁴And the passover, a feast of the Jews, was nigh. ⁵When Jesus then lifted up his eyes, and saw a great company come unto him, he saith unto Philip, Whence shall we buy bread, that these may eat? ⁶And this he said to prove him: for he himself knew what he would do. ⁷Philip answered him, Two hundred pennyworth of bread is not sufficient for them, that every one of them may take a little. ⁸One of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, saith unto him, ⁹There is a lad here, which hath five barley loaves, and two small fishes: but what are they among so many? ¹⁰And Jesus said, Make the men sit down. Now there was much grass in the place. So the men sat down, in number about five thousand. ¹¹And Jesus took the loaves; and when he had given thanks, he distributed to the disciples, and the disciples to them that were set down; and likewise of the fishes as much as they would. ¹²When they were filled, he said unto his disciples, Gather up the fragments that remain, that nothing be lost. ¹³Therefore they gathered them together, and filled twelve baskets with the fragments of the five barley loaves, which remained over and above unto them that had eaten. ¹⁴Then those men, when they had seen the miracle that Jesus did, said, This is of a truth that prophet that should come into the world.

Read it in the Bible: Matthew 14:13–21 (KJV)

¹³When Jesus heard of it, he departed thence by ship into a desert place apart: and when the people had heard thereof, they followed him on foot out of the cities. ¹⁴And Jesus went forth, and saw a great multitude, and was moved with compassion toward them, and he healed their sick. ¹⁵And when it was evening, his disciples came to him, saying, This is a desert place, and the time is now past; send the multitude away, that they may go into the villages, and buy themselves victuals. ¹⁶But Jesus said unto them, They need not depart; give ye them to eat. ¹⁷And they say unto him, We have here but five loaves, and two fishes. ¹⁸He said, Bring them hither to me. ¹⁹And he commanded the multitude to sit down on the grass, and took the five loaves, and the two fishes, and looking up to heaven, he blessed, and brake, and gave the loaves to his disciples, and the disciples to the multitude. ²⁰And they did all eat, and were filled: and they took up of the fragments that remained twelve baskets full. ²¹And they that had eaten were about five thousand men, beside women and children.

Read it in the Bible: Mark 6:30–44 (KJV)

³⁰And the apostles gathered themselves together unto Jesus, and told him all things, both what they had done, and what they had taught. ³¹And he said unto them, Come ye yourselves apart into a desert place, and rest a while: for there were many coming and going, and they had no leisure so much as to eat. ³²And they departed into a desert place by ship privately. ³³And the people saw them departing, and many knew him, and ran afoot thither out of all cities, and outwent them, and came together unto him. ³⁴And Jesus, when he came out, saw much people, and was moved with compassion toward them, because they were as sheep not having a shepherd: and he began to teach them many things. ³⁵And when the day was now far spent, his disciples came unto him, and said, This is a desert place, and now the time is far passed: ³⁶Send them away, that they may go into the country round about, and into the villages, and buy themselves bread: for they have nothing to eat. ³⁷He answered and said unto them, Give ye them to eat. And they say unto him, Shall we go and buy two hundred pennyworth of bread, and give them to eat? ³⁸He saith unto them, How many loaves have ye? go and see. And when they knew, they say, Five, and two fishes. ³⁹And he commanded them to make all sit down by companies upon the green grass. ⁴⁰And they sat down in ranks, by hundreds, and by fifties. ⁴¹And when he had taken the five loaves and the two fishes, he looked up to heaven, and blessed, and brake the loaves, and gave them to his disciples to set before them; and the two fishes divided he among them all. ⁴²And they did all eat, and were filled. ⁴³And they took up twelve baskets full of the fragments, and of the fishes. ⁴⁴And they that did eat of the loaves were about five thousand men.

Read it in the Bible: Luke 9:10–17 (KJV)

¹⁰And the apostles, when they were returned, told him all that they had done. And he took them, and went aside privately into a desert place belonging to the city called Bethsaida. ¹¹And the people, when they knew it, followed him: and he received them, and spake unto them of the kingdom of God, and healed them that had need of healing. ¹²And when the day began to wear away, then came the twelve, and said unto him, Send the multitude away, that they may go into the towns and country round about, and lodge, and get victuals: for we are here in a desert place. ¹³But he said unto them, Give ye them to eat. And they said, We have no more but five loaves and two fishes; except we should go and buy meat for all this people. ¹⁴For they were about five thousand men. And he said to his disciples, Make them sit down by fifties in a company. ¹⁵And they did so, and made them all sit down. ¹⁶Then he took the five loaves and the two fishes, and looking up to heaven, he blessed them, and brake, and gave to the disciples to set before the multitude. ¹⁷And they did eat, and were all filled: and there was taken up of fragments that remained to them twelve baskets.

Questions to ask

What did the boy have?
Five barley loaves and two small fishes.
How many men were fed?
About five thousand.
How many baskets were left over?
Twelve.

What this story teaches

Jesus has compassion on people who are in need (Matthew 14:14).
Jesus can do great things with small gifts (John 6:9, 11).
We should give thanks to God for our food (John 6:11).
Jesus gives more than enough, and nothing is wasted (John 6:12–13).
Jesus is the bread of life who satisfies our hearts (John 6:35).

Jesus Is the Living Bread

Jesus filled the hungry crowd with bread that day. He is the living bread from heaven, and whoever receives Him will live forever.

John 6:51

A 45-minute lesson plan

5 min	Welcome and pray. Greet each child by name and pray: Give Jesus what we have and thank Him for providing.
10 min	The story. Play the story film: each verse appears on screen in the King James Version while the scene plays. Pause to ask what happens next.
10 min	Talk about it. Ask the three questions below. Then ask: “Jesus gives more than enough, for He is the bread of life.” What does that mean for us?
5 min	Memory verse. Say John 6:35 together, covering one word at a time until the children can say it alone.
10 min	Activity. Younger children color the coloring page while you retell the story; older children do the class sheet (memory-verse fill-in, word search and questions).
5 min	Pray and send home. Pray together and send the sheet home so families can talk about the first question this week.

Preschool: keep it short and physical. Act out the story, use a simple prop, and repeat the big idea in one sentence.
Elementary: let children find the passage in their own Bibles. Ask “who, what, where” questions first, then “why.”
Preteens: read the verses before and after the passage, and ask how this story fits the whole story of the Bible.

Game time

For kids · game · indoors or out · about 10 minutes

Twelve Baskets Full

You need: Five bean bags or rolls and two paper fish, twelve small baskets or bowls, paper scraps

Kids sit in a line. Pass the five loaves and two fish down the line and back as fast as you can without dropping any.
Then scatter paper “crumbs” across the floor.
Everyone works together to gather all the crumbs into twelve baskets before the timer runs out.

A boy gave his lunch to Jesus, and Jesus fed thousands with it, with twelve baskets left over.

For youth group · activity · indoors · about 30 minutes

Five-and-Two Cook-Off

You need: For each team the same five snack ingredients and two “wildcards”, plates, plastic knives

Teams create the best snack they can with only what they’re given.
Leaders judge on taste, look and name.
Share it all around, and pray thanks before eating.

It didn’t look like enough, but in Jesus’ hands it was more than enough. Give Him what you have.

Pray

Give Jesus what we have and thank Him for providing.