As much as they wanted... they were filled.

John 6:1-21 (NASB) from the daily reading in the One Year Bible (link on links page)

Five Thousand Fed

 After these things Jesus went away to the other side of the Sea of Galilee (or Tiberias). ² A large crowd followed Him, because they saw the signs which He was performing on those who were sick. ³ Then Jesus went up on the mountain, and there He sat down with His disciples. ⁴ Now the Passover, the feast of the Jews, was near. ⁵ Therefore Jesus, lifting up His eyes and seeing that a large crowd was coming to Him, *said to Philip, “Where are we to buy bread, so that these may eat?” ⁶ This He was saying to test him, for He Himself knew what He was intending to do. ⁷ Philip answered Him, “Two hundred denarii worth of bread is not sufficient for them, for everyone to receive a little.” ⁸ One of His disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, *said to Him, ⁹ “There is a lad here who has five barley loaves and two fish, but what are these for so many people?” ¹⁰ Jesus said, “Have the people sit down.” Now there was much grass in the place. So the men sat down, in number about five thousand. ¹¹ Jesus then took the loaves, and having given thanks, He distributed to those who were seated; likewise also of the fish as much as they wanted. ¹² When they were filled, He *said to His disciples, “Gather up the leftover fragments so that nothing will be lost.” ¹³ So they gathered them up, and filled twelve baskets with fragments from the five barley loaves which were left over by those who had eaten. ¹⁴ Therefore when the people saw the sign which He had performed, they said, “This is truly the Prophet who is to come into the world.”

Jesus Walks on the Water

¹⁵ So Jesus, perceiving that they were intending to come and take Him by force to make Him king, withdrew again to the mountain by Himself alone.

¹⁶ Now when evening came, His disciples went down to the sea, ¹⁷ and after getting into a boat, they started to cross the sea to Capernaum. It had already become dark, and Jesus had not yet come to them. ¹⁸ The sea began to be stirred up because a strong wind was blowing. ¹⁹ Then, when they had rowed about three or four miles, they *saw Jesus walking on the sea and drawing near to the boat; and they were frightened. ²⁰ But He *said to them, “It is I; do not be afraid.” ²¹ So they were willing to receive Him into the boat, and immediately the boat was at the land to which they were going.

When we read the various gospel accounts we sometimes see differences in the way the writers describe some of the accounts. Skeptics try to call these differences inaccuracies and say that the Bible is unreliable. The truth is that the writers, as eye witnesses of the accounts they are describing, are both seeing things through their own human perspective and understanding and retelling what they saw with an intentional focus on the part of the message that is most prevalant to them. Think of how differently several  witnesses of the same car accident may have perceived what happened and so retell a diiferent story. The different perspectives that we gain from the individual gospel accounts help us, like the investigating officer at the accident, to better see and understand the whole picture of what actually happened.

As a gospel writer, John's intention is to describe and portray the deity of Jesus. He wants us to  see and know Jesus as God. In today's text, John begins the account of the feeding of the 5000 with these verses:

 Therefore Jesus, lifting up His eyes and seeing that a large crowd was coming to Him, *said to Philip, “Where are we to buy bread, so that these may eat?”  This He was saying to test him, for He Himself knew what He was intending to do.

John acknowledges that Jesus question here, like many of the questions Jesus asked, is not intended to gain information. Jesus reason for asking questions is as John says to test them, or to open their and our minds  to  see things differently, to think from a heavenly perspective rather than a worldly one. A worldly view tends to see the limitations, the reasons why something can't be done. The disciples answered Jesus question with logical world views of the problem at hand.  Philip answered Him, “Two hundred denarii worth of bread is not sufficient for them, for everyone to receive a little.”    He saw the limitations.     One of His disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, *said to Him, ⁹ “There is a lad here who has five barley loaves and two fish, but what are these for so many people?”   He too saw the limitations that they had to respond to the need in the natural physical realm. They weren't wrong. That was the earthly reality. Jesus doesn't rebuke the disciples. He simply begins to demonstrate the heavenly perspective and solution to the problem.

Jesus said, “Have the people sit down.” Now there was much grass in the place. So the men sat down, in number about five thousand. ¹¹ Jesus then took the loaves, and having given thanks, He distributed to those who were seated

There are two keys in what Jesus says and does here. First, He tells them to have the people sit down. There is something important about our willingness to sit and rest in the Lord's presence. When a crowd is standing and moving around there is confusion and unrest. When they sat and rested in the presence of the Lord there was focus and peace. There would be no question where the provision was coming from. God's blessing and provision comes in resting in the presence of the Lord.  There are times that it may come in the midst of chaos but even then it comes from resting in His presence.

The psalmist says:     You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies(Psalm 23:5)

The second thing Jesus does, is once the people are seated and at rest, He gives thanks. Thanksgiving is a key to God's blessing and provision. When we are still seeing things from a world view we tend to strive and work in our own strength. The world view will always be that there is never enough to satisfy our need. That's the lie the world and the devil want us to believe. It's a view that is centered on greed not need. Because it is based on a lie and on greed, we can never be satisfied with the things of the world. We will always be left wanting more. A thankful heart on the other hand is a heart that is content. A heart that is thankful for what we have in this natural physical realm is a heart that is confident knowing:    God will supply all your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus.(Philippians 4:19)            A heart that is thankful and focused in the presence of the Lord is a heart that knows, like the psalmist:

Delight yourself in the Lord; And He will give you the desires of your heart.(Psalm 37:4) 

Let's see the heavenly result of this earthly problem.    He distributed to those who were seated; likewise also of the fish as much as they wanted.  When they were filled, He *said to His disciples, “Gather up the leftover fragments so that nothing will be lost.”  So they gathered them up, and filled twelve baskets with fragments from the five barley loaves which were left over by those who had eaten.

What was not nearly enough in the natural realm was more than enough when the realities of the heavenly realm were applied. The text says they had as much as they wanted and they were filled. There was no shortage, no  rationing. In fact, not only did they have enough to fill and satisfy everyone, when Jesus tells them to gather up what is left over they pick up more than they started with. We are never told what if anything was done with these leftovers, but Jesus said they should be gathered up "so that nothing will be lost" We need to never presume on or take for granted God's blessing and provision to the point that we don't appreciate it's value. We need to always remember that even though God's provision to and for us comes,  according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus. It is not just the abundance of heaven that we attain these blessings from. It is in Christ Jesus. We should never forget or minimalize the price that Christ paid so that we can share in and partake of the blessings of the presence and provision of heaven.

All that we have both the little of this world and the limitless abundance of heaven, we have because Jesus, God in flesh came to earth and gave His life as a sacrifice for our sins. That alone should give us a thankful heart. We already have so much more than we deserve in Christ. Yet in His presence as we rest there and wait on Him, we will have enough. We will be filled. To go back to the psalmist he says:

The Lord is my shepherd,
I shall not want.
² He makes me lie down in green pastures;
He leads me beside quiet waters.
³ He restores my soul;
He guides me in the paths of righteousness
For His name’s sake.