One of the missions of the New Testament writers was to show that Jesus fulfilled various prophecies of the Old Testament. The New Testament story of Jesus feeding 5000 people which had followed him to a mountainside with five small barley loaves and two small fish is supposed to illustrate that Jesus could perform miracles based on his divine nature. Jesus, by virtue of his powers and faith, manifested so much bread and fish from the original small samples he was given that he not only fed 5000 people but there was enough bread left over to fill 12 baskets.

Jesus fed the people when they had no food. This story is found in all 4 gospels. It is not however found in any of Paul's writings which are supposed to predate the gospels. Paul is silent about the miracles that Jesus was supposed to have accomplished. What purpose does this story have in the minds of the Gospel writers other than to simply report a miraculous event? Was there another motive to writing this story?

Looking at the five loaves and two fish story from the Gospel of John perspective may shed some light on what the purpose of this story is. Once the people had seen the miracle that Jesus produced to feed them, they assumed that he was a prophet.

John 6:14
Then 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.

In the above verse the Gospel writer establishes that the miracle signs caused people to believe that Jesus was a legitimate prophet of God. Moses predicted that a prophet would arise who was like him:

Deut 18:15
The LORD thy God will raise up unto thee a Prophet from the midst of thee, of thy brethren, like unto me (Moses); unto him ye shall hearken;

Continuing with: John 6:26-27
Jesus answered them and said, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Ye seek me, not because ye saw the miracles, but because ye did eat of the loaves, and were filled.
Labour not for the meat which perisheth, but for that meat which endureth unto everlasting life, which the Son of man shall give unto you: for him hath God the Father sealed.

Here the writer establishes that Jesus, also known as the Son of Man, will provide eternal life and God "the Father" has approved of Jesus as his official representative. However, God repeatedly declared in the Old Testament (OT) that he was the only savior, his name was not Jesus, and he would not give his glory to another.

Isa 42:8
I am the LORD: that is my name: and my glory will I not give to another, neither my praise to graven images.

Isa 43:11
I, even I, am the LORD; and beside me there is no saviour.

Isa 45:21-22
Tell ye, and bring them near; yea, let them take counsel together: who hath declared this from ancient time? who hath told it from that time? have not I the LORD? and there is no God else beside me; a just God and a Saviour; there is none beside me.
Look unto me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth: for I am God, and there is none else.

God in the Old Testament never promised that a "Son of Man" will give people eternal life.
There is NO other redeemer but God. There are NONE but God. There is NO other Savior.
In fact, God instructs people to beware of putting their faith in men claiming to represent God's authority.

Psa 146:3-4
Put not your trust in princes, nor in the son of man, in whom there is no help.
His breath goeth forth, he returneth to his earth; in that very day his thoughts perish.

The claim that Jesus makes about himself being approved by God to give eternal life is a brash bit of advertising that borders on a usurping of powers that only God himself has.
There are no claims in the Old Testament that believing in an expected king Messiah or Christ would give people eternal life.

It should also be noted that the plans of Jesus, who called himself the Son of Man, were never fulfilled as Jesus himself promised. Jesus promised a quick return within the lifetimes of some of his followers (Matt 16:27-28). The great coming in the kingdom with angels and rewards that Jesus promised never happened and his plans came to nothing after his death.

Christians who are fond of preaching salvation to the world would do well to read Psa 146:3-4 and recognize that they have done exactly what God told them not to do. Christians have put their trust in a Son of Man and not in God himself, who makes it abundantly clear throughout the Old Testament that only he is the only Savior.

Continuing with: John 6:28-29
Then said they unto him, What shall we do, that we might work the works of God?
Jesus answered and said unto them, This is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath sent.

The works God requires are to fear God and follow his laws. Believing in a man who claims to have God's approval isn't involved.

Eccl 12:13
Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man.

As shown, keeping God's commands and adhering to the instructions of his laws were the works needed.

Continuing with: John 6:30-31
They said therefore unto him, What sign shewest thou then, that we may see, and believe thee? what dost thou work?
Our fathers did eat manna in the desert; as it is written, He gave them bread from heaven to eat.

Note that the "it is written" refers to Exo 16:4 which says:

Exo 16:4
Then said the LORD unto Moses, Behold, I will rain bread from heaven for you; and the people shall go out and gather a certain rate every day, that I may prove them, whether they will walk in my law, or no.

Moses was approved of by God to represent him to the people. Miracles often accompanied Moses to show the people he was a true representative of God.

Continuing with: John 6:32-35
Then Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Moses gave you not that bread from heaven; but my Father giveth you the true bread from heaven.
For the bread of God is he which cometh down from heaven, and giveth life unto the world.
Then said they unto him, Lord, evermore give us this bread.
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.

Here the gospel writer attempts to link Jesus to the Old Testament. The reason he does this is to add credibility to his story. The writer is trying to manufacture a prophecy fulfillment or create a "foreshadowing". The Gospel writers were all experts at trying to write Jesus into the Old Testament where his name never once appears. In short, the writer is trying to say:
"Look!, Jesus has as close a connection to God as Moses had! Jesus is able to call on God's power just like Moses did!"

Continuing with John 6:38-40
For I came down from heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent me.
And this is the Father's will which hath sent me, that of all which he hath given me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up again at the last day.
And this is the will of him that sent me, that every one which seeth the Son, and believeth on him, may have everlasting life: and I will raise him up at the last day.

The author then elevates Jesus higher than Moses by saying Jesus told the people that the bread of God is he who comes down from heaven to give life to the world. In other words, Jesus came from heaven and is the bread of life. Moses never came from heaven or was the bread of life.

The author of the Gospel of John has now set the stage for making Jesus a "prophet/savior" who the people MUST listen to. Jesus claimed that he does the "Father's will" and that will is that mankind should look to a "Son of Man" prophet/savior for salvation and eternal life. Jesus is now the savior who will raise people up if they believe in HIM.

This directly contradicts the Old Testament. As previously cited:

Isa 45:21-22
...and there is no God else beside me; a just God and a Saviour; there is none beside me. Look unto me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth: for I am God, and there is none else.

And as already noted, there is no instruction from God in the Old Testament which states that a Messiah or Christ would ever replace the Lord God as the sole Savior to which people should turn to and believe in.

Num 23:19
God is not a man, that he should lie; neither the son of man, that he should repent: hath he said, and shall he not do it? or hath he spoken, and shall he not make it good?

According to the OT, God is not a man, does not change his mind, and does not make promises he won't keep.

However, the author of John ignores all of this and writes his own story line of what God's word really is. In John's story, because Jesus fed the people with a miracle, he must be a true prophet of God that Moses predicted. Jesus is also the bread of life and a savior who will give people eternal life if they believe in him. Remember what Moses had said: The LORD thy God will raise up unto thee a Prophet from the midst of thee, of thy brethren, like unto me (Moses); unto him ye shall hearken;

Presto!!! The author of John has, through his writing, made Jesus not only equal to Moses but even better than him. The people must now listen to him (Jesus). The instructions soon follow:

Continuing with: John 6:46-48
Not that any man hath seen the Father, save he which is of God, he hath seen the Father.
Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me hath everlasting life.
I (Jesus) am that bread of life.

And there's the bottom line. Believe in Jesus as being sent from God (along with being God) and you will be saved and receive your reward. The writer has now established Jesus as legitimate and one who has authority to tell people what God wants them to do. But what Jesus tells people to do is a far cry from what God "the Father" commanded in the Old Testament.

John 6:53-56 then has Jesus telling people to drink his blood and eat his flesh.

Continuing with: John 6:53-56
Then Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink his blood, ye have no life in you.
Whoso eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, hath eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day.
For my flesh is meat indeed, and my blood is drink indeed.
He that eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, dwelleth in me, and I in him.

The drinking of blood in any form is abomination to God (Lev 17:10) but few Christians bother to think about that. They are too entranced with Jesus to notice that "minor" detail. God's instructions are clear:

Lev 17:10
And whatsoever man there be of the house of Israel, or of the strangers that sojourn among you, that eateth any manner of blood; I will even set my face against that soul that eateth blood, and will cut him off from among his people.

Consumption of blood is an abomination to God. No blood is to be consumed, symbolic or otherwise.

And, if Jesus was supposed to represent a sacrifice which died for the sins of the community of mankind, then his instructions to "eat his flesh" also contradicts God's law regarding a proper sin sacrifice for the community.

Lev 4:13-16,21
And if the whole congregation of Israel sin through ignorance, and the thing be hid from the eyes of the assembly, and they have done somewhat against any of the commandments of the LORD concerning things which should not be done, and are guilty;
When the sin, which they have sinned against it, is known, then the congregation shall offer a young bullock for the sin, and bring him before the tabernacle of the congregation.
And the elders of the congregation shall lay their hands upon the head of the bullock before the LORD: and the bullock shall be killed before the LORD.
And the priest that is anointed shall bring of the bullock's blood to the tabernacle of the congregation:
And he shall carry forth the bullock without the camp, and burn him as he burned the first bullock: it is a sin offering for the congregation.

Lev 6:30
And no sin offering, whereof any of the blood is brought into the tabernacle of the congregation to reconcile withal in the holy place, shall be eaten: it shall be burnt in the fire.

While some sin sacrifices can be eaten, any sin offering whose blood is brought into the Tent of Meeting must not be eaten, it must be burned.

Christians will claim that the blood is just symbolic and that wine is the actual drink, but this excuse falls flat. God did not qualify what he said in Lev 17:10, but rather, said that man shall not consume any kind of blood whatsoever.

It really doesn't matter if it wasn't real blood but only wine. Drinking real or symbolic blood amounts to real or symbolic sin. Jesus urged his followers to commit symbolic sins in the eyes of God. If Jesus was really the legitimate Son of God, he should have known enough to follow his Father's laws. Jesus even preached about symbolic sin:

Matt 5:28
But I say unto you, That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart.

Do Christians really think God would approve of someone who drinks wine pretending that it represents blood of any type? God had 3,000 Israelites killed for recognizing that a golden calf was a symbol for a god. The Bible God certainly wouldn't put up with his instructions being mocked like that.

God even commented on his attitude toward those who practiced pagan blood drinking:

Psa 16:4
Their sorrows shall be multiplied who hasten after another god; Their drink offerings of blood I will not offer, Nor take up their names on my lips.

The drinking of symbolic blood is no less a sin than drinking the real thing. Symbolic sin is still sin.

Jesus taught pagan teachings and gave instructions to the Jews that had never been taught by their fathers or by Moses. To reiterate what Jesus taught that directly contradicted God's word in the Old Testament:

Jesus declared:

John 6:54
Whoso eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, hath eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day.

Many of the Jews knew this teaching was not in line with God's instructions to Moses:

John 6:60
Many therefore of his disciples, when they had heard this, said, This is an hard saying; who can hear it?

No true Jew could ever accept a teaching so out of line with God's word to Moses. Jesus didn't apply his own standards of symbolic sin to his Father's laws. He ignored them. This isn't surprising as he also ignored the God's food laws and God's laws regarding the Sabbath. It's little wonder the Jews rejected Jesus as a legitimate representative of the God they worshipped.

As a final note, the prophecy (Deut 18:15) which the New Testament writers were so eager to have Jesus fulfill doesn't apply to any specific individual.

Deut 18:15
The LORD thy God will raise up unto thee a Prophet from the midst of thee, of thy brethren, like unto me (Moses); unto him ye shall hearken;

Deut 18:15 read in fuller context reveals that any prophet raised by God could fulfill this. The verse under discussion does not refer not to any specific individual. There are many of prophets of God who came after Moses in the Old Testament. For example Deut 18:18 confirms that Jeremiah would qualify to fulfill this prophecy.

Deut 18:18-19
I will raise them up a Prophet from among their brethren, like unto thee (Moses), and will put my words in his mouth; and he shall speak unto them all that I shall command him.
And it shall come to pass, that whosoever will not hearken unto my words which he shall speak in my name, I will require it of him.

Jer 1:9
Then the LORD put forth his hand, and touched my mouth. And the LORD said unto me, Behold, I have put my words in thy mouth.

Jeremiah was a prophet who had his words put in his mouth by God as the prophecy stipulates so there is no single person who fulfills the prophecy by Moses.

The final irony is that Jesus does closely match the prophet spoken of in Deut 18:20.

Deut 18:20
But the prophet, which shall presume to speak a word in my name, which I have not commanded him to speak, or that shall speak in the name of other gods, even that prophet shall die.

Since Jesus claimed that God's food laws were canceled in Mark 7, he spoke that which was the opposite of what God taught his prophets. Jesus taught in Mark 2 that the Sabbath was made for man and that food could be gathered on it. This was also the opposite of what God taught his prophets.

God taught his prophets that the Law was to be observed, not ignored. Jeremiah never claimed that the people could ignore God's eternal laws which were given to Moses.

Most disturbing of all, Jesus taught that for a person to obtain salvation and eternal life, they should drink his blood, eat his flesh and believe HE was the bread of life. There is NO command from God in the entire Old Testament that instructs people to drink the blood of a king Messiah or Christ and believe in him as a divine being in order to have salvation and eternal life. God himself is the only savior. There are NO others.

The New Testament writer of the Gospel of John (as well as the other Gospel writers) attempted to portray Jesus as a valid prophet who was predicted by Moses. Linking Jesus to miracles was part of that process. Then they evolve Jesus further by claiming he is now the NEW savior which people must believe in. In doing so, these writers portray Jesus as giving instructions which contradict God's word in the Old Testament.

Because Jesus presumed to speak things in God's name which God NEVER commanded any of his prophets to say, Jesus qualifies as a false prophet. Jesus was also put to death, fulfilling Deut 18:20.

Christians are always proclaiming that Jesus fulfilled hundreds of Old Testament "prophecies" but you can be sure that the fulfillment of Deut 18:20 by Jesus is one example you won't hear Christians advertise to the world as part of their aggressive and constant evangelical efforts.