What does John 6:2 mean?

At the end of chapter 5, Jesus was seen in conflict with local religious authorities. This was inspired by His healing of a man near the Pool of Bethesda on a Sabbath day (John 5:1–18). Now, several months later, Jesus' other miraculous healings have attracted a "large crowd." This part of the gospel of John describes the high point of Jesus' public popularity. The miracles Jesus performed were partly intended for just this reason; one of the purposes of these spectacles was attracting attention to His ministry.

At the same time, John describes Jesus' miracles as "signs." The Greek word sēmeion was chosen for a reason: "signs" relate a particular message and are meant to lead to certain conclusions. The next miracle Jesus performs will be His most public and most well-received: feeding thousands with a tiny meal of bread and fish. But the people who see this miracle will mostly miss the message behind the sign. As Jesus will explain later, the purpose of His ministry is not bread, or spectacle.

As a result of this challenging truth, the large crowd of people listening to Jesus' teachings will dissolve (John 6:66).