Yes, Jesus really multiplied the loaves and the fish. People who say that everyone shared their food then are doing something "theologians call 'reductionism,' ie: trying to explain a supernatural event in purely natural, worldly terms.
In John:6 the focus is on what JESUS did, not what the people did. Jesus showed his compassion for the people who had been with him all day. He recognized that they were hungry and so asked the apostles about buying food for them. The apostles informed Jesus of two things. 1. There was no place nearby where there would be enough food for that many people, and 2. Even if there was someplace they could purchase enough food, they would need more than 200 days' wages to be able to get enough to feed them all. Two hundred days is over 6 months worth of days! They would have had to work over 1/2 a year to have enough money to feed all those people!
Jesus already know that. John tells us, "he said this to test [Philip], because he himself knew what he was going to do." John 6:6.
Peter's brother Andrew then came forth and said that he had found a little boy who was selling food, but he only had 5 barley loaves and two fish - certainly not enough for 5000+ people! Jesus told the crowd to sit and get ready to eat. He didn't stand up and ask if anyone else had more food. He didn't give them a lecture about sharing what they had. No, he blessed the food and fed them all. When the leftovers were collected, there were 12 wicker baskets of bread fragments left.
In this miracle Jesus revealed that "He is the One who provides nourishment - both physically and spiritually - for his people. ... He is the living bread come down from heaven which gives life to the world. (John 6:51, 35)" This miracle foreshadows the Eucharist. And what a miracle that is!
(Did Jesus have a last name & 199 other questions from Catholic teenagers. by Matthew Pinto & Jason Evert Ascension Press (c) 2005 p 45)
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