Scientists find 'proof' that disproves famous story from the Bible

According to a team of experts, there might be a scientific explanation for one of Jesus Christ's most famous miracles.

The Son of God worked wonders on more than one occasion, but some of his achievements were arguably more memorable than others.

According to the Bible, he healed the blind, walked on water, brought Lazarus back from the dead and once even turned water into wine.

However, a group of scientists think that one of Jesus' most notorious miracles - which is listed in the New Testament - may actually just have been the result of a natural phenomenon.

The story appears in all four Gospels - Matthew, Mark, Luke and John - and it is considered to be a symbolic example of the importance of sharing, placing your trust in God and making the most of what you have.

For those who don't know, we're talking about the 'Feeding of the 5,000', which is also known as the 'Miracle of the Loaves and Fishes'.

The story goes that Jesus headed off to a solitary place near Bethsaida following the death of John the Baptist, only to be followed by thousands of people from the surrounding towns on foot.

When the Messiah arrived and saw this large crowd which had gathered for him, he had compassion for them and healed their sicknesses.

As the evening began to draw in, Jesus' disciples encouraged him to instruct the swarm of people to disperse and go to the villages to get themselves some food.

It's one of Jesus' most famous miracles, but these scientists weren't completely convinced by the story (Getty Stock Image)

"Jesus replied, 'They do not need to go away, you give them something to eat," Bible Gateway explains. "'We have here only five loaves of bread and two fish', they answered.

"'Bring them here to me', he said. And he directed the people to sit down on the grass. Taking the five loaves and the two fish and looking up to heaven, he gave thanks and broke the loaves.

"Then he gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the people."

Everyone in the 5,000-strong crowd tucked in until they were 'satisfied', before the disciples collected 12 basketfuls of leftovers - even though Jesus only had five loaves and two fish to work with.

You don't have to be a mathematician to work out that the Son of God really made his resources stretch, which is why a group of scientists tried to find an alternate explanation to this story besides it being a 'miracle'.

Essentially, the team wanted to find out how on earth Jesus came by enough fish to feed 5,000 people.

The 2024 research paper, published in the Water Resources Research journal, explains that the boffins studied the amount of natural fish die-offs - AKA, the mass death of fish - in Lake Kinneret.

This body of water in Israel is believed to be the Biblical Sea of Galilee which is referenced in the religious text.

The study suggests that the Son of God's miracle might have just been a natural phenomenon (Getty Stock Image)

So, presuming that this could have been the source of Jesus' fish haul, the researchers took a closer look at the water to see what the environment was like.

The team used temperature sensors and oxygen level measuring devices below the surface, while monitoring the speed and direction of the wind in the area.

During a few brief periods, the experts recorded winds that whipped across the surface of the lake were so strong they caused an 'upwelling' (when deep, cold water rises toward the surface) of low-oxygen water.

As a result, there wasn't enough for the aquatic animals living in Lake Kinneret - resulting in a sudden die-off of fish.

Religious sceptics reckon that this must have been how Jesus got his hands on enough fish to go around between 5,000 people at such short notice.

Lake Kinneret has a unique makeup and is almost layered - it has a cold level at the bottom, where there isn't a lot of oxygen, and a warmer level at the top, where creatures can live.

According to the research, if these two layers mix and thermal stratification occurs, fish can't survive it and they will die, floating up to the surface.

It suggested that the conditions of the lake were likely similar to the water that Jesus was working with at the time - pointing to the idea that he didn't actually divide two loaves and five fish between thousands of hungry people.