6 Some time after this, Jesus crossed to the far shore of the Sea of Galilee (that is, the Sea of Tiberias), 2 and a great crowd of people followed him because they saw the signs he had performed by healing the sick. 3 Then Jesus went up on a mountainsideand sat down with his disciples. 4 The Jewish Passover Festival was near.
5 When Jesus looked up and saw a great crowd coming toward him, he said to Philip,“Where shall we buy bread for these people to eat?” 6 He asked this only to test him, for he already had in mind what he was going to do.
7 Philip answered him, “It would take more than half a year’s wages[a] to buy enough bread for each one to have a bite!”
8 Another of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, spoke up, 9 “Here is a boy with five small barley loaves and two small fish, but how far will they go among so many?”
10 Jesus said, “Have the people sit down.” There was plenty of grass in that place, and they sat down (about five thousand men were there). 11 Jesus then took the loaves, gave thanks, and distributed to those who were seated as much as they wanted. He did the same with the fish.
12 When they had all had enough to eat, he said to his disciples, “Gather the pieces that are left over. Let nothing be wasted.” 13 So they gathered them and filled twelve baskets with the pieces of the five barley loaves left over by those who had eaten.
14 After the people saw the sign Jesus performed, they began to say, “Surely this is the Prophet who is to come into the world.” 15 Jesus, knowing that they intended to come and make him king by force, withdrew again to a mountain by himself.
For many of us, this story in John is as familiar as the Pledge of Allegiance. Another example of a great miracle that Jesus performed for the deepening of His disciples’ faith and the benefit of the people.
But my heart got caught on a small detail that I think I’ve overlooked in the past – the faith that was being tested prior to the miracle…
Jesus threw the question out there, “Where shall we buy bread for these people to eat?” He asked knowing fully well what He was going to do. He knew that in the eyes of His disciples, this looked like an impossible task – feeding 5000 people with no food in sight.
Philip’s response was the logical one: “It would take more than half a year’s wages to buy enough bread for each one to have a bite!” In all human practicality, this was absolutely true. But Jesus didn’t plan on solving the problem on human terms.
Andrew’s answer showed a tiny bit more faith. He came up with the measly amount of food that he found from a little boy’s lunchbox. His response? “Here is a boy with five small barley loaves and two small fish, but how far will they go among so many?” Again, this made perfect sense. What little he had would barely make a dent in this crowd and wouldn’t come close to solving the problem of thousands of hungry people. But Jesus wasn’t talking about a plan that “made sense”.
The disciples had seen Jesus do miracles. But their vision was still not quite clear in the picture of who Jesus was. He HAD turned water into wine. Really GOOD wine. But this was different. This was food. He HAD healed a boy on his death bed and HAD instantly healed a man who had never walked. But this was different. This was food. The idea of Jesus being able to miraculously solve this problem didn’t even seem to run across their radar.
So what did Jesus do? He took what little they had – that tiny little lunch of five loaves and two fish and He blessed it. He prayed over it. He gave THANKS. He KNEW what was going to happen and He thanked God for answering before the answer even came. He knew that the impossible was possible, and not only possible, but about to become a reality.
The story goes on to tell us that there were twelve baskets of bread left over. CRAZY!!!! More than what they started with. And it wasn’t just a small ration for each person. Everyone had “as much as they wanted” and ate ’til they were full. At the end of the day, hungry people went away filled. The people benefited and the disciples got another little boost in their baby steps of faith.
Why do I doubt God’s ability to do things that are beyond me and my capabilities? I’ve seen Him work in the past, just like the disciples had seen His miracles. But each time a situation arises that looks too big for me to handle I think, “But this is different. Can He really do THIS?”
I have to choose to take the little I have (like the little boy’s lunch) or the much I don’t have (like the six months’ wages) and ask Jesus to bless it. To take what He knows is already not only possible, but soon to be a reality, and thank God for it in advance.
Too many times I’m tempted to try and fix a situation by myself instead of taking it to the One who can do above and beyond what I could imagine. The result is either a mess or barely getting by. But when I ask Jesus to take over, to do a miracle, the results are astounding. (Twelve baskets of leftovers!)
How many miracles have I missed by settling for my own human solutions???
I think I need to give Jesus my lunch box…
Ephesians 3:20 – Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us…
