Loaves and Fishes

Jesus had been preaching to a large crowd of people, at least five thousand men not counting their families. So, in truth there were likely around fifteen thousand or more. Some people don’t believe the Bible or the stories told within its pages, yet Jesus was trying to get His message across to as many people as He could while He was teaching His followers. They had to learn from and come to know Him as the Messiah.

When He told His disciples that they should feed these people one of them said that a years wages worth of bread would only give each person enough bread to take a bite. Then Andrew found a young boy that had a lunch with him of five barley loaves and two fish. Jesus told him that it would be enough. He thanked God for their provision and blessed the food and told His disciples to distribute the food to all who were hungry.

The entire company of people were fed and the disciples picked up twelve baskets of leftovers! When God blesses your offering, He can multiply it to fill whatever the need may be. At this time in His ministry, God filled them with enough and then some. God can do this for us today but we can’t ask for things like luxury items or a million dollars. God will take care of a need in your life when you have given a tithe or an offering of your money or your time. He may do it in your finances or in your health but He will take care of your needs.

Another way of looking at the loaves and fishes is that all around Galilee people were fishermen and depended upon the bounty of the lake to make their living. It was likely a meager living so they used barley rather than wheat to make their bread. It was cheaper and easier to grow.

We, as followers of Jesus today, should take His message with us everywhere we go. To the market, to our job, to the restaurant where we eat, everywhere we go…our faith in Jesus should show up in our daily lives. Our faith should be evident to all of those around us regardless of who they are or where we are. God knows who we may run into and who may be receptive to our message but we have to have a message to be useful to Him.