Scripture passage: John 6: 1-14, Jesus Feeds the Five Thousand
In this little passage we read that Jesus traveled to far shore of Galilee which is Tiberias. A huge crowd followed Him because they saw the miracles He had performed, and so they wanted to speak to Him and be healed. They forgot hunger and thirst and were attentively listening to His preaching. It was near to dusk. If they were sent back for food, they would faint and collapse. Jesus having compassion for them asked Philip where could He buy food, John 6: 5-6 , 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?” He asked this only to test him, for he already had in mind what he was going to do.. To this question Philip answers, John 6: 7, 7 Philip answered him, “It would take more than half a year’s wages to buy enough bread for each one to have a bite!” Here we see that Philip had little faith in Jesus.
Then Andrew, brother of Simon Peter came to Jesus with five loaves of bread and two fish. He asks Jesus how can we feed so many with this? Here too is an example of little faith. The disciples were with Jesus all the time and had seen Him perform miracles, yet they lacked faith that He was capable of feeding a multitude. The boy with the bread was just an instrument for the biggest miracle performed by our Lord Jesus Christ.
Now let’s take a look at the boy here:
1.His pure thoughts: His pure thoughts and desire to see and hear Jesus had led him to the mountainside at Tiberias. The boy instead of playing with friends took permission from home to hear Jesus preach. Have we created this eagerness in out children??
2. His preparation: He came to Jesus with good preparation. There must have been encouragement and support from his mother. This is because no matter how much time he listens to Jesus, his mother had packed food for him so that he is not distracted or leaves in between. Are we teaching qualities to our children and helping them imbibe it in their lives??
3. Pleasant approach: Among the crowd present there, how was it that this little boy stood out? He was not seated in the back of the crowd nor in a far corner. With the strong desire to see and hear Jesus, he must have have sat close to Jesus and His disciples. This is evident when Andrew brings him to Jesus, John 6: 8-9, 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?” Because he came up to Jesus, he is famous. Would our children also follow in the example of the little boy?? At the time of prayer and worship how devoted and attentive are our children??
4. Beautiful mind: Among the crowd, a small boy carried a basket with five loaves of bread and two fish for himself to satisfy his hunger. It was not necessary that the boy would have given his food willingly. Andrew must have understood that the boy was willing to share. Otherwise he would not have come with the boy and his basket. The boy had a beautiful mind and heart. He gave up his whole basket to the Lord. Look at what a blessing it turned to be. It fed more than five thousand people. The boy was humble and his humility brought him before Christ, James 4: 10, Humble yourself before the Lord, and He will lift you up.
This passage teaches us to have complete submission and surrender to out Lord. It teaches us how our submission to Lord can be turned into a blessing. The qualities in the boy are valuable and we should try and cultivate them in our children and ourselves.
2 Timothy 1: 7, For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love and self-discipline.
AMEN
Jehovah Roi 