Feeding 5,000 People 

Some years ago, I was talking to a man who had founded a large Christian radio network in the United States. It’s hugely successful now, but he took me back to its humble beginnings. 

His family put everything on the line. They didn’t have many supporters, and one day it came to the point where they had no money and no food in the house.

So what did he and his wife do? They sat on the kitchen floor and prayed… and prayed… and prayed. Presently, there was a knock on the front door. It was someone from their church who had brought them dinner!

God answered their prayer. He knew what He was doing.

With that story in mind, let’s look at another sign or miracle of Jesus: the feeding of the five thousand. You can read the story in John chapter 6.

It’s an amazing story in which Jesus feeds thousands of hungry people with just a few fish and loaves of bread. A truly mind-blowing miracle!

But let me ask you this question: what unlocked the power of this miracle? 

Jesus was ready, He had the power, He had the will, but what was the key?

Here’s a clue:

“One of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, said to him, ‘There is a boy here who has five barley loaves and two fish, but what are they for so many?’” – John 6:8-9 (ESV) 

It was the little boy! He could have kept his food—all he had—for himself. But he gave it all to God, willingly, and the Lord blessed it and multiplied it.

Remember the man I was telling you about earlier, the radio founder? He was just like the boy with the loaves and fishes. Like him, he’d put everything on the line! He’d offered up all he had, and the Lord blessed and multiplied it. Today, his network impacts millions of people each day with the love of Christ.

You and I, too, are like that little boy. When everything has run out—our money, our food, our resources, our friends, our energy—that time right there is the time not to hang on to the little we have left, but to offer it up to God with a willing heart. Just like that little boy. 

The Lord will take what you give Him and multiply it. You just watch and see.

Life application questions

• Read John 6:1-15 and put yourself in the disciples’ shoes. You see the problem: 5,000 hungry men to feed, but only two fish and five loaves. What’s going through your mind over Jesus’ crazy idea of feeding these people?
• And the little boy who offers up his all. What do you think of him? What would you have done had you been in his shoes?
• How do the little boy’s actions cause you to reflect on your commitment to Jesus and His mission? Do you trust Him to provide for you as Psalm 127:1-2 says?
• After you’ve seen it all happen—the problem, Jesus’ crazy idea, the little boy, the miracle, the collection of the twelve baskets full of leftovers—how have you been changed?