I Said YesSample

A Crowd Meets Jesus

Jesus performed many miracles throughout His ministry here on earth. Today you’re going to read about one of the most famous. And it all started when two people decided to say “Yes!” to Jesus. 

The first person was one of Jesus’ disciples. His name was Andrew, and he was the brother of Peter. If you’ve read the Gospels, you probably recognize Peter’s name. He was one of the most prominent disciples as part of Jesus’ inner circle. But his lesser-known brother Andrew has always been one of my favorite disciples. You may be wondering, why?

Because almost every time you read about Andrew in the Bible he’s bringing someone to meet Jesus! Did you know that it was actually Andrew who went and told Peter that they found the Messiah in John 1:41? And in today’s story, it’s Andrew who brought a kid with a lunch to meet Jesus.

One day, Jesus and his disciples ran into a daunting challenge. Looking at the massive crowd that had followed him to the other side of the Sea of Galilee, Jesus came upon thousands of people who had a pressing need. They were hungry! Wanting to test the growth of His disciples, Jesus asked them where they might buy some bread for the people to eat.

Philip, who we met yesterday at a later point in his life, only saw the impossible. But Andrew saw what could be possible with God. Andrew said, “Yes!” to following Jesus into what seemed like an impossible situation, and experienced the supernatural miracle of the feeding of the 5,000.

That’s what saying “Yes!” to faith in God has the power to do. We can actually be part of God’s solution to the real needs in the world around us. When we say “Yes!” to following Jesus, we choose to serve Him in faith. Andrew was a man of faith who believed Jesus could do the impossible. Jesus used Andrew’s faith and his passion to include others.

Did you know that Jesus wants to use your gifts and talents too?

But there’s a second person in the story who says, “Yes!” to Jesus — the kid with the lunch. That boy was probably a young teenager. By faith, he gave what he had and saw God use it to do the miraculous. There is only one miracle of Jesus recorded in all four of the Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke and John) and it happened because of a boy who simply said, “Yes!” to Jesus.

Can you imagine being that boy? You’re approached by Andrew who says something like, “Hey, I noticed you have a sack lunch there. How would you feel about Jesus using that to feed everyone else here? Yes, I literally mean the thousands of men, women and children standing right in front of you!” 

It amazes me that the boy responded, “Yes!” What he’s essentially saying is, “Jesus, have at it! I don’t know how You could use something so small to do something so big, but I believe You can do it. Take everything I have – it's not much, but here’s my lunch!”

You may think what you have couldn’t be used for anything of significance, but God begs to differ! God created you for a purpose, as you’ll read in Psalm 139 today. He put so much thought into who you are, how you’re wired and the passions within your heart. 

No matter how small you may think your gift is, never underestimate what God is able to do with it. The question is, will you surrender them to Him?

When you say “Yes!” to Jesus, you surrender your gifts, talents and abilities to be used for God’s amazing purposes. 

  

Reflection Questions

1. How do you think you would have responded had you been one of Jesus’ disciples? The boy? In the crowd?
2. Is there anything in your life you might consider to be small and insignificant   that could be used by God?
3. What are some of the talents, gifts and abilities God has given to you? What are some of the ways you could use them to serve God and others?