Feeding The Crowd

Feeding the Crowd

Q: What food did Jesus use to feed the five thousand?

• a. bushels of manna from heaven
• b. five loaves of bread and two fish
• c. a net full of fish caught by Peter and John

When you plan to be gone for the day, you might pack a lunch or stop for fast food. But in Jesus’ time, burgers and fries weren’t an option, and on one particular day, no one had brought a sack lunch when they came to hear Jesus preach—except one boy.

Jesus taught for a long time, and everyone was hungry. There were more than five thousand people gathered, and Jesus wanted to feed all of them. It would take a lot of food to feed a crowd that size.

Andrew brought a boy to Jesus and said, “There’s a young boy here with five barley loaves and two fish. But what good is that with this huge crowd?” The disciples had already forgotten Jesus turned water into wine at the wedding. They questioned what good one lunch would do.

Jesus had the people sit down. He blessed the food and then began breaking it into pieces and passing them out. There was enough food for the whole crowd! After everyone was full, Jesus had the disciples collect the leftovers. There were 12 baskets of food left over. The people were amazed at Jesus’ power.

The disciples saw an impossible situation, but Jesus saw the opportunity for a miracle. The people had a need, and he did a miracle to meet that need.

For You

The boy’s small lunch was enough for Jesus to use. If you feel like what you have to offer Jesus—your money, your talents, your time—isn’t enough, remember he used the boy’s loaves of bread and fish to feed a multitude. Jesus can multiply what you have to meet needs too.

Answer: b

[Andrew said,] “There’s a young boy here with five barley loaves and two fish. But what good is that with this huge crowd?”   John 6:9

(The Whole Story: Matthew 14:13-21; Mark 6:30-44; Luke 9:10-17; John 6:1-15)