The Five Loaves and Two Fish
Over in John 6 we read what I claim as my favorite recorded miracle in the entire Bible -- the miracle of the 5 loaves and two fishes. In John 6:1-14, the BIble says,
"After these things Jesus went over the Sea of Galilee, which is the Sea of Tiberias. Then a great multitude followed Him, because they saw His signs which He performed on those who were diseased. And Jesus went up on the mountain, and there He sat with His disciples. Now the Passover, a feast of the Jews, was near. Then Jesus lifted up His eyes, and seeing a great multitude coming toward Him, He said to Philip, “Where shall we buy bread, that these may eat?” But this He said to test him, for He Himself knew what He would do. Philip answered Him, “Two hundred denarii worth of bread is not sufficient for them, that every one of them may have a little.” One of His disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, said to Him, “There is a lad here who has five barley loaves and two small fish, but what are they among so many?” Then Jesus said, “Make the people sit down.” Now there was much grass in the place. So the men sat down, in number about five thousand. And Jesus took the loaves, and when He had given thanks He distributed them to the disciples, and the disciples to those sitting down; and likewise of the fish, as much as they wanted. So when they were filled, He said to His disciples, “Gather up the fragments that remain, so that nothing is lost.” Therefore they gathered them up, and filled twelve baskets with the fragments of the five barley loaves which were left over by those who had eaten. Then those men, when they had seen the sign that Jesus did, said, “This is truly the Prophet who is to come into the world.”
Here's an example of Jesus asking his disciples what many would call a "dumb question." Have you ever asked a dumb question? Growing up, my parents would often ask me a dumb question in hopes I would learn something from that question. Jesus asked the question, "Where can we buy bread, that we can feed all of these people?" Why did Jesus ask this question, especially when the Bible says he KNEW what he was going to do?
Simple: To prove that this logically could not happen, short of a miracle.
The way Jesus proved who he was in the New Testament was by doing things that logically couldn't happen. He raised the dead, he walked on water, he fed 5,000 men with five loaves and two fish. He verified who he was by these works. Speaking of 5,000 men, you ever realize that the Bible only says 5,000 men? What about the women and children? Scholars estimate that Jesus fed over 12,000 people this day -- all with five loaves and two fish. Yes, truly this is a miracle. This could not logically happen.
But then, here comes this little boy. The BIble doesn't say much about this little boy, other than Andrew finding him, bringing him before the Lord and saying, "Lord, I know this is a dumb question, but could we use these five loaves and two fish?" Jesus can now perform his miracle. But, what happens to the little boy?
The Bible doesn't say!
We should follow this lad's example. Bring everything you have to the Lord, and get out of the way. Don't spend your time trying to teach God what to do with your contribution.
Give what you have to the Lord, and get out of the way.
