Jesus – Five Barley Loaves and Two Fishes

On one occasion the Lord Jesus said to His disciples, “Let us go to a desert place where there will be no people around and you can have a rest for a little while.” There had been great crowds of people gathered around them from early morning even into the night. Often they were so busy during the day that they had no time even to eat.

Sick and lonely people came to be healed and comforted while some came from curiosity. The disciples with Jesus got into a boat and headed out into the lake to find a quiet place where they could pray and talk together and where Jesus could teach them many things that He could not teach the multitudes. But the people left on the shore saw what they were doing, and they started on foot around the edge of the lake.

People came hurrying from the cities and towns to join them until there was again a great multitude. When Jesus and His disciples reached the place, they found this great group of people there. Jesus was sorry for them, because they were like sheep who did not have a shepherd to look after them. He began to teach them many things. Even though he was tired and hungry, Jesus never thought about Himself but spent all His time and His strength with the people who needed Him so badly.

All that afternoon He taught the people and helped them. As the sun began to go down in the west, the disciples came to Jesus and said, “Send the people away now. It is getting dark and they are hungry. There is no place here to buy food because this is a desert place, They must go to the villages nearby before thy can buy anything to eat.” The Lord Jesus looked at the tired and hungry people. Then He said to His disciples, “They do not need to go away, we can feed them here.”

Philip one of Jesus’ disciples said, “Why two hundred shillings worth of food would only be enough for everyone to have just a very little and not a full meal.” Perhaps this was more money then the disciples had between them. The Lord Jesus was testing Philip and the other disciples to see if they believed that He could feed that large crowd. They had seen Him turn water into wine, heal many sick people, and do many miracles. But they had not yet learned that He was the Son of God with power to do anything.

Then Andrew, another disciple, came to Jesus, he too had been wondering where they could get food for all these hungry people. He said, “I found a little boy here who has five barley loaves and two fishes, but what are they among so many people?” Jesus said to them, “Tell all the people to sit down.” It was a grassy spot, and the people sat down in groups of fifty and one hundred so that it was easy to count them and to move around among them. All the people were watching eagerly to see what Jesus would do. I wonder what the little boy thought as he gave his lunch into Jesus’ hands and stood there waiting to see what would happen?

The Lord Jesus took the five little barley loaves and the two fish into His hands. Then He bowed His head and prayed, thanking God for the food which He had provided for them. Then He broke the barley loaves and the fish into small pieces. He gave some to His disciples and told them to pass them to all the people. Each one was to take as much as he wanted. No matter how much a hungry person took from the basket there was always more in it.

Perhaps the people farthest away wondered if there would be any left when the disciples reached them, but there was plenty for everyone. Everyone eat all they wanted and still there was more! When no one could eat another bite, Jesus said to His disciples, “Take your baskets and pick up all that is left over so that nothing is wasted.” The disciples moved through the crowds again, picking up all the broken pieces and everything that was left. They each had a full basket when they came back, twelve baskets in all. This was much more than they had when they started.

Just as the Lord Jesus made wine in a moment, so this was a miracle. Bread is made from flour and flour from grain. God sends the rain and sunshine that makes them grow. Here He made bread in a moment instead of over a period of months.

By: Julia Shipley

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