Read John 6:1-15, Jesus Feeds the 5,000

There’s Too Little, And It’s Too Late, But…

So the crowds are following Jesus because of all the miracles. He goes up onto a mountain and sees that they’ve followed him there, and he says to Philip: How are we going to feed all these people?

And Philip says, There are so many that 14k (200 denarii) wouldn’t be enough to feed all of them, even if each person only ate a little.

Then Andrew brings a young boy over and says, This boy has 5 loaves of bread and 2 fish, but what is that for so many?

Then Jesus says: Have everybody sit down.

So 5,000 men sat down, and the women and children who were with them. And Jesus took the loaves, gave thanks, and distributed the bread and fish to the people, as much as each one wanted. And when they finished eating they gathered up 12 baskets of leftovers.

Seeing the miracle he did, the people wanted to take Jesus and make him king of Israel by force. So Jesus withdrew.

God’s Math

I often feel like I have next to nothing to offer God. Do you ever feel that way? The great thing about this event is that it teaches us: It doesn’t matter how little we have. God doesn’t need much of anything to do great things. Multiplied thousands were fed with five loaves and two fish–and each one ate as much as they wanted.

I like God’s math better than my math.

Paraphrased from a Tim Campbell teaching, Sunday, 11-1-15, Grace Church, Lakeland, FL

[Image via Mad African – Creative Commons]