The Power of One: Five Loaves and Two Fishes
“When Jesus then lifted up his eyes, and saw a great company come unto him, he saith unto Philip, Whence shall we buy bread, that these may eat? And this he said to prove him: for he himself knew what he would do. Philip answered him, Two hundred pennyworth of bread is not sufficient for them, that every one of them may take a little. One of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, saith unto him, There is a lad here, which hath five barley loaves, and two small fishes: but what are they among so many? And Jesus said, Make the men 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 to the disciples, and the disciples to them that were set down; and likewise of the fishes as much as they would. When they were filled, he said unto his disciples, Gather up the fragments that remain, that nothing be lost. Therefore they gathered them together, and filled twelve baskets with the fragments of the five barley loaves, which remained over and above unto them that had eaten.” (John 6:5-13)
The Bible has many stories of individual people whom God used to make a big difference. The story of the boy with the loaves and fishes is one. By way of dramatization, Jesus saw a company of about 5,000 people coming his way. He asked Philip where they would buy bread to feed them all. Philip could not answer. At the same time, a young boy nearby obviously heard Jesus and Philip’s conversation.
He may have been a young laborer, maybe a shepherd. The loaves and fishes may have been the lunch his mother packed for him. Like many people also, he was fascinated by Jesus’ words and His miracles. Yet he heard Jesus and Philip talking about not having enough to feed all the people. His young heart felt convicted to give Jesus what he could. He approached Andrew.
“Hey, mister,” the boy told Andrew, holding out the bag, “I heard you’re short on food. Will this help?”
Andrew no doubt appreciated the boy’s generosity, but really, how much good would a kid’s lunch do? Yet he didn’t say, “No thanks, kid. Keep your lunch.” He brought the boy to Jesus and told Him what the boy had. He may have been a little embarrassed and seemed almost apologetic as he explained what the boy was offering. Jesus took the food. He gave thanks, passed it out to the disciples, and they passed it out to the people. As they worked, they were surprised to see the loaves and fishes did not run out!
The barley loaves apparently were not like we think of loaves of bread today. Each loaf may have been the size of a pancake or pita bread. Revelation 6:6, a prophecy of famine, also says, “And I heard a voice in the midst of the four beasts say, A measure of wheat for a penny, and three measures of barley for a penny;” As we see, barley was much cheaper than wheat, which indicates the boy was also not wealthy.
Yet what he had he gave to Jesus, and as one hymn says, “Little is Much when God is in It.” Here is one lesson: when you have a chance to talk about Jesus or do a kind deed, do it. The effort may cost you some time, money, or convenience, but you never know what God will do through one deed: “Be not forgetful to entertain strangers: for thereby some have entertained angels unawares.” (Hebrews 13:2)
To see how to have all your sins forgiven and eternal life by receiving Jesus as your personal Saviour, please go to www.clevelandbaptist.org, click “Helpful Links,” then “How Do I Go to Heaven?”
Brian Miller 7/12/2025