John 6:1-14

6 After this Jesus went to the other side of the Sea of Galilee, also called the Sea of Tiberias.^[a] 2 A large crowd kept following him because they saw the signs that he was doing for the sick. ³ Jesus went up the mountain and sat down there with his disciples. ⁴ Now the Passover, the festival of the Jews, was near. ⁵ When he looked up and saw a large crowd coming toward him, Jesus said to Philip, “Where are we to buy bread for these people to eat?” ⁶ He said this to test him, for he himself knew what he was going to do. ⁷ Philip answered him, “Two hundred denarii would not buy enough bread for each of them to get a little.” ⁸ One of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, said to him, ⁹ “There is a boy here who has five barley loaves and two fish. But what are they among so many people?” ¹⁰ Jesus said, “Make the people sit down.” Now there was a great deal of grass in the place, so they^[b] sat down, about five thousand in all. ¹¹ Then Jesus took the loaves, and when he had given thanks he distributed them to those who were seated; so also the fish, as much as they wanted. ¹² When they were satisfied, he told his disciples, “Gather up the fragments left over, so that nothing may be lost.” ¹³ So they gathered them up, and from the fragments of the five barley loaves, left by those who had eaten, they filled twelve baskets. ¹⁴ When the people saw the sign that he had done, they began to say, “This is indeed the prophet who is to come into the world.”

There are multiple accounts in the gospels of the Feeding of the 5000. I like the way John tells it, because it identifies the provider of the 5 loaves and 2 fish as a boy in the crowd. Now, we know that the real impact of the story is the miraculous way Jesus feeds 5000 hungry people (and leaving 12 baskets of leftovers) with such a meager amount of food. But I love the way that the generosity of a boy in the crowd helped to pave the way for Jesus’ work. The boy shared what he had, probably his lunch, because he saw other hungry people around. Sharing is caring. And God can bless and multiply what we share in incredible ways.

Prayer

God, take what I am willing to share today, and work your miracle of multiplying the care. In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen.