Feeding Five Thousand

One afternoon, an enormous crowd had followed Jesus out to a quiet hillside. There were thousands and thousands of people — men, women, and children — all gathered to hear him teach and to see him heal those who were sick.

As the sun began to go down, the disciples grew worried. They came to Jesus and said: “This is a remote place and it’s getting late. Send the crowd away so they can go and buy food for themselves.”

Jesus looked at them and said: “They don’t need to go away. You give them something to eat.”

The disciples looked at each other in disbelief. “We only have five loaves of bread and two fish!” they said. “That’s all.”

Somewhere in the crowd, there was a little boy who had brought his lunch: five small barley loaves and two little fish. It wasn’t very much. But he gave it to Jesus.

Jesus took the bread and the fish, looked up to heaven, and gave thanks to God. Then he broke the bread and gave it to his disciples to hand out to the crowd.

And something wonderful happened.

The food kept coming. The disciples kept handing it out — and there was always more. Every person ate and ate until they were full. Five thousand men, plus women and children. All fed from one small boy’s lunch.

When everyone had finished, the disciples collected what was left over. Twelve full baskets of leftovers.

This miracle showed something important: when we give what we have to Jesus — even if it seems small or not enough — he can do something extraordinary with it.

What do you have to offer?