Who are you in the Jesus feeds 5,000 story?

I once heard about a lonely old woman who craved companionship — any kind of companionship — and heard there was a talking parrot at a local pet store. She went to the pet store and asked if the parrot really could talk. The owner promised her it would. She bought the parrot, hoping to at least hear another voice.

A week and a half later, she returned to the store, disappointed and a little annoyed. The parrot hadn’t said a word. “Well, did you buy it a mirror?” the store owner asked. “Every parrot needs a mirror!”

She bought a mirror. Another week passed, and still nothing. She went back to the pet store and the owner suggested she buy a ladder. She bought a ladder. It didn’t work either. Another week passed and the woman asked again. The shop owner had one more idea. “Try a swing,” he told her. She took out her credit card and went home with a little swing for the parrot’s cage.

A week later, she returned to the store, more furious than ever. “Did the parrot talk?” the store owner asked. “Talk?” she exclaimed. “My parrot died!”

“Well, did he say anything before he died?” the store owner asked.

“Yes. He said, ‘Don’t they have any food at that pet store?’”

If you’re like me, you think about food a lot. I love to eat. You can set the clock by my stomach. And I feel like I must be following in the footsteps of Jesus, because Jesus loved to eat, too. The New Testament describes Him eating in several accounts. One of them even happens after the Resurrection, when Jesus appears to the disciples and eats breakfast with them in John 21.

One of the most famous miracles in the Bible, the feeding of the 5,000, is about food. At this point in Jesus’ ministry, He was healing the sick and performing miracles, and a large crowd had started following Him everywhere. After crossing the Sea of Galilee, He climbed a hill to sit down and teach. Thousands gathered around Him, and they must have looked hungry. Scripture describes what happened next:

Jesus soon saw a huge crowd of people coming to look for him. Turning to Philip, he asked, “Where can we buy bread to feed all these people?” He was testing Philip, for he already knew what he was going to do. Philip replied, “Even if we worked for months, we wouldn’t have enough money to feed them!” Then Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, spoke up. “There’s a young boy here with five barley loaves and two fish. But what good is that with this huge crowd?” “Tell everyone to sit down,” Jesus said. So they all sat down on the grassy slopes. (The men alone numbered about 5,000.) Then Jesus took the loaves, gave thanks to God, and distributed them to the people. Afterward he did the same with the fish. And they all ate as much as they wanted. After everyone was full, Jesus told his disciples, “Now gather the leftovers, so that nothing is wasted.” So they picked up the pieces and filled twelve baskets with scraps left by the people who had eaten from the five barley loaves. When the people saw him do this miraculous sign, they exclaimed, “Surely, he is the Prophet we have been expecting!” (John 6:5-14 NLT).

I once heard about a little boy who was asked about his favorite Bible story, and the boy said, “I like the story where everybody loafs and fishes!” He didn’t quite get the point, but this is one of my favorite Bible stories, too. Jesus was on a roll at this point in His ministry. His fame was growing by the minute. People followed him everywhere because they wanted to see miracles, and it’s not lost on me that some of those who ate with Him that day were probably among the crowds crying “Crucify Him!” not long after.

Jesus had compassion on them anyway. And while the point of this story is the miracle itself, I don’t want you to miss something else from this passage. Besides Jesus, there are three primary characters in this story: Phillip, Andrew, and the little boy.

Phillip

Compared to the other disciples, Phillip was quiet and a deep thinker. Maybe that’s why Jesus tested Phillip in this story. Jesus knew what He was about to do, but He asked Phillip for a suggestion anyway. Phillip’s answer should have been a no-brainer. “You can do anything, Jesus! Just create a buffet!”

But that’s not what Phillip said. He must have been a very practical disciple because he responded with concern about how much money the disciples had, and whether it was enough to go shopping for lunch. He’d spent two years hearing from Jesus personally and seeing Him demonstrate miraculous power, but Phillip couldn’t see the obvious.

A lot of us are like Phillip. We know Jesus, but we need to be taught and retaught lessons. We view the world only with our human eyes and human resources instead of trusting in the power of God. It’s easy to tell everyone else to trust the Lord to provide. It’s much harder when you have to show this kind of trust yourself. Phillip failed that test.

Andrew

After Phillip worried about the budget, Andrew spoke up. Jesus hadn’t asked Andrew anything specifically, so this disciple must have had the confidence to be proactive and offer a solution. Aware of the little boy who’d brought lunch with him that day, Andrew pointed him out to Jesus. Then he said, “But what good will it do? There’s too many people.”

Good try, Andrew, but not quite. Let’s give Andrew the benefit of the doubt. Maybe he saw some potential. After all, he had the spiritual insight to have been one of the first disciples to follow Jesus after John the Baptist introduced them. Andrew went on to bring others to Jesus, including his brother Simon Peter. We tend to celebrate the Simon Peters of the world, but there would be no Simon Peters if there were no Andrews pointing the way to Christ.

Some of us are like Andrew. We have good intentions. We are spiritually perceptive, and we see a glimmer of potential in small things. But we don’t quite trust enough.

The little boy

What do we know about this little dude? We can assume he was poor. Yes, he brought lunch, but the Bible specifically says it was barley bread — the cheapest of all bread. A lot of people thought of barley as food for animals, and it would have been looked upon with contempt by some in that society. A barley bread lunch was like a meal of stale crackers.

But though the boy was poor, he was also generous. He willingly offered his entire lunch to Jesus, which set him apart from everyone else that day. The meal wasn’t much, but Jesus did something special with it. The boy himself wasn’t much, but Jesus did something special with him.

The boy’s simple and seemingly insignificant offering became the foundation for a great miracle, showing us that no contribution is too small when offered to Jesus in faith. Here’s the point of the story: That which is insufficient in our hands becomes significant when placed in the hands of Jesus.

Too many of us are like Phillip and our perspective on Jesus is too small. We forget what He’s done in the past. We struggle to see beyond our immediate circumstances. We lack the imagination to ask Him to do great things.

Too many of us are like Andrew. We have the right perspective, but we compare ourselves with what the rest of the world has to offer. We sell ourselves short, assuming our gifts are insignificant. (For the record, though, don’t miss the fact that Andrew brought the little boy to Jesus. He basically said, “I don’t have much to offer but I know someone who does.” Each of us may be able to be an Andrew for someone else.)

Not enough of us are like the little boy. All it takes is faith and trust and a willingness to share what we have, as insignificant as it might seem.

In life, we all will encounter difficult situations. Unexpected bills. Unexpected heartache. Problems with our families or struggles in our marriages. Sometimes we need a miracle but forget that God, working through us, is able “to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think” (Ephesians 3:20 NLT). And so, we don’t even ask. We don’t see any hope beyond our circumstances.

But in the story about feeding the 5,000, Jesus shows us that nothing is too big or too small for Him to do. God is still in the miracle business and can meet our needs. He can overcome, even when it seems impossible. All we have to do is give ourselves to Him, with faith and trust that He can use our humble gifts in spectacular ways.

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