DAY Nine of Twenty-one "Son of God"

DAY Nine of Twenty-one "Son of God"

John 6:11

11Then 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.

John 6:1-14

1After this, Jesus crossed over to the far side of the Sea of Galilee, also known as the Sea of Tiberias.

2A huge crowd kept following him wherever he went, because they saw his miraculous signs as he healed the sick.

3Then Jesus climbed a hill and sat down with his disciples around him.

4(It was nearly time for the Jewish Passover celebration.)

5Jesus 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?”

6He was testing Philip, for he already knew what he was going to do.

7Philip replied, “Even if we worked for months, we wouldn't have enough money to feed them!”

8Then Andrew, Simon Peter's brother, spoke up.

9“There's a young boy here with five barley loaves and two fish. But what good is that with this huge crowd?”

10“Tell everyone to sit down,” Jesus said. So they all sat down on the grassy slopes. (The men alone numbered about 5,000.)

11Then 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.

12After everyone was full, Jesus told his disciples, “Now gather the leftovers, so that nothing is wasted.”

13So they picked up the pieces and filled twelve baskets with scraps left by the people who had eaten from the five barley loaves.

14When the people saw him do this miraculous sign, they exclaimed, “Surely, he is the Prophet we have been expecting!”

SORTING IT OUT This is a story about human need. A large crowd is following Jesus. After seeing Him miraculously heal the sick, perhaps they hope He can heal them, too. Perhaps they have loved ones who are ill. Perhaps they’re simply curious.

Whatever the motive, they end up en masse on a hillside, with nothing to eat. Among the thousands of assembled people, the Gospel of John tells us one little boy had all of five loaves of bread and two small fish.

Jesus could have opened the heavens and rained down manna like God did for the Israelites in the desert. He could have simply caused food to appear in everyone’s hands. But instead, He took what the little the boy had to offer and multiplied it.

We never know when God is going to use our small gifts to do big things. What if the boy had balked or tried to keep his food for himself? Yes, Jesus could still have performed a miracle. But the young boy—and the assembled crowd—would have missed out on the big blessing God had planned for them.

Jesus had big plans for the boy’s small lunch. And Jesus has big plans for our offerings too, no matter how small.

YOUR TURN Memorize John 6:35 Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will not be hungry, and he who believes in me will never be thirsty.

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