Honestly, what was that little boy doing there?

Remember the story of the boy that had five loaves of bread and two fishes, the very one that Jesus multiplied to feed over five thousand people? Yes, that boy, what was he doing there?

Each time I study that passage of scripture from John’s account, this question keeps running through my mind. Meanwhile, let’s read that account from scriptures:

John 6:
5 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?
6 And this he said to prove him: for he himself knew what he would do.
7 Philip answered him, Two hundred pennyworth of bread is not sufficient for them, that every one of them may take a little.
8 One of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, saith unto him
9 There is a lad here, which hath five barley loaves, and two small fishes: but what are they among so many?
11 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.

First, we have to understand the context of the conversation. Although many preachers have said that the boy sacrificed his food for a greater good, but the bible didn’t actually say that the boy gave the food. Instead, the record is that Jesus took it.

So in verse 5, Jesus asked his disciples to make arrangement to buy bread so that they could feed all those people, emphasy on the word “buy”. Jesus wanted to buy and feed them. While Phillip quickly expressed the insufficiency that may be in their account, Andrew discovered the boy that had five loaves of bread and two fishes, although he wondered what that little quantity of food would do for the crowd.

I googled barley loaves of bread to see the size, and if we’d be candid, then we would realize that there’s no way a boy of about seven to ten years old would finish five barley loaves of bread and two full fishes. My guess is that his parents were food traders and he was simply assisting his parents by being mobile with some food. The fact that his parents were not there and wasn’t mentioned also gives credit to this submission. Also, the Jesus that I know would have made a statement about the boy’s faith if it was a sacrificial offering.

So Jesus was looking for bread to buy, and within the crowd there was only one boy who had five loaves and two fishes that Jesus most likely paid for. Verse 11 says Jesus took the loaves. You can’t take what hasn’t been given to you, except you’ve purchased it.

Another thing is, the gathering was unplanned. John the Baptist had just been slaughtered and Jesus decided to hide himself in a secluded place for a while. Unfortunately, some people saw him and alerted many others. That’s how over five thousand people gathered around where Jesus was supposed to be hiding himself. If it was a planned gathering, then we could have assumed that the boy knew that he’d be hungry and that’s why he carried food. Nobody in the congregation planned for hunger, because they didn’t know what to expect. So the boy having food couldn’t have been a coincidence. He was a trader.

Now what is the moral of this whole story or analysis? Jesus was willing and ready to buy the food that will feed all those people, it was just unfortunate that all they could get was five loaves of bread and two fishes. Even if they had enough bread, they only had two hundred penny – as stated by Philip. It means they would not have been able to pay the bill.

But then, Jesus reveals that the key to possibilities isn’t just the availability of resources, but also the will and readiness to get it done. In other words, insufficiency is not a barrier as far as kingdom is concerned. Some of you have been trusting God to get something done, but your actions do not show that you’re willing and ready. Jesus didn’t asked them to check the account first to see if they have enough to feed the people, he told them straight up to look for where to buy bread to feed the people. The bible even said he was testing them because he himself knew what he would do.

So he already knew that they’d talk about the insufficiencies, but he also knew how to deal with insufficiencies. Once they secured the five loaves of bread and two fishes, he told them to sit in groups of fifties. Look at that, he started little by little. If you want to build a house and you can’t afford all the money now, use the little you have access to or start paying for a land little by little. If all that Jesus used was five loaves of bread and two fishes, then it means he didn’t even finish the two hundred penny in the account. This tells me that I can start building a house with less than a million in my account and still have a lot of balance when I’m done building.

Our sufficiency is of God. Jesus thanked God for the insufficient bread because he understood this principle. If you understand this, then you’d never complain about insufficiencies again. Your sufficiency is of God, not man, or any resources. So if I have to travel a long distance and all I have is a dollar, I’d thank God for it and hit the road, because my sufficiency is of God. If I have to feed a family and all we have is one plate of soup and a small portion of garri, I’d thank the Lord, because our sufficiency is of God.

Whoever taught Christians how to borrow in times of need took something really great from us. They made us believe that our sufficiency is of man when it’s not. Please, let’s get back to our root, our sufficiency is of God!

I hope this has brought enlightenment to someone.

Remain ever blessed, in Jesus precious name!

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