Article March 17, 2014 Issue

One boy’s food fed thousands

Mary Trammell

Everywhere Jesus went, large crowds followed him to see the wonderful things he did—healing sick people and preaching about God’s kingdom. A young boy followed thousands of men and women and children on foot. It was probably his mom who gave him some food for the trip—five small barley loaves and a couple of dried fish.

When the crowd finally caught up with Jesus, the boy was able to get close to Jesus. He must have seen how the Master felt nothing but love for all who came to him. To Jesus, they were like lost sheep without a shepherd to guide them. So he spoke to them tenderly about God and healed the ones who were sick.

When it started getting dark, Jesus wanted to give food to the people. The boy probably noticed that Jesus’ disciples were anything but happy about this. How could they possibly take care of all those tired, hungry men, women, and children? the disciples wondered. They begged Jesus to send the crowds away. But he wouldn’t do it. There were no villages nearby, and he didn’t want the people to faint with hunger.

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