“One of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, saith unto him, There is a lad here, which hath five barley loaves, and two small fishes: but what are they among so many? And Jesus said, Make the men sit down. Now there was much grass in the place. So the men sat down, in number about five thousand,” John 6:8-10.

This miracle is recorded in three places, Matthew 14:17-21; Mark 6:37, Luke 9:13 and a similar miracle in Matthew 15:34 and Mark 8:5. Only in John is the lad mentioned.

JOHN’S GOSPEL IS ALL ABOUT THE LORD JESUS BEING ‘GOD MANIFEST IN THE FLESH’.

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God, . . . And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.” John 1:1, 14.

1. Being God, nothing escapes His notice. Thus the actions of the boy are noted. That is something that we all need to learn and never forget. “And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth,” John 1:14.

“Behold, the eye of the LORD is upon them that fear him, upon them that hope in his mercy,” Psalm 33:18.

“The eyes of the LORD are upon the righteous, and his ears are open unto their cry,” Psalm 34:15.

2. Small actions such as this are noted in order for the Lord to reward the one who acted so. “And whosoever shall give to drink unto one of these little ones a cup of cold water only in the name of a disciple, verily I say unto you, he shall in no wise lose his reward,” Matthew 10:42. Matt 25:34-40, note “ye gave me drink”, verse 35.

I have no doubt that this lad volunteered his food, likely because he heard the discussion between Philip and the Saviour and he wanted to do what he could to assist the Saviour.

3. The actions of the Lord brought him immediate blessings but it is at Christ’s return that he will enter fully in the benefits of his actions.

(1) He witnessed a wonderful miracle wrought through his “five barley loaves, and two small fishes”.

(2) He tasted of the wonders of Christ’s power. Verse 12, ‘they were filled.’

(3) He likely went home with what he had come with and more, verse 13. He was none the poorer for giving away his food to the Saviour.