A Deeper Sign

In the account where a boy offers five barley loaves and two fish, questioning how they could suffice for a vast crowd, Jesus instructs the people to sit down to eat. The location was lush with grass, and around five thousand men took their places. Jesus then took the loaves, gave thanks, and shared them with those seated, doing the same with the fish, providing as much as they desired. Once everyone was satisfied, He told His disciples to collect the remaining fragments to prevent waste. They gathered twelve baskets full of leftovers from the five barley loaves. Witnessing this miracle, the people declared, “This is indeed the Prophet destined to come into the world.”

Many Christians, myself included, often reflect on this event and recognize that our Creator can alter the physical laws He established. While this is certainly true, I did not consider a more profound significance until Russ’ lesson today.

As 1 Corinthians 3:2 states, “I gave you milk to drink, not solid food; for you were not yet able to consume it. But even now you are not yet able.”

If we view the five loaves and two fish symbolically, they might represent the mature Christians within the Church—the solid food and meat. Jesus, the bread of life, is our model, and we are called to emulate Him. The meat symbolizes those very mature Brothers and Sisters who skillfully teach the Word, guiding others.

Though Christians are few in number globally, our message is the precise nourishment the starving world craves, and we are sent to share it. We rely on God to amplify our efforts, adding members to His Church as we gather them together. As Mark 16:15 declares, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation.”

Consider 1 Corinthians 3:5-9: “What then is Apollos? And what is Paul? Servants through whom you believed, even as the Lord gave opportunity to each one. I planted, Apollos watered, but God was causing the growth. So then neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but God who causes the growth. Now the one who plants and the one who waters are one (having the same mission); but each will receive his own reward according to his own labor. For we are God’s fellow workers; you are God’s field, God’s building.”

Do you see how the deeper significance of the loaves and fish reflects the Great Commission, our duty as faithful Christians?

Godspeed