He was probably alone. There is no mention of parents or friends with him. He was just a “lad”; that is what John calls him in John chapter 6.

The boy had five barley loaves and two small fishes. This was the lunch of the poor, and he probably carried it in a pouch or small basket.

It was late in the evening, and you have to wonder if his mother was anxiously waiting for him to return home. Maybe he was traveling to spend the night with a relative. Maybe he had been following Jesus all day, watching Him heal the sick and hearing Him preach to the multitudes.

For whatever reason, he found himself in the presence of our Lord; and he was about to become famous—not because of who he was, but because of what he did.

Matthew 14 relates the story of how King Herod had put John the Baptizer to death. The disciples claimed John’s body and then went to tell Jesus. Of course, Jesus was sad to hear about his cousin’s death, and He boarded a ship to try to have some private time to grieve. The multitudes of people that had been following Jesus had other ideas. They came out of the cities and followed Him on foot.

When Jesus saw the crowd, Matthew says, “he was moved with compassion toward them, and he healed their sick” (Matthew 14:14 KJV).

So, Jesus was in a location away from the cities with a crowd of people, some of whom He had just healed. It was evening, and the people were hungry. The disciples had no money to buy food for this many people, and they wanted Jesus to send the people away.

Jesus tested Philip by asking him where they could buy food for the people. We know it was a test because the scripture says, “for he himself knew what he would do” (John 6:7 ESV). He wanted to see if Philip would expect a miracle.

Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, told the Lord about the boy with the loaves and fishes. With that small amount of food, Jesus fed 5,000 men; and they took up 12 baskets of leftovers!

Maybe that little boy followed Jesus like the crowd, but I doubt he dreamed that his small lunch would become a miracle that would surely be talked about for centuries.

What lessons do we get from this chance meeting?

First, one small act of kindness can make a difference. We don’t know that Jesus ever saw this boy again, but he is never mentioned again. He was in the right place at the right time, and his sharing his small lunch fed 5,000 men and many others.

Jesus said in speaking of those who would be with Him in His kingdom, “For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me” (Matthew 25:35). Every act of kindness we do for someone, we are doing it to Jesus.

Second, it is often the little things that bring about the greatest results. The disciples once asked Jesus, “Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?” (Matthew 18:1). Jesus brought a child and set him in the middle of the group and told them that they must become like children in order to enter the kingdom of heaven. He said, “Whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 18:2).

Third, in whatever state we find ourselves, Jesus has compassion on us. Whether we are sad, lonely, sick, hungry, or bereaved, Jesus feels our pain. Why? He feels our pain because He has experienced all of those things. He was sad and bereaved when He lost His friend Lazarus and when He lost a member of His family, John the Baptizer.

Jesus was lonely and hungry when He was tempted by the devil in Matthew 4, and He was sick and in pain when He was beaten and hung on the cross, Matthew 27.

Fourth, we must have compassion on our fellowman. I don’t know how willing this boy was to give up his lunch; but if he had been following Jesus and had seen him heal the sick, he would have known Jesus was capable of using his small lunch in a great way.

This boy knew what it was like to be poor, yet he shared what little he had. It is our obligation to do likewise.

“But if anyone has the world’s goods and sees his brother in need, yet closes his heart against him, how does God’s love abide in him? Little children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth” (First John 3:17-18).

When we chance to meet someone in need, may we remember the lad with the five loaves and two fishes.

Sandra Oliver