Contemplative Bible Reading

John 6:8-9 (New International Version 2011)

⁸ Another of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, spoke up,⁹ “Here is a boy with five small barley loaves and two small fish, but how far will they go among so many?”

These verses are from the feeding of the 5,000 as recorded in the Gospel of John. Andrew bring the boy with the five loaves (more like biscuits) of bread and two fish.

Notice – these are barley loaves, not wheat bread loaves. Barley is used to feed horses and cows. And barley is used to kill algae in ponds. Yum yum! Barley is used to make beer and distilled liquors.

Barley is not used much for great-tasting bread.

The people who came to Jesus for food were destitute. They were following Jesus in the wilderness because he was healing sick people, and these followers were sick and hungry and without recourse.

Not only did Jesus have little food to feed the multitude, He had lousy food.

NOTE: Today, barley bread is making a comeback of sorts as rich, over-fed, health-conscious people in the developed world are learning that there are health benefits to eating barley bread. Poor, under-feed, I’m-just-trying-to-live people in the non-developed world just want something to eat.