Thursday, 20 November 2025
And they said to Him, “We have here only five loaves and two fish.” Matthew 14:17
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“And they, they say to Him, ‘Not we have here, if not five loaves and two fish’” (CG).
In the previous verse, Jesus told the disciples that the great crowd did not need to go away. Instead, He instructed the disciples to give them something to eat. In response to that, we read, “And they, they say to Him, ‘Not we have here.’”
The way they began their statement tells us the disciples’ words indicate a complete lack, thus highlighting the nonstarter idea of feeding such a vast multitude. With that stated, they qualify their lack, saying, “if not five loaves and two fish.”
In other words, “We don’t have anything, well… except these five loaves and two fish.” It is a way of diminishing the very thought that they possessed enough to feed the multitudes. They have highlighted the impossibility of meeting Jesus’ demand. But they had overlooked the truth later stated by Jesus in Luke 18:27, “The things which are impossible with men are possible with God.”
As for the numbers, five is the number of grace. Two is the number of division and difference. When there are two, there will be a contrast and yet a confirmation of a whole. For example, there are two testaments, they contrast between law and grace, and yet they confirm the whole counsel of the word of God. There is day and night. They contrast, and yet they confirm the totality of a day. Etc.
Bread in Scripture signifies that which physically sustains man. In fact, the word bread is used synonymously with food in general. There is also the connection to manna, which sustained Israel in the wilderness for forty years, it being the “bread from heaven” (Exodus 16:4, etc.).
Fish signify multiplication and increase, and thus abundance.
Jesus will take these few bits of food and use them in accord with these numbers and meanings to perform a miracle that continues to astound God’s people to this day.
Life application: When Jesus said that nothing is impossible with God, He was speaking in the sense of ability to perform. There are certain things God cannot do. For example, God cannot be something He is not. He is love. Therefore, He will always be loving. His judgment and the execution of His judgment are not vindictive or hateful. Rather, it is just and righteous.
He cannot violate one of His attributes because they define His very nature. God also cannot do something that is illogical. He cannot make a two which is a three. Such things are contrary to logic, and therefore what He does will be in accord with what is logical.
Having said that, there is nothing to prohibit God from producing abundance out of that which appears to be lacking. We may not understand the mechanics of how He caused a bit of bread and a couple of fish to reproduce in such an astonishing manner, but that does not mean He violated the principles of logic or nature in order to accomplish this feat.
Study up on what God’s attributes are. Consider His ways. Ponder Him from what is logical, orderly, beautiful, and loving. As you read the Bible, see how what you know apart from Scripture about the nature of God is actually reflected in God as He is presented in Scripture.
As you consider Him and His nature while comparing that knowledge to how He is presented in the Bible, you will discover that the Bible accurately portrays Him. It is a reliable testimony to God’s workings in creation and in the redemptive process detailed there.
Glorious God, You are perfect in all Your ways. Thank You for Your hand of care for us, as it is recorded in Your word. We are assured of who You are and what You have done as we read its pages. Thank You for this reliable witness and testimony to us, O God. Amen.