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NASB | John 6:9 "There is a lad here who has five barley loaves and two fish, but what are these for so many people?" |
AMPLIFIED 2015 | John 6:9 "There is a little boy here who has five barley loaves and two fish; but what are these for so many people?" |
Bible Question:
Thanks for your reply. That is very helpful. I agree. My thought was that I have always heard from the pulpit that it was his lunch and, as you say, the scripture does not say that it was his lunch. I agree, we need to be careful not to build a whole moral code or business practice around this one segment of scripture. However, what would have happened if the boy had held tight to his goods? I think that Jesus would have found another way and the boy would have missed the chance to be part of the miracle. I’m also not clear on whether the boy was paid for his goods or if he gave them without pay. Not sure that it matters, just interesting to think aobut. |
Bible Answer: Dave - There are none of the accounts of Jesus' miracles or parables into which one could not insert imaginative 'what if' questions. Concerning the boy who had the fish and bread, one could ask, "What if the fish had been toxic and the bread molded? What if the boy had refused to hand over his wares, or had asked an outrageous price for them? What if he had stolen the fish and bread from his sick grand-mother? ..... We ask ourselves who is the focus on in this passage? On the boy, the crowds, or on Jesus? And what is the central point of the discourse? The generosity of the boy, the hunger of the crowd, or the compassion of Jesus? ...... Would it add anything of real value to the narrative if we knew the background of the boy, where he got his fish, what species they were, and whether they were cooked or raw; and of the bread, who baked it, when they baked it, and how the boy happened to come into possession of it? .... The point I am trying to make, however poorly, is that the Bible may not always give us all the details. There are things we'd perhaps like to be able to read more about for our own enjoyment and to satisfy our own bump of curiosity. But it may be better that it doesn't. Too much detail has a way of obscuring the main points sometimes. And it's the main points of Scripture that are so vitally important to us. --Hank |