Nineveh Presbyterian Church

The Kid at the Bridge

It’s been about twenty years now from the only time I met my Lord, Jesus. What an experience, what a blessing, what a memory. I was twelve and had been fishing in the afternoon at the bridge over the main stream that runs down into the Sea of Galilee. The one that’s way up on the mountain above the village; the bridge the shepherds use to get the sheep flocks up to the high mountain pastures. I had done pretty well this day, I had caught two fish and I had also earned five small barley loaves working at my uncle Seth’s farm that morning. I was just about ready to call it quits and take the fish and bread home to my Mom when this big group of people came up the road and crossed the bridge. The Lord was in front, talking with a bunch of men and behind them were more people than I’d ever seen in one place.

As he crossed the bridge, the Master smiled at me and asked how the fishing was today. There wasn’t even a question about it, I fell in line with the ten or twelve guys who were up front with him and tagged along. They finally reached that one high meadow that’s shaped like a bowl and the Master sat down on a rock up on one end of it as the people just all settled down around him on the grass. He spoke in a soft powerful voice that everyone could hear and told us of God’s love for us. He taught for quite a few hours but there was no awareness of time as you listened.

It was starting to become dusk and turning to Philip, he asked, “Where can we buy bread to feed all these people?” I think, in retrospect, that he was testing Philip. He already knew what he was going to do.

Philip was one of those ten or twelve that stayed close to him, he replied, “Even if we worked for months, we wouldn’t have enough money to feed them!”

Then another one, Andrew, I’ve since learned that he is Simon Peter’s brother, spoke up. “There’s a young boy here with five barley loaves and two fish. But what good is that with this huge crowd?”

That was me.

 “Tell everyone to sit down,” Jesus said. So they all sat down on the grassy slopes. (The men alone numbered about 5,000). Then Jesus took the loaves, gave thanks to God, and distributed them to the people. Afterward he did the same with the fish. And they all ate as much as they wanted. After everyone was full, Jesus told his disciples, “Now gather the leftovers, so that nothing is wasted.” So they picked up the pieces and filled twelve baskets with scraps left by the people who had eaten my two fish and five barley loaves.

When the people saw this miraculous event, they exclaimed, “Surely, he is the Prophet we have been expecting!” When Jesus saw that they were ready to force him to be their king, he slipped away into the hills by himself. He was just gone. Philip, Andrew, Simon Peter and the others dismissed the people and they all went back down the mountain. They gave me way more than I had had to begin with and I took that food home to my Mom and Dad.

I’ve been given the gift of faith to believe that Jesus Christ is my personal savior, the son of God the Father. I have given my life to Jesus and received the Holy Spirit. However, on that day, I was the kid at the bridge and I witnessed one of the great miracles of Jesus.

note: this story is based on the Gospel of John, Chapter 6, Verses 1-14

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