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Mark 6:38
ESV And he said to them, “How many loaves do you have? Go and see.” And when they had found out, they said, “Five, and two fish.”
NIV How many loaves do you have?' he asked. 'Go and see.' When they found out, they said, 'Five--and two fish.'
NASB But He *said to them, 'How many loaves do you have? Go look!' And when they found out, they *said, 'Five, and two fish.'
CSB He asked them, "How many loaves do you have? Go and see."When they found out they said, "Five, and two fish."
NLT How much bread do you have?' he asked. 'Go and find out.' They came back and reported, 'We have five loaves of bread and two fish.'
KJV He saith unto them, How many loaves have ye? go and see. And when they knew, they say, Five, and two fishes.

What does Mark 6:38 mean?

Philip points out that two hundred days' wages would not be enough for everyone to get a bite of bread. Andrew finds a boy with five barely loaves and two fish (John 6:7–9). Jesus already knows how He will feed the people, but He allows the Twelve a moment to fully recognize the situation (John 6:5).

God does this to us, sometimes, as well. He may wait until the day before the rent is due to provide the money, or just give us time to fully understand all the nuances of the dilemma we're facing before coming through to rescue us. He isn't being cruel. He's giving us a better look at His power and authority. He's providing a chance to build our faith in Him so the next time we're faced with coming disaster we will be less anxious. If the Twelve hadn't counted the loaves and fish, it would have been easy for them to dismiss the miracle and assume Jesus had a source of food they didn't know about. Instead, the Twelve are fully aware that Jesus fed thousands from one boy's meal.

Barley (John 6:9) is usually fed to horses, although the poor make it into bread. The fish are probably dried since neither raw nor cooked fish keep very long. Like the boy's lunch, Jesus wants all of us, not just the part we think is suitable. Jesus takes what we have and transforms it into a blessing for others, but only if we let Him.
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