Who Took the Third Loaf of Bread?

I just heard this story from Yusuf Estes's site (www.shareislam.com), and find it interesting. The story was about Isa (Jesus) (Peace be upon him) and his companions during a journey. I hope we can all benefit from the moral and logic of the story.

Isa along with his companions were on a journey. During their journey, Isa, gave one of his apostles money and ordered him to buy some bread for their meal. The apostle did what Isa had ordered him to do and bought 3 loaves of bread for them to eat. However, the apostle was somehow afraid of not getting enough to eat, so he took the third loaf of bread and ate it for himself.

The apostle went back to Isa and gave him the 2 loaves of bread remaining. Isa, even though not knowing how many loaves of bread were bought, asked the apostle, “Where is the third loaf of bread?” The apostle replied, “There is no third loaf. The money was only enough to buy two.” Isa didn't reply, and all of them ate the two loaves of bread together.

In the middle of their journey, Isa and his companions hunted a deer. They killed the deer and they cooked it. While they were eating, Isa asked Allah to revive the deer. Just like that, the deer was revived and it jumped and ran away from them. And then Isa asked the apostle (who lied) again, “By the name of The One Who revived the deer, where is the third loaf of bread?” The apostle stood firm and replied, “There is no other loaf of bread, there were only two.” Again, Isa did not reply and they continued the journey.

Soon afterwards, they came to a flowing river. Isa asked his companions to hold his hands. Together, they walked on the water surface and crossed the river! Everyone was bemused. And once again, Isa asked the same apostle, “By the name of The One Who supplied this miracle, where is the third loaf of bread?” The apostle gave the same answer, “There was no third loaf of bread.” And again, Isa didn't reply and they continued their journey.

This time, they reached a dessert. Isa gathered 3 rocks, and asked Allah to turn them into gold. Isa gathered two huge chunks of gold and said, “We will divide this among us, and the one who took the last loaf of bread may have the third all to himself.” Voluntarily, the apostle who lied all along said, “It was I who took the third loaf of bread, so it is my right to have the last chunk of gold.” Isa then replied, “You can take all three, but you are no longer welcomed in this party.” The apostle (now ex-apostle) was so happy to receive the gold, that he didn't care about what Isa told him. He didn't even realize when Isa and the companions left.

While the ex-apostle was admiring the gold and dreaming about his future plans with it, three robbers spotted him. They stole the gold, and in the process, they also killed the ex-apostle. Afterwards, one of the robbers asked the other to buy some bread for them to eat. So off he went to buy bread (no, he didn't eat the bread). But greed whispered into his heart and he plotted to take all the gold for himself. How? He poisoned the bread that he bought. But little did he know, the other two robbers also plotted to take the gold for themselves, and planned to kill him. When the one who bought the bread came, the other two jumped him and killed him. In their joy, the two remaining robbers ate the bread (which was poisoned by the way) brought by the one they killed. And soon after, they died as well.

Soon after, Isa and his companions passed that spot and saw the dead ex-apostle, the three dead robbers, and the three chunks of gold. Isa as. then said, “This is what happens if you seek for worldly goods in life.” The gold was useless, and rather than doing good, it brought the death of the people who desired it.

Is bread worth "killing" honesty?

Is God still divine for us in life? In the world we know today, riches, money, a full tummy and other worldly goods are so tempting and virtually irresistible. We see many people sacrifice everything to get them. When we do get them, we always ask for more and more. Satisfaction is hard to achieve. And worst problem is that they become much more important than honesty, nobility, others lives, and even God Himself. I hope we are all among the ones who receive guidance, and be able to see the truth...