Lifting up his eyes, then, and seeing that a large crowd was coming toward him, Jesus said to Philip, “Where are we to buy bread, so that these people may eat?” He said this to test him, for he himself knew what he would do. John 6:5-6
Jesus sees a large crowd coming toward Him. There were 5,000 men (6:10), so we can reasonably assume that there were a similar number of women, and if there were a couple of children for each man and woman, we are talking about a crowd of nearly 20,000 people.
This is a massive crowd, and Jesus turns to Philip and says, “Where are we to buy bread, so that these people may eat?”
Philip was from Bethsaida (John 1:44), which was the nearest town to this deserted place, so he was back on his home turf. And Jesus is essentially saying to him, “Philip, you are from around here. Where can we buy bread so that these people can have something to eat?”
Why did Jesus ask this question? He Himself knew what He would do (6:6). He knew that He would reveal His glory by feeding this vast crowd of people.
If Jesus already knew what He would do, why does He ask Philip this question? The answer: “He said this to test him” (6:6). When Jesus tests your faith, it is always so that your faith will grow. “The testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing” (Jas. 1:3-4).
What we have here is an inside look at how Jesus grows faith in His disciples.
How has your faith been tested lately? How did you deal with it?
