Philip Fails the Exam
August 7, 2020
Commentary
There were great multitudes that followed Jesus everywhere He went because they did not want to miss the tremendous excitement of the “signs” which he did (vv. 1-4). They had just traveled along the northern shore of the sea of Galilee through rugged terrain to get to where He was. Jesus was determined to do something for these people. At the same time, He used this occasion to give His disciples what we can call a mid-term exam. They had seen the mighty power of God demonstrated many times. Jesus used this occasion to test their faith.
We cannot be sure why, but He chose to examine Philip first, but on this mid-term exam he got a big “F.” Jesus said to Philip, “How are we to buy bread so that these people may eat?” (v. 5) Jesus knew that Philip could not possibly answer His question, as there were no stores nearby and they had very little money (v. 6). In other words, Philip was presented with a problem that had no answer.
Philip said “we don’t have enough money” (v. 7). “We can’t do this.” He gave up in despair, as he thought there was no way this problem could be solved. At this point Jesus had the people sit down, and He miraculously feeds them, having 12full baskets of leftovers (vv. 8-14). What do we do in similar situations? Feed the multitudes? Do we respond like Philip? Many times, churches and individuals tell missionaries that they would like to help, but that they do not have enough money to give. Jesus never asks us to start accumulating more before we begin to minister. All He wants is what we have now. We begin with what we have and let Him do the rest. If we are thankful for what we have, God will make it go farther than we can imagine.
Application
God, please forgive me for being so much like Philip. Help me to see the multitudes who are lost and look for ways I can help to feed them spiritually.
John 6:1– 14 (NET)
1 After this Jesus went away to the other side of the Sea of Galilee (also called the Sea of Tiberias). 2 A large crowd was following him because they were observing the miraculous signs he was performing on the sick. 3 So Jesus went on up the mountainside and sat down there with his disciples. 4 (Now the Jewish Feast of the Passover was near.) 5 Then Jesus, when he looked up and saw that a large crowd was coming to him, said to Philip, “Where can we buy bread so that these people may eat?” 6 (Now Jesus said this to test him, for he knew what he was going to do.) 7 Philip replied, “200 silver coins worth of bread would not be enough for them, for each one to get a little.” 8 One of Jesus’ disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, said to him, 9 “Here is a boy who has five barley loaves and two fish, but what good are these for so many people?”
10 Jesus said, “Have the people sit down.” (Now there was a lot of grass in that place.) So the men sat down, about 5,000 in number. 11 Then Jesus took the loaves, and when he had given thanks, he distributed the bread to those who were seated. He then did the same with the fish, as much as they wanted. 12 When they were all satisfied, Jesus said to his disciples, “Gather up the broken pieces that are left over, so that nothing is wasted.” 13 So they gathered them up and filled twelve baskets with broken pieces from the five barley loaves left over by the people who had eaten.
14 Now when the people saw the miraculous sign that Jesus performed, they began to say to one another, “This is certainly the Prophet who is to come into the world.”