MONDAY, JANUARY 23
5 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?” 6 He said this to test him, for he himself knew what he would do. 7 Philip answered him, “Two hundred denarii worth of bread would not be enough for each of them to get a little.” 8 One of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, said to him, 9 “There is a boy here who has five barley loaves and two fish, but what are they for so many?”
-John 6:5-9
Why Does God Test Us?
John 6:5-9 sets the stage for Jesus’ miracle of “Feeding of the 5,000”. This is the one miracle in Jesus’ ministry that is recorded in all 4 gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John).
Verse 5 tells us that Jesus recognizes the large crowds coming towards him, and as is seen throughout Jesus’ ministry, he has compassion on the crowds and begins to work a plan to provide food for each of them! Upon seeing the crowds, Jesus asks Phillip a leading question, “Where are we to buy bread?” It is interesting that Jesus uses the pronoun “WE” instead of “YOU.” This is a way to indicate to Philip that Jesus is in on this task. This is not something to do on your own!
In verse 6, we see that Jesus said this in order to TEST Phillip. Now, this idea of God testing Phillip or even God testing us can feel awkward, clunky, or ingenious. Typically, the results of a test are either a pass or a fail, so is God just seeing if I will fail? This seems incongruent to the character of God…
We need to be reminded that God does not test us for the purpose of PASS or FAIL but for the purpose of REFINEMENT.
God tests us to make us more like Jesus. The process of the Holy Spirit making us more like Jesus is known as sanctification. This transformation into Christ’s image is the purpose of testing.
Jesus is testing Phillip to see if he will put his trust in the insufficiency of human resources or will he trust in the sufficiency of Jesus Christ.
We must keep in mind that as Phillip has followed Jesus, he has watched him raise the dead to life, give sight to the blind, and stump religious leaders. Jesus has been proven to be sufficient for every situation time and time again, so this is an exercise in TRUST in a different circumstance. So when the crowds come…Jesus looks at Phillip and asks…Where will we get the bread?
As we approach this text today, we need to consider: where is it in your life that you are trusting in human resources rather than the sufficiency of Jesus Christ?
What problem or situation are you facing today that you have the option of trusting to Christ or trying. to handle on your own? May we look and trust in Jesus Christ today for our every need.
PRAYER
Our Father,
Thank you for your Word. We pray that by your Spirit, John 6:5-9 would change us into the likeness of Christ. We look and trust in you Jesus. You are sufficient. You have proven yourself time and time again. We look to you and you alone. Father, we pray this now through The Son, and By the Spirit. Amen.
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