John 6:5-7 5Then lifting up his eyes and seeing that a large crowd was coming to him, Jesus said to Philip, “Where are we to buy bread, so that these people may eat?” 6Now he said this for the purpose of of testing him, for he himself knew what he was about to do. 7Philip answered him, “Two hundred denarii worth of bread would not be enough for each of them to receive a little.”
Everything Jesus does in this story is intentional. Jesus had his disciples sit down for a time of teaching. What he verbally taught in the form of a lecture is not recorded. Rather, his lesson came through what happened. Verses 5-10 give two responses from two different disciples to a challenging situation. Jesus and the disciples were not alone, but a large crowd had followed them to the hill along the shore of the Sea of Galilee. Mark adds the important note that the people had followed Jesus around the edge of the lake to hear him teach and had neglected to bring food, so they were hungry (Mark 6:31). Jesus saw all these people and knew they were hungry, and so he used this situation to teach his disciples an important lesson that revealed something about him (one of John’s “signs”).
Jesus picked out Philip to ask him about where to buy bread to feed all the people. The question might be asked, why Philip? Verse 6 indicates that Jesus chose Philip as a test to see how he might respond. It should not be thought that Jesus did not know the answer. He had everything planned out and had a reason for asking Philip. Philip was from the nearby city of Bethsaida (1:44), and so he may have known where to buy food. Philip’s response indicates that he was thinking on the earthly level. The question was simple, but the answer was difficult to give. P
Philip knew what he was talking about when it came to buying food for all the people. He looked out on the hillside and saw thousands. We have to wait until verse 10 to find out that there were over five thousand. Two hundred denarii would take about eight months for the average worker to earn. Philip adds that this amount would only give each person a small amount, perhaps a little taste. Anyone who has put together a banquet knows how much it costs to feed a large group of people. At this point in the story, Jesus’ request seems impossible, just like so many needs we might have. We throw our arms up in defeat like Philip. There is no way we can find a solution to our problems based on our own efforts and resources. Jesus had other plans as the story continues.
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