John 6:1-15 - Not Enough

John 6 opens up with Jesus retreating from a large following to the mountainside with his disciples. Jesus has been healing the sick and performing miracles, which has drawn enormous crowds of people. Here, the scene and story are set for Jesus to feed the five thousand. This miracle is amazing and has so much to unpack, but this morning I am seeing and focusing on a few elements for me. 

“Then Jesus went up on a mountainside and sat down with his disciples.” - ‭‭John‬ ‭6:3‬ ‭NIV‬‬

We see this happen over and over through Jesus' ministry. Jesus pulled away and spent intentional time with his crew, his leaders, his disciples. What stands out to me is Jesus was busy, lots of healings, miracles, and demands on his time and life, and he intentionally pulled away and sat down with his disciples. This is such an important lesson for all of us that we will continue to be pulled in lots of directions, the demands on our time and lives will be intense, but it is only with intentionality that we will carve out time with the right people to invest in and spend quality time with. 

“When Jesus looked up and saw a great crowd coming toward him, he said to Philip, “Where shall we buy bread for these people to eat?” He asked this only to test him, for he already had in mind what he was going to do.” - ‭‭John‬ ‭6:5-6‬ ‭NIV‬‬

“Now Jesus already knew what he was about to do, but he said this to stretch Philip’s faith.” - ‭‭John‬ ‭6:6‬ ‭TPT‬‬

As I mentioned above, Jesus was an intentional teacher. He spent time, pulled away, and invested in his disciples. Here we see Jesus testing Philip. At first, when I read this, hearing that Jesus “tested” his disciple seemed a little off-putting, but after processing more, Jesus was teaching. Here is what stood out to me with this lesson here. 

Jesus said to Philip, "How are we to buy bread so that these people may eat?" Was this Jesus' “real question?” No! There was NOTHING around, and they basically had no money. This was NOT the real question; this was the test. Jesus put before Philip a problem that had no human solution.

I can relate to this...navigating something significant, something that just does not have a human solution, and there just is not a sufficient answer. This is the test, this is what Philip was faced with and is something we face all the time. And what did Philip do, what was his response?

Philip began running down a human response, human rational to a situation that had no sensible answer. He responded, “It would take more than half a year’s wages to buy enough bread for these people.” This was the test, and the teaching. We know the rest of the story, and this is what Jesus needed Philip to see and understand. Situation after situation we find ourselves in that has no adequate human response, Jesus is waiting with his miracle. Yet, so often, we continue to bring our human mind and this human solution that will continue to fall short and produce frustration without Jesus multiplying factor. 

Lord, forgive us for continuing to bring our human solutions that lead us to frustration and dead ends. Lord, we know you stand ready and willing to partner with us to offer miracles. We have seen you do this before in our lives, and you stand ready to do it again. Lord, may we have the faith to believe in your miracles and the courage to invite you into the solution.