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Commentary Index | Return to PrayerRequest.com | DownloadPaul Kretzmann Commentary - John 6:5 - 6:9
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Jesus tests the faith of the disciples:
v. 5. When Jesus then lifted up His eyes, and saw a great company come unto Him, He saith unto Philip, Whence shall we buy bread that these may eat?
v. 6. And this He said to prove him; for He Himself knew what He would do.
v. 7. Philip answered Him, Two hundred pennyworth of bread is not sufficient for them that every one of them may take a little.
v. 8. One of His disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter's brother, saith unto Him,
v. 9. There is a lad here which hath five barley loaves and two small fishes; but what are they among so many?
Jesus was busy all day, teaching and healing the sick, and hardly had time to look around. In the meantime, however, the crowd increased in number continually; the people kept coming all day long. When Jesus, then, upon the urgent request of the disciples, halted in His work of mercy and raised His eyes, He saw the assembled multitudes all around Him in the plain at the foot of the hill. The emphatic suggestion of the disciples as to the dismissal of the people at once caused a plan to form in the mind of the Lord, whose principal part concerned the disciples themselves. He proposed both to feed the multitude and to test the faith of His followers. Addressing Himself to Philip, whose acquaintance with the country hereabout might be assumed to be reasonably good, Jesus asked where there was a place at which they might buy food. His speech presupposes it as a self-evident fact that the people should be treated as the guests of the apostles and Himself. He had fully decided what He would do, but He was anxious to try out the faith of Philip, as well as that of the rest. Philip, having ascertained the amount of money at hand, answered according to, His understanding that two hundred denarii (almost thirty-four dollars) would hardly buy a sufficient quantity of bread to give to each one at least a little. Philip's anxiety had caused him to make a careful calculation. He had forgotten the first miracle at Cana as well as the many that had happened since. He figured in exactly the same way as the average person, even if he be a confessed Christian, who tends to forget that God has His own ways to figure in emergencies, if His Christians will but trust in Him. Andrew was no better than Philip, so far as his trust in the Lord was concerned. He had scouted around and found that there was a small boy present who had five barley loaves and two small fishes for his provisions, but he immediately added, in doleful helplessness, that there was no hope that this would reach with so many people present. The weakness of both disciples is repeated in numerous instances in our days. Christians are often worried with anxious care for the needs of the body. Then they sit and calculate and go through all possible cupboards and storing-places to find out whether they will have enough to sustain their lives. They forget the almighty power of their Lord.