John 6:1-15
Jesus Feeds the Five Thousand
1 Some time after this, Jesus crossed to the far shore of the Sea of Galilee (that is, the Sea of Tiberias), 2 and a great crowd of people followed him because they saw the signs he had performed by healing the sick. 3 Then Jesus went up on a mountainside and sat down with his disciples. 4 The Jewish Passover Festival was near.
5 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?” 6 He asked this only to test him, for he already had in mind what he was going to do.
7 Philip answered him, “It would take more than half a year’s wages to buy enough bread for each one to have a bite!”
8 Another of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, spoke up, 9 “Here is a boy with five small barley loaves and two small fish, but how far will they go among so many?”
10 Jesus said, “Have the people sit down.” There was plenty of grass in that place, and they sat down (about five thousand men were there). 11 Jesus then took the loaves, gave thanks, and distributed to those who were seated as much as they wanted. He did the same with the fish.
12 When they had all had enough to eat, he said to his disciples, “Gather the pieces that are left over. Let nothing be wasted.” 13 So they gathered them and filled twelve baskets with the pieces of the five barley loaves left over by those who had eaten.
14 After the people saw the sign Jesus performed, they began to say, “Surely this is the Prophet who is to come into the world.” 15 Jesus, knowing that they intended to come and make him king by force, withdrew again to a mountain by himself.
Are we ever in a miracle only to know about it later?...Is it possible to participate in a miracle and immediately not know it?...I think Philip and Andrew and the other Disciples were participating in the feeding of the five thousand and did not know it was about to happen...By participating this way, the Disciples were firsthand eyewitnesses of the miracle of the feeding of the five thousand...The Bread of Life has taken five small barley loaves and two small fish and made them into a meal for over five thousand men, not including the women and children...
The people who are fed, we are told that the people are looking and following Him because of His miracles... A great crowd of people followed Him because they saw the signs He had performed by healing of the sick...Jesus tests Philip, and asks, “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...Philip brings a analytic and critical question to Jesus by asking, “It would take more than half a year’s wages to buy enough bread for each one to have a bite!”...Philip sees the problem, but does not see the solution, even though the solution is standing right beside him...
Philip had seen many of His other miracles, and yet is still not thinking about Jesus being a solution for the food problem...And Philip has seen Him, and knows Him, and knows what He can do...Philip has seen Him and still does not believe and not related yet to what He can do...It takes faith to see these things, faith to believe things like this can happen...We can miss miracles and those things around us, even with our eyes wide open...