The Test Before the Miracle

A Lesson from John 6

Have you ever asked a question you already know the answer to, just so the person you are asking has to respond and prove what they know?

​If you’re a mom or a teacher, I am positive you have done this! Some of you sweet mammas answer a million questions every day with all the love in the world for those little ones.

​I remember, as a teacher, often asking a particular student a question to test his understanding of a concept. I knew the answer and didn’t really need him to answer me per se, but what I needed was to prove his knowledge of that content.

The Gospel of John is different from the other three synoptic Gospels in many ways, but one of those ways is that John gives commentary throughout the Gospel that had become obvious to Him by the time of his writing. He helps us see the inside scoop, as it were, to Jesus’ actions and the responses of those with whom He interacted. Such is the case in John 6:1-14. We find here the only miracle, other than the resurrection, that is recorded in all four Gospels. John explains what happened in that desert place, probably on the northeast side of the Sea of Galilee. The people had been following Him and listening to His preaching. They were more curious than anything to see who this “prophet” was. So, they gathered there even though it was a secluded place. You probably know the story. There are thousands of people and not nearly sufficient food to feed them. Isn’t this the worst nightmare of every hostess? Too many people and not enough food! But when Jesus is the Host, there is never a lack of food. We know that Andrew brought the little lad to Jesus, who then offered his simple offering of five barley loaves and two small fish to Jesus. Andrew had faith to bring the lad to Jesus, but he hadn’t the foresight of what Jesus could do with a little boy’s lunch (6:8-9). Jesus instructed the disciples to organize the people in seated groups and then gave thanks for the food and had the disciples begin to distribute the food (6:10-11). I can imagine the wonder of the disciples as they came back over and over and over to get more food to feed such a large crowd, never finding the bottom of the basket. God’s magnificent multiplication was occurring right in front of them. There was no doubt that this was a miraculous feeding since John records clearly that there were twelve baskets of leftovers gathered up AFTER everyone was full (6:12-13)! That is what I call a Hosting Success! What a marvelous miracle of God’s provision for these people through the hands of the disciples!

This is one of my favorite accounts of God’s provision and is such a great lesson to teach the children in Sunday school, but I want to go back to before Andrew brought the lad to Jesus with a small faith-filled solution. Look at John 6:5-7. Jesus lifts His eyes and sees the great multitude of people, and He turns to Philip and asks him a question. “Whence shall we buy bread, that these may eat?” (6:5b). Now, stop right there for a minute. Did Jesus know where the food would come from? Of course, He did. He didn’t even need the little boy’s lunch to provide, but He knew there was a miracle to come. He also knew that the situation in front of them was impossible. He was not asking for the answer. Instead, this was part of His education plan for His disciples. Philip was from this area of Galilee. He would have had local knowledge of the availability of food for the people. But truly, there was no possibility in human terms that they could feed these people that late in the day from the villages around them. Jesus knew that full well! John lets us in on this point in the next verse (6:6). Jesus was proving or testing His disciples. He was seeing if they were beginning to see with the eyes of faith He was pointing them toward. Philip’s response was logical in verse 7 and pointed out the impossibility of the situation.

I find this proving question amid this miracle thought-provoking. Why does God test people? Think about Abraham and his test to sacrifice Isaac, his only son, at God’s command in Genesis 22. Abraham got all the way to the point of killing his Son before God stopped him and praised him for demonstrating his faith before providing another sacrifice in Isaac’s place. James 1:2 tells us that we should “count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations” or various trials. That doesn’t seem to be logical. But James 1:13-15 tells us that God never tempts a person to sin, so these tests are meant to make us sin. They are meant to refine and strengthen our faith. God asks us those proving questions and even sends us through various trials so that we won’t perish, but that we “might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ” (1 Peter 1:17). Jesus didn’t ask Philip this question to set him up for failure. He wanted to show Him who He could trust to provide. What proving questions has God asked you recently? How are you responding? May the Lord sharpen our faith vision that our answers to proving questions and our response to fiery trials might be to the praise, honor, and glory of Jesus Christ!

What if the impossible situation you’re facing right now is actually God inviting you to trust Him more deeply rather than solve it on your own?