January 8 A Test

John 6:1-6 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 miraculous signs he had performed on the sick. 3 Then Jesus went up on a mountainside and sat down with his disciples. 4 The Jewish Passover Feast 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.
 
JOHN 5 focused on Jesus defending his deity at the temple in Jerusalem before the Jewish authorities. This is the apostle John’s method to help us, too, know Jesus is the Living Son of God. The Holy God has taught us Jesus is healer and judge. He is one with the Father, acting only in the Father’s will. Jesus is worthy of our love. And Jesus is a loving encourager. He praises us as we are faithful disciples.
   John 6 a chapter we can call “The Bread Speaks” begins some time after these events. What do you think Jesus was doing between the time in the temple and here on a mountainside on the far shore of Galilee?
   It’s plain, isn’t it, that life-changing miracles were his main work. Crowds of people followed Jesus! Surely, they expected to see more miracles. Likely they hope for change for themselves, their loved ones and their neighbors. Had the Messiah come? God had been moving among his people. They eagerly responded to the physical wonders before them.
   The stage is then set for another astonishing work. Thousands will be fed with mere morsels. But first, Jesus wants to increase his disciples’ faith. He uses this time for a teaching moment. He said to Philip, “Where shall we buy bread for these people to eat?” We’ll see in the next lesson that amid Jesus’ miraculous works, Jesus’ students missed the opportunity to say, “Why buy bread, Lord? You heal the sick. You raise the dead. Your word changes lives. Certainly, you can feed thousands of people. You did it for the Jews in the desert journey for 40 years! Certainly, you can feed a few thousand for one meal.”
   That’s what Jesus wanted to hear, I believe. He wanted the disciples to remember God’s work in the desert journey and to trust his work in the present.
   This is his will, his desire, for your life, too. When you come to a point in your life that asks the question, “What shall we do?” How do you respond? Do you disconnect from the Lord’s miraculous work? Or do you remember how he has miraculously come to earth to be your Savior? Are you firm in your hope and faith to believe the Lord God has the power to provide for all your needs?
 
Prayer: Lord Jesus, you are the Living Word. I pray I believe in you to seek you first, even when things look impossible.