(REFLECTIONS ON John 6:1-21)

In today’s Scripture, as a large crowd followed Jesus, He asked Philip a question, “Where are we to buy bread, so that these may eat?” Interestingly, the author of the Gospel of John, which he often does, provides us with some spiritual insight. He writes,

6 This He (Jesus) was saying to test him, for He Himself knew what He was intending to do.

Philip’s answer, wasn’t one of trust in Jesus, but rather the impossibility of such a large ask, “Two hundred denarii worth of bread is not sufficient for them, for everyone to receive a little.”

A denarii was equivalent to a day’s wages. Two hundred denarii thus would have been wages for 200 days of work, or about eight months. Philip’s response was that even eight months wages wouldn’t be enough for everyone to get a small bite. For Philip the question that Jesus asked was impossible.

This is when Andrew said to Jesus that there was a boy who had five barely loaves and two fish, but also doubted saying, “but what are these for so many people?” Yes, this is impossible, but it is in the impossible that Jesus wants to show His disciples that in Him and by Him, nothing is impossible.

10 Jesus said, “Have the people sit down.” Now there was much grass in the place. So the men sat down, in number about five thousand. 11 Jesus then took the loaves, and having given thanks, He distributed to those who were seated; likewise also of the fish as much as they wanted.

When Jesus asked Philip His question, Philip’s response indicated that this was an impossible ask, and an impossible task. However, Jesus didn’t want Philip to do the impossible, because it was truly impossible. Rather, as Jesus indicated to the people to sit down, he also wanted Philip to sit down, and let the Lord of the impossible to do His work.

14 Therefore when the people saw the sign which He had performed, they said, “This is truly the Prophet who is to come into the world.”

Yes, the sign, not just the miracle, that Jesus performed again pointed to His identity, the Prophet who is to come into the world, but as we know, not just a prophet like Moses as the Jews anticipated, but greater than Moses.

Brothers and sisters, as we face the impossible in our life, do we look at the five barley loaves and two fish in our possession and find ourselves in despair and without hope? Then perhaps Jesus is also telling us today, sit down, because it is when we stop trying to do the impossible using our own strength, and give what we have to the Lord, that He will do as He did for the five thousand.

Pastor Michael Lu
Enduring Word Bible Commentary: John 6