John 6:5-6 (NIV) 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?” He asked this only to test him, for he already had in mind what he was going to do.

As human beings, we ask all kinds of questions. There are questions that we ask to obtain information that we want or need, questions that are asked sarcastically as a joke or an insult, questions that are asked rhetorically, which is a question that is asked to make a point and not to get an answer. Then there are the kind of questions that Jesus often asked. We find one of them in the passage of scripture above.

Jesus was always teaching His disciples even when He wasn’t speaking. He taught with His words, with his actions and with His godly example. In the story that this passage of scripture comes from, there was a multitude of people that had followed Jesus to hear Him speak and teach. As Jesus saw that great multitude approaching him from the mountainside that He had gone up to, He asked Philip where they could buy bread for all those people. Obviously, they couldn’t have purchased bread or anything else for all those people because they didn’t have nearly enough money. Even if they did have enough money, what bread supplier would have enough bread to sell for an estimated crowd of about 10,000 people (5,000 men plus women and children). This was not only a teaching moment but was also a test of Philip’s and the disciples’ faith. He was about to perform a great miracle and wanted to set the stage so that the disciples would learn how great and miraculous He is as a provider. No matter what the situation, when Jesus is with you, He is more than enough to meet every single need, even the ones that seem impossible such as feeding 10,000 people with five loaves of bread and two fish.

Be on the alert for questions from Jesus such as the one that He asked Philip. I recently felt the Lord ask me that kind of question when I was praying about something specific. I was praying about an opportunity that had opened up to share ministry with another group of Christians outside of our church. The pastor told me that the Lord had laid it on his heart to ask me. I told him that I would pray and get back to him. In my prayer time the next morning, I began to pray and ask the Lord if it was something that He wanted me to do. As I was praying about it, I felt the Lord impress the following question on my heart: "What reason would you have to not do it?" It was a clear-cut answer to my prayer. This group of believers were the real deal and their leader was a true man of God. The meeting would occur on a day that I would be free from any church meetings or obligations. In other words, the Lord was prompting me to stop hesitating and do something that was good and that was also an obvious divine appointment that He Himself had set up. The way that He answered my prayer with that question prompted me to get back to that pastor that same day and accept the invitation. Be alert when Jesus asks you a question. He is not looking for you to answer it but is simply getting you ready for another divine lesson.

Pastor Joey Vazquez