sunday sermon snippet 16 August 2026
So when Jesus looked up and noticed a huge crowd coming toward him, he asked Philip, “Where will we buy bread so that these people can eat?” He asked this to test him, for he himself knew what he was going to do.
~ John 6:5, CSB
This week’s posting of the Sunday Sermon Snippet comes from this past Sunday’s sermon on John 6:1-21. It’s the second sermon hanging out on this mountainside with Jesus, the disciples, and around 20,000 hungry people. This time ‘round, we’re exploring what exactly the test is that Jesus is giving, and what result he’s looking for in those who follow him.
…and if you’d like to check out the whole sermon, just click here.
What Jesus Wishes Philip Would Have Said, And Believed
Ok, so we’ve seen how remarkable it is to enter into the story of the Bible, and get in Moses’s skin as he stands in for us and our experience. Now let’s do that again, this time with Philip. And as I was thinking about that myself, wondering what I would do if I was Philip, how I would have responded to Jesus’s question in v10, I’m afraid I would have transformed, like him, into a functional atheist too. That I likely would have only seen that there isn’t enough money (because how often do I do that in my life!?), and I wouldn’t point to a solution, but only the impossibility of the situation. But as I was doing that, playing that out, what struck me was the thought, “I wonder what Jesus wishes Philip would have said in response to this test? I wonder what Jesus wishes Philip would have believed.”
And I think what Jesus wishes would have happened is Philip saying something along the lines of….
“Hmmm…well Jesus, ‘Where can we buy bread so that all these people can eat?’ Wait a second…I see what you’re doing. We’re in the wilderness. With thousands of God’s people. And they’re looking for food. And I’m no dummy, I know the most important story of our people that is known, not only by our people, but by the nations—is the story of the exodus, the story of God displaying signs and his power in absolutely fantastical ways, showing his control over all of creation, and over all people, and that there is absolutely nothing impossible for him. I remember that moment when Moses had a crisis of faith, having a nervous breakdown, unable to see the possibility of God’s power, and shouting, “Where am I supposed to get meat for all these people!” And Jesus, I remember months ago, when you tracked me down and found me (1:43). And it was clear to me that you were the one that Moses spoke of, the great prophet and Son of God. And all you’ve done since then is perform sign after sign after sign—water into wine, clearing and cleansing the temple while calling it your house, healing the sick, raising the dead—all of it displaying your power, proving your claim that God is your Father, that you are his Son, that you are the Messiah. And so, where can we buy bread so that all these people can eat? Well, we don’t need to buy any bread. Your Father produced manna and meat in the wilderness for 40 years so that hundreds of thousands of people could eat. And so I have no doubt that you, as his Son, can provide whatever bread is needed—and maybe even some meat to go along with it, who doesn’t love a good sammie, after all?—to fill the bellies of all these people. Honestly, I can’t wait to see how you’re going to do this Jesus! I love having a front row seat to what you’re going to come up with next, what possibilities will be revealed in your endless power!”
You see, Jesus knew what he was going to do (v6). And I think he wanted Philip to believe in his power to do it. To see the possibility. To challenge Jesus in this way. To put it back on him, to trust. I think Jesus wanted Philip involved in the display of his power in this way. Do you think that’s possible? That he wants us involved in the solutions, in the possibilities, in the display of his power?
I mean think of it this way—Jesus could have just snapped his fingers and everyone could have had a pile of food sitting in front of them that they could have dug into and been satisfied. But that’s not what Jesus does. Jesus turns to Philip, and involves him in the process. He pulls him in. I think what Jesus wants him to see is that his power will work IN Philip and his circumstances, and through Philip and his circumstances.
When I was studying this week, I ran across a commentator who made this connection….
If you’d like to check out the whole sermon, just click here.
