Testing Faith at the Empty Table
6 After this Jesus went away to the other side of the Sea of Galilee, which is the Sea of Tiberias. 2 And a large crowd was following him, because they saw the signs that he was doing on the sick. 3 Jesus went up on the mountain, and there he sat down with his disciples. 4 Now the Passover, the feast of the Jews, was at hand. 5 Lifting up his eyes, then, and seeing that a large crowd was coming toward him, Jesus said to Philip, “Where are we to buy bread, so that these people may eat?” 6 He said this to test him, for he himself knew what he would do.
John 6:1-6
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Testing Faith at the Empty Table
Jesus already knew what He was going to do. Yet He asked Philip where to buy bread for the crowd. It was a test, not because Jesus doubted Philip’s faith, but to draw it into deeper trust. We often face the same test: empty hands, impossible needs, no earthly way forward. Like Philip, we are tempted to measure God’s mercy by what we see rather than by His promises. The feeding of the five thousand points beyond full stomachs. It points to the cross, where the One who tested Philip became the Bread of Life broken for the world. There, in weakness and death, He provided what no one could have imagined, life and salvation for sinners. When our resources fail, Christ remains. He knows what He will do. And in Word and Sacrament, He still feeds us with Himself until the Last Day’s feast.
John 6:1-6
+
Testing Faith at the Empty Table
Jesus already knew what He was going to do. Yet He asked Philip where to buy bread for the crowd. It was a test, not because Jesus doubted Philip’s faith, but to draw it into deeper trust. We often face the same test: empty hands, impossible needs, no earthly way forward. Like Philip, we are tempted to measure God’s mercy by what we see rather than by His promises. The feeding of the five thousand points beyond full stomachs. It points to the cross, where the One who tested Philip became the Bread of Life broken for the world. There, in weakness and death, He provided what no one could have imagined, life and salvation for sinners. When our resources fail, Christ remains. He knows what He will do. And in Word and Sacrament, He still feeds us with Himself until the Last Day’s feast.
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