QT 28 Jun 12, When God asks a question, it is not because he is seeking information

John 6:1-9,12-14 (NIV) 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.

7 Philip answered him, "Eight months' wages would not buy enough bread for each one to have a bite!"

8 Another of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter's brother, spoke up, 9 "Here is a boy with five small barley loaves and two small fish, but how far will they go among so many?"

. . .

12 When they had all had enough to eat, he said to his disciples, "Gather the pieces that are left over. Let nothing be wasted."  13 So they gathered them and filled twelve baskets with the pieces of the five barley loaves left over by those who had eaten.

14 After the people saw the miraculous sign that Jesus did, they began to say, "Surely this is the Prophet who is to come into the world."

NOTE: There is a long jump in time from chapter five to six. The author alludes to that fact, "some time after this, …." We are probably close to a year after the baptism and are approaching the second Passover. A number of things stand out in this passage, the first is a reiteration of the thought that when God asks a question, it is not because he is seeking information. Jesus asks Philip where to buy bread for the people. Jesus already knew what he was going to do, but he wanted the disciples to realize the incredible task at hand. Andrew joins the conversation by initially mentioning a boy with some bread and fish, and then quickly realizes that amount of food could never feed so many. Now that the disciples recognize the problem, Jesus begins a miracle. We don't have any discussion until the end, and maybe the disciples would have never recognized what was happening if Jesus had not questioned them and posed the problem. The people are quick to realize the miracle. From one small basket of bread and fish, twelve baskets of leftovers are gathered, which doesn't even include what the crowd ate. But the point, when God asks questions, it is not to gain information, but often is intended to get our attention and to get us thinking.