Digging Deeper – Take Inventory

I always find it pleasantly ironic when Jesus asks questions. How could He, who is omniscient, gain new understanding from our response? The fact is, He does not—and it is a grace, even, that the Creator would bend His ear to consider the suggestion of the created.

Such is the case in John 6:5, when Jesus asks Philip, “Where are we to buy bread, so that these people may eat?” The author of the Gospel subsequently discloses our Savior’s motive in verse 6: “He said this to test him, for he himself knew what he would do.” Therefore, the disciples are prompted to take inventory—which always seems to be the result when the Lord asks questions of us.

Philip, almost scoffing at the challenge, responds with an incredulous, “Two hundred denarii worth of bread would not be enough for each of them to get a little.” To put it in perspective, a denarius was a day’s wage for a worker in Jesus’ day (Matthew 20:2). In other words, “Lord, over half a year’s salary wouldn’t be enough!”

Going one step further, Andrew finds a boy with five barley loaves and two fish, but—like Philip—remains unconvinced that anything can be done. It is after this inventory, when the disciples have noted the distance between what Jesus wants to accomplish and what they lack, that He is able to demonstrate His super-abundance.

Has the Lord asked you a question recently? In a sense, He’s asking you to take inventory—perhaps of your resources or your spiritual condition. Not that He needs to know how little or how much you have; He doesn’t. He needs you to know. In the knowing, the conditions will be met for Him to work the miracle.

Remember, “he himself knew what he would do” (v. 6).