Day 37 – God’s Will, God’s Bill

JOHN CHAPTER 6

Read: John 6:1-15

It has been a year since Jesus cleansed the Temple (chapter 2). The Passover is mentioned three times in John’s Gospel. Each reference is a signal to the reader that something significant is going to happen. The first mention was in chapter 2 before Jesus cleansed the temple. The third will be in the upper room just before Jesus’ crucifixion. The second mention heralds the fourth miracle in John’s gospel and the only one recorded in all four gospels.

Word of Jesus' extraordinary power was spreading, and the crowds of curious onlookers were growing. After crossing the Sea of Galilee, Jesus climbed up on the side of a mountain with His disciples.  This location provided Jesus with the optimal setting from which to teach.  Not only would the elevation allow the crowd to see Jesus, the mountainous background served to amplify His voice as He taught the throng.

As people gathered, Jesus asked Philip where they could buy bread to feed the crowd. Philip told Jesus they didn't have enough money to buy that much food. But that is not what Jesus asked. Philip was not the group's treasurer (that job belonged to Judas) so Jesus wouldn't have addressed such a question to Philip anyway. Philip allowed the perceived lack of resources to frame Jesus' question. Jesus asked, "Where can we buy?” But Philip heard, “Do we have enough money to buy?”

Jesus asked Philip this question to test him (John 6:6). Jesus continues to use the same question to test His disciples today. And like Philip, we still frame Jesus' question with what we lack rather than with faith in the sufficiency of Christ. We sing with great passion, "Jesus is all we need!" Then the bread supply runs low, and suddenly Jesus doesn't seem like enough.

What if Philip’s response had been, “Lord, I don’t know where or how we can buy enough bread to feed these people, but I believe You are more than sufficient to meet every need.” It is easy from our perspective to second-guess Philip’s response, but how will you respond the next time you are confronted with a need that exceeds your resources? When you hear Jesus asking you to meet a need, resist saying there isn’t enough and instead remember He is. After all, if it is God’s will, it is God’s bill. 

My All in All,

Thank You for being more than sufficient to meet every need.

Thank You for inviting me to join You in responding to the needs of others. Forgive me for relying on resources other than You. Increase my faith so that I will truly believe and act upon the knowledge that You are always more than enough.

Amen