After this Jesus went away to the other side of the Sea of Galilee, which is the Sea of Tiberias. And a large crowd was following him, because they saw the signs that he was doing on the sick. Jesus went up on the mountain, and there he sat down with his disciples. Now the Passover, the feast of the Jews, was at hand. 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?” He said this to test him, for he himself knew what he would do.
Jesus brings us to the edge of hardship to prove His love for us and to demonstrate His power to us. That is the point of the above passage. Throughout Scripture, God uses pain, suffering, discipline, hardships, challenges, etc. to bring us to the point where we call out to Him for help. Note how the writer of Hebrews makes this point in his letter to a group of Hebrew believer who were tempted to give up on their faith:
Therefore lift your drooping hands and strengthen your weak knees, and make straight paths for your feet, so that what is lame may not be put out of joint but rather be healed.
God allows us to be lame and out of joint so that we can find healing through the power of His Son!! Notice these times when God did the same thing:
1. God allowed the nation of Israel to be slaves to demonstrate His power to the Egyptians (Exodus 7:5).
2. God brought the Israelites to Goliath so that God could use a boy with a slingshot to show His power (1 Samuel 17).
3. God allowed Jonah to run away and be swallowed by a fish to get him to see the power of God (Jonah).
4. God brought the nation of Israel to the banks of the Red Sea in front of them and the Egyptian army behind them to show His power (Exodus 14).
God brings us to the occasions of not having enough food to cause us to turn to Him for answers and power. God wants us to trust Him and see His power but that calls upon a need for the power and for a need for trust. That is the point of God brining 5,000 hungry people to the disciples. It is interesting that God brought 3,000 people to the church after Peter’s first sermon. Then more and more people were added. All those people had to be fed. This is one of the problems of the early church (Acts 3-5). Yet, God meet the need through the power of Christ. God uses suffering and need to show us His presence and power.
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