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Andrew, Philip, and the 5000
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Everyone knows the story of Jesus feeding the 5000. If you're not familiar with it, you can turnto John chapter 6 and read verses 1-13. What I want to focus on today is the response of Phillip and the response of Andrew.
Jesus soon saw a huge crowd of people coming to look for him. Turning to Philip, he asked, “Where can we buy bread to feed all these people?” He was testing Philip, for he already knew what he was going to do.
Philip replied, “Even if we worked for months, we wouldn’t have enough money[a] to feed them!” Then Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, spoke up. “There’s a young boy here with five barley loaves and two fish. But what good is that with this huge crowd?” [BibleGateway.com]
The response of Philip
Notice how Philip was quick to give an excuse. Even after spending some time with Jesus and seeing some of the things he had done, Philip still didn't believe. Jesus put Philip to the test. He knew beforehand that a huge crowd would eventually find him and that they would eventually get hungry. He knew that he and his followers would be responsible for feeding them. He knew he would have to perfom a miracle to get it done. So he decided to put Philip to the test.
Where did Philip stand in his faith? Jesus wanted to know so he asked him where they could buy bread to feed such a large amount of people. (It's worth pointing out that the crowd consisted of considerably more than 5000. Verse 10 states that the men alone were 5000. A more accurate number of the total crowd is most likely anywhere from 8000-10000 people.) Philip gave a very humanistic answer. "Jesus do you see all the people here? There are 5000 men alone! We would have to work our whole lives to get enough food for just the men, nevermind the women and children!" Jesus tested Philip and sadly, Philip failed miserably.
The response of Andrew
Then Andrew spoke up. He pointed out the young boy with five loaves and two fish. He had also been with Jesus and seen the things that He had done, except Andrew knew that Jesus was capable. He had the faith that Jesus could do whatever it took to get the job done. He offered a snack as a solution to feed thousands. I'm sure the other disciples must have laughed to themselves at the suggestion of Andrew, especially after hearing the logical one of Philip. Why would Andrew offer up something so meager for a task that was so great?
Andrew knew there was no other choice. The idea of buying enough food to feed the crowd was to outlandish and improbable. They themselves had nothing to give the crowd; they abandoned it all to follow Jesus. However Andrew had seen the little boy with his snack. He knew that was all they had. Did he expect Jesus to miraculously feed the entire crowd with enough leftovers to fill twelve baskets? Probably not. But Andrew offerred what he had and let Jesus do his thing.
Which one are you?
Are you a Philip or an Andrew? When the Lord asks something of you, are you quick to give the logical response or excuse and therefore show your lack of faith? Or do you follow the example of Andrew?
"Lord I don't have much, barely anything. But I know who you are and what you are capable of doing. What I have I give to you, and I trust that you're going to do something great with it."
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