There’s Going to Be a Test
John 6:1-15
March 30, 2025 anno Domini
The Bible is one story. When you read it (and you should read it), you should ask, “Where have I heard this before?” or “What other story does this remind me of?”
Let me give you an example using today’s readings. Moses led the Israelites through the Red Sea. Jesus crossed the Sea of Galilee, and the crowds followed Him. God fed the Israelites with manna from heaven. Jesus multiplied the loaves and fish to feed the crowd. Moses went up Mount Sinai to receive God’s covenant. Jesus went up a mountain to teach this crowd the New Covenant, “Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life.” After the 5000 were fed and satisfied they believed Jesus was the promised prophet greater than Moses. They hoped Jesus would be their new King and beat their Roman Pharaoh.
Another similarity between the manna from heaven and the feeding of the 5000 is that in both God gives a test. In Exodus 16 the Lord said to Moses, “Behold I am about to rain bread from heaven on you, and the people shall go out and gather a day’s portion every day, that I may test them, whether they walk in my law or not.” In John 6 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.
“There’s going to be a test.” Those words bring fear. It doesn’t matter the test. A spelling test. A driver’s test. A memory test of those three words the doctor told you at the beginning of your visit. A medical test. What if God was giving the test? If He said, “Sit down. Take out a sheet of paper and a pencil. I’ve got a little test for you?”
When it comes to the manna from heaven test, we know what God wanted for an answer. The Lord wanted to see whether the Israelites would walk in His law or not. And this was His law. Gather a day’s portion every day … On the sixth day, when they prepare what they bring in, it will be twice as much as they gather daily. So, what was the test? Trust in the Lord for daily bread. Don’t try to gather up extra manna, shrink-wrap it and throw it in your freezer. God will give you manna tomorrow. Don’t work on the Sabbath, the Lord will give you enough manna on sixth day so you can rest on the seventh day and worship the Lord. The Israelites failed the test. They did not listen to Moses. Some left part of it till the morning, and it bred worms and stank. When you fail the Lord’s test it stinks. Ask Adam and Eve, or Jonah in the belly of the fish, or the rich man in hell. The wages of disobedience is stinking death.
Now, the test Jesus gave Philip is a little more difficult. We don’t know the answer Jesus wanted Philip to give. We only know that Jesus intended to feed the 5000 himself. It is safe to say that both Philip and Andrew failed the test, because neither answered, “Jesus.” Philip looked at his billfold. Since he was still in seminary there wasn’t much there, “Two hundred denarii worth of bread would not be enough for each of them to get a little.” Thousands of dollars would barely provide a snack for the crowd.
Phillip looks at what he doesn’t have. Andrew looks at what he does have, or at least what a little boy offered up for the crowd. Here are “five barley loaves and two fish, but what are they for so many?”
Now this is speculation on my part, but I believe both Phillip and Andrew could have passed the test by slightly modifying their answers. Phillip could have said, “You know Jesus, 200 denarii wouldn’t even buy a little bag of goldfish for each of these people, but You are standing right here, so I’m looking forward to a feast with these folks.” And Andrew could have said, “Lord, we’ve got five barley loaves and two fish, so with You in the kitchen it looks like we’re in for an all you eat fish fry that will outdo anything in Stearns County, and it will be free.”
Your life under Christ is no different than the Israelites, Phillip, or Andrew. The Lord is going to test you because He loves you. He wants you to exercise your faith. He wants you to grow stronger in your trust so that when the big test comes, when you are facing death, you’re ready to answer it with Jesus.
The first test of every person is really tied to that last great test – the test of death. The test is how are you going to pass death? How are you going to get through it? Many people just ignore the fact that there is going to be a test at all. They try to ignore death. Fill your life with distractions. Escape into an addiction or pleasure. And silently pray to the god you don’t believe in that either a) there is nothing after death or b) everyone goes to a better place.
Another group of people believe in some sort of god, a higher power, who is standing watch over the universe. They believe this god is like an indulgent grandfather who lets you get away with stuff your parents never would and loves you no matter what. If you’re sort of good, at least good according to Grandpa’s definition, and that’s flexible, you’ll get into heaven.
Then there is the truth revealed in God’s Word. Death is only a symptom of your greatest problem. You are a sinner who sins, and you have brought death on yourself. Now the test question becomes quite clear, “How am you going to deal with your sin?” Don’t pull a Phillip or an Andrew. Don’t imagine you’ll ever have enough righteousness or that there is even the littlest bit of good in you. The answer is Jesus. This is the answer God’s word gives to death.
Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us – for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who is hanged on a tree.” Gal 3:13
He Himself bore our sins in His body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By His wounds you have been healed. 1 Peter 2:24
The blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin. 1 John 1:7
Your sin and your death have been answered in Jesus. He passed the test. He died for your sins and rose again from the dead. He passed through death and came out the other side. He’s the only one ever, so I would go with Him as your answer.
God will send you tests. Tests require studying, practice, frequent rehearsal of the answers. Jesus answered death by being God’s answer to your sin, but your faith is not yet perfected. That’s why God sends tests and you will need to work, to study, to pray, to wrestle with your answers. You might get fired, or suffer an accident, or lose a child. God might give you poverty or riches to test you. It will require work on your part to see God’s mercy when you are unemployed, to give thanks for His gifts when you are poor, to trust in His riches instead of your own riches, to be content, to give thanks for your salvation when your body is broken by accident or illness. Your salvation is a free gift, received by faith, but the life of faith requires diligence, deliberation, self-examination. Am I being a Phillip fixing my eyes on what I don’t have? Am I being an Andrew thinking of my meager supplies? Or am I fixing my eyes on Jesus, trusting God’s love and mercy in every little test because He has passed the great and final test of sin and death. In the name of Jesus. Amen.