John 6:5-13,22-23 NASB Therefore Jesus, lifting up His eyes and seeing that a large crowd was coming to Him, said to Philip, “Where are we to buy bread, so that these may eat?” [6] This He was saying to test him, for He Himself knew what He was intending to do. [7] Philip answered Him, “Two hundred denarii worth of bread is not sufficient for them, for everyone to receive a little.” [8] One of His disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, said to Him, [9] “There is a lad here who has five barley loaves and two fish, but what are these for so many people?” [10] Jesus said, “Have the people sit down.” Now there was much grass in the place. So the men sat down, in number about five thousand. [11] Jesus then took the loaves, and having given thanks, He distributed to those who were seated; likewise also of the fish as much as they wanted. [12] When they were filled, He said to His disciples, “Gather up the leftover fragments so that nothing will be lost.” [13] So they gathered them up, and filled twelve baskets with fragments from the five barley loaves which were left over by those who had eaten.
[22] The next day the crowd that stood on the other side of the sea saw that there was no other small boat there, except one, and that Jesus had not entered with His disciples into the boat, but that His disciples had gone away alone. [23] There came other small boats from Tiberias near to the place where they ate the bread after the Lord had given thanks.
Several things set John’s account of the feeding of the 5000 apart from the other gospel accounts. One of them is the statement that “He Himself knew what He was intending to do” and the fact that the manifestation of the miracle occurred after Jesus had given thanks. Proverbs 3:5 – 6 says, “Trust in the Lord with all of your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways, ACKNOWLEDGE HIM, and He will make your paths straight.” Foundationally, the life of faith starts with acknowledging Him. This is where Philip, Andrew, and the other apostles started off on the wrong foot when they failed the test of faith in this circumstance. For some reason, they could only see the stress of the moment and the limited resources in the natural. They forgot to remember that the presence of Jesus was the most important reality. The Lord Jesus is the truth in every situation, and the fact that He intends to do something is the only reality that matters. We may not know precisely what He intends to do, but He does, and that is the truth that sets us free every time.
The simplest language of faith that I know of are the two words “Thank you,” and, in light of the Holy Spirit making it clear to us that the miracle only occurred after Jesus had given thanks, it is imperative that we stop and contemplate what that is all about. Remember, not only did Jesus steward this miracle, but Jesus as the author and the perfecter of faith was also always modeling before His apostles what the life of faith looks like, and by giving thanks for the provision before anyone could see the provision in the natural, Jesus was giving a demonstration of the nature of faith. In verse 23, John reiterates the fact that they all ate bread “after the Lord had given thanks.” We’ve said this before, but let me emphasize again: Faith doesn’t believe that He can; faith trusts that He is. With faith, there is no begging or pleading, only thanking and resting. Let me remind you of what I said in part one of this teaching. Phillip’s response to the Lord’s question as to how they were going to buy bread so that all the people could eat should’ve been, “Lord, I don’t know precisely what you intend to do here, but your presence is all that matters, and I know that you are intending to do something, and I know that what you do will be more than enough, so Thanks Lord; You’re on.” Scripture says that we are to give thanks “in all things,” because even if the Lord did not cause all things, He is there present. He is the truth in that moment, not the situation, and not the devil; Jesus is, and He intends to do something, and all that He wants us to do is to acknowledge Him and say thanks. When we do, whether we are facing temptation or trials, we will release the adequacy of Heaven to be demonstrated on our behalf. You will discover as you thank Him for His faithfulness and illimitable resources that there will always be 12 basketfuls left over.