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John 6 · a question people ask

"Where are we to buy bread, that these may eat?" (6:5). Didn't Jesus know?

In the text

John answers that himself, in his own words: "He said this to test him, for he himself knew what he would do" (6:6). He doesn't say what the test was, or what Jesus looked for in Philip's answer. Philip answered, "Two hundred denarii worth of bread is not sufficient for them, that every one of them may receive a little" (6:7). Andrew spoke of the boy's loaves and fish, and asked, "but what are these among so many?" (6:9). And "Jesus said, “Have the people sit down.”" (6:10). John tells nothing more about the test, and these notes add nothing to his words.

From Favor's study of John 6

John 6: The bread of life

In John's telling it is Jesus who first asks where bread could be bought, and John says, "He said this to test him" (6:5-6). And the ones who "went back and walked no more with him" were "many of his disciples" (6:66); when Jesus asked the twelve, Simon Peter answered, "Lord, to whom would we go?" (6:68).

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Last reviewed October 1, 2026. Scripture quotations are from the World English Bible, which is in the public domain. Every answer cites the verses it rests on. What we believe · All Bible questions