<p>6:5 <i>Jesus therefore lifting up his eyes, and seeing that a great crowd came to him, said to Philip: Where are we to buy bread that these may eat?</i>- The &quot;therefore&quot; apparently connects with the coming of Passover (:4). He saw a parallel between the provision of food for that crowd, and the provision of the Paschal lamb, Himself, for Israel's salvation. We wonder why Philip particularly is given this test (:7). The Lord saw perhaps that there were specific issues with Philip that could be addressed and perfected by the whole experience. Or it could be that because Philip was from the immediate locality where they were, Bethsaida (1:44; 12:21). And so the Lord asked him where the local shops were.</p><p>It makes a good exercise to re-read the Gospels looking out for cases of where the Lord urged the disciples to not look at Him as somehow separate from themselves, an automatic Saviour from sin and problems. Thus when it was apparent that the huge, hungry crowd needed feeding, the Lord asked the disciples where &ldquo;<i>we</i>&rdquo; could get food from to feed them (Jn. 6:5). In all the accounts of the miraculous feedings, we see the disciples assuming that Jesus would solve the situation- and they appear even irritated and offended when He implies that this is <i>our</i> joint problem, and <i>they</i> must tackle this seemingly impossible task with <i>their</i> faith. The mentality of the disciples at that time is that of so many Trinitarians- who assume that &lsquo;Jesus is the answer&rsquo; in such a form that they are exempt from seeing His humanity as a challenge for them to live likewise. See on Mk. 11:20.</p>