I hate tests.  I wish life could go on without them.  I remember when I was in school, I always had this fear of failing.  I think it was this fear, in fact, that made me study all the harder.  Nothing could have been more devastating to me than to have failed at something.  Tests, then, were a chance for me to prove to myself that I wasn’t a failure.  But in order to get the best grade possible, I really had to study.  I had to know the material from the lectures and the textbook.  The better I knew this material, the better a chance I had of getting an A on the test.  Once I graduated I thought I was through with tests.  And yet now I experience tests of a different kind.  They’re not written tests but life tests, the kind of test Jesus gave His disciples in today’s Gospel text.  But these tests also require study and preparation in order to pass them.  The textbook we need to know for them is the Bible.  The better we know this material, the better we’ll be able to pass the tests when they come.  And yet, all too often we still fail the tests, just like the disciples did here.
   Tests are uncomfortable for us, because they reveal our weaknesses.  Yes, they show us where our strengths lie as well, but the real purpose that the Lord gives us tests is to show us where we need work.  Sometimes we know the answers to the tests intellectually, that is, in our heads, but it’s applying that knowledge to our life tests that seems to be problematic for us.  In other words, we could all probably easily pass a true-false test or a multiple choice test.  For example, true or false:  You shouldn’t ever worry; Jesus will always provide you with everything you need.  True, right?  Right!  And we know this, because we know what the textbook says.  From the Gospel according to Matthew, Jesus says, “Don’t be anxious for your life, as to what you shall eat, or what you shall drink, nor for your body, as to what you shall put on.  Is not life more than food, and the body than clothing?  Look at the birds of the air, that they do not sow, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them.  Are you not worth much more than they?”  And the Apostle Paul comforts the Philippian Christians saying, “My God will supply all your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus.”  And yet, Œwhen the rubber hits the road,’ or when the life tests are given us, we fail to trust in the Lord even though we know His Word.
   Consider the test that Jesus gave His disciples in today’s Gospel reading.  Jesus had been performing a number of miraculous signs that showed that He was the Son of God.  His disciples, as His students, learned from Him as He taught and performed these miracles.  And yet, when test time came, they failed.  The test was given to see if they would trust in Jesus, that He would provide them with what they needed, even though it seemed impossible.  There were at least 5,000 men (not to mention women and children) who had followed Jesus up to this mountain, because of all the signs He was performing on the sick.  But then they got hungry, they had no food, they were a long way from any market or restaurant, and all the disciples had on hand was five loaves of bread and a couple of fish.  So, Jesus gave them a test.  He said to Philip, “Where are we to buy bread, that these may eat?”  Now, Jesus didn’t ask this question for Himself, as if He didn’t know where they were going to get the food.  He knew what He was intending to do.  But He asked this in order to test His disciples.
   Now, the disciples were very practical people, just like we are.  They judged what Jesus could or could not do based on what they had on hand in supplies, in their bank account, in their 401K’s, their stocks, their real estate investments, etc.  And seeing that they only had this very little bit of food, they concluded that these people just weren’t going to get anything to eat at all.  We’re the same way:  The stocks keep going down; where’s my retirement money going to come from?  Real estate keeps going up; when’s the bubble going to burst?  Things keep going from bad to worse in the world; are we ever going to have peace?  My health keeps deteriorating; why me, Lord?  Don’t you care about me anymore?  And so, the disciples failed the test.  They got their eyes off of Jesus and His Word and onto their problems instead.  Philip said, “Two hundred denarii worth of bread isn’t enough for them for everyone to receive a little,” and Andrew said, “There’s a boy here who has five barley loaves and two fish, but what are these for so many people?”  
   It seems that the disciples didn’t know the textbook.  They didn’t know the Scriptures, which, if they had know them, they would have known Jesus.  But either they didn’t know His Word, or if they did know it, they didn’t apply it to their lives.  And the test revealed this.  It showed that Philip was trusting in his bank account, and Andrew was trusting in his supplies.  The test revealed that the disciples had other gods which they feared, loved, and trusted in more than Jesus.  And that’s what the tests that Jesus gives us reveals, too.  They reveal just who or what we are trusting in over Jesus.  You can determine this for yourself, if you ask yourself, What is it that makes me feel secure?  Are you secure when you know you have enough money?  Are you secure when you’re healthy?  Are you secure when you have enough food, when things are going well for your family, when you don’t have any problems, or when the economy is doing well?  What happens when things go wrong?  Are you insecure, anxious, nervous, afraid?  Then, you’re not trusting in Jesus as you ought to.  You have failed the test.
   And failure at the Lord’s tests means you’ve sinned.  You’ve failed to fear, love, and trust in Him above all things.  For this failure you deserve His punishment.  Philip and Andrew deserved God’s punishment for not trusting in His Word.  And yet, Jesus didn’t punish them.  He continued to teach them by showing that He can and does provide us with all that we need for our bodies and lives in this world, no matter how impossible it seems to us, no matter how little He has to work with.  With His tests Jesus ferrets out the false gods that you trust in, in order to replace them with Himself.  His tests are given in order to strengthen your faith in Him, so that you will trust Him to forgive you your sins, to deliver you from all evil, and to give you each day your daily bread, just as He teaches you to pray.
   And notice how much Jesus provides for these people.  He provides more than enough, so much so, that there are twelve baskets full of food leftover - one basket for each disciple.  Jesus isn’t stingy with His gifts.  He doesn’t give you just a little bit; He doesn’t give you just enough.  Jesus doesn’t just meet your needs; He gives until your cup overflows, and then He gives even more!  That goes even when there are times when things seem a little tight for you.  You may not think Jesus is giving you more than you need when you’re running low on food or the bank account is too low and the bills are piling up or your body is aging and you’re having more and more health problems.  Even during those times, Jesus is still giving you what you need.  And what you need may or may not be what you think you need.  Jesus knows better than you what you need, so that even during times of testing Jesus keeps His promise to give you your daily bread, whatever that daily bread may be - whether it’s discipline, patience, or instruction in the Word.  But your daily bread will always include more forgiveness, more grace, mercy, and peace than you could ever ask or expect from Him.
   And that goes also for your failures at His tests.  You fail all the time to fear, love, and trust Him as you ought to.  His tests reveal all the little gods that you place over Him and must repent of.  And yet, Jesus continues to multiply His forgiveness towards you as He teaches you through these tests to trust in Him.  Unlike us, Jesus never fails.  He has passed all the tests for you.  God doesn’t grade on a curve.  It’s pass or fail with Him.  We have all failed, but Jesus has passed with a perfect score.  Jesus was tempted to sin by the devil in the wilderness, but He knew the textbook and applied it every time.  He was tempted to come down from the cross, but He kept His Father’s commandment and remained for you and for me.  Now, baptized as you are in Him, God sees Christ’s perfect score given to you.  Even though you will still fail many times at God’s tests, the final grade has already been achieved for you by Jesus.  It’s because of Him that you will not have to undergo God’s judgment for your failures, but will enjoy His grace, mercy, and peace now and forever.  
   And so the tests He gives you in this life are given so that you will learn to trust in Him.  These tests will not always be easy.  Some tests are harder than others.  Look at the test Job had to go through.  Some think that God will not give them a test that they aren’t able to handle.  And yet, how would you know if God were giving you something you couldn’t handle?  What about Job?  What about all the Christian martyrs, fed to the lions, crucified, and burned at the stake?  Were these things tests that those people could handle?  God does not promise that He won’t give you anything you can’t handle; instead, He promises that He will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able to bear, and will with that temptation always provide a way of escape.  As a matter of fact, we have to confess that we can handle nothing without our Lord’s help, not even the simplest test.  And yet, as Paul says, with the Lord, we can do all things through Him who strengthens us.  No test is more than you can handle with the Lord’s help.
   And where does He give you this help?  From His Word.  The Word of God is your textbook.  Study it, memorize it, ponder it, and pray it, so that when the tests come you can use it in order to pass.  Jesus wants you to continue to trust in Him for all that you need, including the need for the forgiveness of all your sins and everything that you need in body, soul, and spirit.  Look how He provided for His disciples and these 5,000 people using only a few loaves of bread and a couple of fish.  Look how He multiplies His body and blood to feed you at His Table, in order to provide for you forgiveness, life, and salvation, so much so that your cup overflows with His gifts.  Jesus tests you so that you will look to Him, who has multiplied to you all the riches of His grace and will never leave you or forsake you, but will continue to provide you with everything you need until He comes to take you home.  Amen.

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