What does John 6:6 mean?

To test their faith, Jesus asks the disciples how they will solve the problem of a hungry crowd. Unlike the Devil, who uses challenges and tests to entangle us in sin, God's tests are meant to refine our faith. Jesus already knows exactly how He is going to address this problem. What He wants is to see where the disciples will turn for answers to their hardships. According to the four gospel accounts of this event, the disciples will present a range of different solutions. Their three primary answers are to ignore the problem by sending the people away (Mark 6:36), to solve the problem with money, as Philip will sarcastically suggest (John 6:7), or to work to solve it, as Andrew attempts later (John 6:8–9).

Christ's own answer is not completely contradictory to these. Yet His is grounded in a fundamentally different assumption. Each of the disciples starts by focusing attention on human efforts; Jesus' resolution will begin with a humble appeal to God. Primary reliance on God is a lesson John highlights in this miraculous event (John 6:11, 23).