John 6:5

John 6:5. Jesus therefore having lifted up his eyes, and having seen that a great multitude cometh unto him. The place in which the multitudes were gathering was a desert plain at the foot of the hills.

Saith unto Philip, whence are we to buy bread, that these may eat? It was as they drew near that Jesus addressed the question to Philip. The other narratives say nothing of it, but all represent the disciples as coming to their Lord when the day began to wane to beg Him to send away the multitudes. Our Lords question to Philip, then, is entirely independent of the later petition of the twelve. Even were it otherwise, however, and were John referring to the same point of time as the other Evangelists, there would be no ground whatever for asserting that there is any discrepancy between the narratives, for none of them can contain all that passed between the disciples and their Master. Besides this, the eleven may not have heard the words, of may not have seen their significance if they did hear them.