Note 2 at Jn. 6:5: Jesus didn't ask this question because He needed help deciding what He would do. Rather, He was trying to get His disciples involved in the miracle. They were with Him when He turned the water into wine (Jn. 2:1-11) and they had witnessed many other miracles. They should have expected a supernatural response from Jesus. However, Philip looked at his own resources instead of God's.

Jesus didn't just teach the disciples but He trained them also. He was constantly trying to involve them in these miracles. Just a matter of days later, He again asked His disciples what they could do to feed the multitude of four thousand men. It was like He was saying "You missed this question when I asked you how we could feed the five thousand men. Now here are less people and more food. What would you suggest this time?"

Instead of remembering the previous miracle, they acted like they had never seen Jesus feed the multitude and they looked at their resources again (Mt. 15:32; Mk. 8:1). Likewise, we all too often try everything we can do first and forget God's supernatural power until all we can do is pray.