‘Philip went and told Andrew, and Andrew went with Philip and they told Jesus'.
It is indicative of how uncertain the disciples were about things that Philip felt that he needed help in broaching the matter with Jesus. The question in his mind was, would Jesus be willing to give time to these Gentiles, even though they were God-fearers? (God-fearers were those Gentiles who were responsive to the teaching of Judaism without actually being willing to be circumcised and become proselytes). Or were they outside the scope of His ministry? This in itself confirms that Jesus' teaching had stressed first His responsibility to Israel, as Matthew 10:15; Matthew 15:24 make clear, even though it had then expanded towards Gentiles in Sidon and Decapolis. The following verses were the assurance of their acceptance.