The sixth chapter continues the conflict of Jesus with the Jews, under the same point of view as that which we found to be prominent in chap. 5. As in that chapter Jesus was the fulfilment of the sabbath, so in this He is the fulfilment of the Passover; He is the true bread, the true substance of ou... [ Continue Reading ]
John 6:1. AFTER THESE THINGS. Like chap. 5, this chapter opens with an indefinite note of time, ‘after these things.' In the former instance we saw that the interval covered by the expression may have been two or three months; here, if we take the feast spoken of in chap. John 5:1 to have been the f... [ Continue Reading ]
John 6:2. AND A GREAT MULTITUDE FOLLOWED HIM, BECAUSE THEY BEHELD THE SIGNS WHICH HE DID ON THEM THAT WERE SICK. The Greek words are very expressive pointing clearly to repeated miracles of healing, on account of which crowds followed him continually from place to place. This is the only verse in Jo... [ Continue Reading ]
John 6:3. AND JESUS WENT UP INTO THE MOUNTAIN, AND THERE HE SAT WITH HIS DISCIPLES. He retired for the purpose of rest and prayer, and that he might instruct his disciples, the twelve who had just returned from their mission (Mark 6:30). ‘The mountain' we must probably understand in a general sense... [ Continue Reading ]
John 6:4. NOW THE PASSOVER, THE FEAST OF THE JEWS, WAS NIGH. On the words ‘of the Jews' see the notes on John 1:19; John 2:13. The addition here serves to explain why Jesus did not go up to the Passover. He had been rejected by the Jews at the former Passover (John 2:18): the feast, which had before... [ Continue Reading ]
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... [ Continue Reading ]
John 6:6. NOW THIS HE SAID PROVING HIM: FOR HE HIMSELF KNEW WHAT HE WAS ABOUT TO DO. Why Philip was addressed is a question often raised. The mention of the circumstance may be only the graphic touch of an eye-witness, and there may be nothing important in the Master's choice of the disciple whose f... [ Continue Reading ]
John 6:7. PHILIP ANSWERED HIM, TWO HUNDRED PENNYWORTH OF BREAD IS NOT SUFFICIENT FOR THEM, THAT EVERY ONE MAY TAKE A LITTLE. As the number of the men alone proved to be five thousand, an expenditure of 200 ‘pence' (_i.e._ 200 _denarii_) would allow less than a _denarius_, or about eight-pence of our... [ Continue Reading ]
John 6:8. ONE OF HIS DISCIPLES, ANDREW, SIMON PETER'S BROTHER, SAITH UNTO HIM. On the appellation here given to Andrew see on chap. John 1:40. Andrew is again associated with Philip in chap. John 12:22.... [ Continue Reading ]
John 6:9. THERE IS A LITTLE LAD HERE WHICH HATH FIVE BARLEY LOAVES AND TWO FISHES: BUT WHAT ARE THEY AMONG SO MANY? John shows Andrew as standing somewhat in advance of Philip, in that he does not hesitate to think that their little store may be set before the multitude, though he is perplexed at hi... [ Continue Reading ]
John 6:10. JESUS SAID, MAKE THE PEOPLE SIT DOWN. ‘The people,' a general word, including both men and women, is used here. They are directed to sit down, partly for the sake of order and ease in the distribution of the food, but also because the Lord is preparing to set a feast before them, and they... [ Continue Reading ]
John 6:11. JESUS THEREFORE TOOK THE LOAVES: AND WHEN HE HAD GIVEN THANKS HE DISTRIBUTED TO THEM THAT HAD SAT DOWN; LIKEWISE ALSO OF THE FISHES AS MUCH AS THEY WOULD. Jesus alone is mentioned, but there is no doubt that He employed the agency of His disciples. In Mark 6:41 we read that Jesus _gave th... [ Continue Reading ]
John 6:12. AND WHEN THEY WERE FILLED, HE SAITH UNTO HIS DISCIPLES, GATHER TOGETHER THE PIECES THAT REMAIN, THAT NOTHING BE LOST. The earlier Gospels relate the act of the disciples, but not the command of Jesus. John, everywhere intent on what his Master did and said, preserves for us this word. The... [ Continue Reading ]
John 6:13. THEREFORE THEY GATHERED THEM TOGETHER, AND FILLED TWELVE BASKETS WITH PIECES FROM THE FIVE BARLEY LOAVES, WHICH REMAINED OVER AND ABOVE UNTO THEM THAT HAD EATEN. The repetition of the words, ‘the five barley loaves,' is remarkable; the writer wishes to lay emphasis on the identity of the... [ Continue Reading ]
John 6:14. WHEN THEREFORE THE PEOPLE SAW THE SIGN THAT HE DID, THEY SAID. ‘The people,' _i.e.,_ the people of John 6:10, those who had been fed and satisfied. Are we, however, to understand that they saw the ‘wonder,' but saw in it no ‘sign,' as it is said by our Lord below, ‘Ye follow me not becaus... [ Continue Reading ]
John 6:15. JESUS THEREFORE PERCEIVING THAT THEY WERE ABOUT TO COME AND CARRY HIM OFF TO MAKE HIM KING, RETIRED AGAIN INTO THE MOUNTAIN HIMSELF ALONE. The thought of ‘Messiah' is the connecting link between the exclamation related in the last verse and the purpose here mentioned. The Messiah is to re... [ Continue Reading ]
John 6:16. AND WHEN EVEN WAS NOW COME, HIS DISCIPLES WENT DOWN UNTO THE SEA. Before Jesus retired to the mountain He had constrained His disciples to leave Him for the shore: when they had left He dismissed the people, withdrawing from them, probably by exercising such influence as is implied in cha... [ Continue Reading ]
John 6:17. AND ENTERED INTO A BOAT, AND WERE COMING OVER THE SEA UNTO CAPERNAUM. AND DARKNESS HAD ALREADY COME ON, AND JESUS WAS NOT YET COME TO THEM. Probably they were intending to coast along the shore of the lake between Bethsaida-Julias and Capernaum: in this they were no doubt following their... [ Continue Reading ]
John 6:18. AND THE SEA WAS RAGING BY REASON OF A GREAT WIND THAT BLEW. The darkness and the storm rendered their position one of great peril. There had arisen one of those sudden and violent squalls to which all inland waters surrounded by lofty hills intersected with gullies are liable. Many travel... [ Continue Reading ]
John 6:19. SO WHEN THEY HAD ROWED ABOUT FIVE AND TWENTY OR THIRTY FURLONGS. If the wind had driven them southwards soon after their starting, they would be near the eastern coast at a point where the lake is about forty furlongs broad. If therefore they had rowed twenty-five or thirty furlongs, they... [ Continue Reading ]
John 6:20-21. BUT HE SAITH UNTO THEM, IT IS I; BE NOT AFRAID. THEY WERE WILLING THEREFORE TO RECEIVE HIM INTO THE BOAT. His voice and manner were enough to remove all their fears. They would have kept away from the apparition, affrighted; but now their will was to receive their Master. This renewed... [ Continue Reading ]
John 6:22. THE DAY FOLLOWING, THE MULTITUDE WHICH STOOD ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE SEA SAW THAT THERE WAS NONE OTHER LITTLE BOAT THERE, SAVE ONE, AND THAT JESUS WENT NOT WITH HIS DISCIPLES INTO THE BOAT, BUT THAT HIS DISCIPLES WENT AWAY ALONE. During the night of the storm the multitude remained near... [ Continue Reading ]
In the miracle of the multiplying of the bread Jesus has symbolically presented Himself as the true bread of life. This thought is now unfolded in the various discourses with which the remainder of the chapter is occupied, while at the same time the effect of these discourses is traced upon the diff... [ Continue Reading ]
John 6:23. HOWBEIT THERE CAME BOATS FROM TIBERIAS NIGH UNTO THE PLACE WHERE THEY DID EAT THE BREAD, AFTER THAT THE LORD HAD GIVEN THANKS. Whilst they were still in wonder and doubt, other boats came across the sea near to the scene of the miracle of the preceding day. These boats were from Tiberias,... [ Continue Reading ]
John 6:24. WHEN THE MULTITUDE THEREFORE SAW THAT JESUS WAS NOT THERE, NEITHER HIS DISCIPLES, THEY THEMSELVES GOT INTO THE LITTLE BOATS, AND CAME TO CAPERNAUM, SEEKING FOR JESUS. If Jesus was neither on the eastern shore nor at Tiberias, He might be sought near Capernaum, in the direction of which to... [ Continue Reading ]
John 6:25. AND WHEN THEY HAD FOUND HIM ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE SEA, THEY SAID UNTO HIM. RABBI, WHEN CAMEST THOU HITHER? The ‘other side' denotes the western coast. Their question on finding Jesus in Capernaum but partly expresses their thoughts, which would rest as much on the _how_ as on the ‘ _wh... [ Continue Reading ]
John 6:26. JESUS ANSWERED THEM AND SAID, VERILY, VERILY, I SAY UNTO YOU, YE SEEK ME, NOT BECAUSE YE SAW SIGNS, BUT BECAUSE YE DID EAT OF THE LOAVES, AND WERE SATISFIED. This solemn declaration is only seemingly discordant with John 6:2 or John 6:14. Those who witnessed a miracle of Jesus, and did no... [ Continue Reading ]
John 6:27. WORK NOT FOR THE EATING WHICH PERISHETH. The rendering ‘work' is required to bring out the connection with the following verse, in which the same word is used. The language of the original is very expressive: ‘ Work,' use all the energies of your nature, not unto partaking of perishable b... [ Continue Reading ]
John 6:28. THEY SAID THEREFORE UNTO HIM, WHAT MUST WE DO, THAT WE MAY WORK THE WORKS OF GOD? Our Lord's answer seems to have been but little comprehended by ‘the multitude.' They reply with an earnest inquiry, taking up all that they have understood, but missing the central point of His words. He ha... [ Continue Reading ]
John 6:29. JESUS ANSWERED AND SAID UNTO THEM, THIS IS THE WORK OF GOD, THAT YE BELIEVE IN HIM WHOM HE SENT. The one work which God would have them do is believing in Him whom He sent. The people had spoken of ‘works,' thinking of outward deeds; but that which God commands is one work, faith in Jesus... [ Continue Reading ]
John 6:30. THEY SAID THEREFORE UNTO HIM, WHAT THEN DOEST THOU AS A SIGN, THAT WE MAY SEE, AND BELIEVE THEE? WHAT DOST THOU WORK? The words of Jesus had now become too plain to be misunderstood. It was clear that He would turn them away from such works as they had had in view, and fix all thought upo... [ Continue Reading ]
John 6:31. OUR FATHERS DID EAT THE MANNA IN THE WILDERNESS. Amongst the miracles wrought by Moses the Jews seem (and with reason) to have assigned to the manna a foremost place. In a Hebrew commentary on Ecclesiastes there is preserved a saying of great interest in connection with this passage: ‘As... [ Continue Reading ]
John 6:32. JESUS THEREFORE SAID UNTO THEM _, _ VERILY, VERILY, I SAY UNTO YOU. The gravity of the truth declared in this verse is indicated by the solemn ‘Verily, verily,' which now occurs for the second time in this discourse. MOSES GAVE YOU NOT THE BREAD OUT OF HEAVEN; BUT MY FATHER GIVETH YOU TH... [ Continue Reading ]
John 6:33. FOR THE BREAD OF GOD IS THAT WHICH COMETH DOWN OUT OF HEAVEN, AND GIVETH LIFE UNTO THE WORLD. The ‘bread of God' is the bread which God gives (John 6:32). It is not easy to decide on the translation of this verse. The Greek equally admits of two renderings, either ‘he that cometh,' or ‘th... [ Continue Reading ]
John 6:34. THEY SAID THEREFORE UNTO HIM, LORD, EVERMORE GIVE US THIS BREAD. We cannot see in these words the mere expression of a desire that earthly wants may be satisfied (comp. John 4:15). This would have incurred rebuke (comp. John 6:26), and not led to clearer teaching, such as is found in the... [ Continue Reading ]
John 6:36. BUT I SAID UNTO YOU, THAT YE HAVE INDEED SEEN ME, AND BELIEVE NOT. When had such words been uttered? Certainly the reference is not to chap. John 5:37, spoken in Jerusalem to the Jews, not to the multitude in Galilee. It is not likely that Jesus is speaking of words of censure not recorde... [ Continue Reading ]
John 6:37. ALL THAT WHICH THE FATHER GIVETH ME SHALL COME TO ME; AND HIM THAT IS COMING TO ME I WILL IN NO WISE CAST OUT. These words have been understood by some as a reproach: ‘How different are ye from those whom my Father giveth me!' but such an interpretation is quite inconsistent with the cont... [ Continue Reading ]
John 6:38. BECAUSE I HAVE COME DOWN FROM HEAVEN, NOT TO DO MINE OWN WILL, BUT THE WILL OF HIM THAT SENT ME. The previous verse was full of the power and energy of love; but even then Jesus expresses no feeling or purpose of His own as the motive of His acts. He will cast out none, because such is th... [ Continue Reading ]
John 6:39. AND THIS IS THE WILL OF HIM THAT SENT ME, THAT ALL THAT WHICH HE HATH GIVEN ME, OF IT I SHOULD LOSE NOTHING. Here, as in John 6:37, the gift of the Father is represented in its totality, ‘all that which.' As no part of the precious gift to the multitude, the gift which symbolized Himself,... [ Continue Reading ]
John 6:40. FOR THIS IS THE WILL OF MY FATHER, THAT EVERY ONE WHICH BEHOLDETH THE SON AND BELIEVETH IN HIM SHOULD HAVE ETERNAL LIFE, AND THAT I SHOULD RAISE HIM UP AT THE LAST DAY. This verse is no mere repetition of the last, but differs from it in two important points. As in John 6:37, we pass from... [ Continue Reading ]
John 6:41. THE JEWS THEREFORE MURMURED CONCERNING HIM, BECAUSE HE SAID, I AM THE BREAD WHICH CAME DOWN OUT OF HEAVEN. The ‘murmuring' denotes more than that indistinct complaining to which we generally apply the word. The frequent and indignant expressions of discontent by the Israelites when journe... [ Continue Reading ]
John 6:42. AND THEY SAID, IS NOT THIS JESUS, THE SON OF JOSEPH, WHOSE FATHER AND MOTHER WE KNOW? HOW DOTH HE NOW SAY, I HAVE COME DOWN OUT OF HEAVEN? At this time, then, it is clear that Jesus was generally regarded as Joseph's son: the calumnies which at a later period were current amongst the Jews... [ Continue Reading ]
John 6:43. JESUS ANSWERED AND SAID UNTO THEM, MURMUR NOT AMONG YOURSELVES. For such murmurers Jesus has only reproof. It is very strange that in our day some writers on this Gospel should have had difficulty in understanding why Jesus did not refute the objection raised by declaring the truth of the... [ Continue Reading ]
John 6:44. NO ONE CAN COME TO ME EXCEPT THE FATHER WHICH SENT ME SHALL HAVE DRAWN HIM. In these words He would tell them that (as their unbelief and resistance show) they have not that _special_ divine teaching without which they cannot understand Him. Hence He speaks not of the ‘drawing' of God, bu... [ Continue Reading ]
John 6:45. IT IS WRITTEN IN THE PROPHETS, AND THEY SHALL ALL BE TAUGHT OF GOD. Jesus confirms His word by a testimony from the Old Testament, not now taken from the Law (comp. John 6:31), but from the Prophets. The use of the plural ‘prophets' has been thought to prove that the reference does not be... [ Continue Reading ]
John 6:46. NOT THAT ANY ONE HATH SEEN THE FATHER, SAVE HE WHICH IS FROM GOD, HE HATH SEEN THE FATHER. The words just spoken, ‘he that hath heard from the Father,' might be understood to point to a direct communication: this however would imply a close relation to the Father such as is possessed by O... [ Continue Reading ]
John 6:47. VERILY, VERILY, I SAY UNTO YOU, HE THAT BELIEVETH HATH ETERNAL LIFE. In the preceding verses Jesus has rebuked the murmuring of the Jews. They had not opened their hearts to the Father's teaching, or their difficulty would have disappeared. He now returns to the truths out of which His fo... [ Continue Reading ]
John 6:47-49. THE PHARISEES THEREFORE ANSWERED THEM, HAVE YE ALSO BEEN LED ASTRAY? HATH ANY ONE OF THE RULERS BELIEVED IN HIM, OR OF THE PHARISEES? BUT THIS MULTITUDE WHICH UNDERSTANDETH NOT THE LAW ARE CURSED. In such a matter as the acceptance of any man as Messiah, the judgment of the rulers (mem... [ Continue Reading ]
John 6:48. I AM THE BREAD OF LIFE. Having prepared the way by the declaration of the necessity of faith, He reaffirms what (in John 6:35) He had said of Himself. He is the bread which contains life in itself, and which therefore can give and does give life to all who receive and assimilate it. It is... [ Continue Reading ]
John 6:49. YOUR FATHERS DID EAT THE MANNA IN THE WILDERNESS, AND DIED. No other bread has given life eternal. Even the manna, the bread given out of heaven, did not bestow life on their fathers, who (as the people themselves had said) ate the manna in the wilderness. It seems very probable that the... [ Continue Reading ]
John 6:50. THIS IS THE BREAD WHICH COMETH DOWN OUT OF HEAVEN, THAT ANY ONE MAY EAT THEREOF, AND NOT DIE. The ‘bread that cometh down out of heaven' (repeated from John 6:33) is of such a nature, and has such an object, that one may eat of it and not die. We are not to press too much our Lord's use o... [ Continue Reading ]
John 6:51. I AM THE LIVING BREAD WHICH CAME DOWN OUT OF HEAVEN. Once more Jesus declares that the bread of which He has spoken is Himself; but the assertion is expressed in words that differ significantly from those before employed. For ‘the bread of life' He says now ‘the living bread:' for ‘cometh... [ Continue Reading ]
John 6:52. THE JEWS THEREFORE STROVE AMONG THEMSELVES, SAYING, HOW CAN THIS MAN GIVE US HIS FLESH TO EAT? As before, the Jews take hold of those words which are most susceptible of a merely material sense. Every word that points to a spiritual meaning they ignore; but in doing so they themselves giv... [ Continue Reading ]
John 6:53-55. JESUS THEREFORE SAID UNTO THEM, VERILY, VERILY, I SAY UNTO YOU, EXCEPT YE HAVE EATEN THE FLESH OF THE SON OF MAN, AND DRUNK HIS BLOOD, YE HAVE NOT LIFE IN YOURSELVES. HE THAT EATETH MY FLESH, AND DRINKETH MY BLOOD, HATH ETERNAL LIFE; AND I WILL RAISE HIM UP AT THE LAST DAY. FOR MY FLES... [ Continue Reading ]
John 6:56. HE THAT EATETH MY FLESH AND DRINKETH MY BLOOD ABIDETH IN ME, AND I IN HIM. The fellowship consists in this, that the believer abides in the Life, and that He who is the Life abides in the believer. Note that here it is not ‘hath eaten;' the ‘abiding' is dependent on the continuance of the... [ Continue Reading ]
John 6:57. AS THE LIVING FATHER SENT ME, AND I LIVE BECAUSE OF THE FATHER; SO HE THAT EATETH ME, HE ALSO SHALL LIVE BECAUSE OF ME. He that sent the Son into the world is the living Father, the Being who is eternally and absolutely the Living One. The Son lives because the Father lives. This receptio... [ Continue Reading ]
John 6:58. THIS IS THAT BREAD WHICH CAME DOWN OUT OF HEAVEN. Here Jesus returns to the first theme. Since He has now set forth all that the true bread gives, the contrast with the manna is complete. ‘This' of this nature, such as I have described it to you ‘is the bread that came down out of heaven.... [ Continue Reading ]
John 6:59. THESE THINGS SAID HE, AS HE WAS TEACHING IN A SYNAGOGUE IN CAPERNAUM. These words not only give information as to the place in which the discourse (probably John 6:41-58; see note on John 6:40) was delivered, but also show the boldness with which Jesus declared truths so new and so surpri... [ Continue Reading ]
John 6:60. MANY THEREFORE OF HIS DISCIPLES WHEN THEY HEARD THIS SAID, THIS IS AN HARD SAYING; WHO CAN HEAR HIM? The word ‘disciples' is here used in a wide sense, including many more than the Twelve, and many who had never risen to a high and pure faith. The ‘saying' can only be that of the precedin... [ Continue Reading ]
John 6:61. BUT JESUS, KNOWING IN HIMSELF THAT HIS DISCIPLES MURMURED CONCERNING THIS, SAID UNTO THEM, DOTH THIS MAKE YOU TO STUMBLE? He knew their thoughts, and because they are disciples, not Jews bent on opposing Him, He seeks to help them.... [ Continue Reading ]
John 6:62. WHAT THEN IF YE BEHOLD THE SON OF MAN ASCENDING WHERE HE WAS BEFORE? The meaning of this ascent is surely clear in itself; but if it were not, the mention of a past _descent_ (John 6:41; John 6:51; John 6:58) would remove all doubt. Our Lord certainly refers to His ascension into heaven.... [ Continue Reading ]
John 6:63. IT IS THE SPIRIT THAT MAKETH TO LIVE; THE FLESH PROFITETH NOTHING. Jesus has spoken of ‘giving life,' of the ‘eating of His flesh,' as the means of gaining eternal life. In all this He has not the flesh but the spirit in view, not the material reception of the flesh by the flesh but the a... [ Continue Reading ]
John 6:64. BUT THERE ARE SOME OF YOU THAT BELIEVE NOT. Even of these who had heard the last words, so mercifully spoken for the removal of their difficulties, there were some who continued in unbelief. FOR JESUS KNEW FROM THE BEGINNING WHO THEY WERE THAT BELIEVED NOT, AND WHO IT WAS THAT WOULD BETR... [ Continue Reading ]
John 6:65. AND HE SAID, FOR THIS CAUSE HAVE I SAID UNTO YOU, THAT NO ONE CAN COME UNTO ME, EXCEPT IT HAVE BEEN GIVEN UNTO HIM OF THE FATHER. They had seemed genuine disciples, but His words had been to them a stumbling-block and had not brought life. They had not really come to Him: they had not rec... [ Continue Reading ]
John 6:66. UPON THIS MANY OF HIS DISCIPLES WENT BECK, AND WALKED NO LONGER WITH HIM. Another sad reflection, as in John 6:64: the Evangelist cannot but record the repelling influence which the light exerted on those who were not of the light. These disciples seemed to have left all that they might b... [ Continue Reading ]
John 6:67. JESUS THEREFORE SAID UNTO THE TWELVE, WOULD YE ALSO GO? In contrast with the desertion of many is the strengthened faith of those who, being of the light, are attracted by the light. The ‘Twelve' are here mentioned by John for the first time.... [ Continue Reading ]
John 6:68-69. SIMON PETER ANSWERED HIM. In accordance with the earlier records Peter stands forth as the spokesman of the Twelve, and in answer to the question of Jesus makes a confession of their faith. LORD, TO WHOM SHALL WE GO AWAY? THOU HAST WORDS OF ETERNAL LIFE. (John 6:69) AND WE HAVE BELIEV... [ Continue Reading ]
John 6:70. JESUS ANSWERED THEM, DID NOT I CHOOSE YOU THE TWELVE? AND ONE OF YOU IS A DEVIL. Alas! even in this small circle there is an element that the light attracts not but repels. In good faith Peter had spoken of all his brethren, when he said, ‘we have believed.' He knew not, and probably Juda... [ Continue Reading ]
John 6:71. NOW HE SPAKE OF JUDAS THE SON OF SIMON ISCARIOT. Here we meet for the first time in this Gospel with the name Iscariot; and it will be observed that (as in John 13:26) it is connected not with the name of Judas (as in John 12:4; John 13:2; John 14:22) but with that of his father. In all p... [ Continue Reading ]