John 6

John 6:1

IV. THE SON OF GOD’S THIRD YEAR OF MINISTRY: GALILEE (Chap. 6) A. The Fourth Sign: Feeding of the Five Thousand (6:1-15) 6:1 The expression after these things means that a period of time had elapsed since the events in chapter 5 took place. Just how much time we do not know, but we do know that Jesus had traveled from the area around Jerusalem up to the Sea of Galilee. When it says that He crossed the sea, it probably means that He went from the northwestern shore to the northeastern side. The Sea of Galilee was also known as the Sea of Tiberias, because the city of Tiberias was located on its western bank. This city, the capital of the province of Galilee, was named after the Roman Emperor Tiberius. 6:2, 3 A great crowd of people followed Him, not necessarily because they believed on Him as the Son of God, but rather because they saw the miracles which He had done for those who were diseased. A faith founded on miracles is never as pleasing to God as that which is founded on His Word alone. God’s Word should not require miracles to verify it. Anything that God says is true. It cannot possibly be false. That should be enough for anyone. The literal translation of verse 3 is And Jesus went up on the mountain, but this may merely mean the mountainous (or hilly) region around the Sea. 6:4 It is not clear why John mentioned that the Passover was near. Some suggest that the Lord Jesus was probably thinking about the Passover when He gave His wonderful message in this chapter on the true Bread of Life. He had not gone to Jerusalem for the Passover. John spoke of the Passover as a feast of the Jews. Actually, of course, it had been instituted by God in the OT. He had given it to the Jewish people, and in that sense it was a feast of the Jews. But the expression a feast of the Jews might also mean that God no longer recognized it as one of His own feasts because the Jewish nation celebrated it as a mere ritual, without any real heart interest. It had lost its real meaning, and was no longer a feast of Jehovah. 6:5 Jesus was not annoyed when He saw the great multitude, thinking they would disturb His rest or His time with the disciples. His first thought was to provide something for them to eat. And so He turned to Philip and asked where bread could be purchased to feed the multitude. When Jesus asked a question, it was never for the purpose of adding to His own knowledge, but to teach others. He knew the answer, but Philip didn’t. 6:6 The Lord was going to teach Philip a very valuable lesson and test his faith. Jesus Himself knew that He would perform a miracle to feed this great crowd of people. But did Philip realize that He was able to do this? Was Philip’s faith great or was it small? 6:7 Apparently Philip’s faith did not rise to very great heights. He made some quick calculations and decided that even two hundred denarii worth of bread would not be enough to provide even a little meal for everyone. We do not know exactly how much bread could be purchased for two hundred denarii in that day, but it must have been a very great amount. A denarius was a worker’s daily wage. 6:8, 9 Andrew was Simon Peter’s brother. They lived in the vicinity of Bethsaida, along the shore of the Sea of Galilee. Andrew also decided that it would be difficult to feed such a throng. He noticed a little boy with five barley loaves and two small fish, but he felt that these would be almost useless in attempting to satisfy the hunger of so many. This lad did not have very much, but he was willing to put it at the disposal of the Lord Jesus. As a result of his kindness, this story was recorded in each of the four Gospels. He did not do very much, but little is much if God is in it, and he has become famous throughout the world. 6:10 In making the people sit down (literally, recline), the Lord Jesus provided for their comfort. Notice He chose a place where there was much grass. It was unusual to find such a place in that region, but the Lord took care that the crowd would eat in a clean, pleasant place. It is recorded that there were thousands of men (Greek: males), so this means that there were women and children in addition. The mention of the number five thousand is made to indicate what a mighty miracle was about to take place. 6:11 Jesus took the loaves and gave thanks for them. If He did this before partaking of food or serving it, how much more should we pause to thank God before eating our meals. Next He distributed the food to the disciples. There is a real lesson for us in this. The Lord Jesus did not do it all Himself. He enlisted the service of others.

It has been well said, You do what you can do; I’ll do what I can do; and the Lord will do what we cannot do.By the time the Lord distributed the bread to the disciples, it had been wonderfully multiplied. The exact moment when this miracle took place is not recorded, but we know that in a miraculous way those five loaves and two small fish became enough in the Lord’s hands to feed this great throng. The disciples went about serving the bread and the fish to those sitting down. There was no scarcity because it is distinctly stated that they gave them of the fish as much as they wanted. Griffith Thomas has reminded us that in this story we have a beautiful picture of: (a) the perishing world; (b) the powerless disciples; (c) the perfect Savior. This miracle involved a true act of creation. No mere man could take five loaves and two small fish and expand them in such a way as to feed so many people as this. It has been well said, Twas springtime when He blessed the bread, twas harvest when He brake. And it is also true, Loaves unblessed are loaves unmultiplied.6:12 This is a very beautiful touch. If Jesus had been a mere man He would never have bothered to think about the remaining fragments.

Any man who can feed five thousand does not worry about a few leftover crumbs! But Jesus is God, and with God there must be no wasting of His bounties. He does not want us to squander the precious things He has given to us, and so He takes care to instruct that the broken pieces which remained should be gathered up so that nothing might be lost. Many people try to explain away this miracle. The crowd, they say, saw the little boy give his five loaves and two fish to Jesus. This made them realize how selfish they were, so they decided to take out their lunches and share them with each other. In this way, there was food for everyone. But no such explanation will fit the facts, as we shall see in the next verse. 6:13 Twelve baskets of bread were gathered up after the people had finished eating. It would be a sheer impossibility to gather up as much bread as this if it had just been a matter of each person having his own lunch with him. Man’s explanations prove ridiculous. There can be only one conclusion, and that is that a mighty miracle had been performed. 6:14 The people themselves recognized that it was a miracle. They would not have done so if they had simply eaten their own lunches. In fact, they were so convinced that it was a miracle that they were willing to acknowledge that Jesus was the Prophet who would come into the world. They knew from the OT that a prophet was coming, and they looked for him to deliver them from the control of the Roman Empire. They were waiting for an earthly monarch. But their faith was not genuine. They were not willing to admit that Jesus was the Son of God or to confess their sins and accept Him as Savior. 6:15 As a result of Jesus’ miracle, the people wanted to make Him king. Again, if Jesus were only a man, He doubtless would have submitted readily to their request. Men are only too anxious to be exalted and to be given a place of prominence. But Jesus was not moved by such appeals to vanity and pride. He realized that He had come into the world to die as a Substitute for sinners on the cross. He would do nothing to interfere with that objective. He would not ascend the throne until first He had ascended the altar of sacrifice. He must suffer, bleed, and die before He would be exalted. F. B. Meyer writes: As St. Bernard said, He always fled when they wanted to make Him King, and presented Himself when they wanted to crucify Him. With this clearly in mind let us not hesitate to adopt the noble works of Ittai the Gittite: As the Lord liveth, and as my lord the king liveth, surely in what place my lord the king shall be, whether in death or life, even there also will thy servant be (2Sa_15:21). And He will surely answer, as that same David did to another fugitive who came to identify himself with his cause: Abide with me, fear not; for he that seeketh my life seeketh thy life, but with me thou shalt be in safeguard.

John 6:16

B. The Fifth Sign: Jesus Walks on the Water and Rescues His Disciples (6:16-21) 6:16, 17 It was evening. Jesus had gone to the mountain by Himself. The crowd doubtless returned to their homes, leaving the disciples by themselves. And so the disciples decided to go down to the sea and prepare for their trip back across the Sea of Galilee. As they went over the sea toward Capernaum, it was already dark. Jesus was not with them. Where was He? He was up on the mountain praying. What a picture of Christ’s followers today. They are on the stormy sea of life. It is dark. The Lord Jesus is nowhere to be seen. But that does not mean that He is unaware of what is going on. He is in heaven praying for those He loves. 6:18 The Sea of Galilee is subject to sudden and violent storms. Winds travel down the valley of the Jordan River at a great speed. When they hit the Sea of Galilee, they cause the waves to rise very high. It is not safe for small boats to be out on the sea at such a time. 6:19 The disciples had rowed about three or four miles. From a human standpoint, they were in great danger. At the right moment, they looked up and saw Jesus walking on the sea, and drawing near the boat. Here is another marvelous miracle. The Son of God was walking on the waters of the Sea of Galilee. The disciples were afraid because they did not fully realize who this wonderful Person was. Notice how simply the story is told. The most amazing facts are being told to us, but John did not use big words to impress us with the greatness of what was taking place. He used great restraint in setting forth the facts. 6:20 Then the Lord Jesus spoke wonderful words of comfort. It is I; do not be afraid. If He were only a man, they might well be afraid. But He is the mighty Creator and the Sustainer of the universe. With such a One close at hand, there was no reason to fear. He who made the Sea of Galilee in the first place could cause its waters to be calm in the second place, and could bring His fearful disciples safely to shore. The words It is I are literally I AM. So far this is the second time in John’s Gospel where Jesus used this name of Jehovah as applying to Himself. 6:21 When they realized that it was the Lord Jesus, they welcomed Him into the boat. Immediately they found themselves at their destination. Here another miracle is stated but not explained. They did not have to row any farther. The Lord Jesus brought them to dry land instantly. What a wonderful Person He is!

John 6:22

C. The People Seek a Sign (6:22-34) 6:22 It is now the day after the one in which the five thousand were fed. The multitude of people are still in the area northeast of the Sea of Galilee. They had watched the disciples get into the small boat the previous evening, and they knew that Jesus had not gone with them. Only one boat had been available at that time, and the disciples had taken it. 6:23 The following day, boats had come from Tiberias, near the place where the Lord Jesus had fed the multitude. But the Lord could not have departed in one of these because they had just arrived. But perhaps it was in these small boats that the multitude crossed over to Capernaum, as recorded in the following verses. 6:24 The people had watched Jesus very carefully. They knew that He had gone up into the mountain to pray. They knew that He had not gone in the boat with the disciples across the lake. Yet on the following day He was nowhere to be found. They decided to cross the sea to Capernaum, where the disciples were most likely to be. They could not understand how Jesus could be there, but they decided to go and seek Him anyway. 6:25, 26 Arriving at Capernaum, they found Him there. They could not conceal their curiosity, and asked Him when He had arrived. Jesus answered their question indirectly. He realized that they did not seek Him because of who He was but rather because of the food which He gave them. They had seen Him perform a mighty miracle on the day before. This should have convinced them that He was indeed the Creator and the Messiah. But their interest was simply in food. They had eaten of the miracle loaves, and their hunger had been satisfied. 6:27 So Jesus first advised them not to labor for the food which perishes. The Lord did not mean that they should not work for their daily living, but He did mean that this should not be the supreme aim in their lives. Satisfying one’s physical appetite is not the most important thing in life. Man consists not only of body, but of spirit and soul as well. We should labor for the food which endures to everlasting life. Man should not live as if his body were all.

He should not devote all his strength and talents to the feeding of his body, which in a few short years will be eaten by worms. Rather, he should make sure that his soul is fed day by day with the Word of God. Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God. We should work tirelessly to acquire a better knowledge of the Word of God. When the Lord Jesus said that God the Father had set His seal on Him, He meant that God had sent Him and approved Him. When we set our seal to something, it means that we promise that it is true. God sealed the Son of Man in the sense that He endorsed Him as One who spoke the truth. 6:28 The people now asked the Lord what they must do in order to work the works of God. Man is always trying to earn his way to heaven. He likes to feel that there is something he can do to merit salvation. If he can somehow contribute to the saving of his soul, then he can find a ground for boasting; and this is very pleasing to him. 6:29 Jesus saw through their hypocrisy. They pretended that they wanted to work for God, and yet they did not want to have anything to do with the Son of God. Jesus told them that the first thing they must do is accept the One whom God had sent. So it is today. Many are seeking to earn their way to heaven by good works. But before they can do good works for God, they must first believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. Good works do not precede salvation; they follow it. The only good work a sinner can do is to confess his sins and receive Christ as Lord and Savior. 6:30 This verse was a further proof of the wickedness of the hearts of the people. One day previously, they had seen the Lord Jesus feed five thousand men with five loaves and two fish. On the very next day, they came to Him and asked Him for some sign that would prove His claims to be the Son of God. Like most unbelievers, they wanted to see first, and then they would believe. That we may see it, and believe You. But this is not God’s order. God says to sinners, If you believe, then you will see. Faith must always come first. 6:31 Going back to the OT, the Jews reminded Jesus of the miracle of the manna in the wilderness. They seemed to be saying that Jesus had never done anything as wonderful as that. They quoted from Psa_78:24-25, where it is written: He gave them bread from heaven to eat. They implied that Moses called down food from heaven; the Lord was not as great as Moses, because He had only multiplied existing food! 6:32 The Lord’s answer conveys at least two thoughts. First of all, it was not Moses who gave them the manna, but God. Moreover, the manna was not the true spiritual bread from heaven. The manna was literal food, designed for the physical body, but it had no value beyond this life. The Lord Jesus was here speaking about the true, ideal, and genuine bread which God gives out of heaven. It is bread for the soul and not for the body. The words My Father are a claim by Christ to deity. 6:33 The Lord Jesus revealed Himself as the bread of God which came down from heaven and gives life. He was showing the superiority of the bread of God to the manna in the wilderness. The manna did not impart life but only sustained physical life. It was not intended for the whole world but only for Israel. The true bread comes down from heaven and gives life to mennot just to one nation but to all the world. 6:34 The Jews still did not realize that the Lord Jesus was speaking about Himself as the true bread, and so they asked Him for the bread. They were still thinking in terms of a literal loaf. Unfortunately, there was no real faith in their hearts.

John 6:35

D. Jesus, the Bread of Life (6:35-65) 6:35 Now Jesus stated the truth simply and clearly. He is the bread of life. Those who come to Him find enough in Him to satisfy their spiritual hunger forever. Those who believe on Him find their thirst forever quenched. Notice the words I am in this verse and recognize that the Lord was making a claim to equality with Jehovah. It would be folly for a sinful man to utter the words of verse 35. No mere man can satisfy his own hunger or thirst, much less satisfy the spiritual appetite of the whole world! 6:36 In verse 30, the unbelieving Jews had asked the Lord for a sign in order that they might see and believe. Here Jesus said that He had already told them that they had seen Himthe greatest sign of alland yet they did not believe. If the Son of God could stand before them in perfect manhood and not be recognized by them, then it was doubtful that any sign He would perform would convince them. 6:37 The Lord was not discouraged by the unbelief of the Jews. He knew that all the Father’s purposes and plans would be fulfilled. Even if the Jews to whom He was speaking would not accept Him, then He knew that all of those who were chosen by God would come to Him. As Pink puts it, The realization of the invincibility of the eternal counsels of God gives a calmness, a poise, a courage, a perseverance which nothing else can.This verse is very important because it states in a few words two of the most important teachings in the Bible. The first is that God has given certain ones to Christ and that all those whom He has given will be saved. The other is the teaching of man’s responsibility.

In order to be saved, a man must come to the Lord Jesus and accept Him by faith. God does choose some people to be saved, but the Bible never teaches that He chooses some to be damned. If anyone is saved, it is because of the free grace of God. But if anyone perishes forever, it is his own fault. All men are condemned by their own sinfulness and wickedness. If all men went to hell, they would be receiving only what they deserve.

In grace, God stoops down and saves individual people out of the great mass of humanity. Does He have the right to do this? He certainly does. God can do as He chooses, and no man can deny Him this right. We know that God will never do anything that is wrong or unjust. But just as the Bible teaches that God has elected certain persons to salvation, it also teaches that man is responsible to accept the gospel. God makes a universal offerthat if a man will believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, he will be saved. God does not save men against their will. A person must come to Him in repentance and faith. Then God will save him. No one who comes to God through Christ will be cast out. The human mind cannot reconcile these two teachings. However, we should believe them even if we cannot understand them. They are Biblical teachings and are clearly stated here. 6:38 In verse 37, the Lord Jesus said that all of God’s plans would eventually be fulfilled with regard to the salvation of those who were given to Him. Since this was the Father’s will, the Lord would personally undertake to bring it to pass, as His mission was to do the will of God. I have come down from heaven said Christ, clearly teaching that He did not begin His life in the manger at Bethlehem. Rather, He existed from all eternity with God the Father in heaven. Coming into the world, He was the obedient Son of God. He voluntarily took the place of a servant in order to carry out the will of His Father. This does not mean that He did not have a will of His own, but rather that His own will was in perfect agreement with the will of God. 6:39 The will of the Father was that everyone who was given to Christ would be saved and kept until the resurrection of the just, when they would be raised and taken home to heaven. The words nothing and it refer to believers. Here He was thinking not of individual believers but of the entire body of Christians who would be saved down through the years. The Lord Jesus was responsible to see that not one member of the body would be lost but that the whole body would be raised up at the last day. As far as Christians are concerned, the last day refers to the day when the Lord Jesus will come in the air, when the dead in Christ will rise first, when the living believers will be changed, and when all will be caught up to meet the Lord in the air, to be forever with the Lord. To the Jews, it meant the coming of the Messiah in glory. 6:40 The Lord now went on to explain how a person became a member of the family of the redeemed. God’s will is that everyone who sees the Son and believes in Him may have everlasting life. To see the Son here means not to see Him with the physical eyes but rather with the eyes of faith. One must see or recognize that Jesus Christ is the Son of God and the Savior of the world. Then, too, he must believe on Him. This means that by a definite act of faith, he must receive the Lord Jesus as his own personal Savior. All who do this receive everlasting life as a present possession and also receive the assurance that they will be raised at the last day. 6:41 The people were quite unprepared to accept the Lord Jesus, and they showed this by murmuring against Him. He had claimed to be the bread which came down from heaven. They realized that this was a claim of great importance. To come down from heaven, one could not be a mere man or even a great prophet. And so they complained about Him because they were not willing to believe His words. 6:42 They assumed that Jesus was the son of Joseph. Here, of course, they were wrong. Jesus was born of the Virgin Mary. Joseph was not His father. Rather, our Lord was conceived of the Holy Spirit. Their failure to believe in the virgin birth led to their darkness and unbelief. So it is today. Those who refuse to accept the Lord Jesus as the Son of God who came into the world through the womb of the virgin find themselves compelled to deny all the great truths concerning the Person and work of Christ. 6:43 Although they had not been speaking directly to Him, yet He knew what they were saying, and here Jesus told them not to murmur among themselves. The following verses explain why their murmuring was useless and profitless. The more the Jews rejected the testimony of the Lord Jesus, the more difficult His teachings became. Light rejected is light denied. The more they spurned the gospel, the harder it became for them to accept the gospel. If the Lord told them simple things and they would not believe, then He would expound to them more difficult things and they would be thoroughly ignorant of what He was saying. 6:44 Man in himself is utterly hopeless and helpless. He does not even have the strength to come to Jesus by himself. Unless the Father first begins to work in his heart and life, he will never realize his terrible guilt and his need of a Savior. Many people have difficulty with this verse. They suppose that it teaches that a man may desire to be saved and yet might find it impossible. This is not so.

But the verse does teach in the strongest possible way that God is the One who first acted in our lives and sought to win us to Himself. We have the choice of accepting the Lord Jesus or refusing Him. But we never would have had the desire in the first place if God had not spoken to our hearts. Again the Lord added the promise that He will raise every true believer up at the last day. As we have seen before, this refers to the coming of Christ for His saints, when the dead will be raised and the living will be changed. It is a resurrection of believers only. 6:45 Having stated in strong terms that no man could come to Him unless the Father drew him, the Lord goes on to explain how the Father draws men. First of all, He quotes from Isa_54:13, And they shall all be taught by God. God not only simply chooses individuals. He does something about it. He speaks to their hearts through the teaching of His precious Word. Then man’s own will is involved. Those who respond to the teaching of God’s Word and learn from the Father are the ones who come to Christ. Here again we see the two great truths of God’s sovereignty and man’s choice placed side by side in Scripture. They show us that salvation has a divine side and a human side as well. When Jesus said, It is written in the prophets, He meant, of course, the books of the prophets. He meant Isaiah in particular, but the thought He expressed here is found throughout all the prophets. It is by the teachings of God’s Word and God’s Spirit that men are drawn to God. 6:46 The fact that people are taught by God does not mean that they have seen Him. The only One who has seen the Father is the One who came from God, namely the Lord Jesus Himself. All those who are taught by God are taught about the Lord Jesus Christ because God’s teaching has Christ Himself as its grand Subject. 6:47 Verse 47 is one of the clearest and briefest statements in all the Word of God concerning the way of salvation. The Lord Jesus stated in words that could hardly be misunderstoodthat whoever believes in Him has everlasting life. Notice He introduced these momentous words with His emphatic most assuredly. This is one of many verses in the NT that teaches that salvation is not by works, not by law-keeping, not by church membership, not by obeying the Golden Rule, but simply by believing in the Lord Jesus Christ. 6:48, 49 Now the Lord Jesus states that He is the bread of life of which He had been speaking. The bread of life means, of course, the bread which gives life to those who eat it. The Jews had previously brought up the subject of the manna in the wilderness and challenged the Lord Jesus to produce some food as wonderful as that. Here the Lord reminded them that their fathers had eaten the manna in the wilderness and were dead. In other words, manna was for this life only. It did not have any power to give eternal life to those who ate it. By the expression, Your fathers, the Lord dissociated Himself from fallen humanity and implied His unique deity. 6:50 In contrast to the manna, the Lord Jesus spoke of Himself as the bread which comes down from heaven. If anyone ate this bread, he would not die. This did not mean that he would not die physically, but that he would have eternal life in heaven. Even if he did die physically, his body would be raised at the last day, and he would spend eternity with the Lord. In this and in the following verses, the Lord Jesus spoke repeatedly of men eating of Him. What does He mean by this? Does He mean that men must eat of Him in a physical, literal way? Obviously that idea is impossible and repulsive. Some think, however, that He meant to teach that we must eat of Him in the communion service; that in some miraculous way the bread and wine are changed into the body and blood of Christ and that in order to be saved we must partake of those elements. But this is not what Jesus said.

The context makes it quite clear that to eat of Him means to believe on Him. When we trust the Lord Jesus Christ as our Savior, we appropriate Him by faith. We partake of the benefits of His Person and of His work. Augustine said, Believe and you have eaten.6:51 Jesus is the living bread. He not only lives in Himself, but is life-giving. Those who eat this bread … will live forever.

But how can this be? How can the Lord give eternal life to guilty sinners? The answer is found in the latter part of this verse: The bread that I shall give is My flesh, which I shall give for the life of the world. Here the Lord Jesus was pointing forward to His death on the cross. He would give His life as a ransom for sinners. His body would be broken, and His blood would be poured out as a sacrifice for sins.

He would die as a Substitute. He would pay the penalty that our sins demanded. And why would He do this? He did it for the life of the world. He would not die just for the Jewish nation, or even just for the elect. But His death would be of sufficient value for the whole world.

This does not, of course, mean that the whole world will be saved, but rather that the work of the Lord Jesus at Calvary would be sufficient in its value to save the whole world, if all men came to Jesus. 6:52 The Jews were still thinking in terms of literal, physical bread and flesh. Their thoughts were unable to rise above the things of this life. They did not realize that the Lord Jesus was using physical things to teach spiritual truths. And so they asked among themselves how this mere Man could possibly give His flesh to be eaten by others. A parachute opens only after you jump out of the plane. Faith precedes sight and prepares your soul to understand, your heart to believe, your will to obey.

All your questions of How? are answered by yielding to the authority of Christ, as Paul did when he cried, Lord, what do You want me to do?6:53 Once again Jesus, knowing all things, realized exactly what they were thinking and saying. And so He warned them solemnly that if they did not eat His flesh and drink His blood, they would have no life in them. This could not refer to the bread and the wine used at the Lord’s Supper. When the Lord instituted His Supper, on the night in which He was betrayed, his body had not yet been broken and His blood had not yet been shed. The disciples partook of the bread and the wine, but they did not literally eat His flesh and drink His blood. The Lord Jesus was simply stating that unless we appropriate to ourselves by faith the value of His death for us on Calvary, we can never be saved.

We must believe on Him, receive Him, trust Him, and make Him our very own. 6:54 By comparing this verse with verse 47, it can be definitely shown that to eat His flesh and to drink His blood means to believe on Him. In verse 47 we read that He who believes in Me has everlasting life. In verse 54, we learn that whoever eats His flesh and drinks His blood has eternal life. Now things equal to the same thing are equal to each other. To eat His flesh and to drink His blood is to believe on Him. All who believe on Him will be raised up at the last day. This refers, of course, to the bodies of those who have died trusting in the Lord Jesus. 6:55 The flesh of the Lord Jesus is food indeed, and His blood is drink indeed. This is in contrast to the food and drink of this world which is only of temporary value. The value of the death of the Lord Jesus is never-ending. Those who partake of Him by faith receive life that goes on forever. 6:56 A very close union exists between Himself and those who are believers in Him. Whoever eats His flesh and drinks His blood abides in Him, and He abides in that person. Nothing could be closer or more intimate than this. When we eat literal food, we take it into our very being; and it becomes a part of us. When we accept the Lord Jesus as our Redeemer, He comes into our lives to abide, and we, too, abide (continually dwell) in Him. 6:57 Now the Lord gave another illustration of the close bond that existed between Himself and His people. The illustration was His own connection with God the Father. The living Father had sent the Lord Jesus into the world. (The expression living Father means the Father who is the Source of life). As a Man here in the world, Jesus lived because of the Father, that is, by reason of the Father. His life was lived in closest union and harmony with God the Father. God was the center and circumference of His life.

His purpose was to be occupied with God the Father. He was here as a Man in the world, and the world did not realize that He was God manifest in the flesh. Although He was misunderstood by the world, yet He and His Father were one. They lived in closest intimacy. That is exactly the way it is with believers in the Lord Jesus. They are here in the world, misunderstood by the world, hated and often persecuted.

But because they have put their faith and trust in the Lord Jesus, they live because of Him. Their lives are closely bound up with His life, and this life shall endure forever. 6:58 This verse seems to summarize all that the Lord has said in the previous verses. He is the bread which came down from heaven. He is superior to the manna which the fathers ate in the wilderness. That bread was only of temporary value. It was only for this life. But Christ is the Bread of God who gives eternal life to all who feed on Him. 6:59 The crowd had followed Jesus and His disciples to Capernaum from the northeast side of the Sea of Galilee. Apparently the multitude had found Jesus in the synagogue and it was there that He delivered the message on the Bread of Life to them. 6:60 By this time, the Lord Jesus had many more disciples than the original twelve. Anyone who followed Him and professed to accept His teachings was known as a disciple. However, not all who were known as His disciples were real believers. Now many of those who professed to be His disciples said, This is a hard saying. They meant that His teaching was offensive. It was not so much that it was hard for them to understand, as that it was distasteful for them to receive.

When they said, Who can understand it (literally hear), they meant, Who can stand and listen to such offensive doctrine?6:61 Here again we find evidence that the Lord had complete knowledge. Jesus knew exactly what the disciples were saying. He knew that they were complaining at His claim to have come down from heaven and that they did not like it when He said that men must eat His flesh and drink His blood to have everlasting life. And so He asked them, Does this offend you?6:62 They took offense because He said that He had come down from heaven. Now He asked them what will they think if they should see Him ascend back into heaven, which He knew He would do after His resurrection. They were also offended by His saying that men must eat His flesh.

What would they think, then, if they should see that body of flesh ascend where He was before? How would men be able to eat His literal flesh and drink His literal blood after He had gone back to the Father? 6:63 These people had been thinking in terms of Christ’s literal flesh, but here He told them that eternal life was not gained by eating flesh but by the work of the Holy Spirit of God. Flesh cannot give life; only the Spirit can do this. They had taken His words literally and had not realized that they were to be understood spiritually. And so here the Lord Jesus explained that the words that He spoke were spirit and they were life; when His sayings about eating His flesh and drinking His blood were understood in a spiritual way, as meaning belief in Him, then those who accepted the message would receive eternal life. 6:64 Even as He said these things, the Lord realized that some of His listeners did not understand Him because they would not believe. The difficulty lay not so much in their inability as in their unwillingness. Jesus knew from the beginning that some of His professed followers would not believe on Him and that one of His disciples would betray Him. Of course, Jesus knew all this from eternity, but here it probably means that He was aware of it from the very start of His ministry on earth. 6:65 Now He explained that it was because of their unbelief that He had previously told them that no one could come to Him unless it were granted to him by His Father. Such words are an attack on the pride of man, who thinks that he can earn or merit salvation. The Lord Jesus told men that even the power to come to Him can only be received from God the Father.

John 6:66

E. Mixed Reactions to the Savior’s Words (6:66-71) 6:66 These sayings of the Lord Jesus proved so distasteful to many who had followed Him that they now left Him and were no longer willing to associate with Him. These disciples were never true believers. They followed the Lord for various reasons, but not out of genuine love for Him or appreciation of who He was. 6:67 At this point Jesus turned to the twelve disciples and challenged them with the question as to whether they, too, would leave Him. 6:68 Peter’s answer is worthy of note. He said in effect, Lord, how could we leave You? You teach the doctrines which lead to eternal life. If we leave You, there is no one else to whom we could go. To leave You would be to seal our doom.6:69 Speaking for the twelve, Peter further said that they had come to believe and know that the Lord Jesus was the Messiah, the Son of the living God. Notice again the order of the words believe and know. First of all, they had put their faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, and then they came to know that He was indeed all that He professed to be. 6:70 In verses 68 and 69, Peter had used the word we as meaning all twelve of the disciples. Here in verse 70, the Lord Jesus corrected him. He should not say so confidently that all twelve were true believers. It is true that the Lord had chosen the twelve disciples, but one of them was a devil. There was one in the company who did not share Peter’s views concerning the Lord Jesus Christ. 6:71 The Lord Jesus knew that Judas Iscariot was going to betray Him. He knew that Judas never really accepted Him as Lord and Savior. Here again we have the all-knowledge of the Lord. Also, we have an evidence of the fact that Peter was not infallible when speaking for the disciples! In the bread of life discourse, our Lord began with fairly simple teaching. But as He progressed, it was apparent that the Jews were rejecting His words. The more they closed their hearts and minds to the truth, the more difficult His teaching became. Finally He talked about eating His flesh and drinking His blood. That was too much! They said, This is a hard saying; who can understand it and they quit following Him. Rejection of the truth results in judicial blindness. Because they would not see, they came to the place where they could not see.