John 6
DODDJohn 6:16
Parallels: Mark 6; Matthew 14
As the disciples were upon the lake they are overtaken by a storm; and Christ comes to them, walking on the sea, and stills the tempest. Mat. XIV. 24, to the end. Mark VI. 47, to the end. John VI. 16—21.
JOHN VI. 16.
IT was before observed that, after the miraclxxix. ulous feeding of the five thousand, Christ ordered his disciples to depart, and go before vi. 16 him to Bethsaida; and, accordingly, when the evening was come, his disciples went down to the
sea [side;] And, having entered into the ship which waited for them, and put off from land, they quickly met with a cross wind that changed their course, and were soon driven farther from the shore than they designed; so that, instead of getting to Bethsaida, they were going to the other side of the sea towards Capernaum: and, night coming on, it was now dark, and the ship was in
JOHN VI. 16.
AND, when even was now come, his disciples went down unto the sea; [MARK VI. 47.—]
And entered into a ship, and went over the sea towards Capernaum: and it was now dark, [MARK, and the ship
a Were going to the other side of the sea towards Capernaum.] This exactly expresses what is said in the original; ἄγνυσι ἀγενῆν της Ἀλλάντης τις Καθηγηλῆν: and I cannot but look upon it as an argument that Bethsaida lay on the east side of the sea of Tiberias (though most of our maps have placed it in a different situation,) since Capernaum is allowed by all to have been situated on the western shore, and is here represented as lying on the
opposite side to Bethsaida, from which they were driven over the sea to Capernaum (Compare note 1 in the preceding page.) This situation of Bethsaida is likewise confirmed by Josephus (Bell. Jud. lib. ii. cap. 9, (al. 8) § 1,) who calls it by the name of Julias; which Pliny also speaks of as on the eastern side of the lake of Gennesareth. See Plin. Nat. Hist. lib. v. cap. 15, and Lightfoot Cent. Chorog. in Mat. cap. 93.
sus comes to them, walking on the sea.
the midst of the sea, they did not exactly know where. Now Jesus was not yet come to them, [but was] still where they left him, by himself alone on the land, employed in secret devotion on the mountain to which he retired.
In the mean time they were in circumstances of great danger and distress; for the sea arose in a very tempestuous manner, by reason of a violent storm of wind which blew hard upon it; and the vessel was tossed by the swelling waves; or the wind was contrary to them, and had driven them far out of their intended course.
So when they had rowed about twenty five or thirty furlongs, or something more than a league, in the beginning of the fourth watch of the night, or about three o’clock in the morning, Jesus, who knew the distress they were in, perceiving that they were weary with rowing, and in vain attempted to weather the storm, came to them, walking on the sea, by his miraculous power rendering his own body lighter than usual, or strengthening the waves to bear it: and, farther to exercise their faith and courage, he seemed, at first, as if he would have passed by them. And when the disciples, by that little light which the reflection of the moon on the water afforded them, saw him walking on the
Now Jesus was not yet come to them.] It is a great imperfection of our language that we have no proper copulative particle but [and] which is here so much the more unhappy, as, in laying together the whole narration of the evangelists, the use of that particle is much more frequent than it would have been in any single one. I choose therefore here, and in some other places, to change it for the word [now,] which in this connection signifies almost, if not entirely, the same thing.
When they had rowed about twenty five or thirty furlongs.] Probably, when they found the wind so violent, they were afraid of being shipwrecked if they came near the shore: and therefore, having perhaps sailed a while before the wind, they now rowed out to sea: for, as they must have been several hours at sea, one can hardly imagine that with so brisk a gale they made no more way in all this time than a little above a league; unless we imitate it to their having laboured all
they could to avoid crossing the sea and to get to Bethsaida.
In the fourth watch of the night.] The Jewish night was divided into four watches, each containing about three of our hours, especially so near the equinox. The first began at six in the evening, the second at nine, the third at midnight, and the fourth at three in the morning. (See Godwin’s Moses and Aaron, book iii. chapter 1.) F. Calmet (in the word hours) thinks they learned this division from the Romans. See Veget. de Re militari, lib. iii. cap. 8. and Pitise. Lexic. in Vigil.
Walking on the sea.] This was thought so impracticable, that the picture of two feet walking on the sea was an Egyptian hieroglyphic for an impossible thing. And in the scripture it is mentioned as the prerogative of God, that he alone treadeth upon the waves of the sea. Job ix. 8.
By that little light, &c.] It is well known that it is never entirely dark on the
Peter attempting to walk on the sea is ready to sink.
sea, and passing near the ship, not perfectly [JOHN, and drawing lxxix. discerning who it was, they were much terrified, high unto the ship] saying, It is certainly an apparition, for no hu- they were [JOHN, Mat. man body could thus be supported by the water: afraid] saying, It is xiv.26 and they had such a dread of what might be the a spirit; and they consequence, that they cried out aloud for fear. cried out for fear. Mark For they all saw him; and, notwithstanding the MARK VI. 50. For VI. 50 miraculous power that he had lately given they all saw him, them over evil spirits (Mat. x. 1, p. 407,) yet and were troubled. were they greatly troubled. And therefore, to talked with them, deliver them from that anxiety, he immediately and saith unto them, spoke to them, and said, Take courage; for it is Be of good cheer, it I, your Lord and Master: be not afraid of me, is I, be not afraid. who am your Friend; nor of the violent tempest, [MAT. XIV. 27. which cannot hurt you while under my protec- JOHN VI. 20.] tion. Mat. Then, as they knew his voice, they present- MAT. VI. 28. And VI. 28 ly began to lay aside their fears; and Peter, Peter answered whose natural temper was remarkably warm him, and said, Lord, and forward, immediately answering, said unto come unto thee on him, Lord, if it indeed be thou who art walking the water. on the sea, as I now apprehend it is, I am so far from being afraid of the tempest in thy pres- 29 And he said, ence, while I continue in the ship, that I am Peter was come dwilling thou shouldest, if thou pleasest, down out of the ship, mand me to come to thee even upon the water, he walked on the water, and I will immediately venture to do it. water, to go to Jesus. Jesus, that he thus might exercise his faith, 29 And he said, and, by convincing him of his weakness, might Come. And, when give a check at the same time to his excessive Peter was come dwincence, complied with his proposal, and down out of the ship, said to him, If thou hast faith and courage to water, he walked on the attempt it, come then, and make the trial: and water, to go to Jesus. Peter, being now assured it was indeed his Mas- 30 But, when he ter, came down from the ship, and, fully satisfi- saw the wind boised that he was able to uphold and bear him up, terous, he walked on the water for a while, to come unto afraid: and begin- 30 Jesus: But, soon perceiving that the wind ning to sink, he was very strong, and the sea raging with great 30 But, when he violence, he was afraid of being lost; and, his saw the wind boisfaith failing him, he presently began to sink, terous, he was water; not to urge that the moon might afraid: and beginperhaps now be in the last quarter, as it ning to sink, he must have been if this was about three some secret dependence on his art, which weeks before the passover. God, for wise reasons, suffered to fail He began to sink.] He probably could him. The word x=τ=σ=ι=ι=ξ=σ=ι=ι=ι=ι=ι=ι=ι=ι=ι=ι=ι=ι=ι=ι=ι=ι=ι=ι=ι=ι=ι=ι=ι=ι=ι=ι=ι=ι=ι=ι=ι=ι=ι=ι=ι=ι=ι=ι=ι=ι=ι=ι=ι=ι=ι=ι=ι=ι=ι § He began to sink.] He probably could him. The word x=τ=σ=ι=ι=ι=ι=ι=ι=ι=ι=ι=ι=ι=ι=ι=ι=ι=ι=ι=ι=ι=ι=ι=ι=ι=ι=ι=ι=ι=ι=ι=ι=ι=ι=ι=ι=ι=ι=ι=ι=ι=ι=ι=ι=ι=ι=ι=ι § We began to sink.] He probably could him. The word x=τ=σ=ι=ι=ι=ι=ι=ι=ι=ι=ι=ι=ι=ι=ι=ι=ι=ι=ι=ι=ι=ι=ι=ι=ι=ι=ι=ι=ι=ι=ι=ι=ι=ι=ι=ι=ι=ι=ι=ι=ι=ι=ι=ι § We began to sink.] He probably could him. The word x=τ=σ=ι=ι=ι=ι=ι=ι=ι=ι=ι=ι=ι=ι=ι=ι=ι=ι=ι=ι=ι=ι=ι=ι=ι=ι=ι=ι=ι=ι=ι=ι=ι=ι=ι=ι=ι=ι=ι=ι=ι=ι=ι=
omes into the ship, and the wind ceases.
and cried out in a great consternation of spirit, saying, Lord, save me, or I shall be swallowed, up in a moment. And immediately Jesus stretching out his hand, laid hold on him; and, to remind him of his unbelief, said to him, O thou of little faith, why didst thou doubt of my protection, when I was so near; when thou hadst my commission to make the trial, and hadst in part experienced my power in supporting thee thus far on the waves?
And, taking Peter with him, he ascended to them into the bark; and, when they were come aboard, they that were there received him with the utmost pleasure, as the great pledge of their common safety. And they quickly found the happy effects of his presence: for all the fury of the wind now ceased at once; and, what was yet more surprising, the ship was immediately at the point of land to which they were going. And they were all exceedingly amazed in themselves, and astonished beyond measure, as if they had never before seen any exertion of his miraculous power. For their heart was so hardened, and their mind so insensible, that they considered not the yet more wonderful and glorious [miracle of the] loaves, which but the day before they had seen multiplied in so extraordinary a manner as to display even a creating power.
Then they that were about him, even all that were in the ship, came and worshipped him, as in a rapture of wonder, devotion, and joy, falling
h Into the bark.] Though the evangelists generally use the word ἄγιος, which signifies any vessel in which men sail on the sea, I have sometimes varied it a little, in order to prevent that ill effect which the repetition of it so frequently as it occurs would have on the ear in reading; and have here called it a bark, that it may not be imagined like our modern ships. Accordingly John calls it ἀγιώτης, or a little vessel; chap. vi. 22. Compare John xxi. 3, 8.
i Exceedingly amazed—and astonished beyond measure.] The words λιπὶ ἐκ ἀγιώτης ἐγιώτης, καὶ ἐγιώτης, are too emphatical to be exactly rendered; but this is plainly the sense of them: and the accurate reader will observe that I suppose the words λιπὶ ἐκ ἀγιώτης to be equally connected with ἐγιώτης, and ἐγιώτης.
k As to display even a creating power.] Had not this been done, it is hard to imagine how twelve baskets full of fragment could have been taken up: it was therefore in itself (as the evangelist plainly intimates) a more certain and glorious miracle than the ceasing of the wind immediately on his coming into the ship. Their speedy landing after this must also have increased their astonishment. Considering this instance, and that of Philip, Acts viii. 39, 40, we have room to admire the condescension of Christ, in submitting so often to the fatigues of journeying on foot from one place to another, when he could at pleasure have commanded angels to transport him. With equal ease he could have walked ashore from the waves of the sea, but with a most edifying modesty he avoided the ostentation of it.
They land at Capernaum, and he cures all that t
down at his feet with the utmost reverence, and saying, We are now convinced that thou art indeed the Son of God, and hast an unlimited power over the whole creation.
And, when they had thus passed over the lake, they came to a part of the land of Gennesareth, and put to shore not far from Capernaum,¹ to which, it was observed before (p. 438,) their course was tending. And when they came out of the vessel, as it was a place where Jesus had often been, they that were present when he landed immediately knew him; and, though it was so early in the morning, the news of his arrival quickly spread through all the neighbouring parts. For they were ready to inform each other of his coming; and the men of that place, who knew him, no sooner were apprized of his arrival, but presently they sent out, and ran to every place in all that country round about, to give notice to their neighbours that Jesus was there, and that they now again should have the privilege of his preaching and working miracles among them: and they began to carry about the sick in beds, and brought unto him all that were diseased, to the place where they heard he was. And this was indeed the general custom wherever he came: as soon as he was entered into any towns, or cities, or country [villages,] they laid the sick in the most public streets through which they expected he would pass, and entreated him that they might at least touch the fringe of his garment; and as many as touched him, believing in his power and his readiness to heal them, were perfectly recovered, how extreme soever their illness had been.
IMPROVEMENT.
Thus it still pleases Christ to exercise the faith of his people. 17, 18 that he may strengthen their dependence on him, and demon-
¹ To the land of Gennesareth, and put to shore not far from Capernaum.] The land of Gennesareth was a large tract of ground in the western shore of the lake, in part of which Capernaum appears from hence to have been situated. For, though Matthew and Mark only speak of their coming to the land of Gennesareth, and putting to shore there, it is plain, from John’s account, that Jesus at his landing came to Capernaum; for it was there the people found him that followed him in the morning from the other side of the sea. Compare John vi. 22, 24, 25, in the next section, and ver 59, sect. lxxxii.
Reflections on Christ’s readiness to help us in our troubles.
strate at once his compassion and his power. Thus are storms permitted oftentimes to rise around them, and for a while they are left in darkness and are tossed with tempests: but he is near at hand, even when they think him at the remotest distance; and when he seems to be passing by them, as regardless of their danger and distress, he has designs of grace and mercy to them, and acts in such a way on purpose to quicken and excite them to a greater earnestness and fervour in their applications to him. Happy would the Christian be, could he always discern his Lord, and always conceive of him aright! but alas, how often does he appear to the disordered mind as the object of terror rather than of confidence! and, in a day of darkness, while he may seem to treat his suffering people with neglect, instead of seeking him with a more earnest importunity, how are they ready to be overwhelmed with fears, and to conclude he has forgotten them!
At the command of Jesus, Peter ventured to go to him on the sea. And through what storms and dangers may we not safely venture, if we are sure that our Lord calls us! Yet the rebuke which he suffered may warn us not rashly to throw ourselves on unnecessary trials, lest our excess of confidence end in fear and disgrace. Modesty and caution will adorn our other virtues, and render us amiable in the eyes of the humble Jesus.
In how many circumstances of life does the Christian appear to his own imagination like Peter beginning to sink in the waves! But in the time of our distress, like him, let us cry to Jesus for help; and, while we are lifting up the hands of faith and prayer, we may humbly hope that Christ will stretch forth his omnipotent arm for our rescue. Let every experience of this kind, and all the seasonable aid he is from time to time imparting to us, establish our dependence on him, and enforce our obedience to him, as the Son of God. May Divine Grace deliver us from that hardness of heart, that stupidity and insensibility of mind, which sometimes remains unconvinced in the midst of evidence, and unaffected under the most moving illustrations of his abilities and willingness to help us!
Mark vi. 48
Mark vi. 52
John 6:22-40
Our Lord, being followed by the multitude to Capernaum, cautions them against those worldly views with which they sought him, and declares himself to be the bread of life. John VI. 22—40.
JOHN VI. 22.
IN the mean time, while Jesus was thus charitably employed in healing those who were brought to him in the places near the shore,
The people cross the sea, and find Christ at
from whence he soon went forwards to Capernaum, on the morrow after he had fed the five thousand, great search was made for him by those whom he had sent away the night before: for they were so affected with the miraculous entertainment he had given them, that there were many of the multitude, who, though they might withdraw to a little distance on his dismissing the assembly (Mark vi. 46, p. 437,) yet still continued on the other side of the sea that night, hoping to have another interview with him in the morning; and, as they saw there was no other vessel there on the coast, but that one into which his disciples entered when they departed in the evening, and knew that Jesus did not go with his disciples into the vessel, but that his disciples went away by themselves, leaving him there to spend the night alone, they made no question of his being still on that side of the sea. But in the morning they perceived that he was gone, and presently determined to go after him: and, though there were no vessels there the night before, yet were they quickly furnished with an opportunity of following him; for there came other vessels very early from Tiberias, and put to shore nigh to the place where they had eat the bread and fishes after the Lord had given thanks, and commanded such a miraculous blessing upon them. The multitude therefore, when they saw that neither Jesus nor his disciples were there on that side, went also themselves immediately aboard the vessels that were now arrived, as many of them as could, and came to Capernaum, seeking for Jesus with all the appearance of the most eager importunity. And, when they had found him on the other side of the sea, in the synagogue of Capernaum (see ver. 59,) as soon as the worship was over, and before they quitted the place, they accosted him with the greatest respect, and said unto him, Rabbi, when and how camest thou hither? for, as thou didst not go last night with thy disciples, we expected to have found thee on the other side of the sea, and know not when thou couldest come, or what imaginable way thou couldest have of crossing the water.
them o their wordly views in see ing him.
But Jesus, modestly waving the recital of those extraordinary circumstances which attended his passage, diverted the discourse to a yet more important and edifying subject; and, knowing, by an intimate penetration of their very hearts, that they were governed only by carnal motives in this attendance upon him, humble and zealous as it might appear, he answered them with great solemnity, and said, Verily, verily, I say unto you, You seek me, not because you have seen the miracles that I perform, and are convinced by them that I am a Divine Teacher, but because you have eaten of the loaves and were filled, and have from thence concluded that you shall make yourselves rich and great by following me. But these are mean and may be fatal views; and I would form you to nobler and wiser sentiments: labour not therefore so much to procure the meat which perishes, and can only support the mortal part of your nature; but rather be solicitous to obtain Divine knowledge and instruction, that meat which endures to eternal life, and will nourish your souls to endless felicity: this is that which the Son of man will most readily give you; for him has God the Great Father of all, in mercy to his creatures, sent into the world for this blessed purpose, and sealed with this miraculous power, which he daily displays, as an authentic proof of his Divine mission.
They therefore, that they might appear willing to receive his instructions as well as his bounties, said unto him, What must we do, that we may so work the works of God as to secure his favour to eternal life?
a Labour not to procure the meat which perishes.] Hardly any one can imagine our Lord intended to prohibit men’s labouring for the subsistence of their bodies. Most of those who attended him probably had no other support than their labour: but his intent was plainly to declare how much he interest of the soul was to be preferred to that of the body. See note a on Mat xii, p. 283.) Ἐγίαζον ἄξωσιν is to labour to procure meat.
b Him has God the Father sealed.] Some have ingeniously conjectured that this may
allude to a custom which princes might have when making grand entertainments, to give a commission under their hand and seal, or perhaps to deliver a signet, to those whom they appointed to preside in the management of them:) see Elsner, Vol. I, p. 311, 312.) Though it may possibly be sufficient to say that to seal is a general phrase for authorizing by proper credentials, whatever the purpose be for which they are given; or for marking a person out as wholly devoted to the service of him whose seal he bears.
I. I.
ff
The Jesus as a sign, and boast of their
Jesus replying said unto them, Think not of meriting the Divine favour by any thing you can do yourselves; for this is the great work of God, which he requires above all things, and which he will be ready to accept, that you believe on him whom he has sent, crediting his message, and venturing your souls upon his power and grace.
Then, though they just before had seen such an astonishing miracle, and several of them lived in the neighbourhood of Capernaum, where he had so long multiplied those wonders, yet some of them were so unreasonable, that they said to him after all the miracles that he had wrought, If thou wouldest have us to regard thee as invested with so high a character, that far exceeds whatever has been claimed by any one before, thou shouldest produce some signal evidence of a superior kind to all that has been done by others: what sign therefore shewest thou from heaven, that we may see [it,] and believe thee? What dost thou perform more than others, or even equal to what Moses did, that we should treat thee with so extraordinary a regard? Thou didst indeed yesterday feed some thousands of us in an extraordinary manner with barley bread: but our fathers, who were incomparably more numerous than that assembly, did, under the conduct of Moses, eat man-na, a far more delicious food, in the wilderness, even forty years; as it is written (Psal. lxxviii. 24.) “He gave them bread from heaven to eat;” and, when thou shalt give us as glorious a demonstration of thy mission, we will pay thee an equal regard.
Then Jesus said to them again, Verily, verily, I say, and affirm it unto you, how strange soever it may appear, Moses gave you not that bread from heaven, which best deserves so honourable a name; but this you are supplied with by my Father, who, sending me among you as your Instructor and Redeemer, giveth you now the true and most excellent bread from heaven.
Some of them were so unreasonable some and others of them, ver. 52, that I think it would be wrong to imagine these to have been the perverse and ungrateful sentiments of the whole multitude, who had followed him with so much eagerness from place to place for several days.
Jesus tells them he is the bread of life.
For that is indeed the bread of God, and may most justly claim the title, which descendeth from the highest heaven, whereas manna fell only from the clouds or the inferior region of the air; and which giveth life and true happiness to the whole world of believers, whereas what Moses gave only relieved the temporal necessities of one particular nation.
They therefore, when they heard him speaking of so excellent a gift, were presently desirous to obtain it; and, though as yet they did not fully understand what he intended by this bread, some of the wiser and better part of them had such a notion of its excellence, that they said to him, Lord, give us evermore this bread, on which our life depends, and let us always live upon this heavenly manna.
Then, for a farther explication of this important truth, Jesus said to them, I am indeed the bread of life; nor is bread so necessary to the support of your bodies, as a believing regard to me is to the life of your souls; he therefore that comes to me, and makes his application aright, shall never hunger; and he that truly believes in me shall never thirst any more; but may depend upon it that he shall find the most restless desires of his soul satisfied, and, conscious of the noblest refreshment and nourishment already received, shall grow up to a state of everlasting complete satisfaction and enjoyment. But, valuable as these blessings of my grace are, you are little disposed to pursue and
ᵃ That is indeed the bread of God, which descendeth from heaven, &c.] It is necessary to translate to xxixix, &c. in this ambiguous manner, that we may not supersede the explication which our Lord gives in ver. 35. Dr. Clarke has justly observed this; and it is of great importance to apply it to many other passages, where too clear and full a paraphrase of what is explained professedly in some subsequent verses would only serve to flatten the whole. Compare noteᶜ on Mark iv. 3, sect. lxv.
ᵇ Some of the wiser and better part of them.] See before, noteᶜ on ver. 30.
ᶜ *I am the bread of life.] Though indeed it is very usual with the sacred writers to represent Divine instructions as the god of
the soul, and to compare them to delicious and nourishing diet (see Psal. xix. 10; exix. 103; Prov. ix. 5; Job xxiii. 12; Jer. xv. 16; and Heb. v. 12, 14;) yet I can recollect no instance in which the Instructor himself, as such, is called Food, or any are said to eat him; much less in which, as below, they are exhorted to eat his flesh, and drink his blood: so that Dr. Clarke’s laboured and ingenious criticism on this passage (in the xiih of his Seventeen Sermons) is far from being satisfactory; and, however clear it may be of an such design, I fear it has misled many to neglect of that great doctrine of Christ atonement, to which there seems in the context so express a reference.*
ll that the Father gives him will come to him.
accept them: for I have already told you (ver. 26,) that you have even seen me, and beheld the miracles that I perform; and yet are so perverse and obstinate that you believe not [in me,] and will not be prevailed upon to come to me for life and happiness. Nevertheless, though you reject me, yet I shall not be universally rejected, nor shall the purposes of my mission be entirely frustrated; for all that the Father has graciously chosen to himself, and whom he giveth to me in consequence of a peculiar covenant to be sanctified and saved by me, will certainly at length come to me; and, on the other hand, if any of you find yourselves disposed to such a believing application to me, you have no reason to be terrified with any suspicion that you are excluded from hope by any secret transactions between the Father and me; for I declare it to you as an universal truth, and perfectly consistent with the former, That him that cometh to me, whoever he may be, I will by no means cast out, nor shall he be rejected or refused on any consideration whatsoever. And you have sufficient reason to believe this, because I came down from heaven into this lower world, not to do my own will, or to seek any separate interest of my own, but
that the Father giveth me will come I have given that sense of this ted and important text, which on , and I hope impartial considerapeared to me most agreeable to ards themselves, and to the general of scripture. (See especially John , 6, 9, 11, 24.) Mr. Le Clerc’s upon them appears to me unnatural, or. Whitby’s frivolous. I do not in these notes to enter largely into and of controversy; but dare not supor disguise what I am in my conpersuaded to be the sense of scriperely because it is not agreeable to eral taste of the age to take it in w. I render you, will come, bethe word does not necessarily imthing more than the certainty of nt; and I would not lead any, in dependence on a translation, to a weak argument on the word , which it is well known has es been done.
And him that con he may be, I will by To limit this latter cla not only missing but design of Christ, and and beautiful turn of t I think few more in some great doctrines have unhappily been much eager and u The expression co μ tremely beautiful an represents an humbl ing into the house of s great person to cast and to commit himsel and care. He might might be rejected, a doors: but our Lord contrary. His house enough to receive, she the indigent and dis knows how many thou sensibly supported by th
n the encouragement we have to come to visit.
to do the will and to seek the glory of him that sent me. And this is the will of the Father who sent me, That of all the whole body of my people whom he has given me, and committed to my care, I should lose none, not even the meanest member, but should assuredly raise it up at the last day in complete glory and happiness. Or, to express it in more general terms, even this is the will of him that sent me, That every one who views the Son with an attentive eye,¹ and, in consequence of that view, cordially believes on him, receiving him by faith, and trusting in him as an allsufficient Saviour, should have eternal life; and I will accordingly raise him up at the last day, and make him completely happy, both in soul and body, in the enjoyment of a glorious immortality: nor are there any secret purposes and decrees of God inconsistent with the sincerity of such a declaration.
IMPROVEMENT.
How gratefully should we acknowledge the Divine goodness, Verse in giving this true bread from heaven for the life of the world; and how solicitous should we be, that by a true faith we may feed upon it! In the midst of so many insnaring circumstances, let us be strictly watchful over ourselves, that the vigour of our pursuits and labours may not be laid out on the meat which perishes, to the forgetfulness of that which endures to eternal life: but acknowledging those authentic seals by which Christ is marked out to that important trust, may we apply to him as sent of God the Father to be the author of eternal salvation, and come to him to be partakers of his saving benefits!
It must surely grieve us to observe the neglect and contempt with which he is too frequently treated; but it may comfort us that there yet remains a remnant according to the election of grace, (Rom. xi. 5.) All that the Father giveth him, will come to him; and blessed be God that this appears to be no inconsiderable number. Secret things belong to the Lord our God (Deut. xxix. 29;) let it therefore be our care to make first our calling, and then, by a happy consequence, our election sure (2 Pet. i. 10.) Whatever discouragements may arise in our way, may we fly to cast ourselves at the foot of Christ; and then we may
¹ Every one who views the Son with an attentive eye.] Thus the words are to be rendered. There are many other places where Saviour signifies to view with attention. Compare Mat. xxvii. 33; Luke x 18; xxi. 6; John xvii. 24; Acts iii. 16 and Heb. vii. 4.
The Jews murmur at his saying He came down from heaven.
be sure he will never on any consideration can receive us in the arms of his almighty compass sheltered and maintained us in his house on earth conduct us safely to the presence of his glory, and abodes of complete felicity!
John 6:41
Christ having represented himself as the bread of the necessity and benefit of feeding upon him VI. 41—58.
JOHN VI. 41.
THUS did our Lord declare himself to be the bread of life, which God had given them from heaven; but then, as this agreed not with their worldly views, the Jews who were about him were so far from receiving the declaration with a becoming regard, that, on the contrary, they took offence and murmured at it, because he said, I am the bread which came down from heaven, to feed and support the Divine life in the soul. And, being strangers to the doctrine of his miraculous conception and Divine nature, they said among themselves, Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we have long known, having lived many years in the neighbourhood? How is it therefore, that this man should claim so high a character? or how does he presume to say, that I came down from heaven?
Jesus therefore, who well knew all their secret suspicions, how artfully soever they might be whispered and concealed, replied and said unto them, Do not murmur among yourselves on this occasion; but rather set yourselves seriously to reflect on your present state, and your true interest. I know indeed that your prejudices against me are strong, and without the influences of Divine grace will prove invincible and fatal: for such is the moral blindness
a Whose father and mother we have long been living, Jesus, when dying on the known.] Dr. Wells argues from hence cross, would not have consigned his that Joseph was yet alive; but it may mother to the care of John. John xix. signify only, We know who his father and 26, 27. (Compare note b on John ii. 1, mother were. It is at least certain that sect. xxiii. and Mat. xiii. 55. p. 403.) Joseph died quickly after; for if he had
n come to Christ, unless the Father draw him.
and degeneracy of human nature, that no man can by a saving faith come and make his application to me unless the Father who has sent me draw him by the sweet but powerful influences of his Holy Spirit on the heart; and [then] I will raise him up at the last day, and finally make him a partaker of the complete felicity and blessedness of my kingdom. For so it is written in the prophets (Isa. liv. 13, and Jer. xxxi. 34,) “And they shall all be taught by God, by Divine influences on their minds;” and there are many other passages much to the same purpose; (see Isa. ii. 2—5; Mic. iv. 1—4, &c. Therefore every one who has not only been instructed in the true nature of God, but has both heard and learned from the Father himself, by virtue of these internal and efficacious teachings of his grace, comes unto me, and cordially receives me under the character I profess. I speak this of an inward Divine teaching, and not to insinuate that any one on earth has seen the Father, and been taught by him, as one man is by the converse of another: no one has enjoyed such an honour, except it be he who is come to men as the great Ambassador from God: He indeed, being statedly resident with him, and inseparably united to him, has seen the Father, and conversed with him to a degree of intimacy and endearment which no creature can pretend to have known. In virtue then of those ample instructions I have received from him, verily,
Unless the Father who has sent me draw him] The sense I have given in the paraphrase seems so natural from a view of the words themselves and of their connection, as well as so agreeable to the whole tenor of scripture, that I wonder so many learned and ingenious men should have laboured to disguise it by other interpretations. Dr. Clarke explains it as an intimation, that to be well grounded in natural religion is the best preparative for receiving the Christian religion. But this, though an apparent truth, falls far short of the sense of the passage; especially considering what is afterwards said of being taught by God, and not merely of him, ver. 45. The doctor observes here, that when in scripture one person is said to draw another, the word may signify either the
action of the person said to draw, or of the person drawn; and unhappily produces, John xii. 32; Jer. xxxi. 3; and Hos. xi. 4; all which lie strongly against such a sense. The truth is, God’s drawing does not exclude our consent to follow, and our activity in doing it; but it always includes a Divine agency. Compare Judg. iv. 7. (See Dr. Clarke’s Sermons, Vol. III. No. 3.)
Taught by God; &c. &c. &c. &c. &c. &c. &c. &c. &c. &c. &c. &c. &c. &c. &c. &c. &c. &c. &c. &c. &c. &c. &c. &c. &c. &c. &c. &c. &c. &c. &c. &c. &c. &c. &c.
The flesh of Christ is to be eat as living be
verily, I say unto you, and testify it as a most sure and important truth, that this is the only method of salvation; and that it is he, and he alone, who believes in me, and reposes himself on me, that hath everlasting life. Remember therefore, that it is in this respect I tell you, I am the bread of life; not only as a Teacher of truth, and a Messenger from God to men; but as the Great Redeemer, whom you must receive into your hearts, and on whom you must, as it were, feed by faith, if you indeed would have your life to be supported and secured.
And those who thus regard me will receive far more important blessings than Moses, of whom you have now been boasting, could possibly give. For though indeed your fathers, under the conduct of that illustrious prophet, did eat manna in the wilderness, yet it was not sufficient to maintain their life, and they are long since dead: [But] this, of which I now speak, is the true bread, which cometh down from heaven, and is of such a nature that any one may eat of it, and have his life so nourished and supported by it, that he shall not die, but be assuredly delivered from the condemnation and ruin to which the breach of God’s righteous law has subjected every offender.
Thus then I plainly tell you, how incredible soever you may think it, That I, who came down from heaven for this gracious purpose, am the living bread, or a principle of Divine life and eternal happiness to all who shall faithfully receive me: so that if any one eat of this bread, in spite of death and the grave, he shall live for ever. And, that you may more distinctly conceive this important truth, and see the propriety of this language, I add, That the bread which I will give to such a one, is my own flesh, which I will give as an atoning sacrifice for the forfeited life of the whole world of Jews and Gentiles, of which every true believer shall partake.
d Which I will give for the life of the whole world, &c.] There seems to be a beautiful gradation in this verse, compared with verse 1. They had insinuated that feeding a few thousand’s with the five loaves was an inconsiderable thing, when compared with what
Moses did when he fed the whole camp of Israel; but our Lord declares the purposes of his grace and bounty to be far more extensive, as reaching the whole world, and giving life, immortal life, to all that should believe in him.
’s meat indeed, and his blood drink indeed.
But the Jews, whose stupidity often occasioned them to mistake, and whose perverseness led them to wrest his words, did not, or would not, understand him; and therefore contended with each other, the generality of them saying, as if what he had said was to be taken in a literal sense, How can this man possibly give us [his] flesh to eat? What a monstrous and unintelligible doctrine is this?
Then Jesus replied in the same figurative language he had used before, and, without condescending to any farther explication, said to them, However you may censure it as unintelligible and absurd, yet verily, verily, I say unto you, There is no truth more certain in itself, and more important to you; for unless, by a cordial dependence on the atonement I shall make, and by the powerful influences of Divine grace upon your hearts, you eat, as it were, the flesh of the Son of man, and drink his blood, you have no principle of spiritual life in you, and can have no claim to eternal happiness. For this is so important a part of faith in me, that, to declare the necessity of it, I may say (with such an alteration of my former words, ver. 40.) He alone, that eats my flesh, and drinks my blood, hath eternal life; and I will most assuredly raise him up at the last day, and shew by his complete deliverance how just a confidence he has reposed in me amidst all the contempt with which you treat me. For my flesh is meat indeed, and my blood is drink indeed; and
of them saying.] Had enough of all, there could be no mention between them, and only asserted. the Son of man, and his phrase naturally excluded, had habitual regard to support of the spiritual of his blood naturally, that of his atonement, as bold, We have redemption (Eph. i. 7.) and bold, the Holiest by the blood of
The sacrament of the intended to affect our use of these important might probably think institution while he spoke: future thing, and utterly unknown to his hearers, it seems unwarrantable to interpret this chiefly referring to that ordinance nothing can be more precarious than consequences which have been from it in that view, though some can be authorized by very great names. My flesh is meat indeed, and my drink indeed.] It might more like rendered, Is truly meat, and is truly but the sense in which the word is often used, gives a kind of part on the words. Just in this sense, light is the most excellent light (John the true vine is the most noble vine xv. 1;) and the true bread is the excellent and nourishing bread. See ver. 32.
The bread from heaven is more excellent than
nothing deserves the name so well, as nothing is worthy of being called life in comparison of that which is hereby supported. For this feeding upon me is such, that he who thus eats my flesh, and drinks my blood, abides in me by an intimate and inseparable union, and I abide in him by the unalienable tokens of my favour and love to nourish the Divine life in his soul: I say by the unalienable tokens of it; for as the living Father, the great source of life, has sent me into the world, and I live by the protection and care of the Father, who is continually dwelling in me, and communicating of his Spirit in the richest abundance to me; so he that thus eateth me, even he shall live by me, through the Spirit which I will also communicate to him. And if you attend to these important hints that I have given, you may in general know what I meant, by saying as I have done, This is the bread that came down from heaven; and by adding (ver. 49, 50,) that it is not in this case, as it was with your fathers, who did eat manna in the wilderness, and yet are dead, without having found any efficacy in it to communicate a spiritual or secure an eternal life; [but] he that eats this bread, shall live for ever.
ʰ Abides in me, and I in him.] After these words, the Cambridge manuscript, and one of Stephens’s, add, As the Father is in me, and I in the Father, verily, verily, I say unto you, Except ye receive the body of the Son of man as the bread of life, ye have no life in you. Dr. Mill (in his notes here) seems to approve the addition; but I think Dr. Whitby has so fully proved it to be spurious, that I content myself with referring the reader to him (see his Examen Milli, p. 49,) and to Wolfius on this text. (Cur. Philol. Vol I. p. 865, 866.)
ⁱ I live by the protection and care of the Father.] The human and derived nature of Christ had, no doubt, the same dependence on the providence and influence of God that other creatures have: and though Christ as Mediator has life in himself (as it was said before, John v. 26, sect. xlvii,) yet was it given him of the Father, and it is
he that qualifies Christ by his Spirit for the great work for which he sent him into the world: and he accordingly is elsewhere represented as upholding him in it. Isa.xlii.1. Compare John viii. 29, and xvi. 32.
ᵏ Not as your fathers did eat manna, and are dead.] This version of the words is perfectly agreeable to the original; ἀνάξει σφῆναι οἱ ἀνάξει ὑμῶν τὸ μάννα. But I should not perhaps have taken too great liberty, had I avoided the ellipsis in the Greek, and ventured to reduce it to plainer form, by rendering it, Not like that manna which your fathers did eat, and are dead. So Grotius has explained this passage; and though it does not so exactly answer to the Greek, and cannot pass for a litera translation, it plainly expresses the sense of the place, and the words run more natural and easy. See Grotius, in loc.
Reflections on the necessity of feeding on Christ by faith.
IMPROVEMENT.
THE hearers of Christ murmured, and perversely objected against his doctrine. Let not ministers now wonder, if the like capricious humour sometimes prompts their hearers to seek occasion of offence where there is none: let them learn of their great Master in meekness to instruct those that oppose themselves, if God peradventure will give them repentance to the acknowledging of the truth; (2 Tim. ii. 25.) Our Lord expressly asserts the necessity of being taught and drawn by the Father, in order to our knowing him, and coming to him. Let us therefore humbly seek these influences ourselves, and fix our dependence upon them in all our attempts upon others for their conversion and edification.
Christ here gives us line upon line, and precept upon precept, to illustrate and enforce this important doctrine of the necessity of regarding him as the bread of life, and of feeding by faith on his flesh and blood, which he has given for the life of the world. Let us, as we desire any part in his saving blessings, most thankfully receive his flesh as meat indeed, and his blood as drink indeed. May God be merciful to those that call themselves Christians, and yet are strangers to such a believing intercourse with Christ, and to the derivation of spiritual life from him! If this be enthusiasm, it is the enthusiasm of scripture; and the denial or forgetfulness of these important doctrines, is like a fatal palsy to the soul, which chills, as it were, all its nerves, and destroys at once its sensibility and vigour, its pleasure and usefulness.
To represent and inculcate these great truths, our Lord afterwards instituted the sacrament of his supper, in which we not only commemorate his sufferings, but our own concern in them. It is the language of every intelligent approach to it, that we acknowledge the life of our souls to depend on the merit of his atonement, and the communications of his grace. This is eating his flesh, and drinking his blood: may we be nourished by it to eternal life! Then though this mortal part of our nature drop into the dust, our souls will live and triumph; nor shall our bodies finally perish, but be raised up by Christ in the great day to take their part in the full joy of our Lord. There these intermediate ordinances shall cease, and copious uninterrupted streams of Divine teachings, and Divine influences, shall sweetly flow in upon our ever improving, active, rejoicing minds!
Many of his disciples murmur at what esus had said.