John 6 - NLT Student Life Application Study Bible

6:1-14 The Value of Resources If anyone knew where to get food, it would be Philip because he was from Bethsaida, a town about nine miles away (1:44). Jesus was testing Philip to strengthen his faith. By asking for a human solution, knowing that one didn’t exist, Jesus was highlighting the powerful and miraculous act that he was about to perform.

6:18-21 Peace in the Storm The Sea of Galilee is 686 feet below sea level, almost 150 feet deep, and surrounded by hills. These physical features make it subject to sudden windstorms that cause extremely high waves. The fishermen knew about the possibility of such storms on this lake, but there was nothing they could do. When Jesus came up to the disciples, walking on the water three and a half miles from shore during a storm, he told them not to be afraid. When he said, “I am here” (6:20), he was likely referencing the name for God that God had revealed to Moses (“I AM”; Exodus 3:14). Jesus was again revealing his identity to the disciples.

6:44, 63-65 The First Move All spiritual renewal begins and ends with God. He plays the most active role in salvation. When someone chooses to believe in Jesus Christ as Savior, they do so only in response to the urging of God’s Holy Spirit. Without the work of the Holy Spirit, we can’t even see our need for new life (14:17; Ephesians 2:1-10). He reveals truth to us, lives within us, and then enables us to respond to that truth. God does the urging; then we decide whether to listen to, believe in, and come to him.

6:47-58 The Bread of Life The religious leaders frequently wanted Jesus to prove to them why he was better than the prophets of the past. Here Jesus talks about the manna that God had given the leaders’ ancestors in the wilderness during Moses’ time (Exodus 16). This bread was physical and only provided a solution for a set amount of time. The people ate it, and it sustained them for a day or two. But they had to keep going to get more bread, and it couldn’t make them live forever. Jesus, by contrast, is the spiritual bread from heaven that satisfies completely and leads to eternal life.

6:66-71 Trusting or Turning Away People may have rejected Jesus because they realized that he wasn’t going to be the conquering Messiah-King they were expecting. They may also have been bothered that he refused to give in to their self-centered requests. Jesus’ teachings were sometimes difficult to understand, and some of his words, on the surface, sounded offensive. People today still find plenty of reasons not to follow Jesus. Some people will give up trying to understand him, ignore certain things he taught, or reject him outright. Better by far is to ask God to show us what his teachings mean as we trust in who we know him to be, the way Simon Peter does in this passage.