John 6 - NIV Application Bible

6:1–15 Among the many miracles God performed through Moses in Egypt, two stand out as particularly remarkable: his deliverance of Israel through the sea (Ex 14), and his miraculous feeding of the people with manna for forty years in the desert.

In Jn 6, Jesus appears at Passover, repeating many of these themes. Jesus feeds a multitude with “heavenly” bread. Following the feeding, Jesus comes to the disciples walking on water.

These parallels provide a growing impression that Moses, the hero of Passover, has been superseded by Jesus. Jesus not only provides “bread from heaven” but is himself “the bread of life” (v. 35).

6:5–7 Jesus not only wants to provide food, he also wishes to test the developing faith of Philip, who does not yet grasp Jesus’ miraculous ability.

6:8–13 Andrew, Peter’s brother, locates a young boy carrying five barley loaves and two salted fish. In 2Ki 4:42–44 Elisha feeds a hundred men with twenty barley loaves and is assisted by a young servant. Elisha also had baskets of food left over.

6:14–15 Through this miracle, Jesus is fulfilling and re-creating images from Israel’s sacred past. The crowd interprets Jesus’ miracle as messianic. He has just re-created the miracle of Moses! Then they attempt to force kingship upon him. The crowd wants to force Jesus to define his mission and work politically, but Jesus wants no part of such a kingship.

6:16–19 While Jesus leaves for the mountains of upper Galilee, the disciples set sail, heading for the lake’s northeast shore. East–west winds are common on this sea, and fishermen watched for them carefully. The disciples’ fear of the rough water, however, was surpassed by their terror at seeing Jesus walking to them on the water. Again, another motif reminds us of the moment when Moses led Israel through the water. Psalm 77 describes this moment in Israel’s life and explains that it was in fact God who led them (Ps 77:20).

6:20–21 When Jesus arrives at the boat, he identifies himself with a term that was sure to suggest further images of the exodus story: “It is I” (v. 20). The verb “to be” reflects God’s divine name given to Moses on Mount Sinai: “I am who I am” (Ex 3:14). The disciples’ fear echoes Moses’ response on the mountain when he learned God’s name and saw the burning bush (Ex 3:2–6). Jesus’ words indicate the disciples need not fear.

Jesus is barely in the boat when suddenly it arrives at its destination. Many interpreters suspect that we are witnessing yet another miracle here, as Jesus leads his disciples to their port.

6:22–24 The arrival of the crowd in the village of Capernaum introduces Jesus’ major “bread of life” discourse (vv. 25–58), in which he carefully defines his relationship to the miracle and its deeper meaning.

6:25–31 As Jesus teaches in the synagogue, he wants to lift his hearers above a material understanding of his miracle. He argues they should not focus on the loaves and fish but on the greater food that lasts forever. But the synagogue audience offers a challenge. What sort of sign can Jesus give to validate his word?

6:32–34 Jesus’ interpretation of the manna follows rabbinic lines perfectly. First, the true source of the manna was not Moses but God. If God is truly the source and if Jesus has been sent by God, the shocking turn in v. 33 should come as no surprise: The bread of God is a person who gives life to the world. With a stroke of genius, Jesus exploits a feature of Jewish belief and reinterprets it to refer to himself.

6:35 This famous saying heads the list of what we call the “ ‘I am’ sayings” in John. In each of these sayings, Jesus takes a motif from Judaism and reinterprets it for himself.

6:36 With remarkable candor, Jesus announces his disappointment with the crowd. Jesus says that their first step must be belief, but they refuse to take it. Such belief is not a leap into the darkness, for they have had the opportunity to see. Their decision is a willful refusal to act on what God has set before them.

6:37–40 Jesus next speaks confidently about the success of his work and the fulfillment of his mission. Jesus keeps people whom the Father has given into his care. He will not lose a single one of those who have come to him.

The sayings that began at v. 35 are part of the “bread of life” discourse because they state what Jesus has been saying in parable form. The “bread of life” is actually Jesus, just as the object of faith now should be Jesus.

6:41–42 It is one thing to say that we should be fed by God. It is quite another for Jesus to say that he is the source of that meal. The “grumbling” described in vv. 41,43 (and 52) is reminiscent of the “murmuring” of the Israelites against Moses in the desert.

6:43–50 Jesus does not defend himself but instead returns to the problem of their spiritual receptivity. The idea of Jesus’ divine origin is impossible to believe unless God gives them insight.

6:51 Jesus makes a pivotal statement, “This bread is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world.” When Jesus refers to his “flesh,” we are at once reminded of 1:14, where “flesh” was used to describe the comprehensive life of the Son. The gift of Jesus is nothing other than a temple sacrifice that will benefit the world.

6:52 It is all too much for the crowd. Of course, Jesus is not proposing cannibalism for religious purposes. Earthly symbols must be converted into spiritual truths. What deeper spiritual truth needs to be uncovered?

6:53–58 Jesus’ answer has proven difficult for almost every commentator. The only Judeo-Christian setting where such words make good sense is the Christian Eucharist—the Lord’s Supper. Significantly, John does not record the words of institution later in Jesus’ upper-room discourse. His language here echoes Luke’s language at the supper: “This is my body given for you” (Lk 22:19).

6:59–62 Jesus points to yet one more feature of this coming hour. Not only will he die, but Jesus says he will return to heaven. It is through this complete work of Christ that life can be given to the world.

6:63–65 The “flesh” that “counts for nothing” in v. 63 recalls the literal flesh of v. 53. Jesus clarifies that taking his words literally is not the point. The life-giving gift is the Holy Spirit.

6:66–69 This is clearly a turning point for Jesus. The mystery of his person and work has now been laid out in full, and some of his followers decide to leave. For Peter this difficult exchange and exit provides an opportunity to give a courageous confession (vv. 68–69).

Jesus recognizes the confession as evidence of God’s supernatural movement in Peter’s life. These deeper things cannot be embraced by just anyone, but only by those whom God has enabled.

6:70–71 John introduces us to the disciple who will eventually betray Jesus. In Judas we can see an example of one who is close to Jesus and yet remains far from him and his kingdom priorities.

✜ 6:1–71 Being fed by God is such a simple concept that it has become hard to understand in a world congested with busyness. Like the pursuit of joy, the more we run after it with strategies and plans, the farther away it seems to flee from us. It is not gained by ministry accomplishments, righteous efforts, or the intellectual mastery of the Bible. Being fed by God requires a conversion of thinking, a discovery that God is eager to give life and renewal to anyone who can listen in simplicity and trust in his gracious provision. God himself enables those who come to him and believe to understand what that belief truly means (6:65).