John 6 - NIV Essentials Study Bible

6:14 sign . . . Prophet. It pointed people to the Son of Man and the food for eternal life that he gives (see v. 27 and note), but they thought only of the Prophet, i.e., the prophet of Dt 18:15, 18 who would be like Moses (see 1:21 and note). Through Moses, God had provided food and water for the people in the wilderness, and they expected the Prophet to do more than this.

6:15 make him king by force. Jesus rejected the widely held Jewish view of the Messiah’s kingship (cf. note on 18:36).

6:27 eternal life. Not something to be achieved but to be received by faith in Christ (see vv. 28–29 and notes; 3:15). Son of Man. See note on Mk 8:31. Submission of the Son to the Father is one of John’s major themes (see note on 4:34).

6:28 What must we do . . . ? They missed the point that eternal life is Christ’s gift and were thinking in terms of achieving it by pious works (see Eph 2:8–9; Titus 3:5 and notes).

6:29 work of God. Believing in Jesus Christ is the indispensable “work” God calls for—the one that leads to eternal life (see 9:4).

6:31 manna. A popular Jewish expectation was that when the Messiah came he would renew the sending of manna. The crowd probably reasoned that Jesus had done little compared to Moses. He had fed 5,000; Moses had fed a nation. He did it once; Moses did it for 40 years. He gave ordinary bread (see note on v. 14); Moses gave “bread from heaven” (see note on Ex 16:4).

6:32 Jesus corrected them, pointing out that the manna in the wilderness did not come from Moses but from God and that the Father still “gives” (the present tense is important) the true bread from heaven (life through the Son).

6:33 bread of God. Jesus moved the discussion to something (and Someone) much more important than manna. bread that comes down from heaven. This affirmation is repeated six times in this context (here and in vv. 38, 41, 50–51, 58), emphasizing Jesus’ divine origin.

6:35 I am. The first of seven self-descriptions of Jesus introduced by “I am” (see 8:12; [9:5;] 10:7, 9; 10:11, 14; 11:25; 14:6; 15:1, 5). In the Greek the words are solemnly emphatic and echo Ex 3:14 (see notes on Ex 3:12, 15). the bread of life. May mean “the bread that is living” and/or “the bread that gives life.” What is implied in v. 33 is now made explicit, and it is repeated with minor variations in vv. 41, 48, 51.

6:38 to do the will of him who sent me. See note on 4:34.

6:51 eats this bread. By faith appropriates Jesus as the sustenance of one’s life. my flesh, which I will give. Looking forward to Calvary. Providing eternal life would be costly to the Giver.

6:53–58 “Flesh” and “blood” here point to Christ as the crucified one and the source of life. Jesus speaks of faith’s appropriation of himself as God’s appointed sacrifice, not—at least not directly—of any ritual requirement.

6:62 Son of Man. See notes on Mk 8:31; Lk 6:5; 19:10. ascend. Probably refers to the series of events that began with the cross, where Jesus was glorified (see note on 7:39). where he was before. Referring to Jesus’ heavenly preexistence (see 8:58; 17:5 and note).

6:69 Holy One of God. Applied to Jesus in Mk 1:24 (see note there); Lk 4:34 (cf. Ac 2:27).