John 6 - NIV Foundation Study Bible

6:1 Sea of Galilee (that is, the Sea of Tiberias). John’s use of the name Tiberias is an indication that his Gospel was written for those outside of Palestine. The Jewish people called this body of water the Lake of Gennesaret. The Romans called it Tiberias, after the city built on its western shore by Herod Antipas and named for the Emperor Tiberius.

6:7 half a year’s wages. One denarius was a day’s wage for a laborer or field hand (Matt. 20:2). Two hundred denarii would have been almost a half a year’s wages.

6:9 barley loaves. These were an inexpensive food of the common people and the poor.

6:10–11 (about five thousand men were there). Jesus . . . distributed to those who were seated. This is the only miracle of Jesus that is recounted in all four Gospels.

6:15 make him king. Moses had not only miraculously provided food for the Israelites, he had also led them out of bondage in Egypt. Perhaps these men felt that Jesus could lead them out of bondage to the Romans. Christ was at the zenith of His popularity, and the temptation to take the kingdom without the cross must have been great (Matt. 4:8–10).

6:19–21 they saw Jesus . . . walking on the water. This miracle, the fifth sign recorded by John, pointed to Jesus’ deity. Only God could walk on water, calm the sea, and supernaturally transport the disciples to their destination.

6:27 Do not work. The impression that one must work for eternal life is quickly corrected when Jesus adds “which the Son of Man will give you.” The Son provides life as a gift (4:10).

6:31 He gave them bread from heaven. There was a tradition that said the Messiah would cause manna to fall from heaven as Moses did (Ex. 16:4, 15). The people probably also saw this “miracle worker” as the perpetual provider of physical needs rather than spiritual ones.

6:32 my Father. The crowd misrepresented the truth, so Jesus corrected them. The manna had not come from Moses; it had been provided by God. Moreover, God still gives true bread—that is, eternal life (v. 33).

6:39–40 the will of him who sent me. This is twofold: (1) that all who come to the Son will be received and not lost; (2) that all who see and believe on the Son will have eternal life.

6:42 the son of Joseph. The religious leaders’ proof that Jesus was not from heaven was that they knew His parents. To them, there was nothing supernatural about Jesus’ origin.

6:47 eternal life. The believer, possessing both peace and purpose, can rejoice even in the midst of fiery trials, knowing that God Himself will arrange the outcome for His glory and the believer’s good (Rom. 8:28).

6:48–49 I am the bread of life. Those who believe in Him have life (v. 47). The manna in the wilderness did not ultimately sustain life. Those who ate it eventually died because it could not provide eternal life.

6:53–58 eat the flesh . . . and drink his blood. Jesus had made it abundantly clear in this context that eternal life is gained by believing (vv. 29, 35, 40, 47). These verses teach that the benefits of Jesus’ death must be appropriated, by faith, by each individual.

6:60 This is a hard teaching. It was hard for the Jewish learners to accept the idea of eating flesh and drinking blood. Jews were forbidden to even taste blood.

6:63 The Spirit gives life. Jesus was trying to get the religious leaders to see beyond the physical aspects of His teaching to the real issue—namely, that if they believed on Him they would have eternal life.