Discovery BoxJohn 6:1-54
Context6:1 After this 1 Jesus went away to the other side of the Sea of Galilee (also called the Sea of Tiberias). 2 6:2 A large crowd was following him because they were observing the miraculous signs he was performing on the sick. 6:3 So Jesus went on up the mountainside 3 and sat down there with his disciples. 6:4 (Now the Jewish feast of the Passover 4 was near.) 5 6:5 Then Jesus, when he looked up 6 and saw that a large crowd was coming to him, said to Philip, “Where can we buy bread so that these people may eat?” 6:6 (Now Jesus 7 said this to test him, for he knew what he was going to do.) 8 6:7 Philip replied, 9 “Two hundred silver coins worth 10 of bread would not be enough for them, for each one to get a little.” 6:8 One of Jesus’ disciples, 11 Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, said to him, 6:9 “Here is a boy who has five barley loaves and two fish, but what good 12 are these for so many people?”
6:10 Jesus said, “Have 13 the people sit down.” (Now there was a lot of grass in that place.) 14 So the men 15 sat down, about five thousand in number. 6:11 Then Jesus took the loaves, and when he had given thanks, he distributed the bread to those who were seated. He then did the same with the fish, 16 as much as they wanted. 6:12 When they were all satisfied, Jesus 17 said to his disciples, “Gather up the broken pieces that are left over, so that nothing is wasted.” 6:13 So they gathered them up and filled twelve baskets with broken pieces from the five barley loaves 18 left over by the people who had eaten.
6:14 Now when the people saw the miraculous sign that Jesus 19 performed, they began to say to one another, “This is certainly the Prophet 20 who is to come into the world.” 21 6:15 Then Jesus, because he knew they were going to come and seize him by force to make him king, withdrew again up the mountainside alone. 22
6:16 Now when evening came, his disciples went down to the lake, 23 6:17 got into a boat, and started to cross the lake 24 to Capernaum. 25 (It had already become dark, and Jesus had not yet come to them.) 26 6:18 By now a strong wind was blowing and the sea was getting rough. 6:19 Then, when they had rowed about three or four miles, 27 they caught sight of Jesus walking on the lake, 28 approaching the boat, and they were frightened. 6:20 But he said to them, “It is I. Do not be afraid.” 6:21 Then they wanted to take him into the boat, and immediately the boat came to the land where they had been heading.
6:22 The next day the crowd that remained on the other side of the lake 29 realized that only one small boat 30 had been there, and that Jesus had not boarded 31 it with his disciples, but that his disciples had gone away alone. 6:23 But some boats from Tiberias 32 came to shore 33 near the place where they had eaten the bread after the Lord had given thanks. 34 6:24 So when the crowd realized that neither Jesus nor his disciples were there, they got into the boats 35 and came to Capernaum 36 looking for Jesus.
6:25 When they found him on the other side of the lake, 37 they said to him, “Rabbi, when did you get here?” 38 6:26 Jesus replied, 39 “I tell you the solemn truth, 40 you are looking for me not because you saw miraculous signs, but because you ate all the loaves of bread you wanted. 41 6:27 Do not work for the food that disappears, 42 but for the food that remains to eternal life – the food 43 which the Son of Man will give to you. For God the Father has put his seal of approval on him.” 44
6:28 So then they said to him, “What must we do to accomplish the deeds 45 God requires?” 46 6:29 Jesus replied, 47 “This is the deed 48 God requires 49 – to believe in the one whom he 50 sent.” 6:30 So they said to him, “Then what miraculous sign will you perform, so that we may see it and believe you? What will you do? 6:31 Our ancestors 51 ate the manna in the wilderness, just as it is written, ‘He gave them bread from heaven to eat.’” 52
6:32 Then Jesus told them, “I tell you the solemn truth, 53 it is not Moses who has given you the bread from heaven, but my Father is giving you the true bread from heaven. 6:33 For the bread of God is the one who 54 comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.” 6:34 So they said to him, “Sir, 55 give us this bread all the time!”
6:35 Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life. The one who comes to me will never go hungry, and the one who believes in me will never be thirsty. 56 6:36 But I told you 57 that you have seen me 58 and still do not believe. 6:37 Everyone whom the Father gives me will come to me, and the one who comes to me I will never send away. 59 6:38 For I have come down from heaven not to do my own will but the will of the one who sent me. 6:39 Now this is the will of the one who sent me – that I should not lose one person of every one he has given me, but raise them all up 60 at the last day. 6:40 For this is the will of my Father – for everyone who looks on the Son and believes in him to have eternal life, and I will raise him up 61 at the last day.” 62
6:41 Then the Jews who were hostile to Jesus 63 began complaining about him because he said, “I am the bread that came down from heaven,” 6:42 and they said, “Isn’t this Jesus the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How can he now say, ‘I have come down from heaven’?” 6:43 Jesus replied, 64 “Do not complain about me to one another. 65 6:44 No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him, 66 and I will raise him up at the last day. 6:45 It is written in the prophets, ‘And they will all be taught by God.’ 67 Everyone who hears and learns from the Father 68 comes to me. 6:46 (Not that anyone has seen the Father except the one who is from God – he 69 has seen the Father.) 70 6:47 I tell you the solemn truth, 71 the one who believes 72 has eternal life. 73 6:48 I am the bread of life. 74 6:49 Your ancestors 75 ate the manna in the wilderness, and they died. 6:50 This 76 is the bread that has come down from heaven, so that a person 77 may eat from it and not die. 6:51 I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats from this bread he will live forever. The bread 78 that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh.”
6:52 Then the Jews who were hostile to Jesus 79 began to argue with one another, 80 “How can this man 81 give us his flesh to eat?” 6:53 Jesus said to them, “I tell you the solemn truth, 82 unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, 83 you have no life 84 in yourselves. 6:54 The one who eats 85 my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day. 86
[6:1] 1 tn Again, μετὰ ταῦτα (meta tauta) is a vague temporal reference. How Jesus got from Jerusalem to Galilee is not explained, which has led many scholars (e.g., Bernard, Bultmann, and Schnackenburg) to posit either editorial redaction or some sort of rearrangement or dislocation of material (such as reversing the order of chaps. 5 and 6, for example). Such a rearrangement of the material would give a simple and consistent connection of events, but in the absence of all external evidence it does not seem to be supportable. R. E. Brown (John [AB], 1:236) says that such an arrangement is attractive in some ways but not compelling, and that no rearrangement can solve all the geographical and chronological problems in John.
[6:1] 2 sn This is a parenthetical note by the author. Only John in the New Testament refers to the Sea of Galilee by the name Sea of Tiberias (see also John 21:1), but this is correct local usage. In the mid-20’s Herod completed the building of the town of Tiberias on the southwestern shore of the lake; after this time the name came into use for the lake itself.
[6:3] 3 sn Up on the mountainside does not necessarily refer to a particular mountain or hillside, but may simply mean “the hill country” or “the high ground,” referring to the high country east of the Sea of Galilee (known today as the Golan Heights).
[6:4] 4 sn Passover. According to John’s sequence of material, considerable time has elapsed since the feast of 5:1. If the feast in 5:1 was Pentecost of
[6:4] 5 sn This is a parenthetical note by the author.
[6:5] 6 tn Grk “when he lifted up his eyes” (an idiom).
[6:6] 7 tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[6:6] 8 sn This is a parenthetical note by the author.
[6:7] 9 tn Grk “Philip answered him.”
[6:7] 10 tn Grk “two hundred denarii.” The denarius was a silver coin worth about a day’s wage for a laborer; this would be an amount worth about eight months’ pay.
[6:8] 11 tn Grk “one of his disciples.”
[6:9] 12 tn Grk “but what are these”; the word “good” is not in the Greek text, but is implied.
[6:10] 14 sn This is a parenthetical note by the author (suggesting an eyewitness recollection).
[6:10] 15 tn Here “men” has been used in the translation because the following number, 5,000, probably included only adult males (see the parallel in Matt 14:21).
[6:11] 16 tn Grk “likewise also (he distributed) from the fish.”
[6:12] 17 tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[6:13] 18 sn Note that the fish mentioned previously (in John 6:9) are not emphasized here, only the five barley loaves. This is easy to understand, however, because the bread is of primary importance for the author in view of Jesus’ upcoming discourse on the Bread of Life.
[6:14] 19 tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[6:14] 20 sn The Prophet is a reference to the “prophet like Moses” of Deut 18:15, by this time an eschatological figure in popular belief.
[6:14] 21 sn An allusion to Deut 18:15.
[6:15] 22 sn Jesus, knowing that his “hour” had not yet come (and would not, in this fashion) withdrew again up the mountainside alone. The ministry of miracles in Galilee, ending with this, the multiplication of the bread (the last public miracle in Galilee recorded by John) aroused such a popular response that there was danger of an uprising. This would have given the authorities a legal excuse to arrest Jesus. The nature of Jesus’ kingship will become an issue again in the passion narrative of the Fourth Gospel (John 18:33ff.). Furthermore, the volatile reaction of the Galileans to the signs prepares for and foreshadows the misunderstanding of the miracle itself, and even the misunderstanding of Jesus’ explanation of it (John 6:22-71).
[6:16] 23 tn Or “sea.” The Greek word indicates a rather large body of water, but the English word “sea” normally indicates very large bodies of water, so the word “lake” in English is a closer approximation.
[6:17] 24 tn Or “sea.” See the note on “lake” in the previous verse.
[6:17] 25 map For location see Map1 D2; Map2 C3; Map3 B2.
[6:17] 26 sn This is a parenthetical note by the author.
[6:19] 27 tn Grk “about twenty-five or thirty stades” (a stade as a unit of linear measure is about 607 feet or 187 meters).
[6:19] 28 tn Or “sea.” See the note on “lake” in v. 16. John uses the phrase ἐπί (epi, “on”) followed by the genitive (as in Mark, instead of Matthew’s ἐπί followed by the accusative) to describe Jesus walking “on the lake.”
[6:22] 29 tn Or “sea.” See the note on “lake” in v. 16.
[6:22] 30 tc Most witnesses have after “one” the phrase “which his disciples had entered” (ἐκεῖνο εἰς ὃ ἐνέβησαν οἱ μαθηταὶ αὐτοῦ, ekeino ei" }o enebhsan Joi maqhtai autou) although there are several permutations of this clause ([א* D] Θ [Ë13 33] Ï [sa]). The witnesses that lack this expression are, however, significant and diffused (Ì75 א2 A B L N W Ψ 1 565 579 1241 al lat). The clarifying nature of the longer reading, the multiple variants from it, and the weighty testimony for the shorter reading all argue against the authenticity of the longer text in any of its variations.
[6:23] 32 map For location see Map1 E2; Map2 C2; Map3 C3; Map4 D1; Map5 G4.
[6:23] 33 tn Or “boats from Tiberias landed”; Grk “came.”
[6:23] 34 tc D 091 a e sys,c lack the phrase “after the Lord had given thanks” (εὐχαριστήσαντος τοῦ κυρίου, eucaristhsanto" tou kuriou), while almost all the rest of the witnesses ({Ì75 א A B L W Θ Ψ 0141 [Ë1] Ë13 33 Ï as well as several versions and fathers}) have the words (though {l672 l950 syp pbo} read ᾿Ιησοῦ [Ihsou, “Jesus”] instead of κυρίου). Although the shorter reading has minimal support, it is significant that this Gospel speaks of Jesus as Lord in the evangelist’s narrative descriptions only in 11:2; 20:18, 20; 21:12; and possibly 4:1 (but see tc note on “Jesus” there). There is thus but one undisputed preresurrection text in which the narrator calls Jesus “Lord.” This fact can be utilized on behalf of either reading: The participial phrase could be seen as a scribal addition harking back to 6:11 but which does not fit Johannine style, or it could be viewed as truly authentic and in line with what John indisputably does elsewhere even if rarely. On balance, in light of the overwhelming support for these words it is probably best to retain them in the text.
[6:24] 35 tn Or “embarked in the boats.”
[6:24] 36 map For location see Map1 D2; Map2 C3; Map3 B2.
[6:25] 37 tn Or “sea.” See the note on “lake” in v. 16.
[6:25] 38 sn John 6:25-31. The previous miracle of the multiplication of the bread had taken place near the town of Tiberias (cf. John 6:23). Jesus’ disciples set sail for Capernaum (6:17) and were joined by the Lord in the middle of the sea. The next day boats from Tiberias picked up a few of those who had seen the multiplication (certainly not the whole 5,000) and brought them to Capernaum. It was to this group that Jesus spoke in 6:26-27. But there were also people from Capernaum who had gathered to see Jesus, who had not witnessed the multiplication, and it was this group that asked Jesus for a miraculous sign like the manna (6:30-31). This would have seemed superfluous if it were the same crowd that had already seen the multiplication of the bread. But some from Capernaum had heard about it and wanted to see a similar miracle repeated.
[6:26] 39 tn Grk “answered and said to them.”
[6:26] 40 tn Grk “Truly, truly, I say to you.”
[6:26] 41 tn Grk “because you ate of the loaves of bread and were filled.”
[6:27] 42 tn Or “perishes” (this might refer to spoiling, but is more focused on the temporary nature of this kind of food).
[6:27] 43 tn The referent (the food) has been specified for clarity by repeating the word “food” from the previous clause.
[6:27] 44 tn Grk “on this one.”
[6:28] 46 tn Grk “What must we do to work the works of God?”
[6:29] 47 tn Grk “answered and said to them.”
[6:29] 49 tn Grk “This is the work of God.”
[6:29] 50 tn Grk “that one” (i.e., God).
[6:31] 51 tn Or “forefathers”; Grk “fathers.”
[6:31] 52 sn A quotation from Ps 78:24 (referring to the events of Exod 16:4-36).
[6:32] 53 tn Grk “Truly, truly, I say to you.”
[6:34] 55 tn Or “Lord.” The Greek κύριος (kurios) means both “Sir” and “Lord.” In this passage it is not at all clear at this point that the crowd is acknowledging Jesus as Lord. More likely this is simply a form of polite address (“sir”).
[6:35] 56 tn Grk “the one who believes in me will not possibly thirst, ever.”
[6:36] 57 tn Grk “But I said to you.”
[6:36] 58 tc A few witnesses lack με (me, “me”; א A a b e q sys,c), while the rest of the tradition has the word (Ì66,75vid rell). It is possible that the
[6:37] 59 tn Or “drive away”; Grk “cast out.”
[6:39] 60 tn Or “resurrect them all,” or “make them all live again”; Grk “raise it up.” The word “all” is supplied to bring out the collective nature of the neuter singular pronoun αὐτό (auto) in Greek. The plural pronoun “them” is used rather than neuter singular “it” because this is clearer in English, which does not use neuter collective singulars in the same way Greek does.
[6:40] 61 tn Or “resurrect him,” or “make him live again.”
[6:40] 62 sn Notice that here the result (having eternal life and being raised up at the last day) is produced by looking on the Son and believing in him. Compare John 6:54 where the same result is produced by eating Jesus’ flesh and drinking his blood. This suggests that the phrase in 6:54 (eats my flesh and drinks my blood) is to be understood in terms of the phrase here (looks on the Son and believes in him).
[6:41] 63 tn Grk “Then the Jews.” In NT usage the term ᾿Ιουδαῖοι (Ioudaioi) may refer to the entire Jewish people, the residents of Jerusalem and surrounding territory, the authorities in Jerusalem, or merely those who were hostile to Jesus. (For further information see R. G. Bratcher, “‘The Jews’ in the Gospel of John,” BT 26 [1975]: 401-9.) Here the translation restricts the phrase to those Jews who were hostile to Jesus (cf. BDAG 479 s.v. ᾿Ιουδαῖος 2.e.β), since the “crowd” mentioned in 6:22-24 was almost all Jewish (as suggested by their addressing Jesus as “Rabbi” (6:25). Likewise, the designation “Judeans” does not fit here because the location is Galilee rather than Judea.
[6:43] 64 tn Grk “answered and said to them.”
[6:43] 65 tn Or “Do not grumble among yourselves.” The words “about me” are supplied to clarify the translation “complain to one another” (otherwise the Jewish opponents could be understood to be complaining about one another, rather than complaining to one another about Jesus).
[6:44] 66 tn Or “attracts him,” or “pulls him.” The word is used of pulling or dragging, often by force. It is even used once of magnetic attraction (A. Oepke, TDNT 2:503).
[6:45] 67 sn A quotation from Isa 54:13.
[6:45] 68 tn Or “listens to the Father and learns.”
[6:46] 70 sn This is best taken as a parenthetical note by the author. Although some would attribute these words to Jesus himself, the switch from first person in Jesus’ preceding and following remarks to third person in v. 46 suggests that the author has added a clarifying comment here.
[6:47] 71 tn Grk “Truly, truly, I say to you.”
[6:47] 72 tc Most witnesses (A C2 D Ψ Ë1,13 33 Ï lat and other versions) have “in me” (εἰς ἐμέ, eis eme) here, while the Sinaitic and Curetonian Syriac versions read “in God.” These clarifying readings are predictable variants, being motivated by the scribal tendency toward greater explicitness. That the earliest and best witnesses (Ì66,75vid א B C* L T W Θ 892 pc) lack any object is solid testimony to the shorter text’s authenticity.
[6:47] 73 tn Compare John 6:40.
[6:48] 74 tn That is, “the bread that produces (eternal) life.”
[6:49] 75 tn Or “forefathers”; Grk “fathers.”
[6:50] 77 tn Grk “someone” (τις, tis).
[6:51] 78 tn Grk “And the bread.”
[6:52] 79 tn Grk “Then the Jews began to argue.” Here the translation restricts the phrase to those Jews who were hostile to Jesus (cf. BDAG 479 s.v. ᾿Ιουδαῖος 2.e.β), since the “crowd” mentioned in 6:22-24 was almost all Jewish (as suggested by their addressing Jesus as “Rabbi” (6:25). See also the note on the phrase “the Jews who were hostile to Jesus” in v. 41.
[6:52] 80 tn Grk “with one another, saying.”
[6:52] 81 tn Grk “this one,” “this person.”
[6:53] 82 tn Grk “Truly, truly, I say to you.”
[6:53] 83 sn Unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood. These words are at the heart of the discourse on the Bread of Life, and have created great misunderstanding among interpreters. Anyone who is inclined toward a sacramental viewpoint will almost certainly want to take these words as a reference to the sacrament of the Lord’s Supper, or the Eucharist, because of the reference to eating and drinking. But this does not automatically follow: By anyone’s definition there must be a symbolic element to the eating which Jesus speaks of in the discourse, and once this is admitted, it is better to understand it here, as in the previous references in the passage, to a personal receiving of (or appropriation of) Christ and his work.
[6:53] 84 tn That is, “no eternal life” (as opposed to physical life).
[6:54] 85 tn Or “who chews”; Grk ὁ τρώγων (Jo trwgwn). The alternation between ἐσθίω (esqiw, “eat,” v. 53) and τρώγω (trwgw, “eats,” vv. 54, 56, 58; “consumes,” v. 57) may simply reflect a preference for one form over the other on the author’s part, rather than an attempt to express a slightly more graphic meaning. If there is a difference, however, the word used here (τρώγω) is the more graphic and vivid of the two (“gnaw” or “chew”).
[6:54] 86 sn Notice that here the result (has eternal life and I will raise him up at the last day) is produced by eating (Jesus’) flesh and drinking his blood. Compare John 6:40 where the same result is produced by “looking on the Son and believing in him.” This suggests that the phrase here (eats my flesh and drinks my blood) is to be understood by the phrase in 6:40 (looks on the Son and believes in him).
