John 6:14-27

6:14 Now when the people saw the miraculous sign that Jesus ¹  performed, they began to say to one another, “This is certainly the Prophet ²  who is to come into the world.” ³  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. ⁴ 

Walking on Water

6:16 Now when evening came, his disciples went down to the lake, ⁵  6:17 got into a boat, and started to cross the lake ⁶  to Capernaum. ⁷  (It had already become dark, and Jesus had not yet come to them.) ⁸  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, ⁹  they caught sight of Jesus walking on the lake, ¹⁰  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 ¹¹  realized that only one small boat ¹²  had been there, and that Jesus had not boarded ¹³  it with his disciples, but that his disciples had gone away alone. 6:23 But some boats from Tiberias ¹⁴  came to shore ¹⁵  near the place where they had eaten the bread after the Lord had given thanks. ¹⁶  6:24 So when the crowd realized that neither Jesus nor his disciples were there, they got into the boats ¹⁷  and came to Capernaum ¹⁸  looking for Jesus.

Jesus’ Discourse About the Bread of Life

6:25 When they found him on the other side of the lake, ¹⁹  they said to him, “Rabbi, when did you get here?” ²⁰  6:26 Jesus replied, ²¹  “I tell you the solemn truth, ²²  you are looking for me not because you saw miraculous signs, but because you ate all the loaves of bread you wanted. ²³  6:27 Do not work for the food that disappears, ²⁴  but for the food that remains to eternal life – the food ²⁵  which the Son of Man will give to you. For God the Father has put his seal of approval on him.” ²⁶ 

[6:14]  ¹ tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[6:14]  ² 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]  ³ sn An allusion to Deut 18:15.

[6:15]  ⁴ 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]  ⁷ 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]  ¹⁰ tn Or “sea.” See the note on “lake” in the previous verse.

[6:17]  ¹¹ map For location see Map1 D2; Map2 C3; Map3 B2.

[6:17]  ¹² sn This is a parenthetical note by the author.

[6:19]  ¹³ 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]  ¹⁴ 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]  ¹⁶ tn Or “sea.” See the note on “lake” in v. 16.

[6:22]  ¹⁷ 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 [˹³ 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.

[6:22]  ¹⁸ tn Grk “entered.”

[6:23]  ¹⁹ map For location see Map1 E2; Map2 C2; Map3 C3; Map4 D1; Map5 G4.

[6:23]  ²⁰ tn Or “boats from Tiberias landed”; Grk “came.”

[6:23]  ²¹ tc D 091 a e sy^s,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 [˹] ˹³ 33 Ï as well as several versions and fathers}) have the words (though {l672 l950 sy^p 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]  ²² tn Or “embarked in the boats.”

[6:24]  ²³ map For location see Map1 D2; Map2 C3; Map3 B2.

[6:25]  ²⁵ tn Or “sea.” See the note on “lake” in v. 16.

[6:25]  ²⁶ 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]  ²⁸ tn Grk “answered and said to them.”

[6:26]  ²⁹ tn Grk “Truly, truly, I say to you.”

[6:26]  ³⁰ tn Grk “because you ate of the loaves of bread and were filled.”

[6:27]  ³¹ tn Or “perishes” (this might refer to spoiling, but is more focused on the temporary nature of this kind of food).

[6:27]  ³² tn The referent (the food) has been specified for clarity by repeating the word “food” from the previous clause.

[6:27]  ³³ tn Grk “on this one.”