JOHN 6

Much could be said concerning this chapter, but here are a few notes that may be of interest. Borchert feels that the two signs of this chapter “reflect Israel’s exodus experience.” Thus, we have: 

    feeding of the multitudes = giving of manna to the Israelites

    Jesus walking on the water = crossing the Re(e)d Sea

The Structure of John 6

A. Introduction: Jesus with his disciples (6:1-5)

        B. Physical bread (6:6-14)

                C. Jesus moves away from the people (6:15)

                        D. Walking on the water (6:16-21)

                C'. The people follow Jesus (6:22-25)

        B'. Spiritual bread (6:26-59)

A'. Conclusion: Jesus with his disciples (6:60-71)

Units 1 and 1': Unit 1 generally establishes the time, place and character of the action that is to follow. Unit 1' is really a doublet consisting of two parallel subsections, vv. 60-65 and 66-71. Each begins with the negative reaction of “many of his disciples,” moves on the key issue of “belief” in Jesus’ “words of life,” and concludes with a sobering prediction of the one who is to “betray him.” There is an implied contrast between the general mood of belief in Unit 1 with the overall tone of unbelief in 1', but both end with a foreshadowing of Jesus’ death.

Units 2 and 2': The second of these paired passages begins exactly where the first concludes, namely with the people seeing a “sign(s).” The word “bread” appears seven times in 2', which is also characterized by mention of the “last day(s)” in vv. 39-40, 44 and 54.

verse 3 A number of commentators point out that Jesus going up the mountain is the first of several events linking Jesus with Moses. See if you can find the others as you read through the chapter.

verses 6-14 The differences between this account and those in the Synoptic Gospels are outlined in my post “The Feeding of the Multitudes.”

verse 6 This is the first of several times in this chapter that John mentions Jesus' ability to know the secret thoughts of others (see also vv. 15, 61 and 64).

verse 9 According to Josephus this was food only for the common folk and was “not fit to eat.”

verse 13 This was a test for the apostles as well as for the people (one basket for each apostle). See verse 6. Culpepper: “After the feeding, the fragments are collected in twelve baskets, perhaps indicating that unlike the manna, which was perishable, the bread which Jesus gives does not perish.”

verse 15 Jesus flees when the crowds arrive. One commentator notes that if Jesus came today, he would refuse to make use of the media.

verses 16-17 The parallel account in Mark's Gospel actually says that Jesus compelled them to get in the boat. Reason?

verses 16-21 My wife once pointed out to me the contrast between this story and the stilling of the storm while Jesus and his disciples were all in the boat. This story represents the chronic situations we may face over a protracted time period that are not life threatening but tend to wear us down physically and mentally. By contrast, the storm on the sea was an acute situation that could have killed them. The message is that Jesus is with us in both types of situations.

verse 20. Jesus uses “I am” in an absolute sense here (as in 8:24,28,58) to declare his unity with Yahweh, the “I AM.”

verse 25 Jesus does not answer them because the miracle was a sign for the Twelve only.

verse 26 Jesus prefaces his comments with these solemn words also in vv. 32, 47 and 53 in order to draw particular attention to what follows.

Verse 27 The seal of authentication may refer to (a) his baptism, (b) the miraculous feeding, or (c) the testimony of Scripture (see 5:39). (Schippers)

verses 28-29 Castelein clarifies this: “Contrary to some teaching today, the NT actually calls faith a 'work' and does not call it a gift. When John 6:28-29 speaks of faith as the 'work' that God would have us do, Jesus is referring to the entire process of humans' receiving God's act of grace. Jesus' frame of reference is not any kind of work of merit by which a human merits God's forgiveness.” R. E. Brown adds: “The early Christian struggle over the relation between faith and works has been resolved by John 6:28-29 in a way that makes faith in Jesus the one 'work' of God.”

verses 30-31 Blum notes that God's order is to believe and then see (John 11:40), not the reverse.

verse 32 There are three ways in which Jesus corrects the people's understanding: (1) the Father gave the manna, not Moses, (2) the Father was still giving “manna,” and (3) the true bread from heaven is Jesus.

verse 34 Their reply “Sir,...from now on give us this bread” is almost identical to the Samaritan woman's request in John 4:15 for living water.

verse 35 This is one of the seven “I am” metaphors in John's Gospel.

verse 41 The crowds and even Jesus' disciples grumble (also in vv. 43 and 61) just as the Israelites did in the wilderness. Enns remarks, “Ironically, whereas the Israelites grumbled because they did not have bread, this crowd grumbles because they do have it.”

verses 49-50 Deuteronomy 8:3 identifies the Word of God as true manna, and John has identified Jesus as that same Word of God (in 1:14). Also see I Corinthians 10:3.

verses 51-58 Only John does not record similar words at the Last Supper. They stress the full physical presence of Jesus in the Incarnation. “In presenting this discourse and omitting an account of the institution of the Lord's Supper, Jn. is, in effect, saying that the whole of the Christian life should be characterized by this kind of feeding on Christ...” (Klappert)

“John 6:51c-58 remains one of the most debated passages in Johannine studies. This is understandable because the text not only has remained at the center of eucharistic debates...but also involves a set of interpretative issues involving separate judgments regarding the function of metaphors within John's Gospel.” (Perrin) F. F. Bruce in The Hard Sayings of Jesus echoes this opinion: This was the original hard saying.”

“One might suppose that the ritual components [in the sacrifices in Leviticus 1-6] refer to spiritual realities and that they are not merely symbolic in a loose sense but are given reality by the fact that the Lord is portrayed anthropomorphically [in 'smelling' the burnt offerings]. The language of the ritual, then, approximates the language of the Lord's Supper in John 6:53-54.” (Kiuchi)

“For him to give his body and blood in death was one thing; for us to make the blessings of his death our own is another...I can still remember what a revelation it was to me as a young man to be told that any action on my part was necessary. I used to imagine that because Christ had died, the world had automatically been put right.” (John Stott)

verse 58 Culpeppper: “No magical view of the eucharist can survive this narrative interpretation.”

verse 60 Perhaps Jesus was making it particularly hard for the Jews to accept this in order to discourage the wrong type of followers. See John 6:15 also. Of course, this is not a proof passage for transubstantiation but refers to spiritual food provided only by Christ. Remember that there are numerous other instances in the four gospels where Christ's words were wrongly taken at face value.

verse 63 This verse also makes it abundantly clear that it does not refer to the doctrine of

transubstantiation but is expressing a spiritual, not a physical reality.

 

Verse 69 Hiebert notes that the same verbs “believe and know” are stated in the reverse order in I John 

4:16, “thus indicating that in spiritual matters the growth of knowledge and the growth of faith act and 

react on each other.”

 

Verse 70 “This choice was not election to salvation.” (Blum)