Contents
II. John Chapter Six Commentary Verses
Preface to the Deity Signs Sections
6:1-14- Deity Signs—Healings, Multiplied Bread from the Bread of Life
6:15-21- Deity Sign, Master over Nature
6:22-27- Misappropriated Signs
6:41-59- Eat the True Manna from Heaven and Ever Live
6:60-71- Drawn by Papa God Precisely unto Messiah
Figure 1. Galilee Boats and Ports
I. Introduction
In this profound chapter of God’s Word we are fully filled, exceedingly fulfilled, with the Bread from above. The signs of God in Jesus Christ, the works of God through Jesus Christ, altogether drawn by God to Jesus Christ, yes, ever joined to Him by the Spirit of God, we live forever one with God. One with God: fed aplenty by very God, through the storms with God, atop the water with God, internalizing the broken body and shed blood of the incarnate God, all alike lies before us in this profound chapter of the Word of God.
We will be referring to our Lord’s twelve apostles many times and also to His disciples per se; by the latter is meant the larger set of His dedicated followers contemporary with Him, which includes the subset comprised of His apostles. (In the broader sense, a disciple is a dedicated follower of Jesus Christ in any age.)
We will follow this format:
Verse of Scripture utilizing the KJV text followed by an NKJV mouseover of that verse. Key words in the KJV text will be footnoted with a link to a word study based on the Greek text, and/or a general discussion relative to the given word (we are not biblical Greek or Hebrew scholars, please consider our grammatical constructions with a critical eye).
Commentary We shall always be commenting on this passage keeping before us the crucial fact that every jot and every tittle comprising these verses came forth under the inspiration of the blessed Holy Spirit. We pray that He, by His grace, helps us along the way.
II. John Chapter Six Commentary Verses
Preface to the Deity Signs Sections
A transgression of a law of nature by a particular volition of the Deity, or by the interposition of some invisible agent.
Hume seems to assume a sort of sacrosanct inviolability of the laws of physics; he makes two points here:
(1) A law of nature (physics) has been violated.
(2) He posits a Deity or invisible agent as the willful cause of said violation; he is certainly not espousing that, he is merely stating the believer’s position, which he hopes to cut asunder.
As to (1), that of itself, regardless the cause, would be earthshaking in the scientific community, even in Hume’s day, to put it mildly, and would be inexplicable, since the thing had the status of “law,” and therefore had passed all known hypotheses testing regarding it to date. And so (2) follows naturally even for the atheist Hume, whether he espouses it or not. Point (3), which is left unsaid, is:
(3) A violation of a known law of physics is a violation until the wheels of the scientific method have turned long enough to amend the law to render it inviolable (e.g., M. Planck and the “ultraviolet catastrophe,” giving rise ultimately to quantum mechanics, A. Einstein and Newton’s laws, giving rise ultimately to relativity.)
His points (1) and (2) mask the unsaid point (3); point (3) is the “I will” mindset that drives science then and now and leaves no room for the miraculous (in their head and heart). To the secular scientist, the universe is closed, period.
Hume goes on, cutting the tendon a little deeper by kicking at the edifice’s supports:
[T]he evidence, resulting from the testimony, admits of a diminution, greater or less, in proportion as the fact is more or less unusual.
It can only be said here that a diminution of the evidence does not alter the fact (Truth), and any evidence whatsoever is better than none, and is certainly better than any evidence whatsoever to the contrary.
Returning to Hume’s earlier argument, the great empirical conservation laws indeed demand closure and, inevitably, practical computations lean on one or more of these laws—practical computations cannot escape that black hole (conservation of energy, momentum, charge, etc.). And so, Hume is correct here, miracles do indeed violate the laws of nature (physics), particularly these conservation laws, and that is precisely how we know we are witnessing a miracle. Without that violation, we have nothing extraordinary, we are stuck in the ordinary. Moreover, secularists argue that allowing the miraculous to enter the scientific method, i.e., a computational hierarchy that builds in pyramid fashion on lower-level axioms synthesized into hypotheses tested by experiment, to the next upper stage of axioms and hypotheses and experiments and so on, interrupts this hierarchy, they put it stronger, they say it degenerates this hierarchy, much like introducing linear dependencies into a matrix degenerates the solution set, or like a circuit without a grounding potential floats its nodes such that measurements of current and voltage become meaningless. We hold that God’s universe is not entirely closed, and that since the grand miracle of Creation, all follow-on miracles are special, spatio-temporal acts of Jehovah God that He impresses upon His universe locally that absolutely violate the laws of nature. God, the Owner, the Creator, left Himself some space, some “wiggle room,” to enter His footstool universe at His leisure, as in our text. God did not create, and then abandon the universe and leave it to its God-given devices (Deism), He actively interfaces with it constantly, including and especially with the jewel of His creation, humankind, as we shall see below. Scripture shows that Jehovah God is primarily interested in Relationships with people, and not so much with physics and whatnot—He has plenty of servants in the sciences that take care of that for Him, He need not address that Scripturally. It means that the latter serves the former in His universe, and in whatever manner He chooses.
Okay, above turned into a longer excursion than we had planned, so getting back to our text, the deity signs related in the Word of God discussed in the section below and the one following are certain. They are primary source attested by Jew and non-Jew alike, by Messiah’s friends and by His enemies (e.g., the Pharisees), by the multitudes that benefited, and by the state that watched, be it Rome or the Sanhedrin (a state of sorts); they have withstood the test of time under the scrutiny of serious scholarship (sacred and secular) and have withstood myriad attempts at discreditation. Most importantly of all they were recorded by men of integrity, i.e., eyewitnesses tethered to Truth.
6:1-14- Deity Signs—Healings, Multiplied Bread from the Bread of Life
KJV TEXT: After these things[1] Jesus went over[2] the sea of Galilee[3], which is the sea of Tiberias[4]. And a great multitude[5] followed him, because they saw[6] his miracles[7] which he did on them that were diseased[8]. And Jesus went up into a mountain[9], and there he sat with his disciples. And the passover[10], a feast[11] of the Jews, was nigh. When Jesus then lifted up his eyes, and saw a great company[12] come unto him, he saith unto Philip[13], whence shall we buy bread[14], that these may eat? And this he said to prove[15] him: for he himself knew what he would do. Philip answered him, two hundred pennyworth[16] of bread is not sufficient for them, that every one of them may take a little. One of his disciples, Andrew[17], Simon Peter's[18] brother, saith unto him, there is a lad[19] here, which hath five barley[20] loaves[21], and two small fishes[22]: but what are they among so many? And Jesus said, make the men sit down. Now there was much grass[23] in the place. So the men sat down, in number about five thousand[24]. And Jesus took the loaves; and when he had given thanks, he distributed[25] to the disciples, and the disciples to them that were set down; and likewise of the fishes as much as they would. When they were filled[26], he said unto his disciples, gather up the fragments[27] that remain, that nothing be lost. Therefore they gathered them together, and filled twelve baskets[28] with the fragments of the five barley loaves, which remained over and above unto them that had eaten. Then those men, when they had seen the miracle that Jesus did, said, this is of a truth that prophet[29] that should come into the world. (John 6:1-14, cf. John 6:1-14, NLT)
COMMENTARY: This passage of Jesus’ works is recorded by all four Gospel writers (cf. Matthew 14:13-21, Mark 6:30-44, Luke 9:10-17).
The Great Physician. It is Jesus Christ. He is ministering, healing, in a place where the preponderance of His ministry would be carried out (with small excursions into Judea, Perea, and Samaria). It is just north of Lake Galilee, in the so-called ”Evangelical Triangle,” comprised of Bethsaida (Julias) on the northeastern shore, Capernaum on the northern shore slightly west of due north, approximately 6 miles (9.7 km) west of Bethsaida, and Chorazin, which lay inland atop a hill, about 2.5 miles (4 km) due north of Capernaum; Chorazin was approximately 6.5 miles (10.5 km) distant from Bethsaida as measured along the northwesterly hypotenuse of this (right) triangle (Fig. 2). So, Jesus was healing people in an area of approximately 7.5 square miles (19.5 square km). Important to our passage is that the Via Maris (from the Latin “Way of the Sea”), an ancient trade route dating from the early Bronze Age (Bronze Age: c. 3300-1200 BC), that linked Egypt with Syria, Anatolia, and Mesopotamia (it linked the continents of Africa, Asia, and Europe), ran up along the Mediterranean coastal plain and through this triangle, passing around the northern shore of Lake Galilee and onward from there. Thus, news of Jesus’ healings could spread to lands far and near and to diverse peoples, and it follows that great multitudes would have followed Him seeking His healing touch as related by our text. We believe that the crowds following Jesus must have been huge given the vast extent to which the news of the miracles was carried along the Via Maris and its tributaries:
After these things Jesus went over the sea of Galilee, which is the sea of Tiberias. And a great multitude followed him, because they saw his miracles which he did on them that were diseased.
We have the place and the backdrop, now the time. It is early in Jesus’ ministry at Passover time:
And the passover, a feast of the Jews, was nigh.
Israel is here swarming with Jewish pilgrims from every nook and cranny far and near come to celebrate the Passover in Jerusalem. This could only have added yet more people to the crowd that was already following Jesus:
When Jesus then lifted up his eyes, and saw a great company come unto him, he saith unto Philip, whence shall we buy bread, that these may eat? And this he said to prove him: for he himself knew what he would do.
We are at the point now where we must begin thinking about spiritual things and bring them to the fore and leave some of the support and setup information more or less in the background unless it is absolutely necessary to discuss it. Okay, why does Jesus ask specifically Philip said question:
He saith unto Philip, whence shall we buy bread, that these may eat?
Philip, as also Andrew and Peter, were from nearby Bethsaida (=”fisher home/house”), and so he would have known how and where to find victuals (esp. bread), the cost involved, what means were available to bring it to the crowd, and so forth. In other words, Jesus’ question on the surface would appear to be simply practical. But no, there is more to it than that, for Jesus knew the practical aspects better than Philip. The question no doubt was intended to get Philip, who indeed knew these practical aspects very well, to start thinking about how impossible a feeding of the crowd would in fact be (so too those standing nearby listening). A little more on the spiritual side however, Philip was first handed a fish net by Jesus, before the rest (John 1:43-44, “John Chapter One Commentary: He Purposed to go into Galilee”). So too Jesus asks him first this question. But why is he thus singled out? It is because Philip believed that Jesus was the awaited Messiah (John 1:45-46). Jesus knew precisely that Philip had a working faith not only in Himself as Messiah, but by default in the substance of the prophecies surrounding the coming of Messiah, i.e., in the whole picture concerning Messiah. Philip had a working faith indeed—he had a faith that Jesus could work on Is what we mean by “working faith.” We reckon the rest except for possibly Andrew did not have the same, not yet, hence Jesus addresses Philip first. Taking this just a little bit further, maybe Philip showed signs of being a fisher of men for Messiah a little more prominently than the rest who were still largely fishermen for themselves. Everything the Master does has a specific purpose, so it is not an accident that Philip was asked first may be the best way to put it, and specifically why he was asked first will have to wait until we can ask our Lord personally one fine day. And here now Jesus begins that work with Philip:
Whence shall we buy bread, that these may eat? And this he said to prove him: for he himself knew what he would do.
Philip believed Jesus was the Messiah, but only in story. Messiah was not yet real for him; Messiah was simply to him a Davidic figure on the pages of the sacred text he aplenty heard about, yet a figure that he could not engage but by mental abstractions and insights guided by the Spirit of very Messiah. Messiah is however about to become real for Philip, and ultimately by and by very non-Davidic, as Jesus continues His Work with him. It is to be a faith-lesson-work, that angles open ever wider far beyond that of Philip’s working faith, to the faith states of the rest of the (raw) disciples, and even beyond to you, Christian friend, and to me, we who similarly have been guided by the Spirit of Messiah by way of His Word and brought to a working faith that He ever steels via His uniquely personal work with us. And the impending miracle of the feeding is as much a part of Jesus’ work with Philip’s working faith as it is with yours and mine Christian friend. So let us let Messiah do His work with us as we read about and discuss this great miracle of the loaves and fishes and allow it (Him) to rocket our wonderment of Him and shore up our faith in Him.
Philip answered him, two hundred pennyworth of bread is not sufficient for them, that every one of them may take a little.
The greatest faith lessons come against the backdrop of the “impossible.” That is what Philip is faced with, the impossible, as he considers his answer to Jesus: ‘…My Lord, six months’ worth of wages is not enough that each get a pinch or two of bread…’. And Philip is right—that is precisely the situation. The impossibility of it all is beautifully extracted by the Master with His question—it is extracted on purpose. Life down here in the land of the living is just like that, we are constantly confronted with the “impossible.” We are easily hemmed in by the vicissitudes of life that are ever so out of our control, and literally at the end we do not know which way to turn to survive just a little bit longer, we or our loved ones. It is a terrible thing to get hemmed in like that, say, when there is not enough money to put bread on the table for all the much-loved hungry mouths, or we find that there is no treatment available for a medical condition and there we are, hemmed in with nowhere to turn, stuck like that, staring at the dead-end corners before and behind and around. Blessed Philip saw such a corner, as did everybody else on the plain, because these corners are normative to the human condition and are easily spotted. It is the portrait of a ubiquitous reality for humankind, and it is a hopeless one, that our Savior here steps into and becomes a part of. He steps into it and becomes a part of it, but He alone is not hemmed in by it. What to do? If only I could turn those last five coins into five-thousand and thus abundantly feed the much-loved hungry mouths around my table. If only…The portrait is bleak here, not pleasant to write about, not pleasant to read about, but happily, thankfully, this is not the final word, it gets better than we can possibly imagine:
One of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter's brother, saith unto him, there is a lad here, which hath five barley loaves, and two small fishes: but what are they among so many? And Jesus said, make the men sit down.
Who but Andrew to bring someone to Jesus (cf. John 1:40-42)? Why would Andrew bring a lad to Jesus with such meager victuals knowing they could not scratch the surface for a feeding of the multitude? He as much as says so himself: “…what are they among so many…”. If he thought that Jesus would multiply the food surely he would not have said: “…what are they among so many…”, but rather something like: ‘…My Lord, there is very little here, but you can make a lot out of a little…’. That is what one would expect him to say—after all, he believed that Jesus was Messiah (John 1:40-41); he saying something on the order of ‘you can make a lot out of a little’ makes the most sense theologically, and, riding those theological coattails, it would make the most sense if the text were fudged for evangelical purposes—but he does not say the expected, which is interesting. Here then is an instance where textual criticism tells us that the unexpected is lending considerable credence to the text. The text is quite reliable, we must get that cleared up right away. Now, how did Andrew come upon the lad; did he stumble upon him? No. Matthew tells us that Jesus told the disciples to feed the crowd after they had asked Him to disperse the crowd so that the folks could go into the nearby villages and get something to eat (Matthew 14:15-16). So, what would you do right here dear reader if you were a disciple? How would you handle it? As for us, we would flat say, Folks, who among you has brought any food with you? After all, the crowd is huge, and surely some of them brought some “snacks” if you will along, so let’s put together as much of it as we can and divvy it out and see how far it goes. Is that not about the only down-to-earth way to go here? Allow us to proceed with that for the moment. Well, there are no snacks—no snacks to be found apparently, or more likely, there were snacks, maybe aplenty, but unwilling to be shared, because food was more precious than gold in those poor fishing environs and no less amongst that crowd which we can be sure was largely comprised of the poor and the diseased, and food in those days had to be prepared, it had to be worked with, it had to be prepared just so, not just for proper eating, but for preservation—it did not come off shelves all lined with food, all ready to go, with a long shelf life, as we are accustomed to in modern times. No doubt not a few of the folks were quite unwilling to part with whatever they brought, if indeed they brought anything at all. But there is this particular kid in the crowd that understands food a little differently, and he is getting squished almost by the press as he tries to get a little closer to the front. It’s just a little kid, a little boy, he has his knapsack slung over his chest and has his shoulders sort of huddled over it to keep it from getting squished, and he has five barley loaves in there, you know, coming from a poor home and all, and a couple of those “Lake Galilee special” pickled Kinneret Sardines his folks got over yonder in Magdala, all of it wrapped up nice and neat and tucked away just like mommy had put it in there for him, and he pops through the front of the crowd and catches his breath a little bit and says to Andrew:
‘…sssir, it ain’t much, but I got this here stuff if you want…’.
And Jesus’ heart melts. The miracle is as good as done—all that is left are the particulars, which we shall now address in all seriousness.
Cleverly, the Master has the crowd sit down in array (Mark 6:39-40). Why? Fifteen-thousand people scattered all over the place cannot be fed efficiently, if at all. Please notice that in that patriarchal society, when the men were told to sit in array, the women and children would do so as well around the father/head. Now, the arithmetic mean (everyday terms=average) for five-thousand men having anywhere from zero to four dependents is exactly fifteen-thousand people, with a standard deviation (dispersion, or distance on either side of the mean) of about eight-thousand people (other important means in statistics are the geometric mean and the harmonic mean, but these do not apply here because this problem is linear, i.e., an arithmetic progression with a constant addend of 5000):
Now there was much grass in the place. So the men sat down, in number about five thousand.
Our front yard is on somewhat of a hill, and it is a chore to keep nice, thick grass on it because of the runoff—grass needs water to be able to soak in, to puddle/stand on it, not forever of course, but consistent, immediate runoffs hinder good growth, especially during the summer months. Given the mention of “green grass” in the parallel passage (Mark 6:39), and our text has “much grass,” there can be little doubt that this crowd was fed on a plain or a gently sloping plain.
And Jesus took the loaves; and when he had given thanks, he distributed to the disciples, and the disciples to them that were set down; and likewise of the fishes as much as they would.
We wish now to direct the reader to endnote twenty-five, where we offer our take on the mechanics of this divine feeding of the multitude by Jesus. It is but a feeble possibility put forth, we do not in the least presume to know how it was exactly done.
Now please notice these words in the text:
…and when He had given thanks…
Before the miracle, Jesus gave thanks. He gave thanks to Father God, and certainly in His prayers and thoughts was a little boy, someone’s son, who no doubt offered all he had to Jesus for the good of the multitude, and Jesus Himself would one day offer all He, the Son of God had, to God, for a greater multitude. And O how the Father is pleased with the Son (Matthew 3:17), and no less Jesus with this here little son.
When they were filled, he said unto his disciples, gather up the fragments that remain, that nothing be lost. Therefore they gathered them together, and filled twelve baskets with the fragments of the five barley loaves, which remained over and above unto them that had eaten. (cf. 2Kings 4:42-43, 2Chronicles 31:10, Psalms 81:10)
The crowd was seated in array on the grass, presumably using their laps as a table. Given the double-palm size of the loaves, and assuming each person received a double portion (two loaves and two fish) the people probably did not eat more than one loaf with their fish; sure, some probably ate two, and others portions thereof; and what was broken off surely was not put on the ground, but on their laps. And we can be sure that some folks put some of the food they received into their personal baskets and took it home with them. So, was there food laying around on the ground is the question? The Jewish folks in the crowd, presumably the majority, would not have done that owing to the “uncleanness” of that and the contempt directed toward God’s blessing inherent in the act. Matthew Henry says this about it:
The Jews were very careful not to lose any bread, nor let it fall to the ground, to be trodden upon. Qui panem contemnit in gravem incidit paupertatem-He who despises bread falls into the depths of poverty, was a saying among them.
But not least coming off the Via Maris there were others there besides Jewish folks, and it is probably from them that not a few fragments were left on the ground. And twelve baskets-full were gathered. For baskets, the Greek KOFINOS is utilized, which was presumably a smaller basket that could comfortably be carried on one’s person, maybe slung over one’s back via a cord (over against the SPURIS basket, which was big enough for a grown man to get into, Acts 9:25). So, twelve of these smaller baskets were filled with leftovers. What this means to us is that the crowd was in fact famished as Jesus and the disciples had said, and ate quite well indeed, because twelve of these KOFINOS-type baskets-full of leftovers is not very much at all compared to our presumed sixty-thousand double-portion pieces of food handed out—it means a huge amount of food was actually consumed, by a huge crowd, in keeping with the text, a text that tells us that the throng was stuffed in the end, and therefore a huge amount of food was miraculously produced by the Bread of Life Jesus from a mere handful of seeds comprised of a little boy’s five barley loaves and two fish.
Then those men, when they had seen the miracle that Jesus did, said, this is of a truth that prophet that should come into the world.
Are we shocked by this reaction? No way. For the Jewish folks to say this speaks volumes because hands-down they are affirming Jesus’ Messiahship consistent with a fifteen-hundred-year-old prophecy that had up until Jesus’ day been unfulfilled. And they were exactly right in their identification of Jesus, but not in their appreciation of Him, as we shall see.
There were twelve apostles handing out food, and after a while it must have become obvious to the folks on the periphery that something extraordinary was going on. During the feeding, the crowd was seated in array, folks being close to one another, and just like the food was being passed along from person to person, so too the chatter about what was going on must have eventually diffused throughout the crowd, like dye in water. And the dye had several hours to diffuse. And as we just saw, the chatter soon turned to the root Cause of the feeding, namely Jesus, the distributors’ Master, and precisely to He being the long-awaited Messiah. To these people, as to the spiritually raw disciples, the biblical Messiah, was a Davidic messiah, imbued with worldly power from on high, who would restore Israel to the glory days it enjoyed under king David. But that was so far removed from the kind of King that Jesus intended to be to these people, and to all peoples, that the only alternative He had to keep His ministry on track was to remove Himself out of their grasp, because they, however many thousands of them being of this mindset, with their full bellies and full of vigor and astonishment at His power, were undoubtedly going to lift Him up on their shoulders and carry their King off to a coronation whether He liked it or not as mobs are wont to do. So, Jesus fast exits the scene and maybe heads to the nearby place where He went after His dear friend the Baptist’s murder. It tells us that this attempted coronation of Jesus was an emotional experience for our Savior, probably because of the brute misconceptions of the crowd—they saw not deity in their midst, they saw a mundane messiah, at best a special and convenient sort of intermediary with God, not God Himself in the flesh—and so given the press, the miracle, the misconceptions, the mis-intentions, the forthcoming work with the disciples at sea, He, the incarnate God Jesus, needed some quiet prayer time with His Father to rest in His bosom for a while and discuss the Ministry with Him per se.
. Parallel verses:
Mathew 14:13–21; Mark 6:30–44, Luke 9:10–17 .
6:15-21- Deity Sign, Master over Nature
KJV TEXT: When Jesus therefore perceived that they would come and take him by force, to make him a king[30], he departed again[31] into a mountain himself alone[32]. And when even was now come, his disciples went down unto the sea, and entered into a ship[33], and went over the sea toward Capernaum[34]. And it was now dark, and Jesus was not come to them. And the sea arose by reason of a great wind that blew[35]. So when they had rowed about five and twenty or thirty furlongs[36], they see Jesus walking[37] on[38] the sea[39], and drawing nigh unto the ship: and they were afraid[40]. But he saith unto them, it is I; be not afraid. Then they willingly received him into the ship: and immediately the ship was at the land whither they went[41]. (John 6:15-21, cf. John 6:15-21, NLT)
COMMENTARY: So, Jesus is up yonder on a mountain, and He is praying, and He is going to be there in prayer for a while, and the disciples, what are they doing? Well, they probably talked to the residual crowd (Jesus had dismissed the crowd [Matthew 14:23, Mark 6:45]), and they probably mulled about some, waiting, but they were “high and dry” fishermen stranded on land here if you will, so they did what fishermen do, they headed down to the shore and probably readied their boat and waited for Jesus. It was already late in the day before the miraculous feeding had taken place, and we reckon it was at least three to four hours or more later than that now, so it is getting toward evening, at least—the text tells us that the disciples waited down by the shore for a while and as nightfall approached, they waited no longer and took off heading toward home-base Capernaum (so John), but nowhere do we read that they were supposed to do that—did Jesus tell them to go there? According to Matthew 14:22, they were to go to “the other side,” and Mark 6:45 also has them heading to the “other side,” but with destination Bethsaida specifically mentioned, which could suggest that the feeding had taken place on the western shore, perhaps at the traditional site of Tabgha in that case (Figure 1, Slide 8). So, destination Capernaum was apparently their decision (one cannot be sure about that, nor about their intentions and ultimate travel plans [Bethsaida last by way of Capernaum first? It was only 6 miles/9.7 km between the two cities as the crow flies]):
And when even was now come, his disciples went down unto the sea, and entered into a ship, and went over the sea toward Capernaum. And it was now dark, and Jesus was not come to them.
It is not a good idea to venture into the open seas without Jesus on board:
And the sea arose by reason of a great wind that blew.
In what follows, please keep in mind that Lake Galilee fishing boats in Jesus’ day were powered both by oars and a sail midship (Fig. 1, esp. slide 7, also slides 10-16). Okay, in the spirit of this commentary, we shall say that they departed from the eastern shore, south of Bethsaida, and were heading northwesterly toward Capernaum, fighting a gale to no avail, and were not quite four miles (6.5 km) out along this heading, which Matthew tells us put them “in the midst of the sea” (Matthew 14:24, cf. Mark 6:47), when they saw Jesus walking on the water toward them. Now it was dark, because not only was it night (Matthew 14:25, where the fourth watch would be 3:00 AM or later), they were in the midst of a storm which means it was quite overcast, so how could they possibly see Jesus walking on the water, after all, it is dark as said, but not only that, the sea is swollen per the gale crashing the waves into one another, which surely would have obscured their vision even more, and how ever could Jesus be walking on large, shifting waves, let alone be seen doing so? We think that precisely here He shone forth His glory (cf. Matthew 17:1-2), shining full-body like a Lighthouse, and was therefore clearly visible, even at a distance, and we believe that the waves flattened out before Him in the direction of the boat like a rolled-out red carpet before a King, though not necessarily anywhere else—a local event in spacetime; here is displayed Jesus’ mastery over the laws of nature (physics) as we appreciate them today, and no less therein lies the miracle (that part of it, Jesus of course humbles the storm, He stills it, just later). Moreover, we believe that is why Peter thought he could come to Jesus on the water—he saw the flattened and lit up water before Jesus like a pathway right up to the boat, and he clearly saw Jesus, thus he could see a clear path to Jesus that looked quite walkable to him even though there was great turbulence on either side of the pathway, turbulence that got him into trouble when he took his eyes off Jesus (Matthew 14:28-32):
So when they had rowed about five and twenty or thirty furlongs, they see Jesus walking on the sea, and drawing nigh unto the ship: and they were afraid.
The disciples clearly identified Jesus, as the text says—that must carefully be taken note of, because they were afraid—of Him—it follows, not just of their predicament; why would they be afraid of Jesus having recognized Him? We think it is because He was shining forth His glory, which on that turbulent sea, and in the midst of the rain and mist and lightning and surrounding darkness, made Him look ever so otherworldly and surreal (cf. Matthew 14:26)—it is not until He spoke a word to them and they heard His blessed, calming, and familiar voice above the cacophony all about that they calmed down and became encouraged (esp. Peter, Matthew 14:27-28):
But he saith unto them, it is I; be not afraid. Then they willingly received him into the ship: and immediately the ship was at the land whither they went.
Now let us discuss:
And immediately the ship was at the land wither they went.
(Please reference figure 1, slide 8, for the following.) “Wither they went”—where was that, where did they end up? They ended up in the place that Jesus intended all along for the ministry to be next, and that was not Capernaum for the moment as they had intended (Matthew 14:22, where “other side” is surely west given an eastern shore feeding; Mark 6:45 has them heading to the “other side” as well, but with destination Bethsaida, which would suggest that the feeding had taken place on the western shore, perhaps at the traditional site of Tabgha in that case. Generally, please consider Acts 16:7-10 theologically). Importantly, Matthew says they ended up in Gennesaret (Matthew 14:34, cf. Mark 6:53-55), which is logical given either feeding setting (eastern shore/western shore), since the boat had reached approximately the middle of the lake before Jesus appeared. So, they translated largely west from the middle-ish part of the lake to the western shore, so very roughly about four miles westward from the point where Jesus rescued them. (It suggests that Jesus had walked some miles, four at most, from the mountain on the eastern shore to the middle of the lake to reach them? We cannot be sure exactly how Jesus got there or how far it was, but it is clear He was walking [on the water] as He approached them—all this is just a side note, it is a moot point.)
So, the Ministry had moved to Gennesaret for the moment, and would eventually move from there to the Capernaum Synagogue, where Jesus’ great teachings we read about next would unfold.
Parallel verses:
Mathew 14:22-33, Mark 6:45-52.
6:22-27- Misappropriated Signs
KJV TEXT: The day following, when the people which stood on the other side of the sea[42] saw that there was none other boat there, save that one whereinto his disciples were entered, and that Jesus went not with his disciples into the boat, but that his disciples were gone away alone. (Howbeit there came other boats from Tiberias[43] nigh unto the place where they did eat bread, after that the Lord had given thanks.) When the people therefore saw that Jesus was not there, neither his disciples, they also took shipping, and came to Capernaum, seeking for Jesus[44]. And when they had found him on the other side of the sea, they said unto him, Rabbi[45], when camest thou hither? Jesus answered them and said, Verily, verily, I say unto you, ye seek me, not because ye saw the miracles, but because ye did eat of the loaves, and were filled[46]. Labour not for the meat which perisheth, but for that meat which endureth unto everlasting life[47], which the Son of man[48] shall give unto you: for him hath God the Father[49] sealed[50]. (John 6:22-27, cf. John 6:22-27, NLT).
COMMENTARY: The day following, when the people which stood on the other side of the sea saw that there was none other boat there, save that one whereinto his disciples were entered [just before the storm the night before], and that Jesus went not with his disciples into the boat [He was praying on the mountain], but that his disciples were gone away alone. (Howbeit there came other boats from Tiberias nigh unto the place where they did eat bread, after that the Lord had given thanks.) When the people therefore saw that Jesus was not there, neither his disciples, they also took shipping, and came to Capernaum, seeking for Jesus.
We must get John’s vantage point right. We think the vantage point is from the western shore where Jesus and the disciples had landed after the storm, hence the people referenced are standing on the eastern shore where Jesus and the disciples had docked the day before, because otherwise these people are seeing detailed personnel movements from some miles afar, which does not seem likely; it is the people on the eastern shore that caught the details of Jesus’ movements aright. It means then that there were boats from Tiberias, which is on the western shore, that had come across and docked on the eastern side, but the point John makes is that the boat that Jesus and the disciples docked on the eastern shore was not there anymore (because it was now on the western side after the rescue, which in itself precludes these observers being on the western shore). Please note that the eastern side of the lake is the “desolate (=less populous) side,” whilst the western side is lined with cities; the desolate side is where Jesus and the disciples had traveled to find some rest before the feeding (Mark 6:31-33); note too that the people following Jesus in Mark 6:33 were no doubt “Evangelical Triangle” folks, i.e., decidedly north, and northeastern shore folks. So, the folks took off toward Jesus’ home-base Capernaum to find Him, and thus on a similar heading that the disciples had taken the night before. Please notice how the people knew where to likely find Jesus—His home base at Capernaum—which means knowledge of Him and His activity was rather broad, and no less, interest in His ministry was broad.
And when they had found him on the other side of the sea, they said unto him, Rabbi, when camest thou hither?
We think “hither” here now means Capernaum. There was clearly a ministry at Gennesaret that lasted for an uncertain length of time (Mark 6:53-56). And we know from John 6:59 that Jesus and the disciples eventually went on to Capernaum from Gennesaret, where Jesus’ great teachings at the Capernaum Synagogue would unfold. What follows—the balance of the chapter—is probably transpiring at Capernaum.
Jesus answered them and said, Verily, verily, I say unto you, ye seek me, not because ye saw the miracles, but because ye did eat of the loaves, and were filled. Labour not for the meat which perisheth, but for that meat which endureth unto everlasting life, which the Son of man shall give unto you: for him hath God the Father sealed.
What has transpired up to now has been the miraculous—Deity Signs—clearly identifiable as such because they transcended the natural order; from here forward these are explicated in the Light of the transcendent spiritual order to which they point, and the Deity that graces it, even Jehovah God in our midst in context.
The simple truths just below are being expounded again and again as we move forward, and we must not miss them, because they show up in our lives in diverse ways, and come in all sizes, to the day, and going forward, until the Miracle-Worker returns:
(1) The miracle is more important than the bread it produces.
(2) The Miracle-Worker is more, much more, important than the miracle.
Why did Jesus feed these people knowing their heart and mindset? He knew their attitudes and motives were errant and misplaced, He knew it full well. He fed them because He had compassion on them, not just because they were physically hungry, which indeed they were, but because they were spiritually starving. He is beginning to establish a relationship with them that will satisfy, that will “stuff” if you will, their spiritual starvation. It is done so beautifully and gracefully. The Metaphor is terrific. He addresses one kind of starvation, physical, to get at another, spiritual. He is concerned about both. He satisfies both. And that is the whole point in a nutshell going forward: HE:
Labour not for the meat which perisheth, but for that meat which endureth unto everlasting life, which the Son of man shall give unto you: for him hath God the Father sealed (Isaiah 55:1-3, “Isaiah Chapter Fifty-five Commentary”).
Sealed, Jesus is sealed, by Father God. What does that mean? His Deity Signs are proof of it, but what does it mean that He is sealed by Father God? Jesus has been given the authority of the Father (given to Him by Father God it is understood; it is not a light thing to have the authority of Father God, in the extreme—thus trustworthy is Jesus Christ); He wears the Father’s signet ring—He speaks here as the incarnate God. In our context it means He has the authority to impart His own eternal life and hence Father God’s unto humankind. The crowd sought Him because He abundantly fed them earthy things necessary for physical life; He had the power to do so and displayed it, and they understood that, and they projected forward in their minds unto more of the same favors, decidedly mundane, be they for cures or for food or for war, hence they sought to make Him their Davidic king. He is here however raising their truncated expectations to another level, way, way up there, to a level that transcends their (our) truncated earthly expectations as finite creatures, unto an eternal, spiritual existence (with Him), no less powered by Him—that, is why His Leverage-Lever is being applied to their/our eyes, so that they/we might lift up our eyes and seek predominantly Him, the Blesser, and not so much the Blessing/s. But it is so hard to genuinely appreciate the former, then and now, for blessings ever so blind us. Jesus beautifully and graciously utilizes the Metaphor suffused in the supernatural to make it real for a people of exceedingly limited vision, but then we are all in that camp. (Yet, we have the benefit of hindsight, they did not.) Jesus with that signet ring can lead us out of that camp unto a grand Vista ever so much bigger, and lasting, and…, real.
6:28-40-The Works of God
KJV TEXT: Then said they unto him, what shall we do, that we might work the works of God? Jesus answered and said unto them, this is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath sent[51]. They said therefore unto him, what sign[52] shewest thou then, that we may see[53], and believe[54] thee? What dost thou work? Our fathers[55] did eat manna[56] in the desert[57]; as it is written, He gave them bread from heaven to eat. Then Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Moses[58] gave you not that bread from heaven[59]; but my Father giveth you the true bread from heaven. For the bread of God is he which cometh down from heaven, and giveth[60] life unto the world. Then said they unto him, Lord, evermore give us this bread. And Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst. But I said unto you, that ye also have seen me, and believe not. All that the Father giveth me shall come to me; and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out. For I came down from heaven, not to do mine own will[61], but the will of him that sent me. And this is the Father's will which hath sent me, that of all which he hath given me I should lose[62] nothing, but should raise[63] it up again at the last day[64]. And this is the will of him that sent me, that every one which seeth the Son, and believeth on him, may have everlasting life: and I will raise him up at the last day. (John 6:28-40, cf. John 6:28-40, NLT).
COMMENTARY: Then said they unto him, what shall we do, that we might work the works of God?
Very good question that they ask, but the follow-on shows it to be no more than a good question.
Jesus answered and said unto them, this is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath sent.
There is the rub, for them, yea, for more, for many, for most.
They said therefore unto him, what sign shewest thou then, that we may see, and believe thee? What dost thou work?
Do something special just for us Jesus of Nazareth. Come on, fly around the Synagogue a couple of times so that we can believe—help us out here. Satisfy our curiosity; show us a circus act, a dog and pony show to our liking, our brand of eye polish. You have not met our Deity-qualifying standards yet. One can hear that odium echoing down the corridor of time, even down to our day and the arrogant, self-righteous atheist slicksters that no less sport with our Lord, expecting Him to satisfy their ever so erudite, high and lofty Deity-qualifying standards. What you see with Jesus Christ, is what you get. If you do no like what you see, that’s on you on into eternity.
Our fathers did eat manna in the desert; as it is written, He gave them bread from heaven to eat.
Well Jesus of Nazareth, Father Moses worked many a works, now you bring it… For them to defer to God authenticating Moses through whom God blessed those grumbler and mumbler “fathers” of theirs is not a good argument (not all grumbled and mumbled, only about 95+% did). Be that as it may, let us analyze their statement. Indeed, they were given manna, and quail too, and water, all alike miraculously. These here show themselves to be the spiritual progeny of those grumblers and mumblers, for fraught with miracles—healings, food—they wanted more, just like their “fathers” were not really satisfied with the manna, and wished rather to eat meat, nay, wished rather to be back in Egypt, after all, God brought them out of slavery, parted the waters, fed them and whatnot, only to die in the wilderness they said (shame on you God is the unholy inference they made in their grumblings and mumblings). Are we surprised that as the fathers, thoroughly steeped in the miraculous, nevertheless missed the simple principles above, so too their progeny missed them? Like father like son. Like son like father.
Then Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Moses gave you not that bread from heaven; but my Father giveth you the true bread from heaven. For the bread of God is he which cometh down from heaven, and giveth life unto the world.
Father Moses was but an intermediary; he possessed no extraordinary powers of himself. Father Moses. He was among the one or two or maybe a handful in that throng back in the day that did not grumble and mumble.
Father Moses. What is wrong with that picture? It is the wrong Father. What is Jesus saying to them (to us)? Two things:
(1) The intermediary with Father God, father Moses, did not give them the life-sustaining “what is it” from heaven—it came to them unrecognized and unappreciated from the open hand of Father God.
(2) From the open hand of Father God comes the true, hence eternally life-sustaining “what is it” from heaven, no less unrecognized and unappreciated. So then, “what is it?” It is His beloved and dear Son, Jesus Christ, here speaking in our text; we must recognize Him, and appreciate Him, as the true Bread of Life, for all other manner of bread cannot satisfy our eternal longings.
Then said they unto him, Lord, evermore give us this bread.
Once again, they say the right words here, but soon comes the wrong follow-on.
And Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst. But I said unto you, that ye also have seen me, and believe not.
The I AM is the Bread of Life, could it be any other way? No. What a profound statement Jesus makes here about Himself: “…I am the bread of life…”. Everybody under the sun knows what that means. Jesus sustains life down here under the sun. Everybody above in heaven knows what that means. Jesus sustains life up yonder on into eternity (Revelation 22:1-2). There is a proviso though: one must come to Him. Simple enough. What a mean frame He must have taken upon Himself when He ministered down here under the sun (for they saw Him, and believed not), down here in the land of sin and sorrow. Had He come with pomp and circumstance and smashing good looks, their brand of eye polish—circus acts, dog and pony shows, cleverly turned phrases steeped in quantum operator lingo, spacetime diagrams centered on the most coveted singularity, all alike with learned inflection of voice and attendant facial expressions just so—then they would have come. But it does not work that way. What you see is what you get with Jesus, then, and now. Seeing is believing; if you do not like what you see—that’s on you on into eternity. If you do not like what you see, no Bread of Life, no Living Waters, not for you.
All that the Father giveth me shall come to me; and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out.
Who is drawn by Father God? We, His people, are drawn, by Father God, unto Jesus Christ (John 3:5-8, “Drawn”). John was drawn. Philip was drawn, Andrew and Peter were drawn, and so on. Was J. Iscariot drawn? Drawn, but not come, for he was cast out (Matthew 26:24). And so it is with many, too many, most, and such as these are better off had they not been born.
For I came down from heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent me. And this is the Father's will which hath sent me, that of all which he hath given me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up again at the last day. And this is the will of him that sent me, that every one which seeth the Son, and believeth on him, may have everlasting life: and I will raise him up at the last day.
The will of the Drawer. What exactly is it in this context? It resides in the One whom He sent (“He Who Sent Me”):
And this is the will of him that sent me, that every one which seeth the Son, and believeth on him, may have everlasting life: and I will raise him up at the last day.
If seeing is indeed believing, then said believing is indeed Life Eternal (“A Letter of Invitation”). Notice Jesus’ words:
I [the very one whom you believe has the unequivocal power to do this, John 11:25-26], will raise him up at the last day.
Many, too many, most, disqualify themselves right here, and it will be a bitter pill when the record is played back for them.
6:41-59- Eat the True Manna from Heaven and Ever Live
KJV TEXT: The Jews[65] then murmured[66] at him, because he said, I am the bread which came down from heaven. And they said, is not this Jesus[67], the son of Joseph[68], whose father and mother[69] we know? how is it then that he saith, I came down from heaven? Jesus therefore answered and said unto them, murmur not among yourselves. No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw[70] him: and I will raise him up at the last day. It is written in the prophets[71], and they shall be all taught of God. Every man therefore that hath heard[72], and hath learned[73] of the Father, cometh[74] unto me. Not that any man hath seen the Father, save he which is of[75] God, he hath seen the Father. Verily, verily, I say unto you, he that believeth[76] on me hath everlasting life. I am that bread of life. your fathers did eat manna in the wilderness, and are dead. This is the bread which cometh down from heaven, that a man may eat thereof, and not die. I am the living[77] bread which came down from heaven: if any man eat[78] of this bread, he shall live forever: and the bread that I will give is my flesh[79], which I will give for the life of the world. The Jews therefore strove[80] among themselves, saying, how can this man give us his flesh to eat? Then Jesus said unto them, verily, verily, I say unto you, except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink his blood, ye have no life in you. Whoso eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, hath eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day. For my flesh is meat indeed, and my blood is drink indeed. He that eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, dwelleth in me, and I in him. As the living Father hath sent me, and I live by[81] the Father: so he that eateth me, even he shall live by me. This is that bread which came down from heaven: not as your fathers did eat manna, and are dead: he that eateth of this bread shall live for ever. These things said he in the synagogue[82], as he taught in Capernaum. (John 6:41-59, cf John 6:41-59 NLT).
COMMENTARY: We want our brand of eye polish Jesus of Nazareth, yon carpenter’s son—then maybe we will believe; convince us:
The Jews then murmured at him, because he said, I am the bread which came down from heaven. And they said, is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? how is it then that he saith, I came down from heaven?
Like the fathers, like the sons. Notwithstanding, Jesus’ response turns things around in the right direction. Convince us? Nay, know this, irrespective of what ye think, ye cannot come to me except my Father, who sent me, first draw ye—He, Father God, “calls the shots;” ye, have the privilege of responding to Him, to His Spirit, whose whispers ye tangibly recognize in me. (Father God manifested and revealed in, and working through, the incarnate Jesus.) Ye have learned of Him by His Spirit, and are drawn to Him, when ye are drawn to me, and if ye now act on that draw, and come to me, ye shall ever live through me (John 10:30):
Jesus therefore answered and said unto them, murmur not among yourselves. No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him: and I will raise him up at the last day. It is written in the prophets, and they shall be all taught of God. Every man therefore that hath heard, and hath learned of the Father, cometh unto me.
To lend even more weight to what Jesus just said, He identifies Himself with God—He just told them He was sent by God, now it is necessary that they understand that He flat out knows God intimately, eyeball-to-eyeball intimacy, thus supporting His claim (fact) that He was sent by God. Indeed He, “that Jesus” from the backwater little village of Nazareth, whom they sport with, and cannot take seriously, He, even He, is intimately familiar with God He tells them (one does not claim that in the heat unless one can back it up—Jesus could back it up, that’s the difference between Him and myriad pretenders in that regard; His antagonists’ worldview of the day, and theological mindset, was such that it just never registered in their head that this “guy” from down the road was divine, but here follows some real eye polish for them to consider in that regard):
Not that any man hath seen the Father, save he which is of God, he hath seen the Father.
Now comes the important setup for later when Jesus discusses “eating His flesh” and “drinking His blood”—please notice His words very carefully. Jesus predicates everything on consummate unification with Himself (He in us and we in Him, thus dwelling united with Deity). This unification with Him and its consequences for eternal life can be communicated no better than by analogy with the very familiar daily necessity of eating and drinking in order to live, and of course when we ingest something it becomes a part of us, it inhabits our cells, our very being:
Verily, verily, I say unto you, he that believeth on me hath everlasting life. I am that bread of life. [We must believe that is precisely who He is—the Bread of Life.] Your fathers did eat manna in the wilderness, and are dead [thus fading in efficacy is the material, even material bread from heaven]. This is the bread which cometh down from heaven, that a man may eat thereof, and not die [thus lasting in efficacy is the Living Bread from heaven]. I am the living bread which came down from heaven: if any man eat of this bread, he shall live forever: and the bread that I will give is my flesh [Jesus’ broken body on the Cross], which I will give for the life of the world [Redemption/Salvation].
My Lord is my Savior, my Savior is my Lord. My sins are forgiven because His body was broken for me, and His blood was shed for me. Thus believing, thus accepting from His open, pierced hand, I shall live forever, one with My Lord and my Redeemer and my Savior. And why? Because it is the will of the Father that it be so (recall Jesus’ words above: “…And this is the will of him that sent me, that every one which seeth the Son, and believeth on him, may have everlasting life: and I will raise him up at the last day…”).
Continuing with our passage we have next great confusion over this:
The Jews therefore strove among themselves, saying, how can this man give us his flesh to eat?
In some respects, their striving is understandable, and Jesus knows it—it is a difficult (?) theology that is being birthed in their midst, conceptually and practically in its outworking quite different from the pagan Mysteries to which some minds must have connected it, so Rabbi Jesus must teach them (even us, for to some, to the day, it is still a difficult theology, we mean of course Redemption/Salvation):
Then Jesus said unto them, verily, verily, I say unto you, except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink his blood, ye have no life in you. Whoso eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, hath eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day. For my flesh is meat indeed, and my blood is drink indeed. He that eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, dwelleth in me, and I in him [Consummate unification with God is the vehicle of Eternal Life-how can this be a difficult theology? It is not].
Belief in Jesus’ Redemption and attendant Salvation is fleshed out when our bodies are similarly broken, and our blood is similarly shed, for Him, and for His people, and for His interests (this happens in myriad ways, not necessarily always physical; sacrifice, however, is typically the common denominator). In this way we are united with Him in solidarity of purpose—and Cost—no matter how great the Cost. United, we dwelling in Him, and He in us. And thus united with Him, and only thus united with Him, we become as Him, for that is what united means. We in Him, and He in us, we become as Him, necessarily, eternal beings, for as He is in the Father, and ever lives by the Father, so we are in Him, and ever live by Him:
As the living Father hath sent me, and I live by the Father: so he that eateth me, even he shall live by me. This is that bread which came down from heaven: not as your fathers did eat manna [“what is it?”], and are dead: he that eateth of this bread [“I know what it is, it is precisely you my Redeemer and my Savior and my Lord!”] shall live for ever. These things said he in the synagogue, as he taught in Capernaum.
6:60-71- Drawn by Papa God Precisely unto Messiah
KJV TEXT: Many therefore of his disciples, when they had heard this, said, this is an hard[83] saying; who can hear it? When Jesus knew in himself that his disciples murmured at it, he said unto them, Doth this offend[84] you? What and if ye shall see [EAN OUN THEWRHTE] the Son of man ascend[85] up where he was before? It is the spirit[86] that quickeneth[87]; the flesh profiteth[88] nothing: the words[89] that I speak[90] unto you, they are spirit, and they are life. But there are some of you that believe not. For Jesus knew from the beginning who they were that believed not, and who should betray[91] him. And he said, therefore said I unto you, that no man can come unto me, except it were given unto him of my Father. From that time many of his disciples went back, and walked[92] no more with him. Then said Jesus unto the twelve, will ye also go away? Then Simon Peter answered him, Lord, to whom shall we go? thou hast the words of eternal life. And we believe and are sure that thou art that Christ[93], the Son of the living God. Jesus answered them, have not I chosen[94] you twelve, and one of you is a devil[95]? He spake of Judas Iscariot[96] the son of Simon: for he it was that should betray him, being one of the twelve. (John 6:60-71, cf. John 6:60-71, NLT).
COMMENTARY: Many therefore of his disciples, when they had heard this, said, this is an hard saying [=difficult theology, when misunderstood]; who can hear it? When Jesus knew in himself that his disciples murmured at it, he said unto them, Doth this offend you? What and if ye shall see the Son of man ascend up where he was before?
The thought of eating Jesus’ flesh and drinking His blood did indeed offend them. They were literalists at this point. They did not yet understand that the Word that Jesus spoke to them about His flesh and blood was precisely His broken body and shed blood on the Cross—Redemption/Salvation—and that Word had to be internalized, unto Eternal Life by the quickening power of the Holy Spirit, a new theology completely different than contemporary pagan notions about uniting with a deity through bloody ritual. And they missed it, for their sights concerning Jesus were still rather earthbound at this point (we have hindsight, they did not; they were eyewitnesses to Jesus’ miracles, we were not—each group is tested in its own way, and we can be sure that the tests are fair); they were only beginning, at best, to believe that Jesus was in fact the Son of God, that is, very God incarnate, deity in their midst. And they missed even more the fact of His being a Ransom, let alone grasping the scope of that, and that is the problem here, for it is the latter that they had to grasp and gratefully embrace before they could understand Jesus’ Word about His flesh (broken body on the Cross) and blood (shed on the Cross), instead/in place of theirs (instead/in place of the sinner), for without that Sacrifice by Jesus being appreciated and internalized they, as the rest of us, cannot attain to Eternal Life (eleven of them appreciated it by and by). It would take Jesus’ resurrection and ascension to completely turn their belief in who He was around, and that belief then opened the floodgates upon which precisely the Holy Spirit built a Church starting with them (starting with these here confused literalists; all the more amazing the turnaround in them just later), a Church that serves to the world the platter of Jesus’ broken body, and the cup of His shed blood, such that whosoever wishes may partake thereof and unite with very Deity unto eternal life. (We speak here of much more than partaking of the Sacrament enjoined by Jesus [1Corinthians 11:23-26], for Sacraments of themselves do not sustain one unto Eternal Life, no more than the blessing of itself blesses; we are not denigrating the Sacrament, and have respect unto it, and partake thereof in remembrance of our Savior, His broken body and shed blood for us a sinner redeemed and saved by His suffering in our place, and, certainly, in honor of, and respect and obedience to, His command.) Under the guidance of the Spirit of God It would take not only the work of the enlightened apostles to carry that Word (platter and cup) forward, but also that of the Church Fathers, and more, to present it—Redemption/Salvation=eternal life—to humankind exactly the way it was designed and consummated by Jehovah God:
It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life. [Let us eat them; let us serve them to others.]
But beyond being offended by Jesus’ words there were doubters in the camp, to be carried off as chaff is carried off by the wind, and of course there was a betrayer in their midst, through whose actions Jehovah God allowed Jesus’ body to be broken and His precious blood to be shed, thus confirming His Word and setting into motion His redemptive plan:
But there are some of you that believe not. For Jesus knew from the beginning who they were that believed not, and who should betray him.
Carried off by the Wind in the wrong direction, certainly not drawn, not drawn to begin with:
And he said, therefore said I unto you, that no man can come unto me, except it were given unto him of my Father. From that time many of his disciples went back, and walked no more with him.
Thus flies away the chaff and left behind are the seeds:
Then said Jesus unto the twelve, will ye also go away? Then Simon Peter answered him, Lord, to whom shall we go? Thou hast the words of eternal life. And we believe and are sure that thou art that Christ, the Son of the living God.
Christ. Jesus Christ, He is Messiah, sent by God, to save and liberate not just Israel from its predicament, but all of humankind from our greatest Predicament, which is estrangement from Jehovah God because of our myriad love affairs with Sin. Liberation (from Sin), Restoration (unto Jehovah God), and Rest (the consummate, enduring rest of God) is what Jesus Christ, very Jesus our Jubilee, offers from the open hand of Father God to those drawn by Father God unto Jesus our blessed Christ (“Jesus, Our Jubilee”).
Jesus answered them, have not I chosen you twelve, and one of you is a devil? He spake of Judas Iscariot the son of Simon: for he it was that should betray him, being one of the twelve.
Let us take note that Satan, that unclean thing, has infiltrated the Church since the beginning. It is difficult oftentimes to discern who the devils are in our midst, but they are there; let us tread cautiously and prayerfully. We shall end this commentary upbeat, focused on you Lord Jesus, our Savior, by praising you great savior God.
Praised be your Name Jubilee Jesus, how exceedingly good it is that we have you. We thank you from the depths of our spirit and shall ever do so, for your Great Sacrifice on our behalf. Ever pray for us, and put a hedge about us, and bless us, your beloved, exceedingly expensive Church. Amen.
III. Illustrations and Tables
Figure 1. Galilee Boats and Ports. You will be directed to freebibleimages.org, where you can view a slideshow that is pertinent to John chapter six.
Figure 2. Palestine.
Works Cited and References
“A Letter of Invitation.”
Jesus, Amen.
< http://jesusamen.org/aletterofinvitation.html >
“Aorist (Ancient Greek).”
Wikipedia.
< https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aorist_(Ancient_Greek) >
Barclay, William.
The Gospel of John Vol. 1.
Louisville KY: Westminster John Knox Press, 2001.
“Church of the Multiplication.”
Wikipedia.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Church_of_the_Multiplication >
“Degania Dam.”
Wikipedia.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Degania_Dam>
“Drawn.”
Jesus, Amen.
< https://jesusamen.org/drawn.html >
Free Bible Images
< https://freebibleimages.org >
Shout-out to FreeBibleImages: thank you.
“Greco-Roman Mysteries.”
Wikipedia.
< https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greco-Roman_mysteries >
“He Who Sent Me.”
Jesus, Amen.
< https://jesusamen.org/hewhosentme.html >
Henry, Matthew.
Commentary on John Chapter Six.
HolyLandSite.com
Hume, David.
Wikipedia.
< https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Hume >
“Isaiah Chapter Fifty-five Commentary.”
Jesus, Amen.
< https://jesusamen.org/commentaryisa55.html >
“Jesus Our Jubilee.”
Jesus, Amen.
< https://jesusamen.org/jesusourjubilee.html >
“John Chapter One Commentary.”
Jesus, Amen.
<https://jesusamen.org/commentaryjohn1.html>
LaHaye, Tim, et al.
Prophecy Study Bible.
AMG Publishers, 2000. 0-89957-924-8.
“Mount Arbel.”
Wikipedia.
< https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mount_Arbel >
“Mount Nitai.”
Wikipedia.
< https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mount_Nitai >
“Sea of Galilee.”
Wikipedia.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sea_of_Galilee>
“Via Maris.”
Wikipedia.
< https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Via_Maris >