CHAPTER 6

(A.D. 32)

JESUS FEEDS FIVE THOUSAND

¹After these things (refers to the recent trip to Jerusalem where the tremendous exchange took place between Jesus and the religious leaders of Israel) Jesus went over the Sea of Galilee, which is the Sea of Tiberias (it was referred to by several names).

²And a great multitude followed Him (there were at least 5,000 men, besides the women and children), because they saw His Miracles which He did on them who were diseased (and He turned none of them away, but healed all who came to Him despite their spiritual condition, because He is the Bearer of Grace).

³And Jesus went up into a mountain, and there He sat with His Disciples (contemplates a time of teaching and instruction).

⁴And the Passover, a Feast of the Jews, was near (the Ministry of Christ had now passed the milestone of its second year).

⁵When Jesus then lifted up His Eyes, and saw a great company come unto Him (represented this great multitude who had followed Him), He said unto Philip, Where shall we buy bread, that these may eat? (According to Matthew, Mark, and Luke, this had been preceded by a period of time given over to teaching and healing. This was not recorded by John.)

⁶And this He said to prove him (carries the idea in the Greek of testing or examining Him; He would test the Faith of Philip): for He Himself knew what He would do (even though we do not know at times, He always knows; consequently, we must ever seek His Face for leading and guidance).

⁷Philip answered Him (presents carnal thinking, as all of us far too often do), Two hundred pennyworth of bread is not sufficient for them, that every one of them may take a little (this is the way the world plans, but it is not the way that the Child of God should plan).

⁸One of His Disciples, Andrew, Simon Peters brother, said unto Him (at least Andrew included Jesus in his thinking),

⁹There is a lad here, which has five barley loaves, and two small fishes (some scholars believe that this boy traveled with the company of Christ for the purpose of bearing their food, considering that at times they were in places which were secluded, even as here): but what are they among so many? (In the boys hands, they were nothing; but in the Hands of Christ, they were everything.)

¹⁰And Jesus said, Make the men sit down (Mark adds, by hundreds, and by fifties [Mk. 6:40]). Now there was much grass in the place (being the Passover season, this was spring, the month of April). So the men sat down, in number about five thousand (counting the women and children, the crowd probably totaled about ten to fifteen thousand).

¹¹And Jesus took the loaves (little is much if God be in it); and when He had given thanks (this He always did, and so must we!), He distributed to the Disciples, and the Disciples to them who were set down; and likewise of the fish as much as they would (exactly how this Miracle happened, we arent told; however, at some point, it began to multiply, which obviously was a Miracle of astounding proportions).

¹²When they were filled (all ate as much as they desired), He said unto His Disciples, Gather up the fragments that remain, that nothing be lost (this bread in a sense represented Christ and the Gospel; none of it, therefore, must be wasted).

¹³Therefore they gathered them together, and filled twelve baskets with the fragments of the five barley loaves, which remained over and above unto them who had eaten (presents a Law that is known only to God, of which man has no understanding; everything that man does depletes; everything that God does multiplies; the numbers 7 and 12 are brought to bear here; 7 [five loaves and two fish] speaks of perfection, while 12 speaks of Gods Government; if we have His Government, we have His Perfection).

¹⁴Then those men, when they had seen the miracle that Jesus did, said (presents a picture of Israel desiring to use Jesus for their own purposes, instead of realizing the true purpose for which He came), This is of a truth that Prophet Who should come into the world (refers to Deut. 18:15; these people recognize Jesus as the Messiah, but for all the wrong reasons).

¹⁵When Jesus therefore perceived that they would come and take Him by force, to make Him a King (represented the type of King that Israel did not need), He departed again into a mountain Himself Alone (refers to Him having already sent the Disciples away, actually back to Capernaum).

WALKING ON THE WATER

¹⁶And when evening was now come, His Disciples went down unto the sea (that which happened before He went up into the mountain Alone),

¹⁷And entered into a ship, and went over the sea toward Capernaum (where Jesus told them to go). And it was now dark, and Jesus was not come to them (John sets the stage for that which will now appear).

¹⁸And the sea arose by reason of a great wind that blew (the Scripture does not say it was a storm, but that the wind was adverse; in other words, it was blowing against them to where they could not make any headway).

¹⁹So when they had rowed about five and twenty or thirty furlongs (represents approximately four miles, and portrays them being pushed out into the middle of the lake), they see Jesus walking on the sea, and drawing near unto the ship: and they were afraid (and no wonder!).

²⁰But He said unto them, It is I; be not afraid (the literal translation is, I Am; be not afraid; in effect, He was telling them that He was the I Am of the Old Testament, i.e., Jehovah!).

²¹Then they willingly received Him into the ship (without Jesus in the ship, their progress was difficult, if not impossible; with Him in the ship, all things change, and immediately!): and immediately the ship was at the land where they went (at Capernaum, a distance of about four miles; this means that one second the ship was about a distance of four miles from the land, and the next second it was at the land).

THE BREAD OF LIFE

²²The 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 (no other boat from Capernaum), and that Jesus went not with His Disciples into the boat, but that His Disciples were gone away alone (they saw that the boat left without Jesus);

²³(Howbeit there came other boats from Tiberias near unto the place where they did eat bread, after that the Lord had given thanks:) (These particular boats were from Tiberias, not Capernaum.)

²⁴When the people therefore saw that Jesus was not there, neither His Disciples (despite the fact that Jesus did not go with His Disciples in the boat, the people could not find Him), they also took shipping, and came to Capernaum (implies that some of them possibly hired some of the boats from Tiberias), seeking for Jesus (regrettably, they were seeking Him, as the Text will portray, for all the wrong reasons).

²⁵And when they had found Him on the other side of the sea (in Capernaum), they said unto Him, Rabbi, when did You come here? (The people, knowing the Disciples had left without Jesus, were puzzled as to how the Lord now came to be in Capernaum; Jesus little answered their question, for His Mission was a moral one, rather than an intellectual or material one.)

²⁶Jesus answered them and said, Verily, verily, I say unto you (presents an answer that is so startling as to defy all description), You seek Me, not because you saw the Miracles (would have been better translated, you seek Me, not because you properly understood the Miracles), but because you did eat of the loaves, and were filled (reads perfectly their true motives; the modern Word of Faith message falls into the same category).

²⁷Labour not for the meat which perishes (regrettably, this is where much of the modern Church is presently [Rev. 3:17]), but for that meat which endures unto Everlasting Life (the idea is that our efforts must rest in things which are eternal, rather than things which are temporal), which the Son of Man shall give unto you (Son of Man refers to what Christ would do at the Cross, and the manner in which men will receive Eternal Life): for Him has God the Father sealed (refers to the One, and the only One Who can fill and, in fact, has filled, this role; all other claimants are spurious).

²⁸Then said they unto Him, What shall we do, that we might work the Works of God? (They wanted to do the Works of God, when in reality most of them did not even know God. This was because of erroneous leadership.)

²⁹Jesus answered and said unto them, This is the Work of God, that you believe on Him Whom He has sent (it offends the self-righteous to tell them that, without Faith, it is impossible to please God [Heb. 11:6]; the Great work that God requires is Faith in His Beloved Son Whom He has sent; otherwise, works, however pious, are dead works).

³⁰They said therefore unto Him, What sign do You then show (presents these people ignoring what Jesus has just said concerning Believing on Him, and at once demanding a sign), that we may see, and believe You? (Many of them had just seen the Miracle of the loaves and the fish, but seemingly to no avail!) what do You work? (The gross ignorance of the people was astounding to say the least! But is it any better presently?)

³¹Our fathers did eat Manna in the desert; as it is written, He gave them bread from Heaven to eat (they were implying that the bread Jesus had multiplied didnt come from Heaven, as did the Manna).

³²Then Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Moses gave you not that bread from Heaven (setting the people straight that it was not Moses who sent the Manna from Heaven, but rather God the Father); but My Father gives you the True Bread from Heaven (He was pulling their attention from the meat which perishes to the True Bread, which and Who is Himself, the Lord Jesus Christ).

³³For the Bread of God is He which comes down from Heaven (once again presents Himself as the Messiah, the True Lord of Israel), and gives life unto the world (the meat that perishes will not give Eternal Life; Christ Alone, gives such Life).

³⁴Then said they unto Him, Lord, evermore give us this Bread (strangely enough, when they find out that the Bread is Jesus, and the requirement for obtaining this Bread, many would leave Him, which follows through unto this very hour).

³⁵And Jesus said unto them, I am the Bread of Life (proclaims Him dropping all disguise, and gathering up into one burning Word all the previous teaching which they might have fathomed, but did not): He who comes to Me shall never hunger (pertains to spiritual hunger); and he who believes on Me shall never thirst (pertains to spiritual thirst; Christ satisfies all spiritual desire).

³⁶But I said unto you, That you also have seen Me, and believe not (despite overwhelming evidence!).

³⁷All who the Father gives Me shall come to Me (refers to all, whomever they may be, whether Israelites, Gentiles, Pharisees, Scoffers, Harlots, or even the very Castaways of the Devil); and him who comes to Me I will in no wise cast out (proclaims to all a promise of unparalleled proportion; no one has ever been turned away, and no one will ever be turned away).

³⁸For I came down from Heaven (proclaims God becoming Man, thereby, the Incarnation), not to do My Own Will, but the Will of Him Who sent Me (He is telling the Jews that Jehovah, Whom they claim to know and serve, is the Very One Who sent Him; and what He does and says is the Will of God, and to ignore it or reject it is to violate that Will).

³⁹And this is the Fathers Will which has sent Me (pertains to the ultimate Blessing of Redemption), that of all which He has given Me I should lose nothing (what He came to do would be done), but should raise it up again at the last day (speaks of the coming Resurrection, when all Believers will have all the benefits of the Cross).

⁴⁰And this is the Will of Him Who sent Me (speaks of the Fathers desires), that every one which sees the Son, and believes on Him, may have Everlasting Life (one must see or comprehend the Lord Jesus Christ, which refers to what He did at the Cross, and believe on Him; it is never doing, but rather Believing): and I will raise Him up at the last day (a guaranteed Resurrection).

THE BREAD OF LIFE

⁴¹The Jews then murmured at Him (murmuring was one of the great sins of Israel, which denotes rebellious feelings against God [Ex. 16:7-9; Num. 11:1; 14:27]), because He said, I am the Bread which came down from Heaven (this means that the Jews did not misunderstand His meaning; they understood it perfectly and rebelled against it).

⁴²And they said, Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? (They did not believe the Incarnation, despite the fact that Jesus met every single criteria.) how is it then that He says, I came down from Heaven? (Unbelief questions everything, and cannot comprehend Truth.)

⁴³Jesus therefore answered and said unto them, Murmur not among yourselves (their murmuring showed their disapproval and rejection).

⁴⁴No man can come to Me, except the Father which has sent Me draw him (the idea is that all initiative toward Salvation is on the part of God toward the sinner and not from the sinner himself; without this drawing of the Father, which is done by the Holy Spirit, no one could come to God, or even have any desire to come to God): and I will raise him up at the last day (for the third time in this Chapter alone, Jesus addresses the Resurrection).

⁴⁵It is written in the Prophets, And they shall be all taught of God (this is found in Isa. 54:13; God draws sinners to Christ by a spiritual operation consonant to their moral nature and enlightening their rational conviction, and He effects through the Scriptures as written in the Prophets). Every man therefore who has heard, and has learned of the Father, comes unto Me (our Lord is telling the Jews that if they really knew the Father, they would accept Christ).

⁴⁶Not that any man has seen the Father (seen in the Greek is horao, and means to fully comprehend and understand with the mind; to see Truth fully), save He which is of God, He has seen the Father (the pronoun He refers to Christ; He Alone fully understands and comprehends the Father; so all that is learned about God, must be learned through Jesus Christ, which will be according to the Word).

⁴⁷Verily, verily, I say unto you, He who believes on Me has Everlasting Life (this is obtained immediately upon Believing; it is not something the Believer shall have, but something the Believer presently has).

⁴⁸I am that Bread of Life (as the Bread of Life, Christ gives Life to the Believer, and He sustains that Life; by using the words I am, Jesus plainly identifies Himself as the Jehovah of the Old Testament [Ex. 3:14]).

⁴⁹Your fathers did eat Manna in the wilderness, and are dead (the Manna which God gave in the wilderness was a Type of Christ; however, types had no life within themselves and, therefore, could not effect Salvation; Jesus was speaking of Spiritual Life and physical life).

⁵⁰This is the Bread which comes down from Heaven (quite possibly when Jesus said this, He was pointing to Himself; in essence, He would have been speaking of His physical body, which was to be given in Sacrifice for the purchase of lost humanity), that a man may eat thereof, and not die (speaks of that which is spiritual, and means that man is restored to union with God, when previously he had been alienated; once again, our Lord is speaking of Spiritual Life).

⁵¹I am the Living Bread which came down from Heaven (now proclaims Jesus presenting Himself as God [I am], while in the previous Verse He presented Himself as Man; and so He is the God-Man Jesus Christ): if any man eat of this Bread, he shall live forever (says the same thing as in the previous Verse, but in a different way; there He said, and not die, now He says, shall live forever; the latter adds to the former): and the Bread that I will give is My Flesh, which I will give for the life of the world (this speaks of Him giving Himself on the Cross as a Sacrifice, which would guarantee Salvation for all who would Believe).

⁵²The Jews therefore strove among themselves (presents the inevitable results of unbelief), saying, How can this man give us His Flesh to eat? (This presents them thinking in the physical, while He is speaking in the Spiritual. Unredeemed man, despite all his intellectual loftiness, cannot think as God thinks, despite education and self-improvement; for all that. He thinks little above the level of a beast.)

⁵³Then Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you (instead of softening or modifying this seemingly harsh Doctrine, He instead intensified it by declaring it indispensable to Salvation), Except you eat the Flesh of the Son of Man, and drink His Blood, you have no life in you (this terminology addresses the Cross; Christ would give Himself on the Cross for the Salvation of mankind; to fully believe in Him and what He did for us is what He means here; however, this Verse tells us the degree of believing that is required; it refers to the Cross being the total Object of ones belief; failing that, there is no Life in you).

⁵⁴Whoso eats My Flesh, and drinks My Blood, has Eternal Life (once again, Christ reiterates the fact that if the Cross is the total Object of ones Faith, such a person has Eternal Life); and I will raise him up at the last day (constitutes the fourth time this is spoken by Christ; consequently, the Believer has a fourfold assurance of the Resurrection).

⁵⁵For My Flesh is meat indeed, and My Blood is drink indeed (the idea is that one must continue eating and drinking even on a daily basis, which speaks of bearing the Cross daily [Lk. 9:23]).

⁵⁶He who eats My Flesh, and drinks My Blood, dwells in Me, and I in him (the only way that one can dwell in Christ and Christ in him, which guarantees a victorious, overcoming life, is for the Cross to ever be the Object of Faith and, as stated, on a daily basis).

⁵⁷As the Living Father has sent Me (Life-giving Father), and I live by the Father (speaks of the Incarnation): so he who eats Me, even he shall Live by Me (proclaims the Truth that as Jesus did not live an independent life apart from the Father, so the Believer does not, and in fact cannot, live an independent life apart from Christ; we obtain and maintain this Life by ever looking to the Cross; the Believer never departs from the Cross; to do so is to invite spiritual wreckage [Gal. 2:20]).

⁵⁸This is that Bread which came down from Heaven (once again points to Himself, and extols the outsized superiority over the Law, etc.): not as your fathers did eat Manna, and are dead (makes the comparison between that bread, a mere symbol of the True Bread which was to come, and the True Bread which now has come): he who eats of this Bread shall live for ever (He Alone, as the True Bread of Life, could give Eternal Life, but one had to eat of this Bread in order to have this Life, which means to accept Him as for Who He is and What He would do, which speaks of Calvary).

⁵⁹These things said He in the Synagogue, as He taught in Capernaum.

⁶⁰Many therefore of His Disciples, when they had heard this(spoke of those other than the Twelve), said, This is an hard saying; who can hear it? (They were unwilling to accept the bloody death of their Messiah, or to entrust themselves to a Divine Personality Whose most distinctive act would be His Sacrifice of Himself. This was the gross and terrible offence which made the Cross a stumblingblock to the Jews [Mat. 16:21; I Cor. 1:23; Gal. 5:11].)

⁶¹When Jesus knew in Himself that His Disciples murmured at it (registered unbelief), He said unto them, Does this offend you? (In fact, the Cross is an offence to the entirety of the world, and regrettably even most of the Church [Gal. 5:11].)

⁶²What and if you shall see the Son of Man ascend up where He was before? (Jesus points out that if His Death were a stumblingblock to them, how much more would be His Resurrection? But would not that prove the reality and value of His Death, and the depth of their unbelief?)

⁶³It is the Spirit Who quickens (the Holy Spirit); the flesh profits nothing (in effect, says, If you could literally eat My Flesh, and drink My Blood, it would not save your souls; the word flesh as it is used here speaks of mans efforts, whatever they might be, apart from Christ and the Cross): the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are Life (of the Holy Spirit, Who gives Life by and through the Finished Work of Christ).

⁶⁴But there are some of you who believe not (they did not believe what He said about Himself, which referred to the Cross; millions presently in the Church fall into the same category). For Jesus knew from the beginning who they were who believed not (not the individuals per se, but rather that which would occasion their unbelief), and who should betray Him (it is speaking here of Judas Iscariot and the occasion of his betrayal, which was the Cross).

⁶⁵And He said, Therefore said I unto you, that no man can come unto Me, except it were given unto him of My Father (the invitation is to whosoever will; however, if the person rejects the Cross, the Father Commands the Holy Spirit to bar all entrance [Eph. 2:18]).

⁶⁶From that time many of His Disciples went back, and walked no more with Him (the claims of Christ were so profoundly different from what they anticipated that they now refused to accept Him at all!).

PETERS CONFESSION

⁶⁷Then said Jesus unto the Twelve, Will you also go away? (The defection of these former Disciples must have deeply pained the Lords Heart. His question to the original Twelve abrogates the doctrine of Unconditional Eternal Security. In fact, Judas did go away.)

⁶⁸Then Simon Peter answered Him, Lord, to whom shall we go? (This presents the Apostle for the second time confessing Who Jesus is, but in more emphatic language.) You have the words of Eternal Life (other than Judas, they believed what He said).

⁶⁹And we believe and are sure that You are that Christ, the Son of the Living God (we have believed, and have got to know [have learned by experience] that you are the Messiah, the Son of the Living God).

⁷⁰Jesus answered them, Have not I chosen you Twelve (proclaims far more than random selection, but rather specific direction as given to Him by the Father), and one of you is a devil? (Jesus chose Judas, and Judas as well at first chose Christ; however, Judas choice was turned by unbelief as it has been with millions.)

⁷¹He spoke of Judas Iscariot the son of Simon (means that he was a man of Kerioth, a place in Judah [Josh. 15:25]; as far as is known, he was the only one of the Twelve who came from Judah, the Tribe of Jesus): for he it was who should betray Him, being one of the Twelve (it is said in this manner because the Holy Spirit will have all know what Judas threw away; it seems that with this Message as delivered by Christ, the Message of the Cross, rebellion began in Judas heart).