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John 6:23
ESV Other boats from Tiberias came near the place where they had eaten the bread after the Lord had given thanks.
NIV Then some boats from Tiberias landed near the place where the people had eaten the bread after the Lord had given thanks.
NASB Other small boats came from Tiberias near to the place where they ate the bread after the Lord had given thanks.
CSB Some boats from Tiberias came near the place where they had eaten the bread after the Lord had given thanks.
NLT Several boats from Tiberias landed near the place where the Lord had blessed the bread and the people had eaten.
KJV Howbeit there came other boats from Tiberias nigh unto the place where they did eat bread, after that the Lord had given thanks:)
NKJV however, other boats came from Tiberias, near the place where they ate bread after the Lord had given thanks—

What does John 6:23 mean?

Crowds were already following Jesus because of His healing miracles (John 6:2). Now, thanks to His public feeding of thousands (John 6:9–14), even more have come to seek Him out. To some extent, this was the purpose behind the supernatural works Jesus performed. These are signs, according to John, which are meant to explain some message or convey some sort of meaning. The people are right to respond, but the upcoming verses will show that their motivations are wrong. Their real interest is in free food, and entertainment, not spiritual truth (John 6:26).

This verse also makes a specific reference to Jesus giving thanks to God prior to His miracle (John 6:11). At least for John, the meaning of that miracle is not lost: it is God's power, not ours, which gets results. Jesus' feeding of more than five thousand people was accomplished by appealing to God's will, and God's provision, before using human efforts to solve the problem. Those earthly efforts are still necessary. But they're secondary. For John, the writer of this gospel, the fact that Jesus appealed to heaven prior to the miracle is a central fact.
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Context Summary
John 6:22–40 describes the initial aftermath of Jesus' feeding of thousands the previous day. The crowd's actual desire is for another supernatural spectacle and more free food. In this passage, Christ begins to explain the true meaning behind His miracle and His ministry. This includes the first of seven ''I am'' statements in the gospel of John—moments where Jesus declares His own divinity. Jesus clarifies that physical things such as bread are symbols of a spiritual truth. In the following segment, the crowd will stop seeking and start complaining.
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Chapter Context
In chapter 6, Jesus feeds thousands of people who had been following Him. He does this by miraculously dividing the contents of a small meal, leaving more left over than He had to begin with. At first, the crowd is amazed and they enthusiastically praise Jesus. After sending the disciples across the Sea of Galilee and rescuing them from a storm by walking on the water, Jesus once again addresses the crowd. This time, He emphasizes the spiritual lesson behind His prior miracle. In response, most of those who had been praising Jesus turn away in disappointment.
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What is the Gospel?
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