John 6:2 - Printer Friendly

ESV: And a large crowd was following him, because they saw the signs that he was doing on the sick.

NIV: and a great crowd of people followed him because they saw the signs he had performed by healing the sick.

NASB: A large crowd was following Him, because they were watching the signs which He was performing on those who were sick.

CSB: A huge crowd was following him because they saw the signs that he was performing by healing the sick.

NLT: A huge crowd kept following him wherever he went, because they saw his miraculous signs as he healed the sick.

KJV: And a great multitude followed him, because they saw his miracles which he did on them that were diseased.

NKJV: Then a great multitude followed Him, because they saw His signs which He performed on those who were diseased.

At the end of chapter 5, Jesus was seen in conflict with local religious authorities. This was inspired by His healing of a man near the Pool of Bethesda on a Sabbath day (John 5:1–18). Now, several months later, Jesus' other miraculous healings have attracted a "large crowd." This part of the gospel of John describes the high point of Jesus' public popularity. The miracles Jesus performed were partly intended for just this reason; one of the purposes of these spectacles was attracting attention to His ministry.

At the same time, John describes Jesus' miracles as "signs." The Greek word sēmeion was chosen for a reason: "signs" relate a particular message and are meant to lead to certain conclusions. The next miracle Jesus performs will be His most public and most well-received: feeding thousands with a tiny meal of bread and fish. But the people who see this miracle will mostly miss the message behind the sign. As Jesus will explain later, the purpose of His ministry is not bread, or spectacle.

As a result of this challenging truth, the large crowd of people listening to Jesus' teachings will dissolve (John 6:66).

John 6:1–15 describes the fourth of the gospel's seven ''signs'' of Christ's divinity. This is the only miracle recorded in all four of the gospel accounts. When the crowd complains of hunger, the disciples each react in unique ways. Starting with only a tiny meal of bread and fish, Jesus miraculously divides the food, filling everyone, and leaving more left over than they had to begin with. The people are astounded and immediately react by proclaiming Jesus as ''the Prophet'' who has been promised. Jesus, however, is not yet ready to be publicly announced. He also knows the true motivations of this crowd and will attempt to explain the real importance of the miracle to them the following day.

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.

John chapter 6 occurs some months after the events of chapter 5, bringing the narrative to about one year prior to Jesus' crucifixion. As with the rest of the gospel of John, the purpose is not to repeat information from the other three Gospels, but to focus on Jesus' status as God incarnate. This chapter continues to expand the list of Jesus' miraculous signs and the witnesses to His divine nature. Here, Jesus also gives the first of seven ''I am'' statements found in this gospel. Chapter 7 will once again skip ahead to a major public step in Jesus' path to the cross.

The disciple John wrote the gospel of John decades after the gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke were written. The author assumes that a reader is already familiar with the content of these other works. So, John presents a different perspective, with a greater emphasis on meaning. John uses seven miracles—which he calls "signs"— to prove that Jesus is, in fact, God incarnate. Some of the most well-known verses in the Bible are found here. None is more famous than the one-sentence summary of the gospel found in John 3:16.