John 6:29 - Printer Friendly

ESV: Jesus answered them, "This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent."

NIV: Jesus answered, "The work of God is this: to believe in the one he has sent."

NASB: Jesus answered and said to them, 'This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He has sent.'

CSB: Jesus replied, "This is the work of God—that you believe in the one he has sent."

NLT: Jesus told them, 'This is the only work God wants from you: Believe in the one he has sent.'

KJV: Jesus answered and said unto them, This is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath sent.

NKJV: Jesus answered and said to them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He sent.”

Jesus has been contrasting two ideas. First is material works for the sake of material things. The other is heavenly, eternal things. Mankind needs more than just physical sustenance; we also need spiritual food (Isaiah 55:2; Matthew 4:4). After miraculously providing bread, Jesus explains to the people that this is merely a symbol of His true purpose. "The food that endures to eternal life" comes only from Christ Himself (John 6:27). In making this claim, Jesus also uses the phrase "Son of Man," which the Jewish audience would have recognized as the term used by Daniel in His prophecy of the Messiah (Daniel 7:13–14).

The people have just asked Jesus what specific works they needed to do to obtain this eternal bread (John 6:28). This reflects their reliance on rituals, sacraments, and other good works to "earn" their own salvation (Romans 10:2–4). Jesus' response is that salvation is not earned by any specific good deeds.

Jesus uses the phrase "the work of God" only to mirror the crowd's wording. This is like someone asking, "what can I bring to the party," where the answer is, "bring yourself." The meaning is clear: don't "bring" anything. In the same way, Jesus' answer here is that there is no "work" that can earn the Bread of Life. Rather, salvation is based on belief in the One whom God has sent.

The reaction of the audience (John 6:30) is not only annoyed, but amazingly short-sighted. Faced with a scandalous claim by Jesus, the crowd will demand a miraculous proof; even though it was Jesus' miracles which led them to follow Him in the first place!

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.

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.