John 6:45 - Printer Friendly

ESV: It is written in the Prophets, ‘And they will all be taught by God.’ Everyone who has heard and learned from the Father comes to me —

NIV: It is written in the Prophets: ‘They will all be taught by God.’ Everyone who has heard the Father and learned from him comes to me.

NASB: It is written in the Prophets: ‘AND THEY SHALL ALL BE TAUGHT OF God.’ Everyone who has heard and learned from the Father, comes to Me.

CSB: It is written in the Prophets: And they will all be taught by God. Everyone who has listened to and learned from the Father comes to me—

NLT: As it is written in the Scriptures, ‘They will all be taught by God.’ Everyone who listens to the Father and learns from him comes to me.

KJV: 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.

NKJV: It is written in the prophets, ‘And they shall all be taught by God.’ Therefore everyone who has heard and learned from the Father comes to Me.

The general theme of this passage is the same as Jesus' earlier message (John 5:37–40). Jesus' quotation here is from Isaiah 54:13. The Word of God provides certain truths; those who read them have an obligation to follow truth wherever it leads (Matthew 7:7–8). Those who reject God will reject the truth, even though they've read it in His Word. Jesus makes the claim that those who truly follow the Word of God will recognize that His claims are true. The crowd demanded that they see something—an additional miracle—before they would accept the truth (John 6:30). Jesus, instead, routinely points out that one must be willing to learn the truth before they can see it (John 5:39–40; 7:17).

Jesus' specific reference to the written Word of God is another clue that the conversation has already moved from the streets of Capernaum (John 6:24) into the synagogue (John 6:59). Jesus' comments here are like those He gave the Pharisees after healing the lame man at the Pool of Bethesda (John 5).

John 6:41–51 uncovers the true motivation of the crowd following Jesus: selfishness. This passage is part of a long dialogue where Christ clarifies the meaning of His miracles. Jesus has just explained that He, Himself, is the ''Bread of Life'' which people are meant to seek. In response, the people complain amongst themselves. Jesus will give further explanation of what He means by claiming to be the ''Bread of Life.'' This will make the crowd even more agitated, as the people move from seeking, to complaining, to outright argument.

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.

Accessed 12/21/2024 10:41:27 AM