John 6:49 - Printer Friendly

ESV: Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, and they died.

NIV: Your ancestors ate the manna in the wilderness, yet they died.

NASB: Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, and they died.

CSB: Your ancestors ate the manna in the wilderness, and they died.

NLT: Your ancestors ate manna in the wilderness, but they all died.

KJV: Your fathers did eat manna in the wilderness, and are dead.

NKJV: Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, and are dead.

When Jesus initially claimed that He is the Bread of Life, and that eternal life was offered only to those who believe in Him (John 6:29, 35), the people were indignant. They demanded Jesus perform a miracle to prove Himself, despite having just witnessed His miracles of healing and provision (John 6:2, 9–14, 30–31). They also invoked the miracle of manna given to Israel in the wilderness (Exodus 16), almost daring Jesus to do something more spectacular than that. Here, Jesus prepares to show that this challenge has already been fulfilled.

The manna which Israel received in the wilderness was merely a material thing. It fed their bodies, but those bodies still died. Jesus' overall point to the people has been not to confuse God's earthly wonders with their spiritual meanings. The people need to seek eternal, heavenly things instead of earthly, perishable things. Here, and especially in the next two verses, Jesus will explicitly state that His ministry and His role as "the living bread that came down from heaven" (John 6:51) is superior to the manna which the people saw in the Old Testament.

The manna described in the Old Testament was meant to be a prophecy of Jesus Christ. Its properties indicated the nature of Jesus. It was small, reflecting humility. Manna was white, indicating purity. A round shape was symbolic of eternity. It arrived at night, symbolizing spiritual darkness. Manna, like salvation in Christ, could only be received, not earned or made.

Manna also provided the people with only two options: accept it and live or disrespect it by walking over it. The same choice—and only those two options—face all people when it comes to Christ (John 3:16–18, 36; Acts 4:12).

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.