John 6:7 - Printer Friendly

ESV: Philip answered him, "Two hundred denarii worth of bread would not be enough for each of them to get a little."

NIV: Philip answered him, "It would take more than half a year’s wages to buy enough bread for each one to have a bite!"

NASB: Philip answered Him, 'Two hundred denarii worth of bread is not enough for them, for each to receive just a little!'

CSB: Philip answered him, "Two hundred denarii worth of bread wouldn’t be enough for each of them to have a little."

NLT: Philip replied, 'Even if we worked for months, we wouldn’t have enough money to feed them!'

KJV: Philip answered him, Two hundred pennyworth of bread is not sufficient for them, that every one of them may take a little.

NKJV: Philip answered Him, “Two hundred denarii worth of bread is not sufficient for them, that every one of them may have a little.”

Jesus asks the disciples how they plan to handle the hungry crowd, numbering some five thousand men, presumably with many more women and children in attendance as well (John 6:10; Matthew 14:21). This is meant as a test of the disciple's faith (John 6:6). Other Gospels indicate that the disciples first attempt to send the people away to resolve their own hunger issues (Mark 6:36). Jesus' response (John 6:11) confronts their common error of starting from human effort rather than appealing to God to handle the results.

Philip, it seems, was focused on a financial solution to the problem. In that era, a worker would earn about one denarius for a day's labor. Two hundred denarii would be a common man's pay for two hundred days. The crowd, numbering five thousand men—not counting whatever women and children were there—would have required the wages from eight month's labor just to give each one a taste. Sarcastic or not, Philip's stance is that attempting to feed so many people is effectively impossible since it would be incredibly expensive.

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.

Accessed 11/21/2024 6:00:11 AM