John 6:48 - Printer Friendly

This conversation began with Jesus correcting the false motives of the crowd. After seeing His miraculous feeding the day before, the people sought Jesus out in Capernaum. Christ immediately pointed out that their interest was not spiritual truth, but simply more free food (John 6:26). Rather, Jesus says, they ought to be pursuing "the food that endures to eternal life." When the people ask for this "Bread of Life," Jesus responds that this bread actually comes in the form of a person, sent by God (John 6:27–33). Those who believe in this person are guaranteed everlasting life (John 6:40). Jesus specifically points to Himself as that "Bread of Life," the first of seven uses of the divine "I AM" phrasing used in the gospel of John.

Here, Jesus again repeats this claim. In the verses just before this, He has pointed out that since He is the only one who came from heaven, He is the only one who can speak with firsthand knowledge about it. This is why Jesus uses the "truly, truly" phrasing in John 6:47, to emphasize the original, personal, absolute nature of His claims.

In the next verses, Jesus will give a deeper explanation for how the manna provided for Israel in the wilderness (Exodus 16) was only meant to be a foreshadowing of His own ministry.

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, as is turns out, 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 lunch, 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 from Him 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 gospel of John was written by the disciple John, decades later than the gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke. 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”—in order to prove that Jesus is, in fact, God incarnate. Some of the most well-known verses in all of the Bible are found here. None is more famous than the one-sentence summary of the gospel found in John 3:16.