John 6:52 - Printer Friendly

ESV: The Jews then disputed among themselves, saying, “How can this man give us his flesh to eat?”

NIV: Then the Jews began to argue sharply among themselves, 'How can this man give us his flesh to eat?'

NASB: Then the Jews began to argue with one another, saying, 'How can this man give us His flesh to eat?'

CSB: At that, the Jews argued among themselves, "How can this man give us his flesh to eat? "

NLT: Then the people began arguing with each other about what he meant. 'How can this man give us his flesh to eat?' they asked.

KJV: The Jews therefore strove among themselves, saying, How can this man give us his flesh to eat?

NKJV: The Jews therefore quarreled among themselves, saying, “How can this Man give us His flesh to eat?”

Earlier in this story, the same crowd speaking to Jesus seemed willing to use force to make Him king (John 6:15). They demanded yet another miracle when Jesus began to correct their traditional views (John 6:30). They complained when Jesus claimed to be the "Bread of Life" sent by God (John 6:41). Now, Jesus has specifically said that the "Bread of Life," which brings salvation to those who believe, is His own flesh (John 6:51). While this is symbolic of His impending crucifixion, the people react with even more aggression. Their conduct is described with the Greek word emachonto, which can include anything from vigorous debate all the way to brawling.

The primary problem, as always, is that the crowd is interpreting a spiritual idea with a physical bias. Their first thought, then, is that Jesus is somehow suggesting cannibalism. For Jesus to suggest that belief, not good works, are required for salvation is scandalous enough. To invoke something as bizarre as eating His flesh is outrageous (Genesis 9:3–4; Leviticus 17:10–16).

In the next verses, Jesus will continue to expand on this metaphor, but most of the people will not accept it. Even for those who assume Jesus is speaking in metaphor, the idea that the Messiah is not a conquering king, but a sacrifice, is extremely hard to accept (John 6:60).

John 6:52–59 describes Jesus' closing remarks during this public discussion of His ministry and mission. In prior passages, He has declared Himself to be the ''Bread of Life,'' resulting in no small controversy. The people have gone from seeking, to complaining, to fighting. During this discourse, Christ clarified the symbolic ''Bread of Life'' by pointing to Himself, foreshadowing His own crucifixion. Since the people are resistant to the idea of Jesus as a spiritual Messiah, they are hung up on the physical idea of Jesus' ''flesh.'' As Jesus continues to explain His role in salvation, most of those following Him will choose to walk away, as shown in the last verses of chapter 6.

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.