John 6:57 - Printer Friendly

ESV: As the living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father, so whoever feeds on me, he also will live because of me.

NIV: Just as the living Father sent me and I live because of the Father, so the one who feeds on me will live because of me.

NASB: Just as the living Father sent Me, and I live because of the Father, the one who eats Me, he also will live because of Me.

CSB: Just as the living Father sent me and I live because of the Father, so the one who feeds on me will live because of me.

NLT: I live because of the living Father who sent me; in the same way, anyone who feeds on me will live because of me.

KJV: As the living Father hath sent me, and I live by the Father: so he that eateth me, even he shall live by me.

NKJV: As the living Father sent Me, and I live because of the Father, so he who feeds on Me will live because of Me.

During this discourse, Jesus has explained how He is the "true bread from heaven." Earlier miracles from God, such as manna (Exodus 16) were meant to symbolize this very meaning. According to Jesus, only those who believe in the One sent by God can have eternal life. The miraculous bread of manna, like the miraculous bread Jesus had just created the day before (John 6:9–14), were not the ultimate point of God's message. Rather, they were meant to point to something eternal.

This eternal meaning points to an intimate relationship. Food for the body must be taken inside—by eating it—in order for it to do the body any good. Belief in Christ is something which a person must take "inside" themselves; this is symbolized by the role of Jesus as the Bread of Life. The prior verse used the Greek root word meno, which carries a sense of enduring, dwelling, or persisting. This same word is used to describe the relationship of the divine Father and Son, as well as Christ with those who believe in Him (John 1:32; 6:56; 15:4).

Here, Jesus connects the idea of this "abiding" relationship to the source of eternal life—which He earlier described as coming through belief. Jesus previously emphasized that "the bread that comes down from heaven" is embodied in this physical person, whom God expects people to accept in order to be "raised up." The concept of "feeding" on Jesus, then, is meant to continue this symbolism: taking Christ into one's life in the most complete, deep, and full sense.

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.