John 6:58 - Printer Friendly

ESV: This is the bread that came down from heaven, not like the bread the fathers ate, and died. Whoever feeds on this bread will live forever.”

NIV: This is the bread that came down from heaven. Your ancestors ate manna and died, but whoever feeds on this bread will live forever.'

NASB: This is the bread that came down out of heaven, not as the fathers ate and died; the one who eats this bread will live forever.'

CSB: This is the bread that came down from heaven; it is not like the manna your ancestors ate--and they died. The one who eats this bread will live forever."

NLT: I am the true bread that came down from heaven. Anyone who eats this bread will not die as your ancestors did (even though they ate the manna) but will live forever.'

KJV: This is that bread which came down from heaven: not as your fathers did eat manna, and are dead: he that eateth of this bread shall live for ever.

NKJV: This is the bread which came down from heaven—not as your fathers ate the manna, and are dead. He who eats this bread will live forever.”

Once again, Jesus uses the phrase "this is the bread that came down from heaven" (John 6:50). The emphasis on the use of "this" is crucial, since it shows that Christ's intention is to explain a symbol, not to introduce some new idea. The Bread of Life is Jesus Christ (John 6:48), and "eating" that bread means accepting Him as the One sent from God the Father (John 6:27–29).

Jesus has already made a contrast between the manna Israel was given in the wilderness (Exodus 16) and the "true bread from heaven" which God now provides (John 6:51). This, in part, was a response to a challenge from the crowd. Despite the fact that they'd already seen many miracles from Jesus (John 6:2; John 6:9–14), the crowd demanded that Jesus out-do the miraculous provision of manna as proof of His legitimacy (John 6:30–31). Jesus, in turn, has taught that this is what His role as Messiah has already done: given something more than physical food. The Bread of Life provided in Christ leads to eternal life, while the manna in the wilderness only led to temporary, physical life.

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.

Accessed 4/29/2024 7:15:28 AM