Chapter Six

1–15. Feeding of five thousand people with five loaves and two fish. – 16–21. The walking of Jesus Christ on the sea. – 22–71. A discourse spoken by Christ in Capernaum about Himself as the bread of life.

John 6:1. After this Jesus went to the other side of the Sea of Galilee (of Tiberias). “After this.” After the miraculous healing of the paralyzed man at Bethesda quite a bit of time passed. This is evident from the fact that Christ at this time was on the Sea of Galilee, and in order to reach this sea from Jerusalem, where Christ was when He healed the paralyzed man, considerable time was required. Moreover, there is no doubt that the miracles of feeding five thousand and of Christ’s walking on the sea, described here by the evangelist John, are the same miracles described by the evangelists Matthew (Matt 14:13-34) and Mark (Mark 6:30-53). The evangelist Luke relates only of the first miracle (Luke 9:10-17). And these miracles or signs constitute the highest point reached by Christ’s Messianic activity in Galilee among the Synoptics. From this we can conclude that John here passes over several months, during which Christ lived in Galilee after His return from Jerusalem from the Feast of Tabernacles (John 5:1). From the Gospels of Matthew and Mark we learn that during these months Christ had Capernaum as His permanent place of residence, from where He traveled throughout the region of the Sea of Galilee, and that He had already sent His apostles on a preaching mission. When they returned from their journey, Christ received news of the execution of John the Baptist by Herod Antipas, and since the murderer of the Baptist, who was at that time probably in his capital Tiberias, might come to the thought of putting an end to Jesus and His disciples, who of course could not approve of his actions, the Lord at that time thought it necessary to withdraw Himself and His disciples for a while from the sphere of Herod’s influence to the north-eastern side of the Sea of Galilee, where the tetrarchy of Philip began (Matt 14:13; Mark 6:31 and following). The Sea of Galilee (see the comments to Matt 4:18), called by Luke (Luke 5:1) the Sea of Gennesaret, is here called also the Sea of Tiberias, probably with reference to the Greek Christians, readers of the Gospel, to whom the name of Tiberias, the capital of Herod Antipas, named after the emperor Tiberius, was known. The expression of the Russian translation “in the region of” is superfluous.

John 6:2. A large crowd followed Him, because they saw the signs which He was doing on those who were sick. For explanation of the story of feeding five thousand, see the comments to Matt 14:13-21. But John has some details of this event requiring also explanation.

John 6:3. Jesus went up on the mountain, and there He sat with His disciples. Christ needed to converse with the apostles who had returned from their journey (Mark 6:30-31), and therefore He withdrew with them to one of the mountains.

John 6:4. Now the Passover, the feast of the Jews, was at hand. John remarks about the approach of the Feast of Passover, on the one hand, to explain the unusual gathering of people on the eastern side of the Sea of Galilee: the inhabitants of northern Galilee going at that time to Passover in Jerusalem had to go by the eastern side of the sea. On the other hand, John hints by this remark at the connection between the miraculous feeding of the people and the approaching Passover, for the Passover lamb prefigured Christ, who wished to give Himself up to death for the sins of the whole world, and in sign of this He presented Himself in the following discourse after the feeding of the people as the true bread of life.

John 6:5. When Jesus then lifted up His eyes and saw that a large crowd was coming to Him, He said to Philip: “Where are we to buy bread so that these people may eat? John 6:6. But He said this to test him, for He Himself knew what He was about to do. The Lord put the question to Philip so that he might realize that there was no way to help the hungry people in the ordinary manner, and so that Philip, upon the feeding of the people, would recognize in this the action of Christ’s omnipotence. It is evident that this apostle more than others needed strengthening of his faith in Christ.

John 6:7. Philip answered Him: “Two hundred denarii worth of bread is not sufficient for them, that each one may receive a little. “Two hundred denarii”—about forty rubles in our money. At that time, for such a sum one could buy around forty poods of bread, but even such a quantity of bread was little for five thousand people gathered around Christ. Besides, there were also women and children (Matt 14:21).

John 6:8. One of His disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, said to Him, John 6:9. “There is a lad here who has five barley loaves and two small fish; but what are these for so many? The disciples, evidently, had already searched themselves for stores of food that might be found among the people. This they were, of course, prompted to do by Christ’s address to them: “you give them something to eat” (Matt 14:16).

John 6:10. Jesus said: “Have the people sit down.” Now there was much grass in that place. So the men sat down, about five thousand in number. John 6:11. Jesus took the loaves, and when He had given thanks, He distributed them to the disciples, and the disciples to those who were seated; likewise also of the fish as much as they wanted. John 6:12. When they were satisfied, He said to His disciples: “Gather up the leftover fragments so that nothing may be lost. John 6:13. And they gathered them up, and filled twelve baskets with fragments from the five barley loaves, left by those who had eaten. It is remarkable that even the apostles themselves had no food supplies. Indeed, if they had had any, the Lord would certainly have ordered them distributed to the people. Then John mentions fish (ὀψάρια, verses 9, 11). This word denotes a small fish, which was eaten with bread. This small fish was dried or salted, resembling large smelt or sardines.

John 6:14. Then those men, when they saw the sign which Jesus had done, said: “This is truly the Prophet, who is to come into the world. John 6:15. Jesus therefore, perceiving that they were about to come and take Him by force to make Him king, withdrew again to the mountain by Himself. The people, seeing in Jesus the Messiah, whom according to the promise of Moses (Deut 18:15) they call a prophet, wish to make Him king. But Jesus withdraws to the mountain, learning of the people’s intention.

John 6:16. When evening came, His disciples went down to the sea, John 6:17. entered a boat, and started to cross the sea to Capernaum. It was now dark, and Jesus had not yet come to them. Here begins the narrative of Christ’s miraculous walking on the sea. For explanation, see the comments to Matt 14:22-34; Mark 6:46-51. The disciples, leaving Christ alone on the mountain, “went down to the sea.” The sea lay below the place where the feeding of the people had taken place, and the disciples had to “go down” or “descend” to it. By Christ’s command (Matt 14:22), they were to head toward Capernaum. The Lord wished to distance them from the people, whose enthusiasm for the idea of a Messiah-King might have spread to them as well. “But Jesus had not yet come to them.” From this some (for example, Bishop Michael) conclude that Christ had promised the apostles to come down from the mountain and travel with them in a boat. But the verb standing here (οὔπω ἐληλύθει) is more correctly translated as “had not yet come” and is an indication of that coming of Christ to the apostles spoken of in verse 19 (His coming over the sea). The disciples, setting out alone in a boat, might have supposed that Christ would come to Capernaum the next day on His own.

John 6:18. A strong wind was blowing and the sea was getting rough. John 6:19. After they had rowed about twenty-five or thirty stadia, they saw Jesus walking on the sea and drawing near to the boat, and they were frightened. John 6:20. But He said to them: “It is I; do not be afraid. John 6:21. They were willing therefore to receive Him into the boat, and immediately the boat was at the land to which they were going. The evangelists Matthew and Mark indicate the time when Jesus came to the apostles over the sea. It was in the fourth night watch. Instead, John indicates the distance which the disciples had traveled before meeting Christ (a stadium—see Luke 24:13). When the disciples “wished to receive” Jesus into the boat, it immediately approached that place to which they were heading, that is, to Capernaum. According to the Gospels of Matthew and Mark, they “actually received” Jesus into the boat, after which the storm that began on the sea was calmed. To reconcile these conflicting accounts of the evangelists, we can suppose that John did not mention the actual entry of Jesus into the boat in order to hasten to report the miracle of the unexpected arrival of the boat at its destination. Moreover, the word “suddenly” (εὐθέως) does not always mean “immediately” (cf. Matt 24:29), so that between the arrival of the boat and the appearance of Christ on the sea there could have been some time, when He traveled in the boat with the apostles. This was the second miracle accomplished by Christ in Galilee, which the evangelist John mentions. For this period of time Christ, of course, accomplished in Galilee many other miracles, but John describes only two of them—the feeding of five thousand and the walking on the sea. Why does John report on Christ’s walking on the sea? Most probably, he saw in this miracle an indication that Christ will help the apostles in all dangers, even though the apostles considered Him distant from them as to place of residence. Then John could have seen in this miracle proof that Christ has authority over the forces of nature and that the spirit in general rises above corporeality and its conditions. As standing by His divine nature above the law of gravity and spatial limitation, Christ walks on the surging sea, and at His approach to the ship the storm ceases. In another similar case (Luke 8:22 and following) the storm ceases by Christ’s word; here—at His approach to the ship alone.

John 6:22. The next day the crowd that stood on the other side of the sea saw that there had been only one boat there, and that Jesus had not entered with His disciples into the boat, but that His disciples had gone away alone. John 6:23. However, other boats from Tiberias came near the place where they ate the bread after the Lord had given thanks; John 6:24. So when the crowd saw that Jesus was not there, nor His disciples, they themselves got into the boats and came to Capernaum looking for Jesus. From verse 22 through 70, there follows Christ’s discourse spoken after His return to Capernaum. This discourse is divided into three sections: the first is contained in verses 25–40, the second—in verses 41–51, and the third—in verses 52–59. Verses 22–24 represent a historical remark about the occasion for the discourse. The day after the accomplishment of the miracle of feeding the crowd, a multitude of people came to Capernaum in hopes of finding the Miracle-worker-Christ there. Having found Christ here in fact, the people turn to Him with the question: when did He come to Capernaum? Christ makes a remark to them: these people seek Christ only because they received a miraculous feeding, whereas they should be more concerned with eternal life, which can be called inexhaustible food. When, upon the demand of the people to accomplish before them something similar to the sending down of manna by Moses, the Lord responds with the declaration that the true bread from heaven is coming down to the people now and that this bread of life is Christ Himself. Since the crowd of people shows unbelief in these words of the Lord, Christ explains that His listeners, evidently, do not belong to the number of His Father’s chosen ones (verses 25–40). To this reproach His listeners respond by pointing to His simple origin, while Christ, continuing His thought, explains in what the “drawing” of people by the Father consists, and points to the necessity of faith in Him, Christ, because He alone can give people eternal life (verses 41–51). Since Christ said that the bread of life, which He will give people, is His own flesh, the Jews were offended by this. However, the Lord again affirmed that without eating His flesh and drinking His blood no one can obtain eternal life (verses 52–59). After this, some of His disciples were also offended by Christ’s words, but the apostle Peter on behalf of the twelve confessed that Christ alone has the words of eternal life (verses 60–71). The thought of verses 22–24 is as follows: the next day the crowd standing on the other side of the sea, when they saw (that is, learned) that there had been no other boat besides the one belonging to Christ’s disciples, and that Jesus did not enter the boat with His disciples, but His disciples departed alone (and yet new boats had come from Tiberias), seeing this, the crowd sailed in these boats to Capernaum, which was known to be Jesus’ permanent place of residence.

John 6:25. When they found Him on the other side of the sea, they said to Him: “Rabbi, when did You come here? Jesus was found by the people on the “other” side of the sea, that is, on the opposite shore from which the miraculous feeding took place, and specifically in the Capernaum synagogue (see verse 59). This was, then, on a day when worship was being held in the synagogues, that is, on Monday or Thursday (Hackett). By their question, probably asked as Jesus entered the synagogue, “Rabbi! when did You come here?”, the people express their suspicion that the arrival of Jesus in Capernaum could not have occurred without a miracle, for Jesus could not have traveled on foot around the north-western shore of the Sea of Galilee so quickly, and there had been no boat in which He could have sailed.

John 6:26. Jesus answered them and said: “Truly, truly I say to you, you seek Me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate of the loaves and were filled. John 6:27. “Do not work for the food which perishes, but for the food which endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give to you, for on Him the Father, God, has set His seal. Christ does not answer the people’s question, but as the Knower of hearts reveals before His listeners the condition of their own hearts, since this condition explains the question the people had put to Christ. The people, says the Lord, seek Him not because they saw in the miracle of feeding a sign, but for the sake of this miraculous feeding itself. The people are not inclined to see in Christ’s miracles proof of His divine origin and testimony to His calling to become the Redeemer of humanity from sin, curse, and death. The people look upon a miracle only as a means of satisfying those hopes and expectations which the Jews associated with the coming of the Messiah. “Now, at last,” thought the people, “the time of the Messiah’s happy Kingdom has come! Christ will declare Himself an earthly king and give us everything we could wish for.” But Christ is far from such dreams. He points the people to the unreliability of the food which that people seek: this food cannot prolong life forever for those who eat it. There is another food which does not perish and whose nourishing quality extends throughout eternity (this food is the same as the water of which Christ spoke to the Samaritan woman in John 4:14). Most probably, by this food Christ means Himself as sent from the Father and as the dispenser of heavenly blessings (cf. verse 35). And this food can only be given by Christ Himself, for His Father has “sealed” Him, that is, given concerning Christ His testimony (John 3:33) as to the dispenser of this eternal heavenly food. And the sealing was accomplished through the works in general which Christ accomplished (John 5:36 and following), and especially through the miracle of feeding five thousand. “God.” This word is placed at the very end of the sentence so as to emphasize the special importance of This Witness of Christ.

John 6:28. Then they said to Him: “What shall we do, so that we may work the works of God? John 6:29. Jesus answered and said to them: “This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He has sent. Christ’s listeners themselves strive for eternal life as the highest good, but they do not know what they should do in order to especially please God (“works of God”) and obtain eternal life. In answer to this, Christ tells them that for this only one work is necessary—faith in Christ as the dispenser sent from God of heavenly blessings. They must wholly give their hearts to Christ, renouncing sinful desires, renouncing their selfish aspirations and submitting to the will of God revealed in Christ.

John 6:30. So they said to Him: “Then what sign do You perform, so that we may see and believe You? What work do You do? John 6:31. “Our fathers ate the manna in the wilderness; as it is written, ‘He gave them bread out of heaven to eat.’ But Christ’s listeners cannot yet rise to such faith in Him. They ask for further assurance like that which their fathers had from Moses, who sent down manna to them in the wilderness. The miracle of feeding seemed to them insufficient as an assurance regarding Christ’s messiahship. “What sign do You perform...” The emphasis here should be placed on the word “You.” The Jews seem to say: “there were other messengers of God; what will You present to us special against their miracles, so that we believe in You specifically as the Messiah?” The Jews expected from the Messiah complete satisfaction of their earthly desires, the establishment of an earthly kingdom. Jesus, however, directly avoided all proofs of His Messianic dignity; He wanted the Jews to see in Him the founder of a spiritual, heavenly Kingdom and the dispenser of eternal life. And the miracles which He had accomplished so far to confirm His heavenly mission seemed to the Jews insufficient; they wanted more...” “Bread from heaven”—cf. Exod 16:15; Ps 77:24. “Gave them...” of course, through Moses.

John 6:32. But Jesus said to them: “Truly, truly I say to you, it is not Moses who has given you the bread out of heaven, but it is My Father who gives you the true bread out of heaven. “Not Moses...”, that is, the manna which Moses gave you (more precisely, “which God gave you through Moses”) is not heavenly bread: the “true” (ἀληθινόν, that is, fully corresponding to its purpose or its idea) heavenly bread is given to you by My Father. The expression “My Father” instead of the word “God” is used, evidently, for the purpose of showing that the true, actually heavenly bread is given by God only through the Son of God.

John 6:33. For the bread of God is that which comes down from heaven and gives life to the world. John 6:34. So they said to Him: “Lord, always give us this bread. The thought expressed in verse 32 is based here on the indication that in general that which can be heavenly bread (here the general: God’s bread) is only that which comes down from heaven and gives life to the whole human race (“the world”), not only to the Jewish people, as was the case with manna. Thus here are designated the qualities and action of heavenly bread in general, and so far there is no discussion that this bread is Christ Himself. This is evident from the people’s statement: “Lord! (that is, master) give us always such bread!” (cf. the Samaritan woman’s request, John 4:15).

John 6:35. Jesus said to them: “I am the bread of life; the one who comes to Me shall not hunger, and the one who believes in Me shall never thirst. John 6:36. “But I said to you that you have seen Me, and yet do not believe. Then the Lord directly points to Himself as the true bread of life. “Coming to Me,” that is, believing in Me. To Christ one can come only through faith in Him. “Shall not hunger.” As the bread of life, Christ satisfies hunger and thirst forever, that is, gives complete satisfaction of man’s spiritual needs. “But I said to you...” Unfortunately, the Jews do not believe Christ, although and they saw yesterday how He accomplished the miracle of feeding five thousand. “You yourselves, as if Christ said to them, base your faith in Me on the condition that I will accomplish miracles before you (see verse 30). But a miracle or miraculous sign was given to you yesterday, and if you had eyes, you could have seen what you wanted to see, that is, recognize in the miracle I accomplished the sign of My divine mission. But you did not wish to see” (cf. Isa 6:9).

John 6:37. “All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will certainly not cast out, John 6:38. for I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me. John 6:39. “This is the will of Him who sent Me, that of all that He has given Me I lose nothing, but raise it up on the last day. John 6:40. “For this is the will of My Father, that everyone who sees the Son and believes in Him will have eternal life, and I Myself will raise him up on the last day. This unbelief of the Jews testifies to the fact that they do not belong to the number of those given by God to Christ. “All that My Father gives...” Between the final words of verse 36 and this statement there should be supposed some pause. The listeners were silent, and Christ was silent, seeing that they were unable in any way to come to agreement with Him about the significance of the miracle He had accomplished the day before. Then, after several minutes of silence, Christ explains to His listeners that their unbelief in Him arises from the incorrect position which they have taken in relation to God, and that this unbelief will have for them the most terrible consequences, namely deprivation of eternal salvation. The Lord does not teach here about the existence of absolute divine predestination, but speaks only of the prevenient or preparing grace of God, which acts on the human heart without destroying its free will. “I will certainly not cast out.” Christ does not wish to deprive anyone of the possibility of entering the Kingdom of God, for He came to fulfill God’s will, which wishes that Christ raise up on the last day all who are given to Him, that is, introduce them into the bliss of eternal life (cf. John 5:29). “So that everyone...” The Father wishes even the salvation of all (“everyone”), not only those given to the Son. “Seeing the Son,” that is, beholding Him with one’s spiritual eyes (θεωρεῖν, rather than simply ὁρᾶν). Such beholding gives one who beholds the opportunity to penetrate into the very essence of the person who is the object of beholding, and in conclusion leads the beholder to complete submission before this person. “And I will raise him.” Not someone else, but “I”, namely “I”, alone “I”!

John 6:41. The Jews then murmured about Him, because He said: “I am the bread that came down from heaven. John 6:42. And they were saying: “Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How does He now say, ‘I have come down from heaven’? Christ’s words about Himself as the true bread of life, having come down from heaven, produced dissatisfaction in the Jews, and they began quite loudly to murmur against Christ. After all, they know Him well; He is the son of Joseph. How, then, does He dare to claim for Himself some sort of heavenly origin? “Is this not Jesus?” More precisely: “this one (οὗτος – an expression of disdain) – is this not Jesus?”

John 6:43. Jesus answered them: Do not grumble among yourselves. John 6:44. No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him; and I will raise him up on the last day. Christ does not wish to dispute with the Jews about his mysterious origin; this mystery could only be grasped by believing hearts. Instead, he explains to them the reason for their discontent with Christ’s words, their perplexity. The cause is that they have not been drawn by the Father to Christ, and only he who has followed such a drawing from the Father can come to Christ with joyful faith. By “drawing” here is understood not the action of God’s grace generally in man’s conscience, but the drawing of man to Christ as he beholds the wondrous signs of Christ, which testify that in the person of Christ there has appeared the Savior of the world sent by God.

John 6:45. It is written in the prophets: And they shall all be taught by God. Everyone who has heard from the Father and learned comes to me. John 6:46. It is not that anyone has seen the Father, except the One who is from God; he has seen the Father. The Lord has just said that God himself draws people to faith in Christ. Now he confirms this doctrine by reference to the prophet Isaiah, who, depicting (Isa 54:13) the spiritual greatness of the future Church of God, speaks of this Church in terms of “all shall be taught by God” (in these emphasized words lies the main thought to which Christ draws attention). And since this teaching by God presupposes as a necessary condition that man hears God, learns from him, Christ draws from the prophet’s words the conclusion that only those who have “heard from the Father and learned” come to him. The Jews, clearly, do not belong to such people. But to hear and learn from the Father, Christ remarks, is possible only through the mediation of the Son, who “has seen” the Father. The very drawing of people to Christ is accomplished also through Christ. “The One who is from God.” More precisely: “he who is with God” (παρὰ τοῦ Θεοῦ). This expression points to Christ’s prior existence with God, in which he also “has seen” the Father.

John 6:47. Truly, truly I say to you: whoever believes in me has eternal life. John 6:48. I am the bread of life. John 6:49. Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness and died; John 6:50. but the bread that comes down from heaven is such that whoever eats of it will not die. Having proved to the Jews that they have no right to murmur against Christ’s demand for faith in his divine mission, Christ again (cf. verses 35 and 40) begins to speak of how faith in him alone gives eternal life and salvation, and how he himself is truly the bread of life. The manna, which the Jews above pointed to as the heavenly bread (verse 31), did not give strength to live forever; those who ate it died. But the heavenly bread must be such that (ἵνα) the one who partakes of it does not die (verse 50). But in what sense is the expression “does not die” used here? Does the Lord promise those who taste the true heavenly bread immortality of the body as well? No, from verse 40 it is clear that those who believe in Christ and consequently taste the true heavenly bread must also die: Christ will raise them up on the last day. Consequently, here Christ wishes to say only that the tasting of true heavenly bread gives man the possibility, after death, to rise to eternal life. From this it can be concluded that Christ’s word about the Hebrews who wandered in the Sinai wilderness and “died” means, in a special sense, that they died spiritually; that the tasting of manna in itself did not give them the ability to enter into such close communion with God as would continue after their death. Dying bodily, they did not enter after the grave into eternal blessed life and in time did not receive blessedness 27.

John 6:51. I am the living bread that has come down from heaven; whoever eats this bread will live forever; and the bread which I will give is my flesh, which I give for the life of the world. Here Christ utters a new thought, even more incomprehensible and unacceptable to the Jews: “I am living bread,” that is, having life in myself and able to give life to believers (ὁ ζῶν), “that has come down from heaven,” that is, at a certain moment having taken on human flesh. Whoever eats this bread will live forever, that is, such a person lives real life now and will continue to live despite the fact that after death his soul is separated from his body. And right then Christ directly declares that the “bread” of which he speaks is his “flesh,” “which” he gives “for the life of the world.” In these words Christ presents his flesh, his humanity, on the one hand as an atoning sacrifice for the world, on the other hand as food giving believers eternal life, just as in the tabernacle and temple there were loaves of presentation which were offered as sacrifice to God and which were then provided as food for the priests. Thus there is given here the clearest promise concerning the Eucharist. In it believers will taste the very flesh of Christ, or his very body (Protopresbyter Malinovskii. “Orthodox Dogmatic Theology,” vol. IV, p. 134). However, some modern exegetes do not agree with such an understanding. For example, Keil, directing attention to the context of the discourse, finds no indication here of the coming atoning sacrifice of Christ: “Christ nowhere here or below speaks of his death. Besides, the final words of verse 51: ‘which I give for the life of the world,’ are not found in the best manuscripts (see Tischendorf, 8th ed.). Finally, the fact that Christ calls himself living bread does not allow us to see here an allusion to Christ’s atoning sacrifice. The only thing that, according to Keil, can be found here is the prediction that Christ as God-man will give life to believers in him, who will thus, in a figurative sense, eat his flesh or receive him himself.” We cannot agree with such a view for the following reasons. First, Christ here clearly promises something new (“I will give” – future tense), while the reception by faith of life from him had already taken place at the time when Christ spoke his discourse in Capernaum. Second, why would Christ clothe such a simple idea – the necessity of faith for obtaining true life – in a form so unacceptable to the Jews? Third, faith alone cannot give real union with Christ, precisely the same as exists between Christ and God. Yet Christ promises those who taste his flesh the same immortality in resurrection that he himself possesses. As for the authenticity of the text of verse 51 as we have it, it cannot yet be said with finality whose truth it is: that of those who deny the authenticity of the final words of the verse, or those who recognize their authenticity. At least there is some foundation for the reading we have received (Textus receptus). Finally, if generally in the section under consideration Christ does not speak directly of his death, this may be because at that time the end of Christ’s activity was still far off.

John 6:52. Then the Jews began to dispute among themselves, saying: How can this man give us his flesh to eat? John 6:53. Jesus said to them: Truly, truly I say to you: unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you will not have life in yourselves. The Jews understood Christ’s words to mean that he promised to give them to eat his living flesh, his body in its present form and condition. Some gave one answer to the question of how that could be, others gave another. Thus a dispute arose among the Jews. But the Lord does not take back his words and does not soften them in the least. On the contrary, he strengthens the thought he has expressed when he says that they must not only eat his flesh but also drink his blood if they want to have life in themselves. But the question of how it will be possible to eat his flesh and drink his blood, Christ for now leaves without answer, because to speak of how his flesh and blood he would offer believers in the mystery of the Eucharist was still premature.

John 6:54. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day. John 6:55. For my flesh is truly food, and my blood is truly drink. The thought expressed in the preceding verse is repeated here in strengthened form (the concept of “eating” is denoted here not by the verb φαγεῖν, but by a stronger and more emphatic word τρώγειν). “Truly is food” (ἀληθής), that is, in contrast to earthly food, which gives only bodily and temporal life, the flesh and blood of Christ gives true life – eternal and spiritual – and therefore can be called true food.

John 6:56. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me, and I in him. John 6:57. Just as the living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father, so he who eats me will live because of me. A person who tastes the flesh and blood of Christ is in real communion with Christ, so to speak, receives Christ into himself (cf. Gal 2:20): the believer is in Christ, and Christ in him. Such close communion between Christ and the believer is based on the life-giving communion that exists between Christ and the living Father, that is, the one having life in himself (cf. John 5:26). “I live because of the Father,” that is, received life from the Father, but have it in full at my disposal, so that I can myself give it to others as well (cf. John 5:26). Therefore the Son can, to those who receive him as the food of life, give life. “Will live because of me.” A person will live insofar as he finds in Christ his food.

John 6:58. This is the bread that has come down from heaven. Unlike your fathers, who ate the manna and died, he who eats this bread will live forever. John 6:59. He said these things in the synagogue while teaching in Capernaum. Here a summary is drawn of all that has been said. “This is.” Such is the quality of “the bread that comes down from heaven.” It gives eternal life. “In the synagogue” (see the comments to Matt 4:23). The evangelist makes the remark that Christ’s discourse was spoken “in the synagogue” in order to denote Christ’s boldness, not fearing to come forward with teaching about himself where his enemies felt particularly strong.

John 6:60. Many of his disciples, when they heard it, said: This is a hard saying! Who can listen to it? Before, only the “Jews” (Christ’s opponents) were scandalized by Christ’s teaching about himself as the bread come down from heaven; now many of his “disciples” or followers have become perplexed when they heard that whoever does not eat his flesh and drink his blood will not receive eternal life. “Hard saying” – more precisely, “offensive.” The offensiveness of Christ’s words lay in the fact that he made salvation, the reception of eternal life, dependent on the eating of his flesh and blood, that is, as these disciples supposed, on the eating, on the consumption as food of that flesh and blood which Christ had at that time.

John 6:61. But Jesus, knowing in himself that his disciples were grumbling about this, said to them: Does this offend you? John 6:62. What then if you should see the Son of Man ascending to where he was before? No one had reported this to Christ – he himself knew of this perplexity of his followers as the Knower of hearts. To show them how little reason they yet had to fall into doubt and perplexity, Christ says: “What then if...” This means: “What will you say when you see with your own eyes (θεωρεῖν in John has such a meaning) the ascension of the Messiah to where he was before,” that is, to heaven? (cf. verse 38 and John 20:17). Christ, speaking these words, was addressing all his followers surrounding him, but certainly had in mind mainly his apostles, who were to be present at his ascension. Indeed, among the apostles there could then be those perplexed about Christ’s teaching on the necessity of eating his flesh and blood. But what could be offensive to the apostles in the very fact of Christ’s ascension? Should it not rather have convinced them all the more that Christ is truly the Son of God? What could have scandalized the apostles was that Christ was ascending to heaven as a man, that he in his humanity was going to sit on the throne of God. If to the Jews it seemed blasphemy that Christ merely spoke of his equality with God (John 5:18), to the apostles, who were also permeated, like the Jews, with the idea of the incompatibility of human limited and weak nature with the divine, it must have seemed strange when “the Man – Jesus Christ” (1 Tim 2:5) before their eyes ascended to heaven in order to occupy a place “at the right hand of God” (Col 3:1).

John 6:63. It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh is of no avail. The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life. Usually this passage is understood as an exhortation to listeners to rise in their understanding above ordinary Jewish carnal views. But such an interpretation suggests the idea that Christ himself did not want his words about the necessity of eating his flesh and blood to be understood by his listeners literally. It is more correct and more consistent with the context of the discourse to see here an indication that Christ will offer his flesh not as something detached from his whole living person, not as some dead substance, but as something animated, in which the whole of his living person will have its organ of action. Human corporeality alone, without a divine principle, cannot have for those who receive it from Christ a life-giving, saving power. When Christ’s spirit transforms this corporeality of Christ, then it will be received and be useful for believers in Christ as nourishing food. Consequently, not that flesh of Christ which his disciples saw at that time, the human bodily nature of him who went to heaven and was glorified in all respects – the Son of Man – but the flesh of Christ glorified and animated by the spirit – that is what was to become in time food and drink for believers. Does the clarified discourse of Christ contain a direct prophecy about the institution of the mystery of the Eucharist? In agreement with most of the ancient Fathers and teachers of the Church (there are some among them who disagree with the general opinion, for example, Clement of Alexandria, Athanasius), we believe that such a prophecy is here. Indeed, in what else, if not in the Eucharist, can the assimilation by believers of the corporeality of Christ take place as nourishing them, chiefly the spiritual powers? But on the other hand, it would be incorrect to see in Christ’s discourse a teaching that without the reception of the Eucharist it is completely impossible to attain salvation for a person. The last expression of verse 63: “the words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life” shows that Christ recognized the same animating and life-giving significance in his words that in time will be given to the tasting of his glorified body for people. Among those listening to Christ in Capernaum there could be found people who would have fully believed in Christ on the basis of his teaching. For such people the replacement for tasting Christ’s glorified body was the reception into themselves of his spiritual image, and this, without doubt, was for them as saving as later it became saving for believers to receive the holy mysteries of Christ. The fact that the first did not taste the holy mysteries could not, of course, be reckoned against them if they had died before the institution of the mystery of the Eucharist. Thus, in the first half of verse 63 the Lord predicts the institution by him of the mystery of the Eucharist, in which believers will taste his glorified body and blood, and in the second half he explains that even now for his present followers it is possible to have spirit and life; for this it is necessary only to fully believe and receive his word and make it the guiding principle of one’s life.

John 6:64. But there are some of you who do not believe. For Jesus knew from the beginning who those were that did not believe, and who it was that would betray him. Here Christ explains why the disciples murmured against him. Their faith was so weak that it was as if it did not exist. And Christ noticed this from the very beginning of when such disciples came to him. More than that, even among his closest disciples there is a disciple who will betray him. By this the evangelist wants to say that the unbelief that appeared now on the part of Christ’s disciples was not something unexpected for him: from the very beginning, when these disciples first came to the Lord, he knew that they would not be his followers for long. The Lord also knew that Judas Iscariot would betray him to his enemies. A question may arise: why then did the Lord allow disciples to follow him who were destined to fall away from him in time, why did he accept Judas in the number of his closest disciples? The answer is thus. The Lord did not deprive anyone of the possibility of salvation, did not deny anyone his teachings. Thus God “makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the righteous and on the unrighteous” (Matt 5:45). In particular, Christ accepted Judas to himself, of course, because here too he was fulfilling the will of his Father in heaven (John 5:19 and following), in prayerful conversation with whom he spent the night before choosing the apostles (Luke 6:12). It is the fault of Judas himself that he did not use his proximity to Christ to free himself from his narrow materialistic expectations regarding the kingdom that the Messiah was to establish. But the door to salvation was open to him as well. Speaking of how Christ knew who accompanied and surrounded him under the guise of disciples, John probably wished to point to the spiritual torment that Christ had to endure, maintaining close communion with such people.

John 6:65. And he said: For this reason I told you that no one can come to me unless it is granted by my Father. This verse should be translated more precisely thus: “For this reason – that is, since some of you do not believe – I told you...” Christ, knowing that some of his followers did not believe in him as they should, spoke of this earlier (verses 37–44), when he explained that faith in him is the result of drawing from the Father.

John 6:66. From this moment many of his disciples turned back and no longer went about with him. “From this moment” – more precisely on account of this (ἐκ τούτου), precisely because Christ’s words about himself as the bread of life appeared offensive to them. These disciples apparently had false enthusiasm regarding Christ; they were only seeking places of honor for themselves in that earthly kingdom which, according to their idea, the Messiah was to establish. Meanwhile, Christ gave no hopes for the fulfillment of such a dream; he rather pointed his followers to the path of suffering and death.

John 6:67. So Jesus asked the twelve: Do you also wish to go away? As the Knower of hearts, Christ knows that the 12 apostles do not wish to leave him, yet, as if granting them the choice to leave or to remain with him, he addresses them with the question whether they also wish to leave? Not for his own sake does he ask the apostles such a question, but for their own sake, so that they might now firmly seal their conviction in the truth of Christ’s Messianic dignity by their open confession.

John 6:68. Simon Peter answered him: Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life; John 6:69. and we have believed, and have come to know, that you are the Christ, the Son of the living God. Peter, as the “mouth of the apostles,” understands the importance of the present moment and in the form of an exclamation expresses his and the common conviction of his companions except for Judas that only Christ can lead them to salvation. “Words of eternal life,” that is, words that give people eternal life (cf. verse 63). “Believed and come to know.” In other places in John (John 17:8; 1 John 4:16) knowledge is mentioned before faith. But there knowledge is understood as familiarity with external circumstances, while here it denotes a deeper penetration into Christ’s teaching about his person and ministry.

John 6:70. Jesus answered them: Did I not choose you, the twelve? Yet one of you is a devil. John 6:71. He spoke of Judas son of Simon Iscariot, for he was the one who, being one of the twelve, was going to betray him. To prevent the apostles from falling into excessive presumption because of their position as constant followers of Christ, the Lord points out that even among them there is one man whose disposition is close to that of the devil. Just as the devil is in constant hostile disposition toward God, so Judas hates Christ as one who destroys all his hopes for the establishment of an earthly Messianic kingdom, in which Judas could occupy a place of prominence. Concerning Judas Iscariot, see the comments to Matt 10:4. “This one was going to betray him.” More precisely, “this one had, was going, so to speak, to betray Christ, although he himself did not yet clearly understand this intention of his.” * * * corresponds to the value of approximately 800 grams of silver. – Editor’s note. The Israelites, – says Loisy, – died bodily, died spiritually, died by eternal death. Christians, on the other hand, should live in all the indicated senses. But when speaking of the Hebrews, John has in mind above all bodily death, while when speaking of Christians he means spiritual, eternal life, which also encompasses the resurrection, in which Christians will receive restoration in the body as well.