ESV Global Study Bible :: Footnotes for John 6

John 6:1–15 The feeding of the 5,000 is another of Jesus’ messianic “signs” (see note on 2:11). It shows that Jesus can provide food in the wilderness, like God did for Israel in Moses’ day. Compare Matt. 14:13–21; Mark 6:30–44; Luke 9:10–17.

John 6:1 After this. As much as six months may have passed since the previous event. Sea of Galilee, which is the Sea of Tiberias. This lake is fed from the Jordan to the north and spills out to the Jordan in the south. Today it measures 7 miles (11 km) wide and 13 miles (21 km) long.

John 6:3 Mountain probably refers to the hill country east of the lake, known today as the Golan Heights (compare Matt. 14:23; Mark 6:46).

John 6:7 two hundred denarii. About eight months’ wages.

John 6:10–11 The men numbered about five thousand, plus women and children (compare Matt. 14:21), totaling perhaps as many as 20,000 people.

John 6:14 the Prophet. The people think Jesus fulfills the prediction of the prophet like Moses, promised in Deut. 18:15, 18. (See note on John 1:20–21; compare Acts 3:22–23.) In Acts 3:22–23 Peter identifies Jesus as the fulfillment of this prophecy; compare Acts 7:37. However, “prophet” is not a common title for Jesus; it is used primarily by those who know little about him (e.g., Matt. 16:14; John 4:19).

John 6:15 to make him king. Jesus did not want to lead a rebellion against the Roman authorities. The people did not understand that Jesus’ kingship was spiritual in nature (see 18:36).

John 6:17 A boat, from the first century a.d. or earlier, was found in the Sea of Galilee in 1986. Approximately 26.5 feet long and 7.5 feet wide (8 m by 2.3 m), it could hold about 15 people.

John 6:19 They had rowed about three or four miles. If the feeding of the multitude took place at the eastern shore of the Sea of Galilee, the shortest distance to Capernaum would be 5–6 miles (8–10 km). Walking on the sea is a powerful demonstration of Jesus’ control over the world that he created.

John 6:20 “It is I.” Jesus’ words can be translated “I am.” Here it may refer to God’s self-identification as “I am who I am” (Ex. 3:14). It may thus affirm Jesus’ divinity (see note on John 6:35).

John 6:21 immediately the boat was at the land. A real-life example of God’s protection as described in Ps. 107:23–32.

John 6:23–24 Capernaum is on the northwest edge of the Sea of Galilee. Several miles to the south is Tiberias, the largest city on the Sea.

John 6:26 But because you ate your fill of the loaves implies that the people sought Jesus only for physical or material benefit. They should have sought him because they saw signs that pointed to his being the Messiah.

John 6:27 set his seal. A seal made of wax, clay, or soft metal. It could be used to signify ownership or to validate a document. The second meaning is probably intended here.

John 6:31 The OT reference seems to involve several passages, with Ps. 78:23–24 being the most prominent (see also Ex. 16:4, 15; Neh. 9:15; Ps. 105:40).

John 6:32 The true bread from heaven gives eternal spiritual nourishment. It is infinitely superior to the manna provided in Moses’ day, which met only physical needs.

John 6:35 Jesus’ claim, “I am the bread of life,” is the first of seven “I am” sayings in John (see chart). See also the other places in John where Jesus refers to himself as “I am” (see v. 20; 8:24; 58; 18:5; and notes on John 6:20 and John 8:24 and John 8:58 and John 18:5); compare the references to God as “I am” in Ex. 3:14 and in Isaiah (e.g., Isa. 41:4; 43:10; 25).

John 6:37 whoever comes to me I will never cast out. No one who responds to the gospel should ever fear being rejected by God.

John 6:39 All that he has given me implies that everyone who has been “given” by the Father to the Son for salvation will in fact be saved.

John 6:40 everyone who . . . believes in him. This verse implies that no true believer will ever lose his or her salvation. the last day. The final judgment.

John 6:43 The grumbling is like the grumbling against God in the OT (e.g., Ex. 16:8; Num. 14:27).

John 6:44 No one can come to me unless. No human being has the ability to come to Christ unless God the Father draws him, that is, gives him the desire to do so.

John 6:46 he has seen the Father. In a full and complete way; compare 1:18 and note.

John 6:51 living bread. Jesus satisfies the spiritual hunger of those who believe in him.

John 6:53 To eat Jesus’ flesh and to drink his blood means trusting and believing in him, especially in his death for the sins of mankind. (See also v. 35.)

John 6:59 synagogue. See note on Luke 4:16.

John 6:60 It was a hard saying because they wrongly interpreted Jesus’ statements in a literal way.

John 6:63 The flesh (that is, human nature) is completely incapable of producing genuine spiritual life (see Rom. 7:14–25). Only the Spirit can do this. But the Holy Spirit works powerfully in and through the words that Jesus speaks. Those words are spirit and life; they work in the unseen spiritual realm and awaken genuine spiritual life.

John 6:64 Jesus’ divine nature is proven by his knowledge of people’s hearts and their future actions.

John 6:67 This is John’s first mention of the twelve, the apostles.

John 6:69 Peter’s confession of Jesus as the Holy One of God prepares the reader for later references to Jesus being set apart for service to God (10:36; 17:19).