NLT Study Bible - Gospel of John - Flipbook - Page 20
John 6:36
1781
6:14
Deut 18:15, 18
Acts 3:22; 7:37
6:16-23
//Matt 14:23-33
//Mark 6:47-51
6:19
Job 9:8
6:20
Matt 14:27
6:23
John 6:11
6:27
Matt 3:17; 17:5
Mark 1:11; 9:7
Luke 3:22
John 1:33; 4:14; 6:5051, 54, 58
Acts 2:22
Rom 6:23
6:29
1 Jn 3:23
6:31
Exod 16:15
Num 11:7-9
Neh 9:15
*Ps 78:24; 105:40
6:33
John 6:41, 50
6:35
John 4:14; 6:48;
7:37-38
people who had eaten from the five barley
loaves.
14When the people saw him do this mi
raculous sign, they exclaimed, “Surely, he
is the Prophet we have been expecting!”
15When Jesus saw that they were ready to
force him to be their king, he slipped away
into the hills by himself.
Jesus Walks on Water
John 6:16-21 // Matt 14:22-33 // Mark 6:45-52
16That
evening Jesus’ disciples went down
to the shore to wait for him. 17But as dark
ness fell and Jesus still hadn’t come back,
they got into the boat and headed across
the lake toward Capernaum. 18Soon a gale
swept down upon them, and the sea grew
very rough. 19They had rowed three or four
miles when suddenly they saw Jesus walk
ing on the water toward the boat. They were
terrified, 20but he called out to them, “Don’t
be afraid. I am here!” 21Then they were ea
ger to let him in the boat, and immediately
they arrived at their destination!
Jesus, the Bread of Life
next day the crowd that had stayed
on the far shore saw that the disciples had
taken the only boat, and they realized Jesus
had not gone with them. 23Several boats
from Tiberias landed near the place where
the Lord had blessed the bread and the peo
ple had eaten. 24So when the crowd saw that
neither Jesus nor his disciples were there,
they got into the boats and went across to
22The
6:14 him: Some manuscripts read Jesus.
he is the Prophet we have been expecting! The crowd understood the miracle
as a fulfillment of OT promises (see
Deut 18:15, 18; Mal 4:5-6).
6:15 The people were ready to force
Jesus to become their king. To avoid
this role, Jesus fled the crowd and commanded his disciples to go back across
the lake (Mark 6:45-46).
6:18 East-west winds blowing down
over the eastern cliffs of the Sea of Galilee late in the day commonly caused
very rough waters and turbulent storms.
6:19 three or four miles: Greek 25 or
30 stadia [4.6 or 5.5 kilometers]. The
disciples’ fear of the storm was now
surpassed by their fear of Jesus, who
came walking on the water to help
them. This act recalled Moses, who led
Israel through the water (Exod 14; see
Ps 77:19-20).
6:20 I am here (or The ‘I AM’ is here;
Greek reads I am; see Exod 3:14): Jesus
identified himself by the name God had
revealed to Moses on Mount Sinai (see
also 4:26; 6:35).
Capernaum to look for him. 25They found
him on the other side of the lake and asked,
“Rabbi, when did you get here?”
26Jesus replied, “I tell you the truth, you
want to be with me because I fed you, not
because you understood the miraculous
signs. 27But don’t be so concerned about
perishable things like food. Spend your en
erg y seeking the eternal life that the Son of
Man can give you. For God the Father has
given me the seal of his approval.”
28They replied, “We want to perform
God’s works, too. What should we do?”
29Jesus told them, “This is the only work
God wants from you: Believe in the one he
has sent.”
30They answered, “Show us a miraculous
sign if you want us to believe in you. What
can you do? 31After all, our ancestors ate
manna while they journeyed through the
wilderness! The Scriptures say, ‘Moses gave
them bread from heaven to eat.’ ”
32Jesus said, “I tell you the truth, Moses
didn’t give you bread from heaven. My Fa
ther did. And now he offers you the true
bread from heaven. 33The true bread of God
is the one who comes down from heaven
and gives life to the world.”
34“Sir,” they said, “give us that bread every
day.”
35Jesus replied, “I am the bread of life.
Whoever comes to me will never be hung ry
again. Whoever believes in me will never
be thirsty. 36But you haven’t believed in me
6:21 immediately they arrived at their
destination: The immediacy was yet
another of Jesus’ miracles.
6:24 The crowd sailed north to
Capernaum to search for Jesus because
he had made Capernaum his home in
Galilee (Mark 2:1).
6:26-59 This dialogue took place in the
synagogue at Capernaum (6:59) shortly
before Passover (6:4), when Jews read
the account of the exodus from Egypt
(see Exod 1–15).
6:26 The crowd, which had concluded
that Jesus was a prophet and wanted to
take advantage of him politically (see
note on 6:15), failed to see the meaning of the miracle, which Jesus then
explained (6:27-59).
6:27 Jesus’ most profound gift was not
physical bread, but eternal life, which
the Father authorized him to give.
Physical bread is perishable; the gift of
Jesus, who is himself the bread of life
(6:35), will last forever. Son of Man is a
title Jesus used for himself.
6:30 The crowd demanded a miraculous sign to demonstrate Jesus’ status as
Messiah. Jews believed that when the
Messiah appeared, he would duplicate
the great miracle of Moses. Manna
would once again fall, and everyone
would consider it a second exodus.
6:31 Moses gave them bread from
heaven to eat: Exod 16:4; Ps 78:24.
6:32-33 Jesus corrected the people’s
argument: God, not Moses, fed Israel
in the wilderness. The most important
quest is to find and consume the true
bread of God, who gives eternal life.
6:34 Sir, . . . give us that bread: This
request parallels the request of the
Samaritan woman (4:15). Spiritual
awakening begins with a request for
God’s gift.
6:35 Jesus’ I am statements in John
depict Jesus’ identity and ministry (see
also 4:26; 8:12; 9:5; 10:7-9, 11-14;
11:25; 14:6; 15:1-5). Jesus purposefully
used a phrase that would make his
listeners think of the OT name for God
(Exod 3:14). I am the bread of life:
Jesus is the true manna that descended
from God (6:38). He satisfies the
spiritual hunger of those who believe in
him (cp. 4:10-13).
