John 6 Sermon
John 6:25-35
Jesus drives the conversation to its logical and radical conclusion (v.66): they only want what he can give and not himself.
#john
#Jesus
Published November 5th, 2021; Updated November 5th, 2021
Main point summary
Bracket
notes
Main point summary
The people of Israel recognize the miracle, but they only want more bread, not the Giver of that bread.
Bracket
editing
NT
John 6:25-35
na28
mine
καὶ εὑρόντες αὐτὸν πέραν τῆς θαλάσσης εἶπον αὐτῷ•
And finding him on the other side of the lake, they said to him,
ῥαββί, πότε ὧδε γέγονας;
"Rabbi, when did you get here?"
series
Ἀπεκρίθη αὐτοῖς ὁ Ἰησοῦς καὶ εἶπεν•
Jesus answered them and said,
ἀμὴν ἀμὴν λέγω ὑμῖν,
"Amen, amen, I say to you:
ζητεῖτέ με
you seek me,
οὐχ ὅτι εἴδετε σημεῖα,
not because you saw the signs,
negativepositive
ἀλλʼ ὅτι ἐφάγετε ἐκ τῶν ἄρτων
but because you ate from the bread
καὶ ἐχορτάσθητε.
and were satisfied.
actionresult
ground
ἐργάζεσθε μὴ τὴν βρῶσιν τὴν ἀπολλυμένην
Do not labor for the perishing bread,
ἀλλὰ τὴν βρῶσιν τὴν μένουσαν εἰς ζωὴν αἰώνιον,
but for the enduring to eternal life bread,
ἣν ὁ υἱὸς τοῦ ἀνθρώπου ὑμῖν δώσει•
which the Son of Man will give to you;
ideaexplanation
τοῦτον γὰρ ὁ πατὴρ ἐσφράγισεν ὁ θεός.
for the Father, God, has set his signature on this one.
situationresponse
questionanswer
εἶπον οὖν πρὸς αὐτόν•
Then they said to him,
τί ποιῶμεν
"What must we be doing
ἵνα ἐργαζώμεθα τὰ ἔργα τοῦ θεοῦ;
so that we may be working the works of God?"
actionpurpose
ἀπεκρίθη [ὁ] Ἰησοῦς καὶ εἶπεν αὐτοῖς•
Jesus answered and said to them,
τοῦτό ἐστιν τὸ ἔργον τοῦ θεοῦ,
"This is the work of God:
ἵνα πιστεύητε εἰς ὃν ἀπέστειλεν ἐκεῖνος.
that you believe on him whom he has sent."
Εἶπον οὖν αὐτῷ•
Then they said to him,
τί οὖν ποιεῖς σὺ σημεῖον,
"What sign, then, do you do,
ἵνα ἴδωμεν καὶ πιστεύσωμέν σοι;
so that we may see and believe in you?
τί ἐργάζῃ;
What do you work?
οἱ πατέρες ἡμῶν τὸ μάννα ἔφαγον ἐν τῇ ἐρήμῳ,
Our fathers ate the manna in the wilderness,
καθώς ἐστιν γεγραμμένον•
just as it is written:
ἄρτον ἐκ τοῦ οὐρανοῦ ἔδωκεν αὐτοῖς φαγεῖν.
'He gave them bread from heaven to eat.'"
comparison
εἶπεν οὖν αὐτοῖς ὁ Ἰησοῦς•
Then Jesus said to them,
ἀμὴν ἀμὴν λέγω ὑμῖν,
"Amen, amen, I say to you:
οὐ Μωϋσῆς δέδωκεν ὑμῖν τὸν ἄρτον ἐκ τοῦ οὐρανοῦ,
Moses had not given you bread from heaven,
ἀλλʼ ὁ πατήρ μου δίδωσιν ὑμῖν τὸν ἄρτον ἐκ τοῦ οὐρανοῦ τὸν ἀληθινόν•
but my Father gives you the true bread from heaven.
ὁ γὰρ ἄρτος τοῦ θεοῦ ἐστιν ὁ καταβαίνων ἐκ τοῦ οὐρανοῦ καὶ ζωὴν διδοὺς τῷ κόσμῳ.
For the bread of God is the One who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world."
εἶπον οὖν πρὸς αὐτόν•
Then they said to him,
κύριε, πάντοτε δὸς ἡμῖν τὸν ἄρτον τοῦτον.
"Sir, always give us this bread."
εἶπεν αὐτοῖς ὁ Ἰησοῦς•
Jesus said to them,
ἐγώ εἰμι ὁ ἄρτος τῆς ζωῆς• *
"I Am the Bread of Life;
ὁ ἐρχόμενος πρὸς ἐμὲ οὐ μὴ πεινάσῃ,
the one who comes to me cannot hunger,
καὶ ὁ πιστεύων εἰς ἐμὲ οὐ μὴ διψήσει πώποτε.
and the believer in me cannot ever thirst."
inference
The people recognize the sign as a miracle, but not as a sign in the Johannine sense. Their citation of Ps. 78 and demand for a sign does not indicate their utter blindness to the miracle that occurred the day before (6:14). Rather, it's as though they're speaking passive-aggressively. They're not interested in who Jesus is, but only in what he can give them (v.26). They cite the passage as a way of coaxing Jesus into giving them more bread. They see the miracle, recognize Jesus' power, but have no interest in what it means or why. But Jesus offers more than bread, but himself (v.27c, v.35).
na28
discourse
Comments
Disclaimer: The opinions and conclusions expressed on this page are those of the author and may or may not accord with the positions of Biblearc or Bethlehem College & Seminary.