Expository Notes of Dr. Thomas Constable - John 6:55
This verse explains why Jesus’ statements in John 6:53-54 are true. Jesus’ person is what truly satisfies and sustains life. This is the true function of food and drink. read more
This verse explains why Jesus’ statements in John 6:53-54 are true. Jesus’ person is what truly satisfies and sustains life. This is the true function of food and drink. read more
Because Jesus’ person is what truly satisfies and sustains life those who believe in Him remain (Gr. meno, abide) in Him. This is a new term in the discussion, but it is synonymous with having eternal life. Jesus was saying that believers continue to possess eternal life; they will never lose it. Believers remain in Christ, and He remains in them. Jesus was not speaking here to His disciples about the importance of believers abiding in fellowship with God as He did in chapter 15. Here He was... read more
Jesus traced the eternal life that the believer receives when he or she trusts in Jesus back through the Son to the living God (cf. John 5:21; John 5:24-27). This helps us see that eternal life is essentially God’s life that He imparts to believers. It also clarifies Jesus’ central role as the mediator of eternal life from the Father to humankind. read more
In conclusion, Jesus returned to His initial claim that He had come from the Father (John 6:29). The Jews often substituted the term "heaven" for "God" out of respect for God’s name, and Jesus did that here. This is a figure of speech called metonymy in which the speaker or writer uses the name of one thing for that of another associated with or suggested by it. The Israelites who ate the physical bread that came down from God died in the wilderness (John 6:30-31), but those who believe in the... read more
John now identified the historical context in which Jesus gave this teaching. Jesus gave this discourse in the synagogue in the town that He had adopted as the headquarters of His ministry (cf. John 2:12). This verse evidently marks the conclusion of the discussion that took place within the synagogue.Archaeologists have uncovered what they believe may be the foundations of this synagogue. Visitors to the site of Capernaum may now view a reconstructed edifice that dates from three or four... read more
Not only "the Jews" (John 6:52) but many of Jesus’ followers found His teaching about the Bread of Life offensive (Gr. skleros, difficult or hard). The term "disciple" is not synonymous with "believer," as should be patently clear in the Gospels. In John 6:64 Jesus said that some of these "disciples" did not believe. Some of Jesus’ disciples were believers, but many of them were following Him to learn from Him and to decide if He was the Messiah or not. This teaching persuaded many in this... read more
The response of many disciples 6:60-65 read more
Evidently Jesus spoke these words to a large group of His followers that included the Twelve. He suggested that He would yet reveal things to them that would be harder for them to accept than what they had heard so far. He had told them that He had come down from heaven (John 6:38), and this had scandalized (Gr. skandalizei) them. What would they think if they saw Him ascend into heaven?Jesus may have been referring to His bodily ascension, but perhaps He was speaking of His crucifixion (cf.... read more
Some of Jesus’ disciples turned from Him because they preferred the material realm to the spiritual realm, for which Jesus had an obvious preference. He warned them that the Spirit gives real life (cf. Genesis 1:2; Ezekiel 37:14; John 3:6) whereas the flesh provides nothing of comparable importance. The words that Jesus had spoken to them dealt with spiritual realities and resulted in spiritual life. Furthermore they were words that came from God’s Spirit. Therefore they were extremely... read more
Expository Notes of Dr. Thomas Constable - John 6:53-54
This is the fourth and last of Jesus’ strong prefaces in this discourse (cf. John 6:26; John 6:32; John 6:47). It should be obvious to any reader of this discourse by now that Jesus was speaking metaphorically and not literally. By referring to His flesh and blood He was figuratively referring to His whole person. This is a figure of speech called synecdoche in which one part stands for the whole. Jesus was illustrating belief, what it means to appropriate Him by faith (John 6:40). He expressed... read more