Commentary of John Chapter 6

Posted : 28 Nov, 2011 04:49 PM

Commentary on John Chapter 6 by James Coffman

Verse 35

Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall not hunger, and he that believeth on me shall never thirst.

I am the bread of life ...

is one of the seven great "I am's" of John. This is an apt metaphor of God's providing in Christ the means of human redemption. In that age, bread was essential to every meal, the staff of life, a fit emblem of Christ the soul's food.

He that believeth on me shall never thirst ...

This is parallel to the previous clause and means the same, the living water and the bread of life being separate metaphors for one thing only, Jesus Christ. "Believeth on me ..." should not be understood as an affirmation of the popular superstition regarding salvation by "faith only." See John 12:42.

Verse 36

But I said unto you, that ye have seen me, and yet believe not.

The thought of this verse is in John 6:26; but it is a mention of a part of the conversation reported here for the first time, but having taken place a little earlier.

Verse 37

All that which the Father giveth me shall come unto me; and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out.

All that which the Father giveth me ...

refers to all who shall be saved, none being excluded, so long as they truly come to Christ, that being the thrust of the second clause. Significantly, this verse makes no reference to faith like that in the previous verse; but this does not exclude faith, the verses being supplementary each to the other. Thus, one must believe and come to Jesus in order to be saved. Coming to Jesus is equivalent to entering his kingdom; and entering that requires one to be born of water and of the spirit (John 3:5). Coming to Jesus therefore means being born again. No subjective experience whatever can be substituted for the new birth. "Coming" is something that a man does, not something that he thinks, believes, or feels.

Verse 38

For I am come down from heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent me.

A bolder statement of the virgin birth of Christ cannot be imagined than this offhand, factual statement from the lips of Christ: "I am come down from heaven." From first to last John stresses the eternal existence of Christ and his prior residence in heaven, the virgin birth being an inescapable corollary. How else, pray tell, could God have entered our earth-life as a man?

Not to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent me ...

Jesus' absolute submission to the Father's will is stressed throughout John. Jesus did not even speak from himself but delivered the words God commanded him to speak (John 12:48,49).

Verses 39, 40: And this is the will of him that sent me, that of all that which he hath given me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up at the last day. For this is the will of my Father, that every one that beholdeth the Son, and believeth on him, should have eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day.

These verses are a double affirmation of the most stupendous claim ever made by the Son of God, declaring that the highest authority in the universe has guaranteed the fulfillment of what Jesus here promised.

All that which he hath given me ...

refers to all the souls who shall respond to the offer of salvation, their response being viewed here as the Father's giving them to Jesus, which is indeed true. Even when men believe and obey the gospel unto eternal life, the reception of it is still the gift of God.

I should lose nothing ... Not merely what happens in this life is in view here, for he spoke of the whole sweep of time to eternity. Not even death shall defeat the purpose of God in the redemption of them that believe and come to Jesus.

But shall raise it up at the last day ... This countermands all the sorrows and frustrations of life. The use of neuter pronouns such as "all" and "it" do not compromise the plain meaning of this passage, human souls being viewed not as masculine or feminine, but abstractly (Galatians 3:28).

The last day ... is repeated four times in this chapter (John 6:39,40,44,54). As Dummelow said, "These words show that Christ came to abolish not natural, but spiritual death. Believers will die, but their death will be followed by a glorious resurrection." F13

Destructive critics have vainly tried to edit the doctrine of eternal judgment out of John; and thus Bullinger interpreted "last day" to mean the day of the believer's death, and the "raising" his translation into paradise (!). As Ryle noted, "Such interpretations are utterly destitute of foundation." F14 Sholten dragged out the critic's device of last resort, making all of the "last day" references glosses; but the words stand. Prior bias is the only discernible explanation of such handling of the word of God. John indeed did teach of the last day and the general resurrection of the dead with the assignment of appropriate destinies for both the righteous and the wicked (John 5:24-29) - more accurately, Christ so taught, and John accurately reported him. Regarding the last day, Hovey said: "Till that day, the bodies of the saints will sleep in the dust of the earth; but then they will be raised incorruptible, glorious, and adapted to the wants of the spirit. Christ will thus effect the salvation of the whole man." F15

Beholdeth the Son, and believeth on him, should have eternal life ...

(John 6:40). These words are a restatement of the great promise of the preceding verse. They should not be understood as outlining "all that is required" of those to be saved, as some love to conclude; F16 but they are a statement of the important first steps toward salvation. Jesus had just said that men must "come" unto him (John 6:37).

The uttermost confidence belongs to the true believer in Christ. No power of flesh, darkness, or hell can take the Christian's crown by force. Christ shall prevail unto the final salvation of the total body of the redeemed; and, upon the astounding promises here recorded, speculative theories of election and predestination have been grounded. But any theory that reaches a degree of presumption that denies the possibility of a saved person's falling is anti-Scriptural and untrue. The Christian's crown may not be forcibly removed from him by any power in the universe; but, through the freedom of the will, one may defect; and, in the light of this fact, this same author admonished, "Hold fast that which thou hast, that no one take thy crown" (Revelation 3:11). Even John Calvin wrote: "They are madmen who seek their own salvation, or that of others, in the whirlpool of predestination, not keeping the way of salvation which is exhibited to them." F17

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Verses 41, 42

The Jews therefore murmured concerning him, because he said, I am the bread which came down out of heaven. And they said, Is not this Jesus the Son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? how doth he now say, I am come down out of heaven?

The Jews ...

John's repeated use of these terms in reference to his own countrymen emphasizes the hostility and antagonism of the chosen people toward Christianity, and shows that at the time he wrote the enmity had become adamant and unyielding. He no longer identified himself as a Jew, thus exhibiting the new identity in Christ, of which Paul said, "In Christ ... there can be neither Jew nor Greek" (Galatians 3:26-28). John's acceptance of the new identity for himself cannot be made the grounds of an allegation that one not a Jew wrote this Gospel.

Murmuring ...

implies a malignant and reprehensible opposition. Most commentators detect a break in these verses from the situation earlier in the chapter, indicating that the discussion from here to the end of the chapter took place in the synagogue, where official members of the Jewish establishment took up the argument against Christ. If so, this would account for the more hostile trend of the conversation (John 6:59).

I am the bread which came down from heaven ...

Jesus had not used these exact words; but they are a fair and logical deduction from what he had said (John 6:33,35,38). The opponents were correct in their understanding of what Christ meant; but they were aroused and angered by it. Why? Evidently Christ's lowly condition on earth was the great stumbling block to their acceptance of him.

If the Master had come as an all-powerful monarch, in riches, splendor, and earthly glow, they might have been willing to receive him; but a poor, lowly, suffering Messiah, without property or social position, whose chief followers were fishermen, and who had nowhere to lay his head - such a Messiah they reviled and detested, their human pride refusing to believe that such a one came from God. His lowliness and poverty, and finally his death of the cross - these things were the stumblingblock to the Jews (1 Corinthians 1:23).

Is not this Jesus ...

according to Ryle, "has a latent sneer in it, which our English versions cannot fully convey. It is as if they said, `Is not this fellow, etc.'" F18

The son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know ...

The conclusion of the leaders in the synagogue at Capernaum that Jesus was the natural son of Joseph and Mary was a deduction based on ignorance. They thought they knew, no doubt, and might even have investigated in Nazazeth with a hope of finding some taint in Jesus' background; but, if Joseph and Mary were interrogated by them, one may be certain that they refused to tell the evil rulers of the synagogue any of the marvels that attended the Lord's birth.

There was one thing that the crowd in the synagogue were correct in, and that was their conclusion that Jesus' teaching contradicted their supposition about his being the natural son of Joseph, thus making Jesus' teaching in this place to be an affirmation of his virgin birth.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------- Verses 43, 44

Jesus answered and said unto them, Murmur not among yourselves. No man can come to me except the Father that sent me draw him; and I will raise him up in the last day.

Those who find in this an irresistible and sovereign act of God in calling individual sinners find much more than is in it, for the very next verse tells exactly how the drawing is accomplished: "They shall all be taught of God." To suppose that God draws some and not others would be to suppose that God is partial and unjust (Acts 10:34). The murmurers in this passage had rejected the teaching of God relative to the lowliness of the Messiah, thus thwarting God's drawing of them unto himself. The fact of rejection by some does not nullify the promise; the ones who respond will still be raised up at the last day.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------- Verse 45

It is written in the prophets, And they shall all be taught of God. Every one that hath heard from the Father, and hath learned, cometh unto me.

The prophets ...

calls to mind Isaiah 54:13 and Jeremiah 31:31-35; but Jesus' words here seem more reasonably construed as a reference to the general teaching of the Old Testament that in the days of the new covenant men shall receive teaching from God. Those who heed God's word, come to Jesus, being in such a manner drawn to him, and drawn of God. All human theories of immutable decrees, effectual calling, eternal election, and irresistible drawing, as applied to some men and not to others, appear to this commentator to be vain and hurtful speculations without foundation either in reason or the sacred text. If God does not draw men by his word, how is it done? Is not the word a sufficient instrument? Was it not the word that hurled the suns in space, and lifted up the cross, and stilled the sea? Why should some other means of drawing be imagined? The divine word is more than enough. Also, in the book of Acts, not a single record exists in the history of apostolic preaching in which even one person was converted who had not first heard the word of God; and it is therefore concluded that all who are converted are converted by the word of God.

The doctrine imported into this place and which is here rejected was enunciated thus by Hendriksen:

It is not true that John 6:45 cancels, or at least weakens John 4:44. The expression, It is written in the prophets, And they shall all be taught of God, does not in any sense whatever place in the hands of men the power to accept Jesus as Lord. F19

Despite such views, John himself taught that those who "believe on his name" through hearing God's word, are given the "power to become children of God" (John 1:12). The theory which stipulates that one who has heard God's word, consequently believing on Jesus Christ, does not thereby have the right to become a child of God until some mysterious further action on the part of God himself in "drawing" the sinner is repugnant; because, in the final analysis, it makes God and not the sinner responsible for whether or not he accepts the Lord. God has already given his word to men, to the whole creation; and therein is also the power for all who choose to do so to become God's children. As Lipscomb said:

The gospel is the power of God unto salvation. It is the drawing power. It draws by its manifestation of the love of God, by its revelation of the crucified Saviour. If man's will consents, and he yields to the drawing power, he comes; but, if he will not, and refuses to be drawn, he does not come. God will not force him. F20

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Verse 46

Not that any man hath seen the Father, save he that is from God, he hath seen the Father.

This teaching guards against the notion that one could know God by means of the Old Testament alone. The true revelation of God could come only from one, even from him "that is from God," which is Christ.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------Verse 47

Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth hath eternal life.

The preconditions of receiving eternal life are not the subject of this verse. Here Christ was not speaking of them that "believe on" Jesus, but of him that "believeth" the word of God. There is no authority for translating this place, "He that believeth on me hath eternal life." Christ did say that everyone that believeth on him SHOULD HAVE eternal life (John 3:16; 6:40).

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