John 6:22, commentary and pictures

The verse pictures the morning after the feeding of the five thousand, when the crowd was still waiting on the barren shore where the miracle had been done. They knew there had been only one boat there, that the disciples had entered it and crossed the sea alone, and that Jesus had stayed behind on shore and had no boat by which to leave. Unable to explain His departure, they expected to find Him where they had last seen Him, and were surprised to find Him with His disciples on the other side at Capernaum. Their search brought them to His teaching on the Bread of Life, in which He exposed that they sought Him not because they understood the miracle but because they ate the loaves and were filled, and commanded them to labor for the food that endures to everlasting life by believing on Him whom God sent. To eat His flesh and drink His blood is to receive His living Word as bread from heaven and assimilate its principles into daily life for growth in grace and defense against deception, yet His plain testimony offended those who loved human praise more than reproof, so many turned away.

Morning Search After Feeding

The day following the feeding of the five thousand is the morning after the miracle, when the crowd that had remained on the other side of the sea was still at the barren shore where the feeding had taken place. They returned early to the place where they had last seen Him the night before, and many others arrived early and in large numbers by land and water after news of the miracle had spread far and near. They knew there had been only one boat there, that the disciples had entered it and gone away alone across the sea, and that Jesus had not gone with them into the boat but had remained on shore watching their departure with compassion. Because He had no boat by which to leave, they could not explain how He had gone.

They expected to find Him where they had last seen Him, but He was gone, and they were surprised afterward to find Him and His disciples on the other side of the sea at Capernaum. He had sent the multitude away when they wanted to make Him king, had sent His disciples by boat across the lake, had gone up into the mountain to pray, and then had joined the disciples during the night storm by walking upon the water. When asked how and when He had crossed, the disciples' account of the storm, Jesus walking on the water, Peter's attempt to come to Him, the stilling of the tempest, and the sudden arrival of the boat explained how they had crossed.

Finding neither Jesus nor His disciples at the feeding place, the people searched for the Teacher there in vain. Puzzled at His absence, they took boats across to Capernaum still seeking Him and asked when He came there. This search belongs to the crisis in Galilee, following the disciples' crossing of the sea and the arrival of Jesus with them at the shore.

Bread of Life Teaching

This verse opens the morning-after search that reunites Jesus with His disciples and leads into His teaching that He is the Bread of Life, the bread from heaven, following the feeding with loaves and fishes and the walking on the water. That teaching caused some of His disciples to turn from Him. It also showed the disciples that as Christ's representatives they were to give the bread of life to the people and depend on God to supply what they needed for that work.

The crowd had not grasped the spiritual meaning of the feeding miracle, with many drawn by hopes of an earthly kingdom rather than spiritual teaching. Jesus exposed that they sought Him not because they saw the miracles but because they ate the loaves and were filled. He then commanded them to labor not for perishing food but for the food that endures to everlasting life which the Son of man gives as the One God the Father sealed. He defined the work of God as believing on Him whom God sent.

To eat Christ's flesh and drink His blood is to receive His living Word as bread from heaven and spiritual food, not merely physical food. It means to hold to its precepts and to receive and assimilate His words until they become part of the daily life. The living oracles are the flesh and blood of the Son of God, and receiving and living by them is eating the bread of life. To comprehend and appreciate the truth as it is in Jesus a person must so eat and drink, bringing truth into daily experience.

Receiving the principles of the Word into the daily life in this way brings connection with Christ, who knew no sin and had no guile in His mouth. It brings continual growth in grace through daily experience, prayer to God for this and all other blessings, and being taught daily in the school of Christ. The Word thus received is a stronghold and defense against the deceptions and spiritual darkness of Satan in the last days.

Christ as substitute for sin was the only hope of ancient Israel even before His death. The New Testament does not replace the Old Testament but its light reveals the significance of the Jewish system, and both teach practical holiness and obedience that remain relevant to Christian life. God has revealed what is necessary for salvation, though not everything, because people could not bear a fuller revelation. They are to live by what God revealed rather than human suppositions.

The truths Jesus presented were meant to bring His hearers to decide for or against Him, revealing whether they were truly with Him and exposing their real convictions before His trial. His plain testimony offended many, whose actions showed they found the truth unpalatable and closed their eyes and hearts to reproof, choosing human praise over God's admonition, so that some disciples turned from Him. The same test comes when truth exposes a life out of harmony with truth and righteousness, when some turn from Jesus rather than accept correction and practice self-denial.

The setting is Jesus' ministry to the hungry multitude who had followed Him to hear words of life, whose physical need for food He did not overlook but fed.