John 6:23
( Howbeit there came other boats from Tiberias nigh unto the place where they did eat bread, after that the Lord had given thanks:) ( Howbeit there came other boats from Tiberias nigh unto the place where they did eat bread, after that the Lord had given thanks:)
The verse marks the morning after the feeding of the multitude, when other boats came from Tiberias near to the place where the crowd had eaten bread after thanks had been given. The people returned to that shore to seek Jesus, and finding no boat had been left for Him to cross in, they were surprised to find Him gone and pursued Him by land and sea to Capernaum. It belongs to the act of a compassionate Saviour who cared for the bodily needs of the hungry multitude, increasing five barley loaves and two small fishes by creative power after giving thanks until five thousand men besides women and children were fed. The miracle teaches that bodily necessities are remembered and provided for, yet spiritual food is of far more consequence than temporal food, so chief labor must be not for food that perishes but for food that endures to everlasting life given by Christ as the Bread of Life. That Bread of Life teaching means receiving His words as spirit and life, eating His flesh and drinking His blood by receiving the truth in Jesus as daily experience and feeding upon it for eternal life.
Morning After the Feeding
John 6:23 records that other boats came from Tiberias near to the place where the multitude ate bread after thanks had been given, placing what follows directly after the feeding of the multitude. It belongs to the morning after Jesus fed the hungry crowd, when the people came back searching for Him to the spot where the miracle had been done.
The next morning the crowd returned to the shore where they had last left Jesus, and people came to that place by land and by sea. News of the feeding miracle had spread far and near, so they began to arrive early and in large numbers by land and water. They came back to the barren shore where they had watched His departure with compassionate eyes, believing no boat had been left by which He could depart. When He was not found there they searched in vain and then pursued Him on to Capernaum, with many continuing the search there.
They knew no boat had remained for Jesus to cross the lake, so they were surprised to find Him and His disciples across the water. At the synagogue they asked how and when the crossing had been made. In answer the disciples recounted the storm on the lake, Jesus walking on the water, Peter's attempt to walk to Him, and the sudden calming of the tempest and arrival of the boat at shore. This seeking came after the feeding of the five thousand, when He refused to be made king and withdrew to the mountain.
Compassionate Physical Provision
The verse belongs to the work of the same compassionate Saviour still present today, who did not overlook the physical needs of the hungry multitude that had followed to hear words of life, but cared for the body as well as giving spiritual teaching. After giving thanks over five barley loaves and two small fishes, by creative power He increased the food until it sufficed for five thousand men besides women and children at the place where they ate bread.
Although any quantity of food could have been provided, He taught care that nothing be lost by directing the disciples to gather the fragments that remained, twelve baskets full over and above what had been eaten, so that nothing would be wasted. His hand of benevolence is not stayed, and as necessity was met then, knowledge will now be imparted to His people in different places whereby in various ways they will be provided with food.
Bread of Life Teaching
The miracle was given to teach that bodily necessities are remembered and will be provided for, yet the spiritual food provided is of far more consequence than temporal food. Chief labor is therefore to be not for food that perishes but for food that endures to everlasting life, which the Son of man gives. That enduring food is obtained from God Himself through the gift of Christ as the Bread of Life, and seekers are to pursue the spiritual food that gives eternal life.
The chapter is the setting for the teaching that Christ is the Bread of Life and the living bread given for the life of the world. His words are spirit and life, to be received and obeyed and trusted, with eternal life in accepting them. Eating His flesh and drinking His blood represents receiving the truth in Jesus as a daily experience. Feeding upon His words as His very flesh and blood is of supreme importance for the education needed to become workers together with God.
That bread of life teaching has special reference to spiritual nourishment in God's Word, whose living words and living oracles are the flesh and blood of the Son of God, to be received and lived as bread from heaven. Christ's work as substitute for sinners was the hope of ancient Israel. The New Testament does not replace or set aside the Old Testament but was given to illuminate it, its light revealing the significance of the Jewish economy, while the practical directions given for holiness and obedience remain relevant to shape Christian life.
The sixth chapter defines the righteousness of Christ, whose acceptance puts on the wedding garment. That garment is the union of humanity with divinity and the standard of character required to be counted a fit guest at the wedding. Without it character is measured by human ideas, sin is continued in, and eternal interests are presumed upon to the loss of the soul, while receiving it requires a firm stand for Christ and surrender to God of what is already His own. The truths of the chapter led people to decide for or against Christ and exposed their true feelings toward Him, and after this teaching some disciples turned away.
Eating the flesh and drinking the blood means having tasted that the Lord is gracious in actual personal experience, learning as newborn babes to desire the sincere milk of the word for growth. It means being truly converted and born again so as to discern the requirements of the spiritual kingdom, and opening the mind to God's word with determination to practice it so that light and understanding come. That experience transforms character, forsakes a frivolous common life, sets the feet on Christ as the first round of the ladder to mount step by step heavenward, and reveals Christ in spirit and words and actions. The feeding and the teaching about the bread from heaven showed the disciples their work as Christ's representatives in giving the people the bread of life.