And when they had found him on the other side of the sea, they said unto him, Rabbi, when camest thou hither?
The day after the feeding of the multitude they found Him on the other side of the sea at Capernaum, after He had sent the multitude away, sent His disciples by boat across the lake, gone up into the mountain to pray, and come to them at night upon the storm-tossed sea. They knew there had been only the one boat the disciples had taken and that He had not gone with them, so they were surprised to find Him already across, and after taking shipping and seeking Him until they found Him teaching with the sick and afflicted around Him, they addressed Him as Rabbi and asked when He had come there, wanting Him to tell them more about the miracle, but He did not satisfy their curiosity. They sought Him because after having been fed miraculously and filled they had desired to make Him an earthly king and wanted Him to continue to sustain physical life, not because they discerned the significance of the miracles or desired the spiritual life He offered. He exposed that motive and charged them to labor not for food that perishes but for food that endures to everlasting life which the Son of man sealed by God the Father would give, defining the work of God as believing on Him whom God had sent. He is the living bread from heaven and His words are spirit and life, so that receiving Him by faith, represented by eating His flesh and drinking His blood, brings the soul into spiritual union with Christ and eternal life, which is done by studying, receiving, and assimilating His words until they become part of the self and bring thoughts and the whole life into obedience.
Finding Jesus Across Sea
The meeting happened the day after the feeding of the multitude, on the other side of the sea at Capernaum, in the synagogue. It followed Jesus sending the multitude away, sending His disciples by boat across the lake, going up into the mountain to pray, and then coming to the disciples at night on the storm-tossed sea. The crowd found both Jesus and His disciples already across, though they knew there had been only the one boat the disciples had taken and that Jesus had not gone with them. With no boat left by which He could pass, they were surprised at finding Him there and asked how and when He had crossed.
They took shipping and returned to the place where they had last seen Him and sought Him until they found Him. The report of the miracle drew many to seek Him. While He was teaching with sick and afflicted gathered around Him they addressed Him as Rabbi and asked when He had come there. They had already learned from the disciples how He had crossed.
The disciples faithfully told the wondering crowd all that happened the night before, the fury of the storm and hours of fruitless rowing against adverse winds, Christ appearing walking on the water, the fear aroused, His reassuring words, Peter's venture and its result, and the sudden stilling of the tempest and landing of the boat. When He entered the boat the wind ceased and the boat immediately reached its destination, and those aboard bowed before Him and confessed Him as the Son of God. The crowd heard this with amazement and frequent interruptions and exclamations. Their question to Jesus showed they wanted Him to tell them more about the miracle, but He did not satisfy their curiosity.
Motive Exposed and Answered
Their search followed His withdrawal after they had been miraculously fed and filled and had desired to make Him an earthly king. They sought Him because they had eaten the loaves and were filled and wanted Him to continue to sustain physical life, not because they discerned the significance of the miracles or desired the spiritual life He offered. That seeking was not yet from faith in Him or reception of Him, for they did not understand the sign and needed to understand their true relation to Him.
He exposed that motive and charged them to labor not for food that perishes but for food that endures to everlasting life which the Son of man, sealed by God the Father, would give. He defined the work of God as believing on Him whom God had sent, directing them away from perishing food toward the lasting life He gives and toward spiritual food that gives eternal life. That direction included the need to receive His words as spirit and life. Their question opens the transition from the crowd's search to the lessons He gave them about Himself as the bread of life in the rest of the chapter.
The plain testimony of the chapter tested those who claimed to follow Him and exposed the real convictions of the hearers, leading them to decide for or against Him and making clear who was not wholly with Him. Many rejected His words when they exposed their lives and turned away rather than accept reproof and reform. Some disciples turned from Him after His teaching that He is the Bread of life, including one who would later oppose Him at His trial.
Living Bread Received Daily
John 6 presents Christ as the living bread come down from heaven, and His words as spirit and life, with the Son of God Himself as the source of spiritual life and sufficiency. Receiving Him by faith, represented by eating His flesh and drinking His blood, brings the soul into spiritual union with Christ and finds in Him sanctification, righteousness, reward, and eternal life. Mere outward connection with any church will not save, for receiving this truth in the heart works by love and purifies the soul. To study is to eat the Word of God, which is to eat the flesh and drink the blood of the Son of God, His very flesh and blood even before His crucifixion. It means receiving and assimilating His words until they become part of the self, living by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God in what He has revealed as necessary for salvation.
The Word is to be studied, taken into the mind, understood, and practiced, exercising the whole life, until it reaches the heart and moral nature, takes possession of the will, and brings thoughts and the whole life into obedience to Christ. That eating and drinking means continual growth in grace through prayer for all blessings, bringing truth into daily experience and being taught daily in the school of Christ. It means tasting that the Lord is gracious and making that grace part of actual personal experience in true conversion and the new birth, as newborn babes desiring the sincere milk of the word in order to grow. The mind is opened to receive and practice God's word so that light and understanding come, the mysteries of godliness are grasped, and through prayer and communion with God the very mind of God and a knowledge of His will are proved while striving for eternal life. The frivolous life is forsaken and the believer rises step by step heavenward with Christ revealed in spirit, words, and actions, for truth is revealed only as it is known in Christ and this eating is necessary to comprehend and appreciate the truth as it is in Jesus.
The chapter contains important statements that must be studied with prayer for clearness of understanding, especially by those ministering in word and doctrine who must not be dull of understanding. The Bible is bread sent down from heaven, and spiritually men and women are built up from the food they give the mind, so time must not be spent on books and magazines that lead the mind astray and hinder spiritual growth, nor must His word be left for the suppositions of men. The living Word is the Son's life and substance for the soul, and the directions given by Christ as Israel's invisible Leader in the Old Testament are rich in spiritual nourishment so that no one who takes them in will remain spiritually hungry. The New Testament was added after His death not to replace the Old Testament but to shed light back on earlier ages and reveal the meaning of the whole Jewish system, and the practical holiness and obedience taught to ancient Israel remain part of Christian life.
Feeding upon His words as His very flesh and His very blood is the most important education for children, youth, and men and women. It means being taught the law of Jehovah and the penalty for transgressing it, and understanding that God accepts the ransom made by the Saviour in behalf of each one obedient to that law. Accepting the righteousness of Christ defined in the chapter is necessary to have on the wedding garment and to be accounted a fit guest at the wedding, which is the marriage of humanity with divinity and shows the standard of character each must reach. He compassionately met the crowd's physical hunger as well as their eagerness to hear His words of life, and the setting showed the disciples their work as His representatives to give the people the bread of life. Because hungry souls would come to them while they felt helpless and without anything to give, they had to depend on Christ rather than on human beings for wisdom, strength, and guidance and seek spiritual food from God, who had appointed their work and would supply what they needed to serve others.
The day after the feeding of the multitude they found Him on the other side of the sea at Capernaum, after He had sent the multitude away, sent His disciples by boat across the lake, gone up into the mountain to pray, and come to them at night upon the storm-tossed sea. They knew there had been only the one boat the disciples had taken and that He had not gone with them, so they were surprised to find Him already across, and after taking shipping and seeking Him until they found Him teaching with the sick and afflicted around Him, they addressed Him as Rabbi and asked when He had come there, wanting Him to tell them more about the miracle, but He did not satisfy their curiosity. They sought Him because after having been fed miraculously and filled they had desired to make Him an earthly king and wanted Him to continue to sustain physical life, not because they discerned the significance of the miracles or desired the spiritual life He offered. He exposed that motive and charged them to labor not for food that perishes but for food that endures to everlasting life which the Son of man sealed by God the Father would give, defining the work of God as believing on Him whom God had sent. He is the living bread from heaven and His words are spirit and life, so that receiving Him by faith, represented by eating His flesh and drinking His blood, brings the soul into spiritual union with Christ and eternal life, which is done by studying, receiving, and assimilating His words until they become part of the self and bring thoughts and the whole life into obedience.
Finding Jesus Across Sea
The meeting happened the day after the feeding of the multitude, on the other side of the sea at Capernaum, in the synagogue. It followed Jesus sending the multitude away, sending His disciples by boat across the lake, going up into the mountain to pray, and then coming to the disciples at night on the storm-tossed sea. The crowd found both Jesus and His disciples already across, though they knew there had been only the one boat the disciples had taken and that Jesus had not gone with them. With no boat left by which He could pass, they were surprised at finding Him there and asked how and when He had crossed.
They took shipping and returned to the place where they had last seen Him and sought Him until they found Him. The report of the miracle drew many to seek Him. While He was teaching with sick and afflicted gathered around Him they addressed Him as Rabbi and asked when He had come there. They had already learned from the disciples how He had crossed.
The disciples faithfully told the wondering crowd all that happened the night before, the fury of the storm and hours of fruitless rowing against adverse winds, Christ appearing walking on the water, the fear aroused, His reassuring words, Peter's venture and its result, and the sudden stilling of the tempest and landing of the boat. When He entered the boat the wind ceased and the boat immediately reached its destination, and those aboard bowed before Him and confessed Him as the Son of God. The crowd heard this with amazement and frequent interruptions and exclamations. Their question to Jesus showed they wanted Him to tell them more about the miracle, but He did not satisfy their curiosity.
Motive Exposed and Answered
Their search followed His withdrawal after they had been miraculously fed and filled and had desired to make Him an earthly king. They sought Him because they had eaten the loaves and were filled and wanted Him to continue to sustain physical life, not because they discerned the significance of the miracles or desired the spiritual life He offered. That seeking was not yet from faith in Him or reception of Him, for they did not understand the sign and needed to understand their true relation to Him.
He exposed that motive and charged them to labor not for food that perishes but for food that endures to everlasting life which the Son of man, sealed by God the Father, would give. He defined the work of God as believing on Him whom God had sent, directing them away from perishing food toward the lasting life He gives and toward spiritual food that gives eternal life. That direction included the need to receive His words as spirit and life. Their question opens the transition from the crowd's search to the lessons He gave them about Himself as the bread of life in the rest of the chapter.
The plain testimony of the chapter tested those who claimed to follow Him and exposed the real convictions of the hearers, leading them to decide for or against Him and making clear who was not wholly with Him. Many rejected His words when they exposed their lives and turned away rather than accept reproof and reform. Some disciples turned from Him after His teaching that He is the Bread of life, including one who would later oppose Him at His trial.
Living Bread Received Daily
John 6 presents Christ as the living bread come down from heaven, and His words as spirit and life, with the Son of God Himself as the source of spiritual life and sufficiency. Receiving Him by faith, represented by eating His flesh and drinking His blood, brings the soul into spiritual union with Christ and finds in Him sanctification, righteousness, reward, and eternal life. Mere outward connection with any church will not save, for receiving this truth in the heart works by love and purifies the soul. To study is to eat the Word of God, which is to eat the flesh and drink the blood of the Son of God, His very flesh and blood even before His crucifixion. It means receiving and assimilating His words until they become part of the self, living by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God in what He has revealed as necessary for salvation.
The Word is to be studied, taken into the mind, understood, and practiced, exercising the whole life, until it reaches the heart and moral nature, takes possession of the will, and brings thoughts and the whole life into obedience to Christ. That eating and drinking means continual growth in grace through prayer for all blessings, bringing truth into daily experience and being taught daily in the school of Christ. It means tasting that the Lord is gracious and making that grace part of actual personal experience in true conversion and the new birth, as newborn babes desiring the sincere milk of the word in order to grow. The mind is opened to receive and practice God's word so that light and understanding come, the mysteries of godliness are grasped, and through prayer and communion with God the very mind of God and a knowledge of His will are proved while striving for eternal life. The frivolous life is forsaken and the believer rises step by step heavenward with Christ revealed in spirit, words, and actions, for truth is revealed only as it is known in Christ and this eating is necessary to comprehend and appreciate the truth as it is in Jesus.
The chapter contains important statements that must be studied with prayer for clearness of understanding, especially by those ministering in word and doctrine who must not be dull of understanding. The Bible is bread sent down from heaven, and spiritually men and women are built up from the food they give the mind, so time must not be spent on books and magazines that lead the mind astray and hinder spiritual growth, nor must His word be left for the suppositions of men. The living Word is the Son's life and substance for the soul, and the directions given by Christ as Israel's invisible Leader in the Old Testament are rich in spiritual nourishment so that no one who takes them in will remain spiritually hungry. The New Testament was added after His death not to replace the Old Testament but to shed light back on earlier ages and reveal the meaning of the whole Jewish system, and the practical holiness and obedience taught to ancient Israel remain part of Christian life.
Feeding upon His words as His very flesh and His very blood is the most important education for children, youth, and men and women. It means being taught the law of Jehovah and the penalty for transgressing it, and understanding that God accepts the ransom made by the Saviour in behalf of each one obedient to that law. Accepting the righteousness of Christ defined in the chapter is necessary to have on the wedding garment and to be accounted a fit guest at the wedding, which is the marriage of humanity with divinity and shows the standard of character each must reach. He compassionately met the crowd's physical hunger as well as their eagerness to hear His words of life, and the setting showed the disciples their work as His representatives to give the people the bread of life. Because hungry souls would come to them while they felt helpless and without anything to give, they had to depend on Christ rather than on human beings for wisdom, strength, and guidance and seek spiritual food from God, who had appointed their work and would supply what they needed to serve others.