New Testament Commentary - John 6

by Don R. Hender

Scriptural Text [& Editorial]	Commentary & Explanation	Footnotes ~ References ~ JST
CHAPTER 6 Jesus feedeth the five thousand—He walketh on the sea—He is the living manna sent from God—Salvation gained by eating living bread—How men eat the flesh and drink the blood of Jesus—Peter testifies that Jesus is the Messiah.	Jesus feeds the five thousand—He walks on the water of the Sea of Galilee—He teaches that his 'Word' is the manna or the bread of life, to be eaten as the living bread—How men eat the flesh, the word, and drink the blood, the spirit, of Jesus [God]—Peter by the spirit testifies that Jesus is the Christ/Messiah.	Sacrament Meaning The bread and wine/water of the Sacrament are Symbolic, not physicall literal. They are not temporal flesh and blood. They are the intelligence and spiritual flesh and blood of the Word and Spirit of God, which when taken brings eternal life. (John 5:39-40)
1 AFTER these things Jesus went over the sea of Galilee, which is the sea of Tiberias. 2 And a great multitude followed him, because they saw his miracles^a which he did on them that were diseased. 3 And Jesus went up into a mountain, and there he sat with his disciples.	2^a multitude followed him, because they say his miracles The crowds were following the signs of the miracles rather than receiving of the doctrine and spirit of life. Following and seeking after signs is not being a true follower of Christ and the Word of God. That which gives life is to live by every Word the proceedeth from the mouth of God, his ways and precepts. Jesus does teach that.
4 And the ^apassover, a feast of the Jews^a, was nigh.	4^a the passover, a feast of the Jews In Egypt the final act of God against the Egyptians was the death of their firstborn. By the blood of the lamb covering the entry to the doors of the Israelites, did the curse of death passover the members of the house of Israel. Such also relates to God's grace and mercy by which we are saved after all that which we can do. Both physical and spiritual deaths are over come by and through Jesus Christ, the atonement thereof as so applied to those in membership and descipleship of those of God's people. By such was Israel symbolically save in Egypt and are eternal saved by the Salvation of God. This we celebrate by the sacramental feasts that we participate in today.	4^a TG Passover Sacrament - Feast of Passover THE Sacrament is our feast of the passover. We celebrate this weekly, symbolically and on an intelligence and spiritual level. The Bread is the Word of God, the commandments of God which we covenant to keep. To us it is the bread of life as we learn of God and covenant to walk in his ways. The water is the representation of the cleansing of the spirit, by that water of renewing our covenants from baptism to celestial marriage and receiving of the spirit of life as spirit renews, replacing the blood in our veins in the resurrection.
5 ¶ When Jesus then lifted up his eyes, and saw a great company come unto him, he saith unto Philip, Whence shall we buy bread, that these may eat? 6 And this he said to prove him: for he himself knew what he would do. 7 Philip answered him, Two hundred pennyworth of bread is not sufficient for them, that every one of them may take a little.		1^a D&C 128:20; 2^a Mark 9:2 (2-13); Luke 9:29 (28-36); John 1:14; 2 Pet. 1:16 (16-19); TG Jesus Christ, Glory of;
8 One of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter's brother, saith unto him, 9 There is a lad here, which hath five barley loaves, and two small fishes: but what are they among so many? 10 And Jesus said, Make the men sit down. Now there was much grass in the place. So the men sat down, in number about ^afive thousand.
11 And Jesus took the loaves; and when he had given ^athanks, he distributed to the disciples, and the disciples to them that were set down; and likewise of the fishes as much as they would. 12 When they were filled, he said unto his disciples, Gather up the fragments that remain, that nothing be lost. 13 Therefore they gathered them together, and filled twelve baskets with the fragments of the five barley loaves, which remained over and above unto them that had eaten.
14 Then those men, when they had seen the ^amiracle that Jesus did, said, This is of a truth that ^bprophet that should come into the world. 15 ¶ When Jesus therefore perceived that they would come and take him by force, to make him a ^aking, he departed again into a mountain himself alone.
16 And when even was now come, his disciples went down unto the sea, 17 And entered into a ship, and went over the sea toward Capernaum. And it was now dark, and Jesus was not come to them. 18 And the sea arose by reason of a great wind that blew.
19 So when they had rowed about five and twenty or thirty furlongs, they see Jesus walking on the sea, and drawing nigh unto the ship: and they were ^aafraid. 20 But he saith unto them, It is I; be not afraid. 21 Then they willingly received him into the ship: and immediately the ship was at the land whither they went.
22 ¶ The day following, when the people which stood on the other side of the sea saw that there was none other boat there, save that one whereinto his disciples were entered, and that Jesus went not with his disciples into the boat, but that his disciples were gone away alone; 23 (Howbeit there came other boats from Tiberias nigh unto the place where they did eat bread, after that the Lord had given thanks:) 24 When the people therefore saw that Jesus was not there, neither his disciples, they also took shipping, and came to Capernaum, seeking for Jesus.
25 And when they had found him on the other side of the sea, they said unto him, Rabbi, when camest thou hither? 26 Jesus answered them and said, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Ye seek me, ^anot because ye saw the miracles, but because ye did eat of the loaves, and were filled. 27 ^aLabour not for the meat which perisheth, but for that meat which endureth unto everlasting life^a, which the ^bSon of man shall give unto you: for him hath God the Father ^csealed.	27^a that meat which endureth unto everlasting life The meat or the bread of life is not that which we take in and eat by way of the mouth unto the physical needs of the body. That meat or bread of life is the very Word of God which may be had from the scriptures, the words of the prophets (living and past), the very Word of God directly, by our lessons and worships of God and so on and so forth as received of the Gospel and Church of Jesus Christ. It is those commandments and precepts by which we must live in order to obtain eternal life including such ordinces and performance unto the course of the ways of God.	26^a JST John 6:26 ... not because ye desire to keep my sayings, neither because ye saw the miracles ... 27^a TG Labor; TG Objectives ^b TG Jesus Christ, Son of Man ^c TG Sealing
28 Then said they unto him, What shall we do, that we might work the works of God? 29 Jesus answered and said unto them, This is the work of God, that ye ^abelieve on him whom he hath sent.		1^a D&C 128:20; 2^a Mark 9:2 (2-13); Luke 9:29 (28-36); John 1:14; 2 Pet. 1:16 (16-19); TG Jesus Christ, Glory of;
30 They said therefore unto him, What ^asign shewest thou then, that we may see, and believe thee? what dost thou work? 31 Our fathers did eat manna in the desert; as it is written, He gave them ^abread from heaven to eat.		1^a D&C 128:20; 2^a Mark 9:2 (2-13); Luke 9:29 (28-36); John 1:14; 2 Pet. 1:16 (16-19); TG Jesus Christ, Glory of;
32 Then Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Moses gave you not that bread from heaven; but my Father giveth you the true bread from heaven. 33 For the bread of God is he which cometh down from heaven, and giveth life unto the world. 34 Then said they unto him, Lord, evermore give us this bread.
35 And Jesus said unto them, I am the ^abread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never ^bthirst. 36 But I said unto you, That ye also have seen me, and believe not. 37 All that the Father ^agiveth me shall come to me; and him that cometh to me I will in no wise ^bcast out.		1^a D&C 128:20; 2^a Mark 9:2 (2-13); Luke 9:29 (28-36); John 1:14; 2 Pet. 1:16 (16-19); TG Jesus Christ, Glory of;
38 For I ^acame down from heaven, not to do mine own ^bwill, but the ^cwill of him that sent me. 39 And this is the ^aFather's ^bwill which hath sent me, that of all which he hath given me I should lose ^cnothing, but should ^draise it up again at the last day. 40 And this is the will of him that sent me, that every one which seeth the Son, and ^abelieveth on him, may have ^beverlasting life: and I will raise him up ^cat the last day.		1^a D&C 128:20; 2^a Mark 9:2 (2-13); Luke 9:29 (28-36); John 1:14; 2 Pet. 1:16 (16-19); TG Jesus Christ, Glory of;
41 The Jews then murmured at him, because he said, I am the bread which came down from heaven. 42 And they said, Is not this Jesus, the son of ^aJoseph, whose father and mother we know? how is it then that he saith, I came down from heaven? 43 Jesus therefore answered and said unto them, ^aMurmur not among yourselves.
44 ^aNo man can ^bcome to me, except the Father which hath sent me ^cdraw him: and I will raise him up at the last day. 45 It is written in the prophets, And they shall be all ^ataught of God. Every man therefore that hath heard, and hath learned of the ^bFather, cometh unto me. 46 Not that any man hath seen the Father, save he which is of God, he hath ^aseen the Father.		1^a D&C 128:20; 2^a Mark 9:2 (2-13); Luke 9:29 (28-36); John 1:14; 2 Pet. 1:16 (16-19); TG Jesus Christ, Glory of;
47 Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that ^abelieveth on me hath ^beverlasting life. 48 I am that bread of life. 49 Your fathers did eat ^amanna in the wilderness, and are dead. 50 This is the bread which cometh down from heaven, that a man may eat thereof, and not die.		1^a D&C 128:20; 2^a Mark 9:2 (2-13); Luke 9:29 (28-36); John 1:14; 2 Pet. 1:16 (16-19); TG Jesus Christ, Glory of;
51 I am the living ^abread which came down from heaven: if any man eat of this bread, he shall live for ever: and the ^bbread that I will give is my ^cflesh, which I will ^dgive for the ^elife of the world. 52 The Jews therefore strove among themselves, saying, How can this man give us his flesh to eat? 53 Then Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except ye ^aeat the flesh of the ^bSon of man, and drink his blood, ye have no life in you.
54 Whoso eateth my ^aflesh, and drinketh my ^bblood^a, hath eternal life; ^cand I will ^draise him up at the last day. 55 For my flesh is meat indeed, and my blood is drink indeed^a. 56 He that eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, ^adwelleth in me, and I in him.^a Our Creator IT was Jesus as Jehovah who under the direction of the Father created the temporal heavens and earth. And as he said to the brother of Jared, he also, under the directions of the Father, did create the bodies for Adam and Eve. That is Jesus Christ, who is the same as Jehovah, formed the temporal flesh and blood of man. And it is only by man coming to earth to obtain that body and participate in this temporal time of testing by which we may have the opportunity to recieve Eternal Life. It comes by no other way! This is the flesh and blood that all must 'partake' of and be a party to. It is the Plan of God for man. And it was Christ the Creator who gave unto man of this flesh and blood to 'partake' of. In that sense it is the flesh and blood of temporal motality that we must all partake of, that is to be a part of this temporal mortality, else we cannot enter into the Kingdom of God. There is no other way but to pass through the probation of mortal life. And thus whatsoever Christ creats, or in the case of man's body, what Christ has give or provided. That is that which we must partake of, receive of Christ as 'his' body of flesh and blood that he has formed for man to house man's spirit for the duration of his temporal probation. And what Christ has created, he has power to redeem. The immortal body does not have this corruptable body of flesh and blood. The immortal body with be one of flesh and spirit. Thus when spoken as being flesh and blood, it is the body of this mortallity that we must partake of or 'eat.'	54^a Whoso eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood How is it that man doeth eat of the flesh and blood that is that of Jesus Christ? The bread and wine or water of the sacrament is but done so in 'remembrance' of him. That is but the bread and the water of this earth done in remembrance of the flesh of the body and they blood thereof. So how does one actually partake and 'eat' of the flesh and blood of Christ? And without doing so man may not have eternal life? 55^a my flesh is meat indeed, and my blood is drink indeed It is the flesh that man is made of and it is also the blood that man is made of. And 'indeed' of action man must partake of the flesh and blood of this life to live. It is the flesh and blood that Christ has given to us. And it is this flesh and blood, the same which Christ himself has taken upon himself, upon his spirit to be of this mortality. And Christ in dying does give up or sacrifice the flesh and blood, his flesh and blood. And in the ordinance of the sacrament, it is the flesh and blood of mortality that all must partake of in rememberance of him. As to the degree of that 'rememberance' of him, it is enlarged in its understanding of him to the extent to which we have learned of him. From the simple of the savior who gave his own life for us to the actual Creator of this temporal heaven and earth upon which we have to live on and the actual beings that we are of this temporal flesh and blood that he has give us to live in. 56^a He that eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, dwelleth in me, and I in him. When we partake of the sacrament in remembrance of 'Him' - Jesus Christ - and take his name upon us, it is to that length and degree of our knowledge and understanding of 'him' and those covenants by his priesthood and authority that we are bound to and with him, having also partake of this temporal flesh and blood that he has give to us in that creation that he as our creator has given us under the direction of the Father. If our understanding is extented to this further level, then we understand more about that which does seal us to him by the power of God and what by that same power of God he has provide for us in this Great Plan of Exaltation and Salvation.	1^a D&C 128:20; 2^a Mark 9:2 (2-13); Luke 9:29 (28-36); John 1:14; 2 Pet. 1:16 (16-19); TG Jesus Christ, Glory of; Eating, Drinking Flesh & Blood WE do not actually eat and drink the actual body and blood of Jesus Christ who walked the earth. The bread remains as any bread we eat and the water we drink remains as any water we drink. Some religions teach that some how that which is eaten is the 'real' body of Christ. And that which is drunk is the real blood of Christ. They are not as such. They are just eaten and drunk in 'remembrance' of him and the sacrifice of the atonement which he has given for us and how it gives him power to redeem us from death. Also in the greater scope of understanding, what 'He' has created, he has power to redeem. And in one real sense it is the flesh and blood given to us by 'him' in the creation that we do partake of and absolutely must partake of as their earthly temporal mortality is the only 'way' by which we may come to recieve of Enternal Life in the Heaven of God. Lucifer and his angels will never obtain heaven. And that is because they rejected this avenue of taking upon them this flesh and blood encased temporal mortaly of further probation that all must go through to so qualify for Eternal Life and Exaltation. Thus now, as we partake of the sacrament we are also given to renew our covenants which we have entered into with Christ and the Father by way of our priesthood empowered ordiances. So it is by the very endowment of power given to the Son, Jehovah who is Jesus Christ, that we may become sealed unto him. And it by this power of God by which the Son, Jehovah-Jesus, did create the temporal and eternal heavens and the earth. And it was by that power that Jehovah-Jesus did form and create the bodies for man to dwell in, that very temporal and mortal flesh and blood that he also would take upon himself in his mortality by the which sacrifice he did fulfill the atoning sacrafice for mankind. And these thing become of the 'greater remembrance' of him that we do remember of him as we partake of the sacrament and renew our new and everlasting covenants we have entered into as a part of this temporal existence, the way by which, if we keep his commandments we may be redeemed by him and come to live with him in the kingdom of the Father of our spirits.
57 As the living Father hath ^asent me, and I live by the Father: so he that eateth me, even he shall ^blive by me. 58 This is that bread which came down from heaven: not as your fathers did eat manna, and are dead: he that eateth of this bread shall live for ever. 59 These things said he in the synagogue, as he taught in Capernaum.
60 Many therefore of his disciples, when they had heard this, said, This is an hard saying; who can hear it? 61 When Jesus ^aknew in himself that his disciples murmured at it, he said unto them, Doth this ^boffend you?		1^a D&C 128:20; 2^a Mark 9:2 (2-13); Luke 9:29 (28-36); John 1:14; 2 Pet. 1:16 (16-19); TG Jesus Christ, Glory of;
62 What and if ye shall see the ^aSon of man ^bascend up where he was before? 63 It is the ^aspirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: *the words that I speak unto you, they* are spirit, and they are life^a**.	*63^a the words that I speak unto you, they* are spirit, and they are life** When coupled to the understanding of the symbolism of the Lord's Supper, the Sacrament, it becomes apparent that the bread, the bread of life, and the water, the cleasing and sanctifying of the spirit is what is that that gives unto man the gift of eternal life.	1^a D&C 128:20; 2^a Mark 9:2 (2-13); Luke 9:29 (28-36); John 1:14; 2 Pet. 1:16 (16-19); TG Jesus Christ, Glory of;
64 But there are some of you that believe not. For Jesus knew from the beginning who they were that believed not, and who should ^abetray him. 65 And he said, Therefore said I unto you, that no man can come unto me, ^aexcept it were given unto him of my Father.		1^a D&C 128:20; 2^a Mark 9:2 (2-13); Luke 9:29 (28-36); John 1:14; 2 Pet. 1:16 (16-19); TG Jesus Christ, Glory of;
66 ¶ From that time many of his ^adisciples went back, and ^bwalked no more with him. 67 Then said Jesus unto the twelve, Will ye also go away? 68 Then Simon Peter answered him, Lord, to whom shall we go?^a thou hast the ^awords of eternal life. 69 And ^awe believe and are sure that thou art that Christ, the ^bSon of the living God.	68^a Lord, to whom shall we go? Life is not an easy road. There are more than enough trials, troubles and afflictions to go around. All will face that choice and must come to that same understanding which Peter shows forth. In the face of all problems and difficulties whatsoever, there is not one and no where else to turn. Thus the question of Peter is but retorical, implying that there is no other name given under heaven where by salvation comes but by and through Jesus Christ. And though be face the most difficult of circumstances, not only the sure choice but the one and only choice is to be found in Christ.	1^a D&C 128:20; 2^a Mark 9:2 (2-13); Luke 9:29 (28-36); John 1:14; 2 Pet. 1:16 (16-19); TG Jesus Christ, Glory of;
70 Jesus answered them, Have not I ^achosen you twelve, and one of you is a devil? 71 He spake of Judas Iscariot the son of Simon: for he it was that should betray him, being one of the twelve.		1^a D&C 128:20; 2^a Mark 9:2 (2-13); Luke 9:29 (28-36); John 1:14; 2 Pet. 1:16 (16-19); TG Jesus Christ, Glory of;