John 6 is a profound chapter in the Gospel of John, where Jesus performs two of His most famous miracles: feeding the five thousand and walking on water. Additionally, He makes one of His most significant declarations, proclaiming Himself as the bread of life. These events and teachings in today’s Daily Devotional are pivotal, not only in understanding Jesus’ ministry but also in grasping the deeper spiritual truths He conveyed. Through personal journals spanning decades, this article explores the essential lessons and spiritual insights drawn from this chapter, providing a comprehensive understanding of its messages. To explore if you want to be healed, read the Daily Devotional on John 5.
Jesus Feeds the 5,000
In John 6, we see Jesus’ miraculous provision for the masses, His withdrawal for solitude, and the spiritual implications of following Him not for earthly benefits but for eternal life. We will look at the transition from the old covenant, symbolized by the Passover, to the new covenant established by Jesus’ sacrifice. These insights underscore the radical nature of Jesus’ teachings, which challenged the core of contemporary Jewish beliefs, leading many to turn away from Him.
He Is the Bread of Life
John reaffirms Jesus’ identity through His miracles and His profound claim to be the bread of life. These reflections connect the physical miracles to the spiritual nourishment Jesus offers, urging readers to seek eternal sustenance in Him. The discussions also explore the importance of faith, the Father’s role in drawing believers to Jesus, and the eternal promise of life through belief in Him. This journey through John 6 invites us to deeply consider the transformative power of Jesus’ words and deeds.
John 6 Commentary by Allen J. Huth
In John 6, Jesus feeds the five thousand, He walks on water, and declares Himself the bread of life. Do you wonder what the will of God is for your life? Please read or listen to John 6.
John 6:1-14
Though this is a very long chapter, my journals will help us understand some of the key issues here in John 6. I begin with my journal in 1990. “Verses 1-14, Jesus feeds the five thousand. Verse 15, Jesus gets alone. Verses 26-27, do not follow Christ for what He can do for you. Work for food of eternal life. Verse 40, the will of the Father was that Jesus lose nothing God had given Him. Everyone who believes has life and will be raised up by Jesus in the last day. Referring to verse 44, no one comes to Jesus without being drawn by the Father. Verse 47, he who believes has eternal life. Verses 52-59, Jesus is replacing the symbols of Passover with Himself. It’s no longer the law of Moses and Passover that will cleanse sin (the blood of goats or lambs), but the blood of Jesus. His statements attack the fiber of Judaism. No wonder many walked away.” And lastly, “Verse 68, Peter hung onto life.”
Jesus Feeds 5,000 and Walks on Water
In 2005, I read this chapter (NASB) in two days because it was such a long chapter. On the first day, I wrote concerning verses 1-40, “Jesus continues to verify who He is with signs and wonders. He feeds five thousand and walks on water. It is always amazing to me He can be in a crowd, a mob, yet He ‘withdrew again to the mountain by himself’ (v. 15). He could just disappear even though people flocked to Him and constantly crowded around Him. He needed alone time and He got it.”
Verse 48 I Am the Bread of Life
The next day, concerning verse 41 to the end of the chapter, I wrote, “‘I am the bread of life’ (v. 48). Eat My flesh and drink My blood. No wonder people walked away. Jesus speaks in the spiritual; often we hear in the physical. Exodus 12:1-13 describes the first Passover. The blood was put on the house so the death angel would pass over. Jesus becomes the unblemished Lamb and His blood, the new covenant, we accept so we can be passed over on the final day of judgment. He was replacing the old covenant of Passover with the new covenant of eternal life; not temporary deliverance like the old, but permanent deliverance through Him.”
John 6:29 Believe in Jesus
In 2018, I wrote, “Five thousand men plus women and children, ‘as much as they wanted’ (v. 11). Even leftovers.” Next, I wrote “Jesus then walks on water, according to verse 19. Jesus doesn’t answer questions, according to verses 25-26.” Then, “The works of God,” and I quoted verse 29, “believe in him whom he has sent.” Next, I see in my journal, “Draw my children and my grandchildren to You,” referring to verse 44. I finished with, “He knows from the beginning who will believe and not believe,” referring to verse 54.
What can we apply to our lives out of John 6? First, Jesus can meet your needs. He gave those five thousand people “as much as they wanted” (v. 11). They ate to the fill. Do you depend on Jesus for as much as you want? Do you believe Him to give you more than enough?
Next, do you see Jesus as your bread of life? I find it amazing He comments on Himself being the bread of life after He just multiplied loaves and loaves of bread to five thousand or more people. They were physically hungry. We are spiritually hungry. He claims to be the bread of life.
He clarifies the will of God in this chapter, “This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent” (v. 29). God sent His Son, Jesus. That is whom He is referring to. He declares God’s will in verse 40, “For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who looks on the Son and believes in him should have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day.” You want to know what God’s will is for your life? Jesus explains it right here. Do you look on the Son? Do you believe in Him? If so, Jesus is the one who will raise us up on the last day.
Do you believe verse 44? “No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him”. That is a very challenging verse for me. I am happy Jesus has drawn me. I prayed in one of my journals, that He draws my children and my grandchildren. Yet, “No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him” (v. 44). Pray for people, so God will draw them to Himself and they can have eternal life.
Lastly, what do you do with the hard sayings of Scripture? What do you do with verses like 53, “So Jesus said to them, ‘Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you’”?Verse 60, “This is a hard saying; who can listen to it?” Yes, I can imagine me standing there hearing that going, “What is he talking about?” But as I mentioned in my journals, He is replacing Passover with the new covenant of His body sacrificed on the cross for the sin of all mankind. They do not understand it then, but they will after Jesus is crucified, dead, and buried. When He rises again, they will understand this passage.
Tell Others About Jesus
I hope we respond to John 6 like Peter did in verses 68-69, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life, and we have believed, and have come to know, that you are the Holy One of God.”
Jesus, thank You for John 6. Thank You that You use the illustration of feeding the five thousand a loaf of bread to remind us You are the bread of life. Thank You for making it very clear in this chapter, what the will of the Father is, “that everyone who looks on the Son and believes in him should have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day” (v. 40). What a promise.
Thank You for drawing to Yourself all of us who are Christians. Please draw our loved ones and our friends as we pray for them. Jesus, You have the words of eternal life. We accept them, in Your name. Amen.
