RSV ~ John 6 Notes
Jn 6:1-14 | ISB Notes
The multiplication of the loaves is the only miracle, kilkJ besides the Resurrection, that is recorded in all four Gospels. Johnās account forms the preface to Jesusā extensive discourse on the ābread of lifeā in 6:35-59.
ā¢ The two food miracles in John involve bread (6:1-14) and wine (2:1-11). Together they anticipate the eucharistic liturgy, where Jesus gives himself as food under the visible signs of bread and wine (CCC 1335).
Jn 6:1 | ISB Notes
Sea of Tiberias: Also known as the āSea of Galileeā (Mk 1:16) or the ālake of Gennesaretā (Lk 5:1). The city of Tiberias, then the administrative capital of Galilee, was built by Herod Antipas on its western shore about A.D. 20 in honor of the Roman emperor Tiberias Caesar.
Jn 6:4 | ISB Notes
the Passover: Three times this feast is mentioned in John (2:13; 11:55). It was celebrated annually in Jerusalem to commemorate Israelās deliverance from Egyptian slavery (Ex 12). Central to the feast is a liturgical meal, called a seder, in which the story of the Exodus is retold, psalms are sung, and a lamb is eaten with unleavened bread and other condiments. The evangelist mentions this upcoming feast to hint that Jesus will give new and greater meaning to the Passover. He is the true āLamb of Godā (1:29), whose redeeming work will accomplish a new deliverance from the slavery of sin (8:31-36) in a sacramental and liturgical meal (6:53-58; 1 Cor 5:7-8). The significance of Passover, here placed in the background of John 6, will move to the foreground when Jesus transforms this feast into the memorial meal of the New Covenant at the Last Supper (Mt 26:17-29; CCC 1340). See note on Jn 19:36.
Jn 6:7 | ISB Notes
Two hundred denarii: About 200 daysā wages for a laborer (Mt 20:2).
Jn 6:9 | ISB Notes
barley loaves: The food of the poor.
ā¢ This detail recalls the similar miracle of Elisha, who multiplied 20 loaves of barley for 100 men with some left over (2 Kings 4:42-44).
The miracle of Jesus is comparatively greater: he begins with fewer loaves (5), multiplies them for a larger crowd (5,000), and likewise has bread left over (6:13).
ā¢ Allegorically (St.Ā Bede, Hom. in Evan.): the five loaves are the five books of the Torah, the two fish are the Prophets and Psalms, and the young boy is the Jewish people. When Jesus receives these OT Scriptures from the Jews, he breaks open their deeper, spiritual meanings to refresh the multitudes.
Jn 6:11 | ISB Notes
given thanks: Renders the Greek verb eucharisteÅ, from which the English word āEucharistā is derived. The miracle of the loaves thus foreshadows the institution of this sacrament at the Last Supper. See note on Mk 6:35-44.
Jn 6:14 | ISB Notes
the prophet: i.e., the messianic prophet foretold by Moses. See note on Jn 1:21.
Jn 6:15 | ISB Notes
make him king: Israel hoped for a militant Messiah to overthrow the Romans and reestablish their national independence in Palestine. Jesus backs away from these aspirations, knowing that his kingdom is heavenly and spiritual (CCC 439). .
Jn 6:20 | ISB Notes
It is I: Or āI amā.
ā¢ The reassurance that Jesus gives to the disciples is also an act of self-revelation. His words recall the holy name āI amā that Yahweh revealed to Moses at the burning bush (Ex 3:14). The claim to divinity inherent in this name is substantiated by Jesusā exhibition of
power over the laws of nature (6:19; Job 9:8). Several times Jesus claims this divine name for himself in the Fourth Gospel (8:24, 58; 13:19; 18:6) (CCC 213). do not be afraid: Words often spoken when God reveals himself to his people, whether directly or through an angel (Gen 26:24; Judg 6:22-23; Lk 1:30).
Jn 6:23 | ISB Notes
from Tiberias: i.e., from the western shore of the Sea of Galilee. See note on Jn 6:1.
Jn 6:25 | ISB Notes
Rabbi: A Hebrew title for respected Jewish teachers (1:38).
Jn 6:27 | ISB Notes
food which perishes: Earthly food is necessary to sustain earthly life, but because it is perishable it does not suffice to give us supernatural life or to safeguard against death (6:49). Only Christ can give us food that satisfies our spiritual hunger and gives everlasting life. The subsequent narrative will identify this heavenly food as the Eucharist (6:50-58).
Jn 6:31 | ISB Notes
He gave them bread: A reference to Ex 16:4.
ā¢ Jesus is challenged to match the provision of manna by Moses. He responds by stressing that although the manna had a heavenly origin (6:32), it did not bring the Israelites to their heavenly destiny (6:49). Manna is rather a food that perishes, since it melted away every morning (Ex 16:21) and turned foul if it was stored overnight (Ex 16:19-20).
Jn 6:32 | ISB Notes
the true bread: The wilderness manna was not false bread; it was merely a sign of the imperishable eucharistic bread that the Father sends down from heaven in Jesus (6:51; CCC 1094).
Jn 6:35-59 | ISB Notes
The Bread of Life discourse. Interpretations of this sermon often take one of two positions. Some think of the discourse as an extensive invitation to faith, so that eating the bread of life is seen as a metaphor for believing in Jesus. Others interpret the discourse along sacramental lines, so that eating the bread of life means partaking of the Eucharist. Both of these views are true and can be correlated with a natural and symmetrical division of the sermon into two parts. (1) Invitation to Faith (6:35-47). The first half of the discourse opens with the statement āI am the bread of lifeā (6:35). This is followed by a string of invitations to come to Jesus and believe in him for salvation. The metaphorical import of Jesusā teaching is so obvious that it stands out in the response of the Jews, who ask him, not why he calls himself bread, but how he can claim to have descended from heaven (6:42). (2) Invitation to the Eucharist (6:48-58). The second half of the discourse likewise opens with the statement āI am the bread of lifeā (6:48). This is followed by a string of invitations to eat the flesh of Jesus and drink his blood. Here the literal import of Jesusā teaching is so obvious that it, too, stands out in the response of the Jews, who ask how it is possible to consume his flesh (6:52). In the end, these two halves of the sermon work in tandem, since without faith we can neither be united with Christ nor recognize his presence in the Eucharist. If eating is believing in 6:3547, then believing leads to eating in 6:48-58
(CCC 161, 1381).
Jn 6:37 | ISB Notes
All that the Father gives: Alludes to the mystery of predestination. See note on Rom 8:29.
Jn 6:38 | ISB Notes
not ā¦ my own will: The human will of Jesus and the divine will of the Father are in such perfect harmony that there is never any tension or competition between them (4:34; 8:29; Mk 14:36; CCC 475, 2824).
Jn 6:41 | ISB Notes
Jews then murmured: Recalls how the Israelites complained against the Lord and Moses in the wilderness (Ex 16:2; 17:2-3; Num 11:1).
Jn 6:45 | ISB Notes
taught by God: A paraphrase of Is 54:13.
ā¢ Isaiah envisions the messianic age as a time when Yahweh will restore, prosper, and teach the children of Israel. Other passages, such as Jer 31:34, may be included in Jesusā broad reference to the prophets.
Jn 6:51 | ISB Notes
I shall give: The future tense points both to the Cross, where Jesus surrenders his life for human sins, and to the eucharistic liturgy, where Jesus offers himself as living bread to a starving world.
Jn 6:52 | ISB Notes
his flesh to eat?: The crowd is thinking of cannibalism, i.e., the sin of eating a human corpse, an idea thoroughly repugnant to them (Deut 28:53). This is a misunderstanding. Jesus gives us, not his mortal flesh as it was during his earthly ministry, bu
t his glorified humanity as it was after rising from the dead. This is why he calls himself the āliving breadā (6:51).
Jn 6:53 | ISB Notes
eat the flesh ā¦ drink his blood: Jesus is speaking literally and sacramentally. If he were speaking me
taphorically or figuratively, his words would echo a Hebrew idiom where consuming flesh and blood refers to the brutalities of war (Deut 32:42; Ezek 39:17-18). no life in you: i.e., divine life.
ā¢ Drinking the blood of animals is forbidden under the Old Covenant (Gen 9:4; Lev 17:10-13; Deut 12:16). To do so is to consume ālifeā that is merely natural and of a lower order than human life. Jesusā injunction does not fall under these prohibitions. The ālifeā he imparts is not natural but supernatural; it does not pull us down to the level of animals; it elevates us to become sharers in his divine nature (2 Pet 1:4) (CCC 1391).
Jn 6:58 | ISB Notes
will live for ever: The expression occurs rarely in the Bible, only twice in John (6:51, 58) and once in the Greek version of Gen 3:22.
ā¢ A comparison is thus implied between the Tree of Life, which bore the fruit of immortality, and the
Bread of Life, which tradition calls the āmedicine of immortalityā (CCC 1331).
Jn 6:62 | ISB Notes
the Son of man: The heavenly figure described in Dan 7:13. See topical essay: Jesus, the Son of Man at Lk 17.
Jn 6:63 | ISB Notes
the Spirit ā¦ the flesh: A contrast between the Spiritās ability to enlighten our minds (14:26) and human reasonās inability to comprehend revealed truths apart from faith (8:15). It is this earthbound perspective that is profitless in the face of divine mysteries. Note that Jesus is not speaking of his own āfleshā, which does in fact give life to the world (6:51; Eph 2:13-16; Heb 10:10) (CCC 737).
Jn 6:66 | ISB Notes
his disciples drew back: This is the only instance in the Gospels where followers of Jesus abandon him in such large numbers. Even so, Jesus still makes no effort to soften his words or clear up potential misunderstandings about his eucharistic teaching (CCC 1336).
Jn 6:69 | ISB Notes
the Holy One: A title for Jesus also in Mk 1:24, Lk 4:34, and Acts 3:14. Here it is a confession of faith by Peter, who believes the words of Christ from the heart, even though his head does not yet understand the mysteries revealed in the discourse (6:35-58).
Jn 6:71 | ISB Notes
Judas: Anticipates the defection of the betrayer during the Last Supper (13:21-30).