Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on the Whole Bible
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John
Book: John
Chapter: 6
Overview:
Five thousand miraculously fed.
(1-14) Jesus walks
On The Sea.
(15-21) He directs to spiritual
Food.
(22-27) His discourse with
the multitude.
(28-65) Many of disciples go back.
(66-71)
1-14 John relates the
Miracle of feeding the multitude, for its
reference to the following discourse. Observe the effect this
Miracle had upon the people. Even the common Jews expected the
Messiah to come into the world, and to be a great
Prophet. The
Pharisees despised them as not knowing the
Law; but they knew
most of Him who is the
End of the
Law. Yet men may acknowledge
Christ as that
Prophet, and still turn a deaf
Ear to him.
15-21 Here were
Christ's disciples in the way of duty, and
Christ was praying for them; yet they were in distress. There
may be perils and
Afflictions of this present time, where there
is an interest in
Christ. Clouds and
Darkness often surround the
children of the
Light and of the
Day. They see
Jesus walking
On
The Sea. Even the approaches of comfort and deliverance often
are
So mistaken, as to become the occasions of fear. Nothing is
more powerful to convince sinners than that
Word, "I am
Jesus
whom thou persecutest;" nothing more powerful to comfort saints
than this, "I am
Jesus whom thou lovest." If we have received
Christ Jesus the
Lord, though the night be dark, and the wind
high, yet we may comfort ourselves, we shall be at the shore
before long.
22-27 Instead of answering the inquiry how he came there,
Jesus
blamed their asking. The utmost earnestness should be employed
in seeking
Salvation, in the use of appointed means; yet it is
to be sought only as the
Gift of the
Son of Man. Him the
Father
has sealed, proved to be
God. He declared the
Son of Man to be
the
Son of God with power.
28-35 Constant
Exercise of
Faith in
Christ, is the most
important and difficult part of the obedience required from us,
as sinners seeking
Salvation. When
By his
Grace we are enabled
to live a
Life of
Faith in the
Son of God, holy tempers follow,
and acceptable services may be done.
God, even his
Father, who
gave their fathers that
Food from
Heaven to support their
natural lives, now gave them the true
Bread for the
Salvation of
their souls. Coming to
Jesus, and believing
On him, signify the
same.
Christ shows that he is the true
Bread; he is to the soul
what
Bread is to the body, nourishes and supports the spiritual
Life. He is the
Bread of
God.
Bread which the
Father gives,
which he has made to be the
Food of our souls.
Bread nourishes
only
By the powers of a living body; but
Christ is himself
living
Bread, and nourishes
By his own power. The doctrine of
Christ crucified is now as strengthening and comforting to a
believer as ever it was. He is the
Bread which came down from
Heaven. It denotes the Divinity of
Christ's person and his
authority; also, the Divine origin of all the good which flows
to us through him. May we with understanding and earnestness
say,
Lord, evermore give us this
Bread.
36-46 The discovery of their guilt, danger, and remedy,
By the
teaching of the Holy
Spirit, makes men willing and glad to come,
and to give up every thing which hinders applying to him for
Salvation. The
Father's will is, that not one of those who were
given to the Son, should be rejected or lost
By him.
No one will
come, till Divine
Grace has subdued, and in part changed his
Heart; therefore
No one who comes will ever be cast out. The
Gospel finds none willing to be saved in the humbling, holy
manner, made known therein; but
God draws with his
Word and the
Holy Ghost; and
Man's duty is to hear and learn; that is to say,
to receive the
Grace offered, and consent to the promise. None
had seen the
Father but his beloved Son; and the Jews must
expect to be taught
By his inward power upon their minds, and
By
his
Word, and the ministers whom he sent among them.
47-51 The advantage of the
Manna was small, it only referred to
this
Life; but the living
Bread is
So excellent, that the
Man
who feedeth
On it shall never die. This
Bread is
Christ's human
nature, which he took to present to the
Father, as a
Sacrifice
for the sins of the world; to purchase all things pertaining to
Life and
Godliness, for sinners of every nation, who repent and
believe in him.
52-59 The
Flesh and
Blood of the
Son of Man, denote the
Redeemer in the nature of
Man;
Christ and him crucified, and the
Redemption wrought out
By him, with all the precious benefits of
Redemption;
Pardon of
Sin, acceptance with
God, the way to the
Throne of
Grace, the promises of the
Covenant, and eternal
Life.
These are called the
Flesh and
Blood of
Christ, because they are
purchased
By the breaking his body, and the shedding of his
Blood. Also, because they are meat and
Drink to our souls.
Eating this
Flesh and drinking this
Blood mean believing in
Christ. We partake of
Christ and his benefits
By Faith. The soul
that rightly knows its state and wants, finds whatever can calm
the
Conscience, and promote true
Holiness, in the
Redeemer,
God
manifest in the
Flesh. Meditating upon the
Cross of
Christ gives
Life to our
Repentance,
Love, and gratitude. We live
By him, as
our bodies live
By our
Food. We live
By him, as the members
By
the head, the branches
By the root: because he lives we shall
live also.
60-65 The human nature of
Christ had not before been in
Heaven,
but being
God and
Man, that wondrous Person was truly said to
have come down from
Heaven. The
Messiah's kingdom was not of
this world; and they were to understand
By Faith, what he had
said of a spiritual living upon him, and his
Fulness. As without
the soul of
Man the
Flesh is of
No value,
So without the
quickening
Spirit of
God all forms of religion are dead and
worthless. He who made this provision for our souls, alone can
teach us these things, and draw us unto
Christ, that we may live
By Faith in him. Let us apply to
Christ, thankful that it is
declared that every one who is willing to come unto him shall be
made welcome.
66-71 When we admit into our minds hard thoughts of the words
and
Works of
Jesus, we enter into
Temptation, which, if the
Lord
in
Mercy prevent not, will
End in drawing back. The corrupt and
wicked
Heart of
Man often makes that an occasion for
Offence,
which is matter of the greatest comfort. Our
Lord had, in the
foregoing discourse, promised eternal
Life to his followers; the
disciples fastened
On that
Plain saying, and resolved to cleave
to him, when others fastened
On hard sayings, and forsook him.
Christ's doctrine is the
Word of eternal
Life, therefore we must
live and die
By it. If we forsake
Christ, we forsake our own
mercies. They believed that this
Jesus was the
Messiah promised
to their fathers, the Son of the living
God. When we are tempted
to
Backslide or turn away, it is good to remember first
principles, and to keep to them. And let us ever remember our
Lord's searching question; Shall we go away and forsake our
Redeemer? To whom can we go? He alone can give
Salvation By the
forgiveness of sins. And this alone brings confidence, comfort,
and joy, and bids fear and despondency flee away. It gains the
only solid happiness in this world, and opens a way to the
happiness of the next.