6:1 After these things Jesus went a over the sea of Galilee,
which is [the sea] of Tiberias.
(a) Not that he cut across the lake of Tiberias, but by
sailing across the large creeks he made his journey
shorter: therefore he is said to have gone over the sea,
when in reality he passed over from one side of the
creek to the other.
6:51 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?
(1) They that follow Christ sometimes hunger, but they are
never without help.
6:152 When Jesus therefore perceived that they would come and
take him by force, to make him a king, he departed again
into a mountain himself alone.
(2) Not only is Christ not delighted by a preposterous worship,
but he is greatly offended by it.
6:163 And when even was [now] come, his disciples went down
unto the sea,
(3) The godly are often in peril and danger, but Christ comes
to them in time, even in the midst of the tempests, and
brings them to the haven.
6:17 And entered into a ship, and went over the sea b toward
Capernaum. And it was now dark, and Jesus was not come to
them.
(b) In (Mk 6:45) they are told to go ahead to
Bethsaida, for Bethsaida was along the way to
Capernaum.
6:21 Then they c willingly received him into the ship: and
immediately the ship was at the land whither they went.
(c) They were afraid at first, but when they recognized his
voice they became new men and took him willingly into
the ship, the very one whom they had shunned and fled
from before.
6:264 Jesus answered them and said, Verily, verily, I say
unto you, Ye seek me, not because ye saw the miracles, but
because ye did eat of the loaves, and were filled.
(4) They that seek the kingdom of heaven lack nothing:
nevertheless, the gospel is not the food of the stomach but
rather of the mind.
6:27d Labour not for the meat which perisheth, but for that
meat which endureth unto everlasting life, which the Son of
man shall give unto you: for him hath God the Father e
sealed.
(d) Bestow your labour and pain.
(e) That is, whom God the Father had distinguished from all
other men by planting his own power in him, as though
he had sealed him with his seal, so that he might be a
vivid example and representation of him: and furthermore
he installed him to this office, to reconcile us men to
God, and bring us to everlasting life, which office
belongs only to Christ.
6:28 Then said they unto him, What shall we do, that we might
work the f works of God?
(f) Which please God: for they think that everlasting life
depends upon the condition of fulfilling the law:
therefore Christ calls them back to faith.
6:295 Jesus answered and said unto them, g This is the work
of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath sent.
(5) Men torment themselves in vain when they try to please God
without faith.
(g) That is, this is the work that God requires, that you
believe in me, and therefore he calls them back to
faith.
6:306 They said therefore unto him, What sign shewest thou
then, that we may see, and believe thee? what dost thou
work?
(6) The spiritual virtue of Christ is condemned by those that
desire earthly miracles.
6:327 Then Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto
you, Moses gave you not h that bread from heaven; but my
Father giveth you the true bread from heaven.
(7) Christ, who is the true and only author and giver of
eternal life, was represented unto those in the Old
Testament by the manna.
(h) He denies that manna was the true heavenly bread, and
says that he himself is the true bread, because he
feeds the true and everlasting life. And as for
(1Co 10:1-5), where Paul calls manna spiritual food,
it does not contradict what is said here, for Paul joins
the thing signified with the sign: but in this whole
disputation, Christ deals with the Jews after their own
opinion and conceit of the matter, who thought of the
manna only in terms of physical food.
6:35 And Jesus said unto them, I am the bread i of life: he
that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth
on me shall never thirst.
(i) Which has life and gives life.
6:378 All that the Father giveth me shall come to me; and him
that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out.
(8) The gift of faith proceeds from the free election of the
Father in Christ, after which everlasting life necessarily
follows: therefore faith in Christ Jesus is a sure witness
of our election, and therefore of our glorification, which
is to come.
6:38 For I came down from heaven, not to do mine k own will,
but the will of him that sent me.
6:40 And this is the will of him that sent me, that every one
which l seeth the Son, and believeth on him, may have
everlasting life: and I will raise him up at the last day.
(l) Seeing and believing are joined together: for there is
another type of seeing which is general, which the
demons have, for they see: but here he speaks about
that type of seeing which properly belongs to the
elect.
6:419 The Jews then murmured at him, because he said, I am
the bread which came down from heaven.
(9) Flesh cannot perceive spiritual things, and therefore the
beginning of our salvation comes from God, who changes our
nature, so that we, being inspired by him, may remain to be
instructed and saved by Christ.
6:45 It is written in the m prophets, And they shall be all
n taught of God. Every man therefore that hath heard, and
hath learned of the Father, cometh unto me.
(m) In the book of the prophets, for the Old Testament was
divided by them into three general parts: into the law,
the prophets, and the holy writings.
(n) That is, they will be children of the Church, for so
the prophet Isaiah expounds it in (Is 54:13); that
is to say, ordained to life, (see Geneva "Ac 13:48"),
and therefore the knowledge of the heavenly truth is
the gift and work of God, and does not rest in any
power of man.
6:46 Not that any man hath seen the Father, o save he which is
of God, he hath seen the Father.
(o) If only the Son has seen the Father, then it is only he
that can truly teach us and instruct us.
6:4810 I am that bread of life.
(10) The true use of sacraments is to ascend from them to the
thing itself, that is, to Christ: and by the partaking of
him alone we get everlasting life.
6:50p This is the bread which cometh down from heaven, that a
man may eat thereof, and not die.
(p) He refers to himself when he speaks these words.
6:5111 I am the q living bread which came down from heaven:
if any man r eat of this bread, he shall live for ever:
and the bread that I will give is my flesh, which I will
give for the life of the world.
(11) Christ being sent from the Father is the selfsame unto us
for the getting and keeping of everlasting life, as bread
and flesh, yea, meat and drink, are to the use of this
transitory life.
(q) Which gives life to the world.
(r) That is to say, whoever is truly a partaker of Christ,
who is our food.
6:5212 The Jews therefore strove among themselves, saying,
How can this man give us [his] flesh to eat?
(12) Flesh cannot make a difference between fleshly eating,
which is done by the help of the teeth, and spiritual
eating, which consists in faith: and therefore it condemns
that which it does not understand: yet nonetheless, the
truth must be preached and taught.
6:53 Then Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you,
Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink his
blood, ye have s no life in you.
(s) If Christ is present, life is present, but when Christ
is absent, then death is present.
6:57 As t the living Father hath sent me, and I live by the
u Father: so he that eateth me, even he shall live by me.
(t) In that Christ is man, he receives that power which
quickens and gives life to those that are his, from his
Father: and he adds this word "the" to make a
distinction between his Father and all other fathers.
(u) Christ means that although he is man, yet his flesh can
give life, not by its own nature, but because his
flesh lives by the Father, that is to say, sucks and
draws out of the Father that power which it has to give
life.
6:6013 Many therefore of his disciples, when they had heard
[this], said, This is an hard saying; who can hear it?
(13) The reason of man cannot comprehend the uniting of Christ
and his members: therefore let it worship and revere that
which is better than itself.
6:6314 It is the x spirit that quickeneth; the flesh
profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, [they]
are spirit, and [they] are life.
(14) The flesh of Christ therefore quickens us, because he that
is man is God: and this mystery is only comprehended by
faith, which is the gift of God, found only in the elect.
(x) Spirit, that is, that power which flows from the
Godhead causes the flesh of Christ (which is otherwise
nothing but flesh) both to live in itself and to give
life to us.
6:6615 From that [time] many of his disciples went back, and
walked no more with him.
(15) Such is the malice of men, that they bring about their own
destruction, even in hearing the very doctrine of
salvation, but there are a few who believe through the
singular gift of God.
6:7016 Jesus answered them, Have not I chosen you twelve, and
one of you is a devil?
(16) The number of the professors of Christ is very small, and
among them also there are some hypocrites, and those worse
than all others.
