John 6:30
So they asked Him, "What sign then will You perform, so that we may see it and believe You? What will You do?
So they asked Him
This phrase indicates a direct engagement with Jesus, reflecting the people's desire for understanding and proof. The Greek word for "asked" is "ἐρωτάω" (erōtaō), which implies a questioning or inquiring nature. Historically, this reflects the Jewish tradition of seeking signs as validation of divine authority, a practice rooted in the Old Testament where prophets often performed signs to confirm their message.

What sign then will You perform
The word "sign" in Greek is "σημεῖον" (sēmeion), which refers to a miraculous event that points to a deeper spiritual truth. In the context of the Gospel of John, signs are not just miracles but are meant to reveal Jesus' divine nature and mission. The people's request for a sign shows their reliance on physical evidence for belief, a recurring theme in the Bible where faith is often challenged by the need for tangible proof.

so that we may see it and believe You?
The phrase "see it and believe" underscores the human tendency to rely on sight for belief, contrasting with the biblical call to faith. The Greek word for "believe" is "πιστεύω" (pisteuō), which means to trust or have faith in. This reflects a deeper spiritual challenge: the call to believe in Jesus not just through physical signs but through spiritual understanding and trust in His word.

What will You do?
This question highlights the expectation for Jesus to demonstrate His authority through action. It echoes the Israelites' historical experiences where God's power was often demonstrated through mighty acts, such as the parting of the Red Sea or the provision of manna. Theologically, this question challenges believers to consider the nature of faith and the evidence they require to trust in Jesus' divine mission.

Persons / Places / Events
1. Jesus Christ
Central figure in the Gospel of John, performing miracles and teaching about the Kingdom of God. In this passage, He is being questioned by the crowd.

2. The Crowd
A group of people who had followed Jesus after witnessing the feeding of the 5,000. They are seeking further signs to believe in Him.

3. The Feeding of the 5,000
A miraculous event where Jesus fed a large crowd with five loaves and two fish, demonstrating His divine power and compassion.

4. Capernaum
The location where this dialogue takes place, a town on the northern shore of the Sea of Galilee, often visited by Jesus during His ministry.

5. Moses and the Manna
The crowd references the manna provided to the Israelites in the wilderness, seeking a similar sign from Jesus to validate His claims.
Teaching Points
The Nature of Faith
True faith does not rely solely on signs and wonders but trusts in the person and promises of Jesus Christ.

Spiritual vs. Physical Needs
While physical needs are important, Jesus emphasizes the greater importance of spiritual nourishment and eternal life.

The Danger of Skepticism
Continually demanding signs can indicate a hardened heart and a reluctance to accept the truth already revealed.

Jesus as the Ultimate Sign
The life, death, and resurrection of Jesus are the ultimate signs of God's love and power, surpassing all other miracles.

Trust in God's Provision
Just as God provided manna in the wilderness, He provides for our needs today, both physically and spiritually.
Bible Study Questions
1. How does the crowd's request for a sign reflect their understanding of Jesus' previous miracles, and what does this reveal about their faith?

2. In what ways can we be tempted to seek signs from God today, and how should we respond according to Scripture?

3. How does Jesus' response to the crowd in John 6:35 challenge our understanding of what it means to be spiritually satisfied?

4. What parallels can we draw between the provision of manna in the Old Testament and Jesus' role as the "bread of life"?

5. How can we apply the lesson of trusting in God's provision to our daily lives, especially in times of uncertainty or need?
Connections to Other Scriptures
Exodus 16
The provision of manna in the wilderness, which the crowd references, is a foundational Old Testament event demonstrating God's provision.

John 6:35
Jesus declares Himself as the "bread of life," connecting the physical provision of manna to the spiritual sustenance He offers.

Matthew 12:38-40
Jesus addresses the demand for signs, pointing to His resurrection as the ultimate sign.

1 Corinthians 1:22-24
Paul discusses how Jews demand signs and Greeks seek wisdom, but Christ crucified is the power and wisdom of God.
Jesus the Bread of LifeC. S. Robinson, D. D.John 6:22-40
Jesus the Bread of LifeA. H. Moment.John 6:22-40
Jesus the Bread of LifeMonday ClubJohn 6:22-40
The Meat that EndurethBishop Ryle.John 6:22-40
TiberiasW. H. Van Doren, D. D.John 6:22-40
Christ Gives LifeRalph Robinson.John 6:30-33
Christ is the True MannaRalph Robinson.John 6:30-33
Christ the Bread of LifeJ. P. Lange, D. D.John 6:30-33
Christ the Christian's FoodJohn 6:30-33
Christ the Gift of God to All MenJohn 6:30-33
Christ, Like the Manna, is an Abundant SupplyC. H. Spurgeon.John 6:30-33
Come Down from HeavenJohn Calvin.John 6:30-33
Jewish Traditions Connecting the Manna with the MessiahBp. Westcott.John 6:30-33
Life in ChristE. H. Chapin, D. D.John 6:30-33
The Bread of Life Contrasted with MannaW. H. Van Doren, D. D.John 6:30-33
The Manna a Type of ChristW. H. Van Doren, D. D.John 6:30-33
The Mistakes of the GalileansT. Whitelaw, D. D.John 6:30-33
People
Andrew, Jesus, Joseph, Judas, Peter, Philip, Simon
Places
Capernaum, Sea of Galilee, Sea of Tiberias, Tiberias
Topics
Believe, Believers, Doest, Faith, Miracle, Perform, Shewest, Showest, Sign, Workest
Dictionary of Bible Themes
John 6:30

     1449   signs, purposes
     2351   Christ, miracles
     6252   temptation, and Christ

John 6:25-35

     4418   bread

Library
May 9 Evening
It is I; be not afraid.--JOHN 6:20. When I saw him, I fell at his feet as dead. And he laid his right hand upon me, saying unto me, Fear not; I am the first and the last: I am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death.--I, even I, am he that blotteth out thy transgressions for mine own sake, and will not remember thy sins. Woe is me! for I am undone; . . . mine eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts. Then flew one of the seraphims
Anonymous—Daily Light on the Daily Path

December 22 Morning
Your work of faith.--I THES. 1:3. This is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath sent. Faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone.--Faith worketh by love.--He that soweth to his flesh, shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting.--We are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.--Who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all
Anonymous—Daily Light on the Daily Path

August 8 Evening
Whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.--ROM. 10:13. Him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out.--Lord, remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom. And Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, To day shalt thou be with me in paradise.--What will ye that I shall do unto you? They say unto him, Lord, that our eyes may be opened. So Jesus had compassion on them, and touched their eyes: and immediately their eyes received sight, and they followed him. If ye . . . being
Anonymous—Daily Light on the Daily Path

November 21 Morning
Him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out.--JOHN 6:37. It shall come to pass, when he crieth unto me, that I will hear; for I am gracious.--I will not cast them away, neither will I abhor them, to destroy them utterly, and to break my covenant with them: for I am the Lord their God.--I will remember my covenant with thee in the days of thy youth, and I will establish unto thee an everlasting covenant. Come now, and let us reason together, saith the Lord: though your sins be as scarlet, they
Anonymous—Daily Light on the Daily Path

June 29 Morning
His commandments are not grievous.--I JOHN 5:3. This is the will of him that sent me, that every one which seeth the Son, and believeth on him, may have everlasting life.--Whatsoever we ask, we receive of him, because we keep his commandments, and do those things that are pleasing in his sight. My yoke is easy, and my burden is light.--If ye love me, keep my commandments.--He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and
Anonymous—Daily Light on the Daily Path

March 14 Evening
The words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life.--JOHN 6:63. Of his own will begat he us with the word of truth.--The letter killeth, but the spirit giveth life. Christ . . . loved the church, and gave himself for it; that he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word, that he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing. Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way? by taking heed thereto according to
Anonymous—Daily Light on the Daily Path

October 23 Evening
It is the spirit that quickeneth.--JOHN 6:63. The first man Adam was made a living soul; the last Adam was made a quickening spirit.--That which is born of the flesh is flesh and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.--Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost. If any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his. And if Christ be in you, the body is dead because of sin; but
Anonymous—Daily Light on the Daily Path

December 17 Morning
Quicken us, and we will call upon thy name.--PSA. 80:18. It is the Spirit that quickeneth.--The Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. And he that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit, because he maketh intercession for the saints according to the will of God.--Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching
Anonymous—Daily Light on the Daily Path

October 29 Evening
David encouraged himself in the Lord his God.--I SAM. 30:6. Lord, to whom shall we go? thou hast the words of eternal life.--I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day. In my distress I called upon the Lord, and cried unto my God: he heard my voice out of his temple, and my cry came before him, even into his ears. They prevented me in the day of my calamity: but the Lord was my stay. He brought me forth also into a large
Anonymous—Daily Light on the Daily Path

October 14 Evening
Give us this day our daily bread.--MATT. 6:11. I have been young, and now am old; yet have I not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed begging bread.--His bread shall be given him; his waters shall be sure.--The ravens brought him bread and flesh in the morning, and bread and flesh in the evening; and he drank of the brook. My God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus.--Be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor
Anonymous—Daily Light on the Daily Path

September 8. "He that Eateth Me, Even He Shall Live by Me" (John vi. 57).
"He that eateth Me, even He shall live by Me" (John vi. 57). What the children of God need is not merely a lot of teaching, but the Living Bread. The best wheat is not good food. It needs to be ground and baked before it can be digested and assimilated so as to nourish the system. The purest and the highest truth cannot sanctify or satisfy a living soul. He breathes the New Testament message from His mouth with a kiss of love and a breath of quickening power. It is as we abide in Him, lying upon
Rev. A. B. Simpson—Days of Heaven Upon Earth

June 22. "This is that Bread which came Down from Heaven" (John vi. 58).
"This is that bread which came down from heaven" (John vi. 58). We had the sentence of death in ourselves that we should not trust in ourselves, but in God which raiseth the dead; who delivereth us from so great a death, who doth deliver; in whom we trust that He will yet deliver us. This was the supernatural secret of Paul's life; he drew continually in his body from the strength of Christ, his Risen Head. The body which rose from Joseph's tomb was to him a physical reality and the inexhaustible
Rev. A. B. Simpson—Days of Heaven Upon Earth

The Fourth Miracle in John's Gospel
And Jesus took the loaves; and when He had given thanks, He distributed to the disciples, and the disciples to them that were set down; and likewise of the fishes as much as they would.'--JOHN vi. 11. This narrative of the miraculous feeding of the five thousand is introduced into John's Gospel with singular abruptness. We read in the first verse of the chapter: 'After these things Jesus went over the Sea of Galilee,' i.e. from the western to the eastern side. But the Evangelist does not tell
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

'Fragments' or 'Broken Pieces'
'When they were filled, He said unto His disciples, Gather up the fragments that remain, that nothing be lost.'--JOHN vi. 12. The Revised Version correctly makes a very slight, but a very significant change in the words of this verse. Instead of 'fragments' it reads 'broken pieces.' The change seems very small, but the effect of it is considerable. It helps our picture of the scene by correcting a very common misapprehension as to what it was which the Apostles are bid to gather up. The general notion,
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

The Fifth Miracle in John's Gospel
'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 afraid. 20. But He said unto them, It is I; be not afraid.'--JOHN vi. 19,20. There are none of our Lord's parables recorded in this Gospel, but all the miracles which it narrates are parables. Moral and religious truth is communicated by the outward event, as in the parable it is communicated by the story. The mere visible fact becomes more than semi-transparent.
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

How to Work the Work of God
'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, believe on Him whom He hath sent.'--JOHN vi. 28, 29. The feeding of the five thousand was the most 'popular' of Christ's miracles. The Evangelist tells us, with something between a smile and a sigh, that 'when the people saw it, they said, This is of a truth that Prophet that should come into the world,' and they were so delighted with Him and with
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

The Manna
'I am that bread of life. 49. Your fathers did eat manna 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.'--JOHN vi. 48-50. 'This is of a truth that Prophet,' said the Jews, when Christ had fed the five thousand on the five barley loaves and the two small fishes. That was the kind of Teacher for them; they were quite unaffected by the wisdom of His words and the beauty of His deeds, but a miracle that found food precisely
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

Redemption (Continued)
"He that eateth My flesh, and drinketh My blood, hath life eternal."--JOHN VI. 54. We were made for holiness, union with God, eternal life. These are but different expressions for one and the same thing. For holiness is the realisation of our manhood, of that Divine Image which is the true self, expressing itself and acting, as it does in us, through the highest of animal forms. That perfect self-realisation is not merely dependent upon, but is union with God, at its beginning, throughout its
J. H. Beibitz—Gloria Crucis

The Study of the Bible Recommended; and a Method of Studying it Described.
Lord, to whom shall we go? Thou hast the words of Eternal Life. IT was probably in that synagogue which the faithful Centurion built at Capernaum [243] that our Saviour had been discoursing. At the end of his discourse, it is related that "many of His Disciples went back, and walked no more with Him." Thereupon, He asked the Twelve, "Will ye also go away?" the very form of His inquiry (Me kai humeis) implying the answer which the Divine Speaker expected and desired. And to this challenge of Love
John William Burgon—Inspiration and Interpretation

The Attractive Power of God
THE ATTRACTIVE POWER OF GOD St John vi. 44.--"No one can come unto Me, except the Father which hath sent Me draw him." Our Lord Jesus Christ hath in the Gospel spoken with His own blessed lips these words, which signify, "No man can come to Me unless My Father draw him." In another place He says, "I am in the Father and the Father in Me." Therefore whoever cometh to the Son cometh to the Father. Further, He saith, "I and the Father are One. Therefore whomsoever the Father draweth, the Son draweth
Johannes Eckhart—Meister Eckhart's Sermons

The Gospel Feast
"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?"--John vi. 5. After these words the Evangelist adds, "And this He said to prove him, for He Himself knew what He would do." Thus, you see, our Lord had secret meanings when He spoke, and did not bring forth openly all His divine sense at once. He knew what He was about to do from the first, but He wished to lead forward His disciples, and to arrest and
John Henry Newman—Parochial and Plain Sermons, Vol. VII

The Care of the Soul Urged as the one Thing Needful
Luke 10:42 -- "But one thing is needful." It was the amiable character of our blessed Redeemer, that "he went about doing good," this great motive, which animated all his actions, brought him to the house of his friend Lazarus, at Bethany, and directed his behavior there. Though it was a season of recess from public labor, our Lord brought the sentiments and the pious cares of a preacher of righteousness into the parlor of a friend; and there his doctrine dropped as the rain, and distilled as the
George Whitefield—Selected Sermons of George Whitefield

On the Words of the Gospel, John vi. 53, "Except Ye Eat the Flesh," Etc. , and on the Words of the Apostles. And the Psalms. Against
Delivered at the Table of the Martyr St. Cyprian, the 9th of the Calends of October,--23 Sept., on the Lord's day. 1. We have heard the True Master, the Divine Redeemer, the human Saviour, commending to us our Ransom, His Blood. For He spake to us of His Body and Blood; He called His Body Meat, His Blood Drink. The faithful recognise the Sacrament of the faithful. But the hearers what else do they but hear? When therefore commending such Meat and such Drink He said, "Except ye shall eat My Flesh
Saint Augustine—sermons on selected lessons of the new testament

On the Words of the Gospel, John vi. 55,"For My Flesh is Meat Indeed, and My Blood is Drink Indeed. He that Eateth My Flesh," Etc.
1. As we heard when the Holy Gospel was being read, the Lord Jesus Christ exhorted us by the promise of eternal life to eat His Flesh and drink His Blood. Ye that heard these words, have not all as yet understood them. For those of you who have been baptized and the faithful do know what He meant. But those among you who are yet called Catechumens, or Hearers, could be hearers, when it was being read, could they be understanders too? Accordingly our discourse is directed to both. Let them who already
Saint Augustine—sermons on selected lessons of the new testament

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