John 6:50

Joh 6:50. Οὗτος, this) namely, bread.—τίς, a man) any one who pleases.—καὶ μὴ ἀποθάνῃ, and may not die) namely, in a spiritual sense, as this food refers to spiritual life: there being attached thereto also the resurrection of the body.

Bengel's Gnomon of the New Testament — English translation (T&T Clark, Edinburgh, 1860) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Ver. 50. “Here is the bread which will truly accomplish the result that you desire.”

The ἵνα, in order that, might depend on ὁ καταβαίνων, which comes down, but it is better to make it depend on the principal idea: “It is here... in order that one may eat of it and not die,” for: “in order that if one...he may not die.” It is still the Hebrew paratactic construction. To perform the first of these acts is ipso facto to realize the second. Several commentators take the word die, in Joh 6:50, in the moral sense of perdition. But the preceding antithesis, the death of the Jews in the wilderness, does not allow this explanation. Jesus here and elsewhere, denies even physical death for the believer (comp. Joh 8:51); which He of course does not mean in the absolute sense in which it would become an absurdity (see Keil who makes the idea of the resurrection, Joh 6:40, an objection against me), but in the sense that what properly constitutes death in what we call by that name—the total failing of the physical and moral being, does not take place at the time when his brethren see him die. Morally and physically, Jesus remains his life, even at that moment, and, by His personal communion with him, takes away the death of death.

Frédéric Louis Godet — Commentaries on Luke, John, Romans, and 1 Corinthians — English translation (T&T Clark, Edinburgh, 1870s–1890s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

He pointed out himself when he spake these words.

Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain. Text via Bolls.life.

Verse 50. This is the bread, &c.] I am come for this very purpose, that men may believe in me, and have eternal life.

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

50. that a man may eat] S. John’s favourite form of expression again, indicating the Divine intention: comp. Joh_6:29, Joh_6:34, Joh_8:56, &c. ‘Of this purpose is the Bread which cometh down from heaven; in order that a man may eat thereof and so not die.’ Comp. 1Jn_5:3.

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

The Jews therefore strove among themselves,.... Fell to cavilling and disputing one among another; some understanding Christ, and others not; some being for him, and vindicated what he said; and others being against him, and who were the majority, objected,

saying how can this man give us his flesh to eat? which is to be understood, not physically, but as morally impossible and unlawful; since, with the Jews, it was not lawful to eat the flesh of any creature alive, and much less the flesh of man; for the Jews understood Christ of a corporeal eating of his flesh, being strangers to a figurative or spiritual eating of it by faith, in which sense he meant it.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

50 This is the bread which cometh down from heaven, that a man may eat thereof, and not die.

Ver. 50. This is the bread] Δεικτικως, pointing to himself. So David, "this poor man" (meaning himself) "cried, and the Lord heard him," &c., Psa 34:6. So Hic, sat lucis, let there be light here, said Oecolampadius on his death bed, laying his hand on his breast.

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

But I am that bread of life, who came out of the highest heavens, from the bosom of my Father; that bread, which if a man eateth thereof, he shall never die eternally. Eating Christ in this text signifieth no more than believing in him, so often before mentioned under the notion of coming to him, believing in him, &c. And believing is fitly expressed by this notion of eating; because as eating is the application of meat to our stomachs, for the sustenance of our bodily life; so believing is the application of Christ to the soul, for the beginning and increase of spiritual life, and at last obtaining life eternal.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

50. Not die—The old manna was but for the body, and gave but a temporal life, and its eaters are dead; but this new manna is for the soul, and it gives an eternal life. The Romish Church, indeed, (like the Jews in Joh_6:52,) holds that this flesh and blood of Christ are literal and bodily, and to be eaten and drank with the bodily mouth. But Joh_6:35 shows that the hunger and thirst to be assuaged by this eating and drinking are to be assuaged by coming to and believing in Christ. The act of eating is, therefore, the act of faith by which the soul appropriates Christ as the life within. Such is plainly also the drinking of Joh_4:14. If the drinking Christ’s blood is the drinking the sacramental cup, and is necessary to salvation, then the Romish laity cannot be saved, for they are not allowed to drink of the sacramental cup.

Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Not die - Not spiritually; not eternally.

John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.

50. May eat thereof, and not die. Eternally. The Bread of Life, our Crucified Lord, is appropriated (eaten, made our own) by faith.

B. W. Johnson's The People's New Testament with Notes (1889–1891) — public domain. Electronic text from the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (CCEL) ThML edition.

This is the bread

Here "bread" is a metaphor that points to Jesus who is the one who gives spiritual life just as bread sustains physical life. AT: "I am like the true bread" (See: Metaphor)

not die

"live forever." Here the word "die" refers to spiritual death.

living bread

This means "the bread that causes people to live" (John 6:35).

for the life of the world

Here "the world" is a metonym that represents the lives of all the people in the world. AT: "that will give life to all the people in the world" (See: Metonymy)

translationWords

bread

die

eternity

flesh

life

world

unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.

50. οὗτος. May be subject or predicate; the latter seems to be better, as in Joh 15:12, Joh 17:3; 1Jn 5:3, where αὕτη anticipates ἵνα. Of this purpose is the Bread which cometh down (see on Joh 6:58) from heaven that a man may eat thereof and (so) not die (comp. Joh 3:19). The ἵνα indicates the Divine intention (see on Joh 1:9, Joh 4:47); the indefinite τις shews the unbounded character of the offer.

μὴ ἀποθάνῃ. The ἀπέθανον in Joh 6:49 seems to shew that physical death is intended, otherwise the antithesis fails. The death of the believer is only sleep: he has partaken of the Bread of Life and will be raised up at the last day; Joh 6:40; Joh 6:44; Joh 6:54; comp. Joh 8:51, Joh 11:25-26.

Cambridge Greek Testament for Schools and Colleges (Cambridge University Press, 1896; 21 vols, various authors incl. Carr, Maclear, Plummer, Farrar, Lumby, Moule, M. R. James, Simcox) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

50. οὗτός ἐστιν κτλ., sc. this Bread, which has been mentioned in v. 48, is the Bread which comes down from heaven (as had been said at v. 33; cf. v. 42).

ἵνα τις κτλ., sc. in order that a man may eat of it and so not die, i.e. die spiritually. It is spiritual food for the perpetual nourishment of the spiritual life. Cf. 8:51, 11:26.

For ἀποθάνῃ B has ἀποθνήσκῃ, which Abbott (Diat. 2530) regards as having as good claim to consideration as the true reading. He would translate “… that a man may eat of it, and so be no longer under sentence of death, ” comparing, for ἀποθνήσκειν in the present tense, Psa 82:7, Deu 17:6. But this is unnecessary, and ἀποθάνῃ is too well attested to be set aside for the variant ἀποθνήσκῃ.

51a. The first half of this verse repeats what has been said already in v. 50, but in an even more emphatic form. The second half of the verse, as we shall see, introduces a new conception.

ἐγώ εἰμι ὁ ἄρτος ὁ ζῶν, “the Living Bread,” which as itself alive can impart life (see on v. 35 above). ὁ ζῶν, “the Living One,” is the claim of Jesus for Himself in Rev 1:17; so here ὁ ἄρτος ὁ ζῶν is the Bread which is always instinct with Life, which continues to live from age to age. See on 4:10 for the phrase “living water”; and cf. the expressions “living oracles” (Act 7:38), “living sacrifice” (Rom 12:1), “living hope” (1Pe 1:3), and “living stone” (1Pe 2:4), which do not, however, present more than verbal resemblances to the phrase “Living Bread” here.

ὁ ἐκ τοῦ οὐρανοῦ καταβάς. See on v. 33 above. Here the aorist participle points to the crisis of the Incarnation.

For ἐκ τούτου τοῦ ἄρτου (BCΓΔLTWΘ), א has ἐκ τοῦ ἐμοῦ ἄρτου, but this is inconsistent with the sense of the passage. The Living Bread is Jesus Himself.

ἐάν τις φάγῃ κτλ., “if any one eat of this Bread, he shall live for ever,” sc. as God does (cf. Rev 4:9, Rev 10:6, Rev 15:7, and Deu 32:40, Ecclus. 18:1). ζήσει εἰς τὸν αἰῶνα is repeated v. 58: the phrase is used of the righteous man, Wisd. 5:15.

There is perhaps an echo of this thought in Barnabas, § 11. Barnabas is speaking of the trees by the river of Eze 47:7, Eze 47:12, and he adds ὃς ἂν φάγῃ ἐξ αὐτῶν ζήσεται εἰς τὸν αἰῶνα. But see Introd., p. lxxi.

The rec. (with BCTΓΔ) has ζήσεται for ζήσει (אDLWΘ 33). There is a similar variant at vv. 57, 58; cf. 5:25, 14:19.

The Third Part of the Discourse: Jesus Will Give the Bread Which is His Flesh for the Life of the World (Vv. 51b-59)

51b. The MSS. vary as to the order of the words in the second part of the verse, but the meaning remains unaltered. BCDLTW have the text which we print, while א m support καὶ ὁ ἄρτος δὲ ὃν ἐγὼ δώσω ὑπὲρ τῆς τοῦ κόσμου ζωῆς ἡ σάρξ μού ἐστιν, a less awkward construction. The rec. text has got rid of the awkwardness by reading καὶ ὁ ἄρτος δὲ ὃν ἐγὼ δώσω ἡ σάρξ μου ἐστίν, ἣν ἐγὼ δώσω ὑπὲρ τῆς τοῦ κόσμου ζωῆς, the insertion of ἣν ἐγὼ δώσω making all clear.

A new idea is introduced at this point.1 Hitherto Jesus has spoken of the Bread of Life as coming down from heaven, and of Himself as that Living Bread, giving life to all who feed upon it and appropriate it. Now He goes on to speak of this Bread as His Flesh, and of the feeding upon Him as eating His Flesh and drinking His Blood. The transition from the one way of speaking to the other is marked by a change in the tense of the “giving.” The Father gives the heavenly bread (v. 32); it gives life to the world (v. 33). But now Jesus says, “The Bread which I shall give (δώσω) is my Flesh, etc.” (but see on v. 27). Moreover, up to this point (except at v. 27), Jesus has spoken of Himself, as the Bread of Life, coming down from heaven, given by the Father. Now, He speaks of the Bread which He Himself will give for the life of the world, namely His Flesh. Difficult as the Jews had found the thought (v. 41) that Jesus was Himself the heavenly bread, divinely given, for which they had asked (v. 34), they find much greater difficulty in the new and strange suggestion that Jesus was to give them His Flesh to eat (v. 52). And, according to the Gospel as we have it, Jesus then proceeds to develop and enlarge this conception (vv. 53-58).2

καὶ ὁ ἄρτος δέ κτλ. For the constr. καί … δέ, “and, further,” cf. 8:16, 15:27, 1Jn 1:3. It introduces a new point, hitherto unmentioned.

ὃν ἐγὼ δώσω, “which I will give,” ἐγώ being emphatic.

ἡ σάρξ μού ἐστιν, “is my Flesh.” That Christ came “in the flesh” (cf. 1:14, 1Jn 4:2, 2Jn 1:7) is the central fact of the Gospel of the Incarnation; that is, He who came down from heaven (v. 50) assumed man’s nature. The gift that is promised is, then, that of His perfect humanity.

This will be given ὑπὲρ τῆς τοῦ κόσμου ζωῆς, “on behalf of the world’s life.” See for the force of ὑπέρ and its prevalence in Jn., on 1:30; and for κόσμος, on 1:9. That Christ’s gift of “His Flesh” is on behalf of the world’s life is a saying closely related in meaning to 1:29, “the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world”; cf. also 3:17, 4:42, 1Jn 3:16. But the true parallel 1Co 11:24 τοῦτό μού ἐστιν τὸ σῶμα τὸ ὑπὲρ ὑμῶν. As has been pointed out (Introd., p. clxix), the Syriac vss. give here: “The bread which I will give is my Body, for the life of the world”; a rendering also found in the O.L. m, “hic panis quem ego dabo pro huius mundi uita corpus meum est.”

International Critical Commentary — older volumes (1896–1929), various authors — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.