The context surrounding John 6
The context surrounding John 6
In explaining the meaning of John 6, we need to pay close attention to the context surrounding John 6 as well as the relevant context from the entire book of John. Here are some verses that are HIGHLY relevant and some questions for you to ponder.
John 1 and Questions
John 1:9 There was the true Light which, coming into the world, enlightens every man. (What does the true Light do?)
John 1:11–12 He came to His own, and those who were His own did not receive Him. 12 But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name, (Who were Jesus’ own that did not receive Him? Who did Jesus give the right to become children of God?)
John 1:29 The next day he saw Jesus coming to him and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world! (What is the sin of the world?)
John 1:45 Philip found Nathanael and said to him, “We have found Him of whom Moses in the Law and also the Prophets wrote—Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.” (When did Philip first believe in Jesus?)
John 1:47 Jesus saw Nathanael coming to Him, and said of him, “Behold, an Israelite indeed, in whom there is no deceit!” (What does it mean that Nathanael had no deceit in him?)
John 1:48–49 Nathanael said to Him, “How do You know me?” Jesus answered and said to him, “Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you.” 49 Nathanael answered Him, “Rabbi, You are the Son of God; You are the King of Israel.” (Why did Nathanael say that Jesus knew him? What was it that Jesus said to Nathanael that cause Nathanael to declare that Jesus is the Son of God and King of Israel?)
John 2 and Questions
John 2:11 This beginning of His signs Jesus did in Cana of Galilee, and manifested His glory, and His disciples believed in Him. (By what event did the disciples believe in Jesus?)
John 2:18–22 The Jews then said to Him, “What sign do You show us as your authority for doing these things?” 19 Jesus answered them, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.” 20 The Jews then said, “It took forty-six years to build this temple, and will You raise it up in three days?” 21 But He was speaking of the temple of His body. 22 So when He was raised from the dead, His disciples remembered that He said this; and they believed the Scripture and the word which Jesus had spoken. (What is the sign that Jesus gave that would show His authority? When did Jesus’ disciples believe Jesus’ sign of authority?)
John 3 and Questions
John 3:14–15 “As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up; 15 so that whoever believes will in Him have eternal life. (What common relationship does Moses’ lifting up the serpent on a pole have with Jesus lifted upon the cross?)
John 3:16–17 “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life. 17 “For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him. (Did God send the Son into the world for judgment?)
John 3:18 “He who believes in Him is not judged; he who does not believe has been judged already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. (What does unbelief have to do with judgment?)
John 3:19-21 “This is the judgment, that the Light has come into the world, and men loved the darkness rather than the Light, for their deeds were evil. 20 “For everyone who does evil hates the Light, and does not come to the Light for fear that his deeds will be exposed. 21 “But he who practices the truth comes to the Light, so that his deeds may be manifested as having been wrought in God.” (What deeds do men do that keeps them from coming to the Light? For those who do come to the Light, what deeds do they do that proceeds their coming to the Light? Who is the Light?)
John 3:36 “He who believes in the Son has eternal life; but he who does not obey the Son will not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him.” (What does obeying the Son have to do with life?)
John 4 and Questions
John 4:10 Jesus answered and said to her, “If you knew the gift of God, and who it is who says to you, ‘Give Me a drink,’ you would have asked Him, and He would have given you living water.” (What was to precede the giving of living water from Jesus?)
John 4:41–42 Many more believed because of His word; 42 and they were saying to the woman, “It is no longer because of what you said that we believe, for we have heard for ourselves and know that this One is indeed the Savior of the world.”
John 5 and Questions
John 5:21 “For just as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, even so the Son also gives life to whom He wishes. (What does the Father and the Son do for the spiritually dead?)
John 5:24 “Truly, truly, I say to you, he who hears My word, and believes Him who sent Me, has eternal life, and does not come into judgment, but has passed out of death into life. (What two things things does a person have to do to have eternal life?)
John 5:25 “Truly, truly, I say to you, an hour is coming and now is, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear will live. (What can the spiritually dead do?)
John 7 and Questions
John 7:17 “If anyone is willing to do His will, he will know of the teaching, whether it is of God (What is required for one to know if Jesus’ teaching is of God?)
John 7:28 Then Jesus cried out in the temple, teaching and saying, “You both know Me and know where I am from; and I have not come of Myself, but He who sent Me is true, whom you do not know. (Who is it that those in the temple did not know?)
John 7:37 Now on the last day, the great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to Me and drink.” (Who were the ones invited to come to Jesus and drink from Him?)
John 8 and Questions
John 8:19 So they were saying to Him, “Where is Your Father?” Jesus answered, “You know neither Me nor My Father; if you knew Me, you would know My Father also.” (Did the crowd know the Father?)
John 8:31–32 So Jesus was saying to those Jews who had believed Him, “If you continue in My word, then you are truly disciples of Mine; 32 and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.” (What is the pre-requisite for knowing the truth?)
John 8:34 Jesus answered them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who commits sin is the slave of sin. (Who is the slave of sin according to Jesus?)
John 8:35 “The slave does not remain in the house forever; the son does remain forever. (What is the difference between a slave and a son?)
John 8:38–41 “I speak the things which I have seen with My Father; therefore you also do the things which you heard from your father.” 39 They answered and said to Him, “Abraham is our father.” Jesus said to them, “If you are Abraham’s children, do the deeds of Abraham. 40 “But as it is, you are seeking to kill Me, a man who has told you the truth, which I heard from God; this Abraham did not do. 41 “You are doing the deeds of your father.” They said to Him, “We were not born of fornication; we have one Father: God.” (What were the Jews doing that showed God was not their Father?)
John 8:42 Jesus said to them, “If God were your Father, you would love Me, for I proceeded forth and have come from God, for I have not even come on My own initiative, but He sent Me. (What is a sign that God is one’s Father?)
John 8:43–45 “Why do you not understand what I am saying? It is because you cannot hear My word. 44 “You are of your father the devil, and you want to do the desires of your father. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth because there is no truth in him. Whenever he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own nature, for he is a liar and the father of lies. 45 “But because I speak the truth, you do not believe Me. (Why cannot the Jews hear Jesus’ word? Who are they of? Why can they not stand in the truth? Whose nature do they have?)
John 8:47 “He who is of God hears the words of God; for this reason you do not hear them, because you are not of God.” (Who hears the words of God? Why don’t some hear?)
John 8:54–55 Jesus answered, “If I glorify Myself, My glory is nothing; it is My Father who glorifies Me, of whom you say, ‘He is our God’; 55 and you have not come to know Him, but I know Him; and if I say that I do not know Him, I will be a liar like you, but I do know Him and keep His word. (These Jews who said that the Father is their God, what have they not come to know?)
John 8:59 Therefore they picked up stones to throw at Him, but Jesus hid Himself and went out of the temple. (What was Jesus able to do when enemies wanted to see Him to hurt Him?)
John 9 and Questions
John 9:31 “We know that God does not hear sinners; but if anyone is God-fearing and does His will, He hears him. (Who does God say He will hear?)
John 9:34 They answered him, “You were born entirely in sins, and are you teaching us?” So they put him out. (Who were the ones who claimed that a man was born entirely in sins?”
John 9:39 And Jesus said, “For judgment I came into this world, so that those who do not see may see, and that those who see may become blind.” (Why does Jesus heal the blind, but spiritually blind those who falsely claim to have knowledge and who falsely claim to know the truth?)
John 9:40–41 Those of the Pharisees who were with Him heard these things and said to Him, “We are not blind too, are we?” 41 Jesus said to them, “If you were blind, you would have no sin; but since you say, ‘We see,’ your sin remains. (What makes the sin of these Pharisees remain on them?)
John 10 and Questions
John 10:1 “Truly, truly, I say to you, he who does not enter by the door into the fold of the sheep, but climbs up some other way, he is a thief and a robber. (Who determines that way thieves and robbers try to enter the fold?)
John 10:14 “I am the good shepherd, and I know My own and My own know Me, (Who are the ones who know Jesus?)
John 10:14–15 “I am the good shepherd, and I know My own and My own know Me, 15 even as the Father knows Me and I know the Father; and I lay down My life for the sheep. (Who are those who know Jesus?)
John 10:16 “I have other sheep, which are not of this fold; I must bring them also, and they will hear My voice; and they will become one flock with one shepherd. (Who will hear the voice of Jesus?)
John 10:24–26 The Jews then gathered around Him, and were saying to Him, “How long will You keep us in suspense? If You are the Christ, tell us plainly.” 25 Jesus answered them, “I told you, and you do not believe; the works that I do in My Father’s name, these testify of Me. 26 “But you do not believe because you are not of My sheep. (Why did the Jews not believe that Jesus is the Christ?)
John 10:27 “My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me; (What are the two things that the sheep belonging to Jesus do?)
John 10:28 and I give eternal life to them, and they will never perish; and no one will snatch them out of My hand. (Jesus will continue to give life to who? In whose hands is eternal life?)
John 10:29 “My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand. (Who gave them to Jesus? In Whom is safety and eternal life existing?)
John 10:41 Many came to Him and were saying, “While John performed no sign, yet everything John said about this man was true.” (How much did John the Baptist say about Jesus that was true?)
John 11 and Questions
John 11:10 “But if anyone walks in the night, he stumbles, because the light is not in him.” (What causes a man to stumble?)
John 11:50–51 nor do you take into account that it is expedient for you that one man die for the people, and that the whole nation not perish.” 51 Now he did not say this on his own initiative, but being high priest that year, he prophesied that Jesus was going to die for the nation, (Who was Jesus prophesied to die for?)
John 11:52 and not for the nation only, but in order that He might also gather together into one the children of God who are scattered abroad. (Who else would Jesus die for?)
John 12 and Questions
John 12:19 So the Pharisees said to one another, “You see that you are not doing any good; look, the world has gone after Him.” (Who did the Pharisees say that had gone after Jesus?)
John 12:25 “He who loves his life loses it, and he who hates his life in this world will keep it to life eternal. (Who are those who will keep their eternal lives? Who are those who will lose their eternal life?)
John 12:26 “If anyone serves Me, he must follow Me; and where I am, there My servant will be also; if anyone serves Me, the Father will honor him. (What is mandatory for those who wants to serve Jesus? What will the Father do for these ones?)
John 12:32 “And I, if I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to Myself.”
John 12:36 “While you have the Light, believe in the Light, so that you may become sons of Light.” These things Jesus spoke, and He went away and hid Himself from them. (What is a prerequisite for becoming a son of Light? What was Jesus able to do after He spoke to the crowd?)
John 12:37–40 But though He had performed so many signs before them, yet they were not believing in Him. 38 This was to fulfill the word of Isaiah the prophet which he spoke: “LORD, WHO HAS BELIEVED OUR REPORT? AND TO WHOM HAS THE ARM OF THE LORD BEEN REVEALED?” 39 For this reason they could not believe, for Isaiah said again, 40 “HE HAS BLINDED THEIR EYES AND HE HARDENED THEIR HEART, SO THAT THEY WOULD NOT SEE WITH THEIR EYES AND PERCEIVE WITH THEIR HEART, AND BE CONVERTED AND I HEAL THEM.” (Were the crowds who saw Jesus’ miracles believing in Him? What does it mean “To whom has the Arm of the LORD been Revealed? Is God’s revelation necessary for them to believe? How has God blinded their eyes and how has He hardened their heart?)
John 12:42–43 Nevertheless many even of the rulers believed in Him, but because of the Pharisees they were not confessing Him, for fear that they would be put out of the synagogue; 43 for they loved the approval of men rather than the approval of God. (Were the ones who believed in Jesus but were afraid to confess Him part of those who would be called the cowardly?) (Revelation 21:8 “But for the cowardly and unbelieving and abominable and murderers and immoral persons and sorcerers and idolaters and all liars, their part will be in the lake that burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death.”)
John 12:44 And Jesus cried out and said, “He who believes in Me, does not believe in Me but in Him who sent Me. (Who is faith in Jesus ultimately believing in?)
John 12:47–48 “If anyone hears My sayings and does not keep them, I do not judge him; for I did not come to judge the world, but to save the world. 48 “He who rejects Me and does not receive My sayings, has one who judges him; the word I spoke is what will judge him at the last day. (Is the one who does not keep Jesus sayings, the one who rejects Jesus, is that judged by Jesus’ word in the last day, even though Jesus said that He did not come to judge him but save him?)
John 12:49–50 “For I did not speak on My own initiative, but the Father Himself who sent Me has given Me a commandment as to what to say and what to speak. 50 “I know that His commandment is eternal life; therefore the things I speak, I speak just as the Father has told Me.” (Were Jesus’ words the exact words that the Father gave Him to speak? Were the words that were given words of eternal life?”
John 13 and Questions
John 13:1 Now before the Feast of the Passover, Jesus knowing that His hour had come that He would depart out of this world to the Father, having loved His own who were in the world, He loved them to the end. (Did Jesus love his twelve disciples to the end?)
John 13:8 Peter said to Him, “Never shall You wash my feet!” Jesus answered him, “If I do not wash you, you have no part with Me.” (What must Peter allow Jesus to do to have a part or share with Jesus?)
John 13:10-11 Jesus said to him, “He who has bathed needs only to wash his feet, but is completely clean; and you are clean, but not all of you.” 11 For He knew the one who was betraying Him; for this reason He said, “Not all of you are clean.” (What is the thing that is lacking with one of the disciples?)
John 13:17–18 “If you know these things, you are blessed if you do them. 18 “I do not speak of all of you. I know the ones I have chosen; but it is that the Scripture may be fulfilled, ‘HE WHO EATS MY BREAD HAS LIFTED UP HIS HEEL AGAINST ME.’ (Of the twelve disciples, how many did Jesus choose? See John 6:70 Jesus answered them, “Did I Myself not choose you, the twelve, and yet one of you is a devil?”)
John 14 and Questions
John 14:6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me. (What does “coming to the Father” mean? Also how must one come to the Father?)
John 14:7 “If you had known Me, you would have known My Father also; from now on you know Him, and have seen Him.” (What goes along with knowing Jesus?)
John 14:16–17 “I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may be with you forever; 17 that is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it does not see Him or know Him, but you know Him because He abides with you and will be in you. (Why can the world not receive the Spirit of truth?)
John 14:21 “He who has My commandments and keeps them is the one who loves Me; and he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and will disclose Myself to him.” (Who will Jesus disclose Himself to?)
John 14:22–24 Judas (not Iscariot) said to Him, “Lord, what then has happened that You are going to disclose Yourself to us and not to the world?” 23 Jesus answered and said to him, “If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our abode with him. 24 He who does not love Me does not keep My words; and the word which you hear is not Mine, but the Father’s who sent Me. (Why will Jesus not disclose Himself to the world? What does the world not do?)
John 15 and Questions
John 15:2 “Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit, He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit, He prunes it so that it may bear more fruit. (What is a requirement of every branch in Christ?)
John 15:4–6 “Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself unless it abides in the vine, so neither can you unless you abide in Me. 5 “I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing. 6 “If anyone does not abide in Me, he is thrown away as a branch and dries up; and they gather them, and cast them into the fire and they are burned. (What happens to anyone who does not abide in Christ?)
John 15:13 “Greater love has no one than this, that one lay down his life for his friends. (What is the greatest love?)
John 15:14–15 “You are My friends if you do what I command you. 15 “No longer do I call you slaves, for the slave does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all things that I have heard from My Father I have made known to you. (What condition makes the disciples the friends of Jesus? What showed that Jesus was a friend to the disciples?)
John 15:16 “You did not choose Me but I chose you, and appointed you that you would go and bear fruit, and that your fruit would remain, so that whatever you ask of the Father in My name He may give to you. (Who chose and appointed the disciples?)
John 15:20-21 “Remember the word that I said to you, ‘A slave is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you; if they kept My word, they will keep yours also. 21 “But all these things they will do to you for My name’s sake, because they do not know the One who sent Me. (Those who keep the disciples’ word will have already done what? Those who persecute the disciples do not know who?)
John 15:23–25 “He who hates Me hates My Father also. 24 “If I had not done among them the works which no one else did, they would not have sin; but now they have both seen and hated Me and My Father as well. 25 “But they have done this to fulfill the word that is written in their Law, ‘THEY HATED ME WITHOUT A CAUSE.’ (Those who hate Jesus have also hated who? Did they have a reason to hate the Father?)
John 16 and Questions
John 16:8–11 “And He, when He comes, will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment; 9 concerning sin, because they do not believe in Me; 10 and concerning righteousness, because I go to the Father and you no longer see Me; 11 and concerning judgment, because the ruler of this world has been judged. (What is the primary sin that the Holy will convict the world?)
John 16:15 “All things that the Father has are Mine; therefore I said that He takes of Mine and will disclose it to you. (All things that belong to the Father also belong to who?)
John 17 and Questions
John 17:2–3 even as You gave Him authority over all flesh, that to all whom You have given Him, He may give eternal life. 3 “This is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent. (What is eternal life?)
John 17:6 “I have manifested Your name to the men whom You gave Me out of the world; they were Yours and You gave them to Me, and they have kept Your word. (The ones that were given to Jesus, who did they belong to before they were given to Jesus? What did they do before they were given to Jesus?)
John 17:9-10 “I ask on their behalf; I do not ask on behalf of the world, but of those whom You have given Me; for they are Yours; 10 and all things that are Mine are Yours, and Yours are Mine; and I have been glorified in them. (The ones who had been given to Jesus belonged to who first?)
John 17:12 “While I was with them, I was keeping them in Your name which You have given Me; and I guarded them and not one of them perished but the son of perdition, so that the Scripture would be fulfilled. (Who was the only one not given to Jesus? Who was the only one who perished? How were all the given ones kept safe?)
John 17:21, 23 that they may all be one; even as You, Father, are in Me and I in You, that they also may be in Us, so that the world may believe that You sent Me .23 I in them and You in Me, that they may be perfected in unity, so that the world may know that You sent Me, and loved them, even as You have loved Me. (What is the expected outcome of the disciples all being one together in Jesus?)
John 18 and Questions
John 18:37 Therefore Pilate said to Him, “So You are a king?” Jesus answered, “You say correctly that I am a king. For this I have been born, and for this I have come into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth hears My voice.” (Who are the ones who hear the voice of Jesus?)