How Do We Interpret John 6:44?

A Free Grace Review of Daniel Weierbach's Sermon "Illuminating John 6:44"

by Jonathan Perreault

"No one can come to Me, unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up on the last day." John 6:44

Preface

The reason I'm writing this review is because last week in the comments section for one of my blog posts, a reader linked me to the YouTube video of Pastor Weierbach's sermon and said "Let me know what you think." Here's what I think!

Introduction

Pastor Weierbach's sermon "Illuminating John 6:44" runs about 45 minutes. Though it's not a massive time commitment, the sermon is a bit technical and some might say that at times Weierbach "gets in the weeds" (so to speak) trying to explain his view. The PowerPoint overheads definitely helped to keep my attention. Yet even with the PowerPoint slides, the sermon was still somewhat tedious to watch—mainly because it was so theologically dense and also fairly complex. Many people would probably call it "boring" because it was basically a teaching lecture on a rather abstract and dry theological topic. Even as someone who is deeply passionate about theology, I found my attention drifting! If a self-proclaimed theology nerd like me struggled to stay focused, it's probably safe to say it moves a bit slow. But since I wanted to review the sermon, I ended up watching it 2-3 times in order to make sure that I had a good grasp of the information and also so that I could better understand where Weierbach was coming from and why he said what he said. I also took about 10 pages of notes! Needless to say, it has been a time-consuming process. But I enjoy doing it, and I hope and pray that this review will be a blessing and a help to those who read it. After all, that's one of the reasons this blog exists. I say all that as background information so no one thinks I'm just "shooting from the hip" or I don't know what I'm talking about. I feel that I have a good grasp of the sermon and the main points that were made.

Pastor Weierbach (who I'll mostly refer to as "Pastor W" for the sake of brevity) begins by saying that John 6:44 is "one of the most abused texts of Scripture." But after watching the sermon, one is apt to wonder if Weierbach's own view also falls into this category! Weierbach is no doubt referring to the fact that John 6:44 is a favorite proof-text used by Calvinists to support their twisted theology of "meticulous determinism," i.e., that God causes all things to happen and that everything happens because He explicitly makes it happen—even all the evil that exists. For example, Calvinists say that God wanted the holocaust to happen and therefore He caused it. Calvinists teach that every evil thing that has ever been done is because God wanted it to happen and made it happen—even things like rape and incest! This is the (false) god of Calvinism, and Pastor W rightly points out how such determinism is patently unbiblical.

Strengths of Pastor W's Interpretation

I will begin by sharing what I consider to be the strengths of Pastor W's sermon and his interpretation of John 6:44. The strengths are:

Strength #1: The sermon attempts to provide a Free Grace interpretation of John 6:44 in contrast to Calvinism. Pastor W begins by giving the typical Calvinistic interpretation of the verse and showing how that view is based on philosophy, not the Bible. In other words, the Calvinist approaches and/or reads John 6:44 with a set of theological presuppositions (i.e., the five-points of Calvinism). Those presuppositions are not in the text, but rather are imposed onto the text. Pastor W does a good job pointing this out at the beginning of his sermon.

Strength #2: The sermon provides a brief explanation of how Calvinists interpret John 6:44, along with a short survey of how Free Grace expositors interpret it. Pastor W references Dr. Charlie Bing's GraceNotes article "How God Draws People to Salvation" (GraceNotes, Number 75), and Shawn Lazar's book Chosen to Serve (Grace Evangelical Society, 2017). Pastor W gives a brief summary of the aforementioned Free Grace interpretations of John 6:44, and says that in his view those explanations are good, "but they miss the mark a little bit." Unfortunately Pastor W does not specify exactly what he disagrees with in those Free Grace interpretations, leaving that point unsaid.

Strength #3: The sermon attempts to interpret John 6:44 contextually, historically, and grammatically. However, I would say that Pastor W goes to the extreme here, because he advises that we interpret John 6:44 exclusively in reference to Old Testament Jewish believers, which he compares to Romans 10:9-10. While I see his point, such a ultra-narrow or limited interpretation seems to contradict the inclusive language that Jesus uses in the immediate context: "the world" (Jn. 6:33), "all" (Jn. 6:37), "all" (Jn. 6:39), "everyone" (Jn. 6:40), "no one" (Jn. 6:44), "all" (Jn. 6:45), "everyone" (Jn. 6:45), "any man" (Jn. 6:46), and "anyone" (Jn. 6:51). The fact that John 6:47 is the key verse of the Grace Evangelical Society (GES) also argues against Pastor W's view that the passage is exclusively dealing with and pertaining to only the Jews of Jesus' day. Of course, the GES could be using John 6:47 out of context. But as I pointed out, the language Jesus uses in the immediate context seems to have a broader application than one limited exclusively to the Jews of that time period. Indeed, what Jesus says in the passage is consistent with His many appeals to believe in Him that are recorded all through John's Gospel! Thus, Pastor W's view seems to be a rather forced and unnatural attempt to "pigeon hole" John 6:37-45 as exclusively "Jewish," when that could be said of almost John's entire Gospel! (Since virtually all of John's Gospel deals with the earthly ministry of Jesus prior to His death, burial, and resurrection.) And Bible-believing Christians use John's Gospel in modern-day evangelism all the time—to Jews and non-Jews alike! Of course, the same could be said in regard to Romans 10:9-10. But my point is that it seems forced (and inconsistent) to view John 6:37-45 so narrowly. To put it another way, I don't think that Pastor W is "comparing apples with apples" when he compares John 6:37-45 with Romans 10:9-10. It seems like it is somewhat of a double standard or special pleading to zero in on John 6:37-45 out of John's entire Gospel and say that this particular passage is exclusively Jewish and "has nothing to do with the church age" (so says Pastor W) when it's doubtful that he applies that same standard to the rest of John's Gospel. Indeed, one wonders how Pastor W interprets what Jesus said to the Jewish Pharisee named Nicodemus in John 3:16?! Does that have "nothing to do with the church age" either? Granted, it occurred prior to the cross. But the one condition for salvation is, and always has been, the same: faith alone! "Look and Live"! Pastor W even uses that exact phrase to describe salvation in the present church-age! So he appears to be inconsistent in his interpretation of John's Gospel, particularly the parts of it that are supposedly strictly "Jewish". Indeed, John 1:11-12 seems to expand the invitation to those outside of the Jewish religion and culture. John 1:11-12 says of Jesus that "He came to His own, and His own people did not accept Him. But to all who did receive Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe on His name." Amen!

Strength #4: The sermon provides a good contextual analysis and explanation of the word "draw" (Gr. helkō, also spelled helkuō), showing that it does not automatically nor necessarily mean "drag" as Calvinists teach. I would say that this is by far the strongest aspect of Pastor W's sermon. He basically does a complete word study on the Greek word helkō, going back even to how the word is used in the Old Testament Septuagint or LXX (the Greek translation of the Hebrew Old Testament) to prove that the Greek word does not inherently mean "drag" as the Calvinists twist it to mean, but rather it simply (and predominantly) means "woo" or "draw". The context helps to determine the meaning of the word. That is, the surrounding text clarifies the specific sense in which the Greek word helkō is being used.

Review of Pastor W's 5 Main Points

Pastor W outlines his sermon in five basic points, which he describes as: "Five (5) main points we must realize to fully understand John 6:44" (timestamp: 21:05). He explains by saying: "There is five main points to my argument as far as to be able to prove what I believe John 6:44 is talking about." Notice here that Pastor W admits that these 5 points are necessary in order to "prove" his view of John 6:44. This will be important to keep in mind, and I will talk more about this later (see below under "Summary"). Here is my review of Pastor W's 5 main points:

Main Point #1. Pastor W's first main point is: "John 6 is about the Father drawing, not the Son or the Holy Spirit." Pastor W restates the point, saying: "John 6 is about the Father drawing, not the Spirit, not the Son." But the text doesn't say "not the Spirit, not the Son." Therefore, we must be very careful not to read into the text something that it doesn't say. For example, in Genesis 1:2 the text specifically mentions the Spirit as involved in creation (cf. Job 33:4; Psa. 104:30). Are we therefore to conclude that the Father and Son were not involved? Such a conclusion would be false, because other Scriptures reveal that the Father and the Son were also involved in the creation of the world and in the creation of the universe (cf. Isa. 64:8; Mal. 2:10; Jn. 1:3; 1 Cor. 8:6; Eph. 3:9; Col. 1:16-18; Heb. 1:1-2; Rev. 4:11, etc.). The same can be said in regard to Christ's resurrection. Some Bible verses say Jesus raised Himself (Jn. 2:19-21, 10:17-18). Other verses describe the Father as raising Jesus (Rom. 6:4; Gal. 1:1), and still others say the Holy Spirit raised Him (Rom. 8:11). We need to be careful not to go beyond what is written: "Do not go beyond what is written" (1 Cor. 4:6). And so while Pastor W rightly points out that there is "a distinction in persons" between God the Father and God the Son, I would say yes, but there is also a unity! All three members of the Godhead work together in perfect harmony.

Main Point #2. Pastor W's second main point is: "John 6 is present tense ministry, not a future tense." He further explains by saying, "the Father is only said to be drawing people during Jesus' [earthly] ministry." Pastor W says that the Father is not drawing people during the present ministry of Jesus. But where does the Bible say this? Pastor W says that the Father only draws people in the Gospels: "If you were to read the Scriptures and try and do a search for this phraseology as far as the Father drawing, you will only find this terminology used in the Gospels." But Pastor W's statement is not completely accurate. The truth is, in the New Testament, the Greek word helkō ("draw") is only used of the Father's "drawing" in John 6:44! I specified "in the New Testament" because in the Greek translation of Jeremiah 31:3 (LXX = 38:3) in the Septuagint, it uses the Greek word helkō to describe God the Father drawing His covenant people Israel. Pastor W's PowerPoint slide even references this when he displays a screenshot of the lexical entry of the Greek word helkō from Bauer's Lexicon (see timestamp 14:30, cf. Walter Bauer, A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament, 1st English edition, p. 251, s.v. ἕλκω, definition 1.b.). 

But in the New Testament, that specific Greek word is not used with reference to the Father in any of the Synoptic Gospels! This highlights the fallacy of Pastor W's logic. Because Pastor W says that "you will only find this terminology [of God the Father 'drawing' people] used in the Gospels," yet the Greek word helkō isn't found in Matthew, Mark, or Luke. Yet Pastor W argues that the Father is still drawing people during that time, based on Jesus' statement in John 6:44. Pastor W will no doubt respond by emphasizing that the Synoptic Gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke cover the same time period as the Gospel of John in terms of Jesus' earthly ministry. But I would respond by saying that the Greek word helkō is nonetheless absent from those Gospels. So my point is that even though the word helkō ("draw") is absent from the Synoptics, the concept of God's drawing is not absent! And that's also my point in regard to the Father's "drawing" as it pertains to the rest of the New Testament. The Bible never says (!) that God only draws people during Jesus' earthly ministry. That is Pastor W's assumption. And that assumption is based on the flawed logic that "this phraseology as far as the Father drawing, you will only find this terminology used in the Gospels." No, you will only find that phraseology used in John 6:44! Not even "in the Gospels." The truth is: when the Greek word helkō is used in the theological sense of God the Father "drawing" people to salvation, that use of the word is only found in John 6:44. In other words, John 6:44 is the only verse in the entire Greek New Testament where the word helkō is used to describe the Father "drawing" people to salvation. 

But does this mean that the concept of the Father's "drawing" is absent everywhere else? Of course not! But that is Pastor W's reasoning in regard to the Father's "drawing" outside of the Gospels. But here he is not only incorrect (see Jer. 31:3, LXX = 38:3), but also inconsistent. Because if he were consistent, he would have to say that since the specific terminology of the Father's "drawing" is not found anywhere in the Synoptic Gospels, the Father is therefore not "drawing" people in the Synoptic Gospels. But Pastor W doesn't say that. Instead, he says that God the Father is drawing people in the Synoptic Gospels (presumably because those books of the Bible cover the same time period as the Gospel of John, in terms of Jesus' earthly ministry). And so Pastor W implicitly admits that although the exact phraseology of the Father's "drawing" is nowhere to be found in Matthew, Mark, or Luke (i.e., nowhere in the Synoptic Gospels), yet the concept of the Father's "drawing" is nonetheless present. And that is my point related to the rest of the New Testament. Although the specific word helkō ("draw") isn't used of the Father's "drawing" people to salvation except in John 6:44, yet the concept is still evident throughout the New Testament. 

How does God the Father "draw" people to Himself? That is, to salvation? He clearly uses different means! Notice the following 7 ways that God uses to draw people to Himself. (Note: In the following list, I equate God's drawing with His calling. I believe that God's drawing/calling can be resisted. In other words, I disagree with the Calvinistic doctrine of "Irresistible Grace.")

How God Draws People to Salvation

1. Through Jesus' death on the cross (Jn. 12:32)

2. Through His love (Jer. 31:3; Hosea 11:4; Jn. 3:16; Rom. 2:4)

3. Through the Holy Spirit (Jn. 16:7-11)

4. Through general revelation/creation (Rom. 1:20)

5. Through His Word (Psa. 138:2; Jn. 6:45; Rom. 10:17)

6. Through internal conscience (Eccl. 3:11; Rom. 2:11-16)

7. Through people and circumstances (Acts 8:26-39, 10:1-11:18; cf. Heb. 1:14)

Main Point #3. Pastor W's third main point is: "John 6:64-65 is often overlooked regarding the present tense ministry." What does he mean by this? Pastor W says that "here Jesus tells us why He even said [what He did in] verse 44." Pastor W then dogmatically states: "The Father is not drawing unbelievers during the present ministry of Jesus Christ." But where does the Bible say this? Pastor W doesn't really prove this point; he merely says, "I will make that case momentarily as well." When Pastor W says that he will "make that case momentarily as well," he seems to be referring to what he says in his main point #5: specifically his view that God the Father doesn't give anything to Jesus after His earthly ministry. Pastor W's specific statement is: "after Jesus' DBR [i.e., His death, burial, and resurrection], nothing else is said to have been 'given' by the Father to the Son...this terminology is only used during this transitional period from Law to Grace (OT to NT)" (see timestamp: 35:06, ellipsis and emphasis his). But that statement is actually false in light of Revelation 1:1. See my thoughts on Main Point #5 for more information.

Is it true that "The Father is not drawing unbelievers during the present ministry of Jesus"? Jesus' own words would appear to disprove Pastor W's statement! Because in John 6:40 Jesus says: "For this is the will of My Father, that everyone who sees the Son and believes in Him will have eternal life, and I Myself will raise him up on the last day." Notice that Jesus doesn't say "it is the will of My Father that 'the elect' who see the Son and believe in Him will have eternal life," nor does Jesus say that "it is My Father's will that 'Old Testament Jewish believers' who see the Son and believe in Him will have eternal life," but Jesus says that "everyone" who sees the Son and believes in Him will have eternal life (see Jn. 6:40). Apparently Pastor W interprets John 6:40 as being in reference to only Old Testament Jewish believers. But I don't see anything in the immediate context to justify such a limited interpretation. In fact, I see quite the opposite! Jesus could hardly have been clearer that there is a universal opportunity to be saved! Jesus' statement in John 6:40 is perfectly consistent with other Bible verses in the New Testament which describe God's invitation to salvation as universal in scope and not limited to a select few: "the world" (Jn. 3:16-17), "everyone" (Acts 10:43, 13:39), "all men" (1 Tim. 4:10), "all" (2 Pet. 3:9), "the whole world" (1 Jn. 2:2), and "whosoever will" (Rev. 22:17). Incidentally, Revelation 22:17 also shows that the Son and the Spirit work together in perfect harmony specifically as it pertains to the salvation of the world (cf. Jn. 3:14-17, 12:32, 16:8-11). Obviously the same could be said of the Father and the Son (cf. Jn. 3:16-17, 6:32-33).

How then are we to interpret John 6:64-65? Not as the Calvinists in the sense of unconditional election and double predestination and irresistible grace, but rather in light of what Jesus says in John 6:40 in regard to the fact that it is the Father's will that "everyone who beholds the Son and believes in Him, may have eternal life." In other words, God chooses to save those who choose to believe. It is the Father's will to incorporate the human will in the salvation process. When I say the "salvation process," I'm referring to everything leading up to the point in time when a person trusts in Christ and receives eternal life. This pre-conversion timeline leading up to the moment of faith would include the Father's drawing them to Himself using various means (Jn. 6:44), the Son drawing them to Himself using various means (Jn. 12:32), and the Holy Spirit's ministry of convicting them "of sin, righteousness, and judgment" using various means (Jn. 16:8-11). All three members of the Holy Trinity work together in perfect harmony to accomplish this goal of bringing lost sinners into God's family. That is how I understand John 6:64-65 as it relates to John 6:37-45. What about John 6:45? How are we to interpret it? In John 6:45 Jesus is quoting Isaiah 54:13, which says: "All your children shall be taught by the Lord, and great shall be the peace of your children." Everett F. Harrison insightfully observes: "Here Christ quoted Isa 54:13. If the all be emphasized, it removes any element of restriction that may seem to lurk in the idea of drawing as stated in Jn 6:44." (The Wycliffe Bible Commentary, p. 1087, bold his.) A good cross reference to help understand what Jesus is talking about in John 6:45 is what the Apostle Paul says in Romans 10:17, "So faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God." In other words, God uses His Word to draw people to salvation!

Main Point #4. Pastor W's fourth main point is: "John 10, 15, 17 help identify who Jesus is referring to [in John 6:44]." Pastor W asks, "how does Jesus speak about these same people?" Pastor W then hopscotches through John's Gospel to these various proof-texts, trying to illustrate/prove his point. (I picture Pastor W on a pogo stick, jumping around to these various sections of John's Gospel!) I would agree with Pastor W that in John 10:14-16, Jesus is not referring to the elect and non-elect but rather to the Jews and Gentiles. But Pastor W's point in regard to John 10:1-16 seems to be that when Jesus says "My sheep hear My voice," those sheep are Old Testament believers who (according to Pastor W) were already saved before coming to Christ. But such an interpretation seems forced. The text doesn't say the sheep were saved prior to coming to Christ. And while I don't disagree that there were Old Testament believers who were saved prior to Christ's earthly ministry and who indeed did recognize Christ as the promised Messiah when He came (e.g. Simeon and Anna in Luke 2:22-38), my point is that John 10:1-16 should not be interpreted in such a limited sense or even in that sense at all. Personally, I wouldn't say that John 10:1-16 even refers to that. As I said, that interpretation seems forced.

In regard to John 15, I agree with Pastor W that the election in John 15:16 is to service, not salvation. But Pastor W's point in regard to John 15 is that those who reject God the Father will likewise reject His Son (see Jn. 15:23). Pastor W then flips the logic and reasons that those who believe in God the Father will likewise believe in His Son. I would ask, what Bible-believing Christian disagrees with that? That doesn't prove his point in regard to those in John 6:44 as far as when they got saved and if they were already saved prior to coming to Christ. I agree that there were Old Testament Jewish believers who were saved prior to Jesus being revealed as the Messiah. In other words, Pastor W is correct that there were indeed Old Testament Jewish believers alive during that time. (Who disputes that? As I noted, Simeon and Anna are two examples.) But that fact in no way requires the interpretation that John 6:37-45 refers to them. In light of the context, it is far more likely that John 6:37-45 refers to unbelievers (whom God in His omniscience foreknows will get saved) who respond to the Father's drawing for the first time and believe in Christ for salvation and are converted then and there. This interpretation seems much more likely in light of the specific language that Jesus uses, particularly what He says in John 6:40.

After briefly discussing a few statements by Jesus from John 15 (vv. 14-27), Pastor W next discusses several of Jesus' statements from John 17. Although Pastor W's view is interesting to consider, I would specifically disagree with his interpretation of John 17:6 in regard to the phrase "Thine they were." Pastor W interprets this phrase to mean that these people were saved before coming to Christ, mainly because Jesus says in his prayer to the Father, "Thine they were." Pastor W says these people are exclusively Old Testament Jewish believers whom the Father gives to Jesus. Thus, in his view these people were already saved before coming to Christ. But when Jesus says to the Father "Thine they were" (Jn. 17:6), my understanding is that it simply means in the sense that God the Father owns everything. These people are the Father's not necessarily in the sense of them already being saved and then given to Christ (as Pastor W supposes), but in the sense that God the Father created them. Just because they are owned by God doesn't necessarily mean they are saved. God owns "the cattle on a thousand hills," as the Bible says in the Psalms (Psa. 50:10). God owns everything—even unbelievers! "The earth is the Lord's and all it contains, the world and those who dwell in it" (Psalm 24:1; cf. Exod. 19:5; Job 41:11; Psa. 89:11, 100:3). Indeed, in the Old Testament, God says: "Behold, all souls are Mine" (Ezek. 18:4). So I think Pastor W is once again reading too much into the text based on the one phrase "Thine they were" (Jn. 17:6). It doesn't necessarily refer to salvation. And even if it does, it could simply mean that God foreknows (knows ahead of time) who will trust in Christ for salvation (cf. Jn. 10:16; Rev. 13:8, 17:8, 20:15, 21:27). In this sense they are thus the Father's, since He foreknows that they will one day believe in Christ and be saved (cf. 1 Pet. 1:1-2). Their names were written in the book of life (cf. Rev. 13:8, 17:8) from the foundation of the world!

Main Point #5. Pastor W's fifth main point is: "Jesus was 'given' various things by the Father during His earthly ministry" (emphasis his). Pastor W explains that some of these "various things" include: "power" (Matt. 28:19; Jn. 17:2), "authority" (Jn. 5:27), and even "all things" (Lk. 10:22; Jn. 3:35, cf. Matt. 11:27, 28:18; Jn. 5:19-30, 13:3). As it pertains to John 6:37-45 and John 17:1-9, Pastor W reasons that the people who are given by the Father to Jesus during His earthly ministry are "in the same lane." But doesn't this argue against Pastor W's assumption that those who are given to Jesus by the Father are exclusively "Old Testament believers"? If indeed "all things" have been given to Jesus by the Father, why view the Father's "giving" in John 6 so narrowly? It seems incongruent. Especially because the wording in John 6:37-45 and in John 17:1-9 is much more inclusive: "all" (Jn. 6:37), "all" (Jn. 6:39), "everyone" (Jn. 6:40), and "all" (Jn. 17:2, cf. 17:21-24). Jesus could hardly have been more clear! For Pastor W to say that the word "all" in these verses refers exclusively to "Old Testament Jewish believers" smacks of Calvinism. What irony! Once again, Pastor W's interpretation of John 6:37-45 and 17:1-9 seems forced and doesn't appear to be consistent with the surrounding context.

Pastor W observes that the Greek word which is used of this giving by the Father to the Son is the word didōmi, which means "to entrust something to another's care." I agree with that, but then Pastor W says: "the fact these were 'given' [didōmi] reveals the Father previously had them. Therefore, the Father transferred them, from His authority, to the Son, during His earthly ministry." Pastor W makes two assumptions here that are incorrect: 1) that the Father's having them equates to them being previously saved, i.e. "Old Testament Jewish believers," and 2) that these people were only given by the Father during Jesus' earthly ministry. In regard to Pastor W's first assumption, I have already pointed out how when the Bible describes God as having something or owning something (or someone), it doesn't necessarily refer to salvation. It could simply mean that God owns it by virtue of the fact that He created it and owns everything! And even if it does refer to salvation in a stricter sense, it still doesn't necessarily refer exclusively to Old Testament Jewish believers. The text does not require such a limited interpretation. Indeed, Free Grace people believe in unlimited atonement. Pastor W would probably say yes, but in John 6:37-45 it is the unlimited atonement of only Old Testament Jewish believers. How convenient! How Calvinistic! But such an interpretation is still limited, is my point. And thus such a view is inconsistent, or at least somewhat inconsistent, with the inclusive language that Jesus clearly uses in the passage: "everyone who beholds the Son and believes in Him may have eternal life" (Jn. 6:40). 

In regard to Pastor W's second assumption, that the Father only gave these people to Jesus "during His [i.e., Jesus'] earthly ministry," the Bible never says that! Thus, it is an argument from silence. And, I might add, it is quite a complicated argument from silence. It is an argument from silence that creates more problems than it solves! To me, the easier (and better) way to understand God's drawing is to view it as consistent with His foreknowledge (cf. 1 Pet. 1:1-2), and that "God chooses to save those who choose to believe." And to understand that the Father's will involves and factors in man's will (see John 6:40). This "unlimited atonement" interpretation is entirely consistent with the immediate context and with the rest of the New Testament. But getting back to the second assumption in Pastor W's statement that is incorrect, he says that after Jesus' earthly ministry "nothing else" is said to have been given (didōmi) to Jesus by the Father. Not true! I will quote Pastor W's exact statement to show that I'm not misrepresenting him. Pastor W states: "after Jesus' DBR [i.e., His death, burial, and resurrection], nothing else is said to have been 'given' by the Father to the Son...this terminology is only used during this transitional period from Law to Grace (OT to NT)" (see timestamp: 35:06, ellipsis and emphasis his). That statement by Pastor W is incorrect. Such a conclusion is not only incorrect, it is unbiblical. Look at Revelation 1:1. It says, "The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave [Grk. edōken = aorist, active, indicative of didōmi] Him to show His servants the things which must shortly come to pass." Here in Revelation 1:1, the Father gives Jesus the Revelation ("unveiling") of what must shortly come to pass. This giving appears to take place strictly after the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ! Because notice that in context, Christ is specifically described as "the firstborn from the dead" (Rev. 1:5, NKJV). And even if the giving mentioned in Revelation 1:1 occurred at some previous time, the very mention of it in Rev. 1:1 still disproves Pastor W's statement, because he specifically said that "after Jesus' DBR [i.e., His death, burial, and resurrection], nothing else is said to have been 'given' by the Father to the Son...this terminology is only used during this transitional period from Law to Grace (OT to NT)" (ellipsis and emphasis his). Pastor W's statement specifically pertains to whether or not the "terminology" is used in the biblical text "after Jesus' DBR". And so my point is that the "terminology" that Pastor W says isn't used after Jesus' resurrection is indeed used! And although the timing of when the Father "gave" the Revelation to Christ is not essential to my point, the text of Revelation 1:1 does suggest that the Father gave the prophetic unveiling to Christ after His earthly ministry (compare Rev. 1:1 with Rev. 1:5, 1:7, 1:18, 2:8, 5:6-9, 5:12). 

Commenting on Revelation 1:1, the New Testament scholar Henry Alford affirms: "Stern asks, 'How are we to understand this? Is not Christ very God, of one essence with the Father from eternity? Did He not, by virtue of the omniscience of His divine nature, know as exactly as the Father, what should be the process of the world's history, what the fate of the Church? What purpose was served by a revelation from God to Jesus?' He proceeds to say that the words cannot refer merely to the revelation as made to us, but are clearly against such an interpretation: and gives, at some length and very well, that which in one form or other all will accept as the true explanation, in accordance with John 7.16; 14.10, 17:7, 8. The man Christ Jesus, even in his glorified state, receives from the Father, by his hypostatic union with Him, that revelation which by His Spirit He imparts to His Church. For, Acts 1.7, the times and seasons are kept by the Father in his own power: and of the day and the hour knoweth no man, not the angels in heaven, nor even the Son, but the Father only, Mark 13.32. I may observe, that the coincidence in statement of this deep point of doctrine between the Gospel of St. John and the Apocalypse, is at least remarkable." (Alford, The New Testament for English Readers, 2 Vols., Vol. II, Part II, p. 940, bold and brackets added. Note: The Roman numerals in the original have been updated to the current format.) Commenting on Revelation 1:1, Simcox similarly affirms: "Doubtless when the Son made this revelation, He had received from the Father the knowledge which in the time of His humiliation He had not (St Mark 13.32)." (William Henry Simcox, The Revelation of S. John the Divine, p. 1.) In other words, the Father apparently "gave" this Revelation to Jesus after His earthly ministry (Rev. 1:1; cf. Mark 13:32). Revelation 1:1 clearly suggests that the Father gave the Revelation to the risen and ascended Christ after His earthly ministry. Either way, the specific terminology of Revelation 1:1 falsifies Pastor W's statement that "after Jesus' DBR [i.e., His death, burial, and resurrection] nothing else is said to have been 'given' by the Father to the Son...this terminology is only used during this transitional period from Law to Grace (OT to NT)." My overall point is that the theological underpinnings of Pastor W's interpretation of John 6:44 and the reasons why he holds his view, are at times not very solid; his statements don't always hold up when examined closely in the light of the whole counsel of God's Word.

Review of Pastor W's Summary

In a concluding summary at the end of his sermon, Pastor W restates his "Five (5) main points" which he says help the reader to properly or "fully" understand John 6:44. Interestingly, his "five main points" are similar to the 5 points of Calvinism (!) in that in each case the "5 points" are necessary to support and even "prove" each view. Pastor W's "5 main points" are the necessary theological underpinnings or structure which supports his view of John 6:44. Recall that at the beginning of his sermon, Pastor W stated: "There is five main points to my argument as far as to be able to prove what I believe John 6:44 is talking about." Thus it stands to reason that without his 5 points, his interpretation of John 6:44 collapses. I'm not saying that this in and of itself is necessarily wrong. Rather, I'm saying that in this regard his view is similar to the five points of Calvinism. The main problem that I have with Pastor W's view is that it is based on a number of questionable and even incorrect assumptions—and even a logical fallacy! And on more than one occasion, Pastor W's theological analysis is simply factually incorrect. And as noted, his view is also highly complex and even arcane. It seems that in order to arrive at Pastor W's view of the text, the reader must first be initiated into it and thus "Illuminated" with the deeper knowledge of Pastor W's "5 points"! In other words, the prima facie or "face value" reading of the text does not support Pastor W's view/interpretation of it. The reader needs his "5 main points" in order to arrive at his conclusion that John 6:44 is in reference to exclusively "Old Testament Jewish believers" and not in reference to salvation. In other words, without Pastor W's 5 main points, the reader would probably never arrive at such an interpretation simply from taking the prima facie or "face value" reading of the text. There's an old saying that pertains to Bible interpretation: "When the plain sense of Scripture makes sense [as it does in John 6:44], seek no other sense." That statement is very applicable to this whole discussion and very important to keep in mind!

One of the other things that I want to point out that I maybe didn't specifically delve into earlier is that, here in the summary, Pastor W reiterates his premise that when Jesus says in John 6:37, "All that the Father gives to Me," those given by the Father to the Son were already believers. Pastor W argues that they are specifically Old Testament Jewish believers. But in response I would say that the verb "gives" (didōsin) doesn't necessitate such a conclusion. Pastor W is reading that into the text, not getting that meaning out of the text. Thus, his view is actually eisegesis, which is a flawed method of Bible interpretation. The correct method of Bible interpretation is called exegesis, that is, getting the meaning out of the text. What Pastor W is doing is he is using his "5 main points" as his theological construct or lens through which to interpret (or misinterpret) the text. His "5 main points" are his theological presuppositions that the reader must first understand and subscribe to in order to arrive at his desired conclusion. And as I noted above, Pastor W's 5 main points and the way he uses them to "prove" his view is also highly ironic, because Pastor W disagrees with the 5 points of Calvinism! Yet the method which he uses to interpret John 6:44 is similar to Calvinism in that the reader must first subscribe to his 5 theological presuppositions in order to "fully" understand his limited view of the text.

My Concluding Thoughts

To me, Pastor W's interpretation of John 6:44 is an overly complicated interpretation that doesn't really hold up when examined closely in the light of the whole counsel of God's Word. Furthermore, since Pastor W's interpretation is so theologically complex, it is therefore much more difficult to support biblically than to simply affirm that John 6:44 does indeed teach divine election (!), but the election is according to God's foreknowledge and thus not the "meticulous determinism" of Calvinism. Biblically, God's children are said to be "elect according to the foreknowledge of God" (1 Pet. 1:1-2). This election by God involves and is compatible with a person's free will (cf. Jn. 6:40). The point I'm making about God's foreknowledge is that He knows ahead of time who will believe in Him and who will not believe, as the Apostle John explains in John 6:64. To me, this simpler interpretation accords much more with the immediate context of John chapter 6, in that Jesus is plainly talking about those who don't have eternal life needing to receive it by believing in Him (see 6:37-45, particularly 6:40). He is not talking about those who already have it. For example, if Jesus' statement in John 6:40 refers to already saved people, then what is Jesus even talking about if He is not referring to how a person is saved? Old Testament Jewish believers believing in Christ and receiving eternal life that they already have because they are already saved? It makes no sense! Such an interpretation seems forced, to say the least. It appears to be an artificial construct imposed upon the text in order to support an arcane and highly complex interpretation, a view which is not the plain reading but rather is only arrived at if and when the reader first subscribes to Pastor W's "Five main points".

Pastor W's view—that John 6:37-45 refers exclusively to already-saved Old Testament Jewish believers—seems to create more problems than it solves. Taken at face value, it contradicts the prima facie, plain reading of Jesus' statements. In context, Jesus is clearly talking about the initial reception of eternal life—a life that His listeners obviously did not yet possess (see John 6:36, 53, 64). Jesus explicitly frames this reception of eternal salvation as being "for everyone who beholds the Son and believes in Him" (Jn. 6:40). It seems quite a stretch to relegate "eternal life" here to a "Jewish-only" deeper fellowship, accessible only if and when Old Testament saints recognized Jesus as the Messiah during a narrow, transitional Gospel era. Not to be overly dramatic, but I've never heard of such a bizarre interpretation, and I am surprised that someone of Pastor W's caliber would subscribe to it. It strongly reminds me of Zane Hodges' reinterpretation of "repentance" (Grk. metanoia) as a defensive gambit during the height of the Lordship controversy, when the theological stakes were unusually high. Pastor W is employing a similar maneuver with helkō and didōmi. He isn't changing their literal lexical meaning, but he is radically narrowing their theological scope by insisting they refer to an experience of fellowship rather than initial salvation—thus recontextualizing the terms in an attempt to neutralize the Calvinistic view. The glaring problem is that this forced reinterpretation fails to harmonize both with the immediate context and with the whole counsel of God's Word. A far stronger, more sustainable argument is to simply agree that John 6:44 does indeed teach election—not in the warped Calvinistic sense of unconditional election and double predestination, but rather in the true biblical sense of being "elect according to the foreknowledge of God" (1 Pet. 1:1-2).

In terms of understanding God's foreknowledge and how it reconciles with human responsibility, I think people tend to overcomplicate it. A helpful way that I've heard to explain it is: "God chooses to save those who choose to believe." Through the years I've heard a lot of attempts to explain God's sovereignty and human responsibility, and that is probably the best explanation I've heard. Most people don't even try to explain it. They just say, "The secret things belong to the Lord" (Deut. 29:29). Yes, but that exact same Bible verse also says: "But the things that are revealed are for us and for our children forever!" Reconciling God's sovereignty with human responsibility is not such a hard thing to understand, actually. It is only hard because most people approach the topic with Calvinistic presuppositions that are incompatible with the Bible. Of course that will make the subject difficult to understand! But when we let the Bible speak for itself, and approach it with the attitude of "Speak Lord, for thy servant hears" (1 Samuel 3:9), God will reveal to us His truth.

In closing, I want to say that I write this review in the spirit of Proverbs 27:17, "Iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another." Pastor W is a Free Grace brother in Christ and I'm sure a good and godly man. I probably agree with him on 95% of Bible doctrine, and probably 100% of salvation doctrine. Nothing I've written is meant to disparage his character or impugn his motives. I simply have a different Free Grace interpretation of John 6:44, and that is the scope of this review. My hope and prayer is that it will shed some much needed light upon this important topic. Soli Deo Gloria!

The Gilding of Heresy

Why Bob Wilkin's New Views Aren't Orthodox

[View Illustration: The Gilding of Heresy]

I just read an article that Bob Wilkin of the Grace Evangelical Society (GES) posted a few years ago. He puts out so much content nowadays that sometimes it's hard to keep up with it. Not that I try, I'm just saying. It seems like every day Wilkin is working tirelessly to legitimize his unorthodox views of salvation – views labeled "heresy" by those in the Free Grace Movement who don't agree with his "new crossless gospel."[1] As John Malone has said:

"A heretic – a schismatic, or factious man – is 'self condemned,' according to the Scriptures [see Titus 3:10-11]. This means he judges himself to be wrong in his own mind. That doesn't mean he admits it to you, but it especially means he will not confess it to God, so that his conscience will be renewed. 'Heresy' is based on a word meaning 'to choose,' and therefore some have rightly called 'heresy' a division or gathering of a faction based on a self-willed opinion. Self-willed opinions now abound in the teaching of the GES.

It's so bad, in fact, that these GES fellows teach that 'they which are approved' in 1st Corinthians 11:19 are, in fact, they which are disapproved by God. That is a self-willed opinion!"[2]

Wilkin's article that I mentioned, titled "What Name Would You Give to Free Grace People Who Disagree with the Focused Free Grace Perspective?" (GES Blog, Nov. 18, 2024), is a good example of what I call his "gilding of heresy." What is the "gilding of heresy"? It is simply Wilkin's attempt to overlay his heretical views with a veneer that looks appealing to people so they are more easily fooled into believing or accepting his false gospel of Christ uncrucified. The true gospel is "Christ crucified," not uncrucified (see 1 Cor. 1:23, 2:2). While some try to separate what Paul preached from what a lost person must believe, the Apostle Paul explicitly states in the immediate context that it pleased God "by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe" (1 Cor. 1:21, KJV). The message preached is the very message that must be believed for salvation—and that message is "Christ crucified." Think of it: Wilkin's new view is that the lost are saved by believing in Christ uncrucified! 

Wilkin often tries to dodge the "crossless" label by calling his view "the saving message" instead of "the gospel." But this is a distinction without a difference. By his own admission, "gospel" means good news, and he clearly believes his saving message is good news to the lost. Thus, by his own definition, it is a gospel message. But unfortunately, it is not the true gospel. By separating eternal salvation from the necessity of believing in "Christ crucified" (1 Cor 1:23), he is preaching "another gospel" (Gal 1:6–9) that is under the anathema of God. A message that saves apart from any knowledge of and/or belief in the cross is, by every rule of logic, a crossless gospel. Bible-believing Christians must not be fooled (cf. 2 Cor. 11:3-4). We must remember that "not all that glitters is gold." We must "hold fast to the traditions" which the Apostle Paul passed down to us, whether by word of mouth or by letter (see 2 Thess. 2:15).

In answer to Wilkin's question about "What Name Would You Give to Free Grace People Who Disagree with the Focused Free Grace Perspective?" I would call them biblical. That's the name I would give them. They are being biblical by standing up for the gospel truth of "Christ crucified" (1 Cor. 1:23), as opposed to Wilkin's distortion of it. In the article, Wilkin goes on to say: "I welcome those who disagree with us to devise a name for their version of Free Grace. Here are some names that I think they might consider: Genial Free Grace, Amiable Free Grace, Harmonious Free Grace, and Peaceful Free Grace." Wilkin seems oblivious to the fact that such names have already been proposed and have been in use for years. For example, in the Free Grace book titled Freely By His Grace (Grace Gospel Press, 2012), the subtitle of the book is: "Classical Free Grace Theology". For those who are unaware, Classical Free Grace theology is in distinction to "Crossless" Free Grace theology (i.e., Wilkin's new view). Another name for classic Free Grace is "traditional Free Grace". This title/designation has likewise been in use for years, yet strangely Wilkin never mentions it. Worse yet, Wilkin appears to be completely ignorant of it! This is hard to believe, which suggests he is either profoundly out of touch with his critics or intentionally ignoring their self-designation to avoid giving it added credibility. By way of contrast, Mike Lii (a GES acolyte) is more intellectually honest in his terminology when referring to classic Free Grace. Because Lii actually calls it "traditional Free Grace."[3] Thank you Mr. Lii, even a broken clock is right once or twice a day!

What I find striking about Wilkin's article is that he writes as if he and the GES are the last bastions of truth in the world, who have stood the test of time since the days of D. L. Moody, C. I. Scofield, and Lewis Sperry Chafer. But the very opposite is true. (I might add that Moody, Scofield, and Chafer would probably "roll over in their graves" if they knew what Wilkin is now teaching.) The truth is, Wilkin's heretical teachings are the new and unorthodox views in the Free Grace world, which have caused divisions (notice I said "caused," not "created") and have forced Bible-believing Christians to separate from Wilkin and from his organization. The Bible says: "Come out from among them and be ye separate, says the LORD, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you. And I will be a Father unto you" (2 Cor. 6:17-18, KJV). For those of us who want to enjoy fellowship with the Lord, we must separate from false doctrine.[4] False doctrine is what divides (cf. Rom. 16:17-18), and this is exactly why traditional Free Grace people have separated themselves from Wilkin and from his unorthodox views. Because he is teaching heretical doctrines and is causing schisms within the Free Grace Movement.[5]

It's good to see that Wilkin agrees with me on at least one thing though: Paul's statement in 1 Corinthians 11:19, "For there must also be factions among you, that those who are approved may be recognized among you" (NKJV). But Wilkin twists this verse. Instead of taking personal accountability for his false teachings and acknowledging that his views are those which are not approved by God and therefore are causing divisions in the body of Christ (cf. Rom. 16:17-18), Wilkin uses the verse to justify the fact that Bible-believing Christians are separating from him! Wilkin apparently sees himself as a martyr, and he sees those who have separated from him similarly to how the Roman Catholics view the protestants: as "separated brethren". The point being that Wilkin refuses to admit that his views on the gospel are false teaching. As John Malone pointed out in his article, this just shows that Wilkin is self-willed and self-deceived! But my point is that I've been quoting 1 Corinthians 11:19 for years in reference to the Free Grace gospel debate.[6] So it's nice to know that even Wilkin agrees that this is indeed a valid application of the verse.

Unfortunately Wilkin will likely keep promoting his new and unorthodox views "Till Jesus Comes." So I urge all Bible-believing Christians to keep defending "the faith once for all delivered to the saints" (Jude 3)! We must keep preaching the simple gospel of "Christ crucified" (1 Cor. 1:23) – which to the Jews is a stumbling block, to the Greeks foolishness, and to the GES it is sadly "too much information"![7] But to those who are being saved, it is the power of God and the wisdom of God! (See 1 Corinthians 1:18-24.) Have you believed it? If not, do so today.

* * *

"For I delivered unto you as of first importance what I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, and that He was seen..." (1 Cor. 15:3-5).

ENDNOTES:

[1] Tom Stegall, "The Tragedy of the Crossless Gospel, Pt. 1," Grace Family Journal (Spring 2007): p. 9. For a more comprehensive discussion of these issues, see the following articles and books: Jonathan Perreault, "The Dangers of the Deserted Island Scenarios, Parts 1-10"; Kelly Sensenig, "Grace Evangelical Society and the Content of Saving Faith"; Thomas L. Stegall, The Gospel of the Christ: A Biblical Response to the Crossless Gospel Regarding the Contents of Saving Faith; Ken Wilson, Heresy of the Grace Evangelical Society, etc. These works provide detailed biblical and theological critiques of Bob Wilkin's position and should be consulted for a fuller treatment of the issues addressed in this article. Note: Not all these authors agree on the precise content of saving faith, but they all agree that Wilkin's new teachings on the gospel are, in fact, heresy.

[2] John Malone, "GES' Bob Wilkin: A Heretic's Vagaries and Intrigue," BibleStudy.net (August 2, 2007).

[3] Mike Lii, "Focused Free Grace Versus Flexible Free Grace," Journal of the Grace Evangelical Society (Spring 2024): p. 72.

[4] Commenting on 2 Corinthians 6:17, the Plymouth Brethren author and biblical scholar William Kelly aptly writes: "The apologist for ecclesiastical antinomianism [i.e., church compromise, where Christians tolerate false doctrine under the guise of grace] argues that the apostle is actually speaking of heathen impurity. Granted: it was the unclean thing there and then; but he was led by the Spirit to write with such breadth and depth as to cover everything that defiles. Is it meant that uncleanness is now consecrated or ignored? Is it denied that evil is most of all evil when coupled with the name of the Lord Jesus? Is not such an association the deceit, power, and triumph of the wicked one? To cleanse ourselves from every pollution is our clear and habitual duty as God's temple and family." (Kelly, Notes on the Second Epistle of Paul the Apostle to the Corinthians, p. 145.) Commenting on the same text, Charles Ryrie affirms: "Personal separation involves not being unequally yoked (v. 14); not loving the world (1 John 2:15-17), though using it (1 Cor. 7:31); not having fellowship with sinning brethren (1 Cor. 5:11 [cf. Matt. 18:15-17; Rom. 16:17; 1 Cor. 5:12, 11:19; 2 Thess. 3:14-15; Titus 3:10-11]); and, on the positive side, exhibiting Christlikeness." (Ryrie, The Ryrie Study Bible, Expanded Edition [Chicago: Moody Press, 1995], p. 1854, brackets added.)

[5] For more information, see the article by Bob Nyberg titled "The Free Grace Fracture," academia.edu (no date).  

[6] See my summary chart titled "The Free Grace Gospel Debate" (FGFS, June 9, 2012).

https://freegracefreespeech.blogspot.com/2012/06/free-grace-gospel-debate.html

[7] See my article "Sharing the Gospel Clearly and Completely" (FGFS, August 6, 2025). Note that although Wilkin and his disciples sometimes include the cross in their gospel presentations, they do so mainly for illustrative and explanatory purposes. They do not believe that it is absolutely necessary for a lost person to believe for salvation.

John 6 – The Free Grace Translation (FGT)

FREE GRACE TRANSLATION

The Gospel of John, Chapter 6

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John 6:1

Greek Textus Receptus

Μετὰ ταῦτα ἀπῆλθεν ὁ Ἰησοῦς πέραν τῆς θαλάσσης τῆς Γαλιλαίας, τῆς Τιβεριάδος. 

Free Grace Translation 

After these things Jesus departed to the other side of the sea of Galilee, [which is the sea] of Tiberias.

John 6:2

Greek Textus Receptus 

καὶ ἠκολούθει αὐτῷ ὄχλος πολύς, ὅτι ἑώρων αὐτοῦ τὰ σημεῖα ἃ ἐποίει ἐπὶ τῶν ἀσθενούντων.

Free Grace Translation 

And many people were following Him, because they were seeing the miracles that He was performing on those who were sick.

John 6:3

Greek Textus Receptus

ἀνῆλθε δὲ εἰς τὸ ὄρος ὁ Ἰησοῦς, καὶ ἐκεῖ ἐκάθητο μετὰ τῶν μαθητῶν αὐτοῦ.

Free Grace Translation

But Jesus went up on a mountainside, and was sitting there with His disciples.

Bible Translation Notes

Grk. τὸ ὄρος. Literally, the mountain.

John 6:4

Greek Textus Receptus 

ἦν δὲ ἐγγὺς τὸ πάσχα, ἡ ἑορτὴ τῶν Ἰουδαίων.

Free Grace Translation

And the Passover was near, the feast of the Jews.

John 6:5

Greek Textus Receptus

ἐπάρας οὖν ὁ Ἰησοῦς τοὺς ὀφθαλμούς, καὶ θεασάμενος ὅτι πολὺς ὄχλος ἔρχεται πρὸς αὐτόν, λέγει πρὸς τὸν Φίλιππον, Πόθεν ἀγοράσομεν ἄρτους, ἵνα φάγωσιν οὗτοι; 

Free Grace Translation

Then Jesus, lifting up His eyes and seeing that a large crowd was coming toward Him, said to Philip, “Where should we buy bread, in order that these may eat?”

John 6:6

Greek Textus Receptus

τοῦτο δὲ ἔλεγε πειράζων αὐτόν· αὐτὸς γὰρ ᾔδει τί ἔμελλε ποιεῖν. 

Free Grace Translation

But He was saying this to test him, because He Himself knew what He was about to do. 

Bible Translation Notes 

Grk. ἔμελλε, “He was about to.” See: Walter Bauer, William F. Arndt, F. Wilbur Gingrich, A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament, and Other Early Christian Literature, 1st Edition (Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 1957), p. 502, s.v. μέλλω.

John 6:7

Greek Textus Receptus 

ἀπεκρίθη αὐτῷ Φίλιππος, Διακοσίων δηναρίων ἄρτοι οὐκ ἀρκοῦσιν αὐτοῖς, ἵνα ἕκαστος αὐτῶν βραχύ τι λάβῃ. 

Free Grace Translation 

Philip answered Him, "Two-hundred denarii of bread are not enough to [feed] them, that each of them may receive [even] a little."

Bible Translation Notes 

Grk. βραχύ τι λάβῃ, "may receive a little something."

John 6:8 

Greek Textus Receptus

λέγει αὐτῷ εἷς ἐκ τῶν μαθητῶν αὐτοῦ, Ἀνδρέας ὁ ἀδελφὸς Σίμωνος Πέτρου, 

Free Grace Translation

One of His disciples, Andrew the brother of Simon Peter, said to Him, 

John 6:9 

Greek Textus Receptus

Ἔστι παιδάριον ἓν ὧδε, ὃ ἔχει πέντε ἄρτους κριθίνους καὶ δύο ὀψάρια· ἀλλὰ ταῦτα τί ἐστιν εἰς τοσούτους; 

Free Grace Translation

"There is one boy here who has five barley loaves and two small fish, but what are these among so many?"

John 6:10 

Greek Textus Receptus 

εἶπε δὲ ὁ Ἰησοῦς, Ποιήσατε τοὺς ἀνθρώπους ἀναπεσεῖν. ἦν δὲ χόρτος πολὺς ἐν τῷ τόπῳ. ἀνέπεσον οὖν οἱ ἄνδρες τὸν ἀριθμὸν ὡσεὶ πεντακισχίλιοι. 

Free Grace Translation

But Jesus said, "Have the people sit down." (Now there was an abundance of grass in that place.) So the men sat down; the number [of them] was about 5,000.

Bible Translation Notes

John uses two different Greek words for men: τοὺς ἀνθρώπους, and οἱ ἄνδρες, which is the more specific Greek word signifying men, i.e. males. "There are two words in Greek which mean 'man,' anēr, which refers to a male individual of the human race, and anthrōpos, which is the racial, generic term, and which has the general idea of 'mankind.'" (Kenneth Wuest, Great Truths to Live By, p. 46.)

Grk. ἀνθρώπους. This word refers to people in general, i.e. mankind (not exclusively men, but women and children included), although, as Plummer notes, "Among those going up to the Passover there would not be many women or children." (Plummer, The Gospel According to S. John, p. 140.) 

Grk. ἄνδρες. Commenting on John 6:10b, A. T. Robertson notes: "The men (hoi andres). Word for men as distinct from women, expressly stated in Matt. 14:21." (Robertson, Word Pictures in the New Testament, Vol. V, p. 99.) Henry Alford's commentary on John 6:10b adds more detail. He writes: "οἱ ἄνδρες. This is a particular touch of accuracy in the account of an eye-witness which has not I think been noticed. Why in the other accounts should mention be made only of the men in numbering them? Matt. has, it is true, χωρὶς γυν. κ. παιδ. [apart from women and children], leaving it to be inferred that there was some means of distinguishing; — the others merely give ὡσεὶ ἄνδρες πεντακισχ. [about 5,000 men] without any explanation. But here we see how it came to be so — the men alone were arranged in companies, or alone arranged so that any account was taken of them: the women and children being served promiscuously [i.e. indiscriminately, or without numbering them]; who indeed, if the multitude were a paschal caravan [i.e. a caravan going up to the Passover], or parts of many such, would not be likely to be very numerous; — and here again we have a point of minute truthfulness brought out." (Alford, The Greek Testament, Volume I, p. 542, brackets added.) The Expositor’s Greek Testament commentary on this text is helpful when it further explains that "the men reclined, not counting women and children (χωρὶς γυναικῶν καὶ παιδίων, Matthew 14:21), in number about five thousand; the women, though not specified, would take their places with the men. Some of the children might steal up to Jesus to receive from His own hand." 

The commentary on this verse by Milligan is very good in summary; he writes: "Ver. 10. Jesus said, Make the people sit down. 'The people,' a general word, including both men and women, is used here. They are directed to sit down, partly for the sake of order and ease in the distribution of the food, but also because the Lord is preparing to set a feast before them, and they sit down with Him as His guests. Now there was much grass in the place. So Mark speaks of the 'green grass,' — a minute but interesting coincidence [Mk. 6:39; cf. Psa. 23:2]. The circumstance is one that an eye-witness would naturally note, especially after relating the direction given that the multitude should sit down. John alone has given the season of the year (ver. 4); on this day of early spring the grass would be flourishing and abundant. So the men sat down, in number about five thousand. The 'men' are now singled out for special mention, probably because they, according to the custom of the East, sat down first. We may also suppose that the number of women and children would not be very large." (William Milligan, Commentary on the Gospel of St. John, p. 72.)

John 6:11 

Greek Textus Receptus 

ἔλαβε δὲ τοὺς ἄρτους ὁ Ἰησοῦς, καὶ εὐχαριστήσας διέδωκε τοῖς μαθηταῖς, οἱ δὲ μαθηταὶ τοῖς ἀνακειμένοις· ὁμοίως καὶ ἐκ τῶν ὀψαρίων ὅσον ἤθελον. 

Free Grace Translation

Then Jesus took the loaves, and after giving thanks, He distributed [the bread] to the disciples, and the disciples [distributed it] to those [who were] seated; likewise also from the fish, as much as they wanted. 

Bible Translation Notes

Grk. τοὺς ἄρτους. Literally, the breads. In other words, the loaves of bread (cf. Jn. 6:9). The Tyndale Bible (1526), the Matthew's Bible (1537), the Great Bible (1539), the Bishop's Bible (1568), and the Geneva Bible (1587) all translate τοὺς ἄρτους as "the bread," a collective singular.

Free Grace Study Notes  

"They all received ὅσον ἤθελον [as much as they wanted], not the βραχύ τι ['little something'] of Philip; and even this did not exhaust the supply." (W. R. Nicoll, Editor, The Expositor's Greek Testament.)

John 6:12 

Greek Textus Receptus 

ὡς δὲ ἐνεπλήσθησαν, λέγει τοῖς μαθηταῖς αὐτοῦ, Συναγάγετε τὰ περισσεύσαντα κλάσματα, ἵνα μή τι ἀπόληται. 

Free Grace Translation 

But when they were filled, He said to His disciples, "Gather up the leftover pieces, that nothing should be lost." 

Bible Translation Notes

On the phrase, "But when they were filled" (John 6:12a), cf. William Kelly's translation (An Exposition of the Gospel of John, p. 127). 

On the whole, see A. T. Robertson's Word Pictures in the New Testament, & Marvin Vincent's Word Studies. Cf. Bauer's Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament (3rd Edition), p. 116, s.v. ἀπόλλυμι (3.b); p. 323, s.v. ἐμπίπλημι (2); p. 546, s.v. κλάσμα (1); p. 805, s.v. περισσεύω (1.a). 

Free Grace Study Notes 

"Gather up the fragments] S. John alone tells of this command, though the others tell us that the fragments were gathered up. It has been noticed as a strong mark of truth, most unlikely to have been invented by the writer of a fiction. We do not find the owner of Fortunatus' purse careful against extravagance. How improbable, from a human point of view, that one who could multiply food at will should give directions about saving fragments!" (Alfred Plummer, The Gospel According to S. John, p. 141.)

Jesus desired "that nothing should be lost" (Jn. 6:12b, Smith's Literal Translation; cf. Jn. 6:39; 1 Tim. 2:3-4). Compare this with 2 Peter 3:9 when it says that God is "not wishing that any should perish" (2 Pet. 3:9b, ESV). 

John 6:13 

Greek Textus Receptus 

συνήγαγον οὖν καὶ ἐγέμισαν δώδεκα κοφίνους κλασμάτων ἐκ τῶν πέντε ἄρτων τῶν κριθίνων ἃ ἐπερίσσευσε τοῖς βεβρωκόσιν. 

Free Grace Translation 

So they gathered [them] up and filled twelve baskets with broken pieces from the five barley loaves, [pieces] that were left over by those who had eaten. 

Bible Translation Notes

Cf. Tyndale's translation of John 6:13, where he repeated the phrase "broken meat" in the final clause for the sake of clarity. The neuter plural relative pronoun ἃ (ha, meaning "that" or "which") agrees in gender and number with the neuter plural antecedent κλασμάτων (klasmatōn, meaning "fragments" or "broken pieces"). Following the precedent of Tyndale, I have repeated the word "[pieces]" to clarify that the fragments, rather than the original barley loaves, were what remained. 

Free Grace Study Notes 

"They collected the fragments for their own use, each in his κόφινος [basket], the ordinary furniture of the travelling Jew ('quorum cophinus fœnumque supellex,' Juv. Sat. iii. 14), to carry his food, lest he should be polluted by that of the people through whose territory he passed: see note on Matthew 15:32. Observe, that here the 12 baskets are filled with the fragments of the bread alone: but in Mark, with those of the fishes also. [See Mk. 6:43.]" (Henry Alford, The Greek Testament, Vol. 1, p. 757. See Alford's note on John 6:12, where he also comments on 6:13.)

John 6:14

Greek Textus Receptus

οἱ οὖν ἄνθρωποι ἰδόντες ὃ ἐποίησε σημεῖον ὁ Ἰησοῦς, ἔλεγον ὅτι Οὗτός ἐστιν ἀληθῶς ὁ προφήτης ὁ ἐρχόμενος εἰς τὸν κόσμον. 

Free Grace Translation 

Then the people, having seen what sign Jesus did, were saying, "This is truly the prophet [who is] coming into the world."

Bible Translation Notes

Grk. ὅτι Οὗτός ἐστιν ἀληθῶς ὁ προφήτης ὁ ἐρχόμενος εἰς τὸν κόσμον. Literally, that this is truly the prophet, the (one who is) coming into the world. 

Note that ὅτι (hoti) can serve as quotation marks, as it does here. See my article "Getting the Gospel Right, Pt. 1" (FGFS, October 31, 2009). Reference the section "The Content of the Gospel in 1 Corinthians 15".

Free Grace Study Notes

See Deuteronomy 18:15 in regard to "the prophet who is coming into the world." A. T. Robertson notes: "There was a popular expectation about the prophet of Deut. 18:15 as being the Messiah (John 1:21; 11:27). The phrase is peculiar to John, but the idea is in Acts (3:22; 7:37). The people are on the tiptoe of expectation and believe that Jesus is the political Messiah of Pharisaic hope." (Robertson, Word Pictures in the New Testament, Vol. V, p. 100.)

John 6:15 

Greek Textus Receptus

Ἰησοῦς οὖν γνοὺς ὅτι μέλλουσιν ἔρχεσθαι καὶ ἁρπάζειν αὐτόν, ἵνα ποιήσωσιν αὐτὸν βασιλέα, ἀνεχώρησε πάλιν εἰς τὸ ὄρος αὐτὸς μόνος. 

Free Grace Translation

Jesus therefore, knowing that they intended to come and take Him by force in order to make Him king, withdrew again to the mountain by Himself, alone. 

Bible Translation Notes 

See Bauer's Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament (3rd edition) on the phrase: "ἁρπάζειν αὐτόν ἵνα ποιήσωσιν βασιλέα take him by force, in order to make (him) king J 6:15." (Walter Bauer, A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature, 3rd ed., p. 840, s.v. ποιέω.) Cf. John Bowes' New Testament According to the Purest Greek, p. 153. See Bowes' translation of John 6:15, which is excellent. 

Free Grace Study Notes  

"For Jesus perceived that they were on the point of coming and carrying Him off to make Him king. ἁρπάζειν, to snatch suddenly and forcibly (derived from the swoop of the falcon, the ἅρπη; hence, the Harpies). This scene throws light on the use of ἁρπάζουσιν in Matt. 11:12. Their purpose was to make Him king. Their own numbers and their knowledge of the general discontent would encourage them. But Jesus ἀνεχώρησε πάλιν εἰς τὸ ὄρος αὐτὸς μόνος, 'withdrew again (cf. ver. 3) to the mountain,' from which He may have come down some distance to meet the crowd. Now He detached Himself even from His disciples. [μὴ παρέχων μηδὲ τούτοις ἀφορμὴν, Origen.] The Synoptic account is supplementary. The disciples remained behind with fragments of the crowd, but, when it became late, they went down to the sea, and having got on board a (not 'the') boat, they were coming across to Capernaum [Mark says Jesus told them to go to Bethsaida, but that is quite consistent, as they may have meant to land at the one place and walk to the other] on the other side, and it had already become dark, and Jesus had not, or 'not yet,' come to them, and the sea was rising owing to a strong wind blowing." (W. R. Nicoll, Editor, The Expositor's Greek Testament, Vol. II, pp. 749-750, brackets his. Note: The Roman numerals in the original have been updated to the current format.)

John 6:16 

Greek Textus Receptus 

Ὡς δὲ ὀψία ἐγένετο, κατέβησαν οἱ μαθηταὶ αὐτοῦ ἐπὶ τὴν θάλασσαν, 

Free Grace Translation

But when evening came, His disciples went down to the sea,

John 6:17 

Greek Textus Receptus

καὶ ἐμβάντες εἰς τὸ πλοῖον, ἤρχοντο πέραν τῆς θαλάσσης εἰς Καπερναούμ. καὶ σκοτία ἤδη ἐγεγόνει, καὶ οὐκ ἐληλύθει πρὸς αὐτοὺς ὁ Ἰησοῦς 

Free Grace Translation 

and after getting into a boat, they were going across the lake toward Capernaum. And it had already become dark, and Jesus had not come to them. 

Bible Translation Notes 

Grk. καὶ ἐμβάντες εἰς τὸ πλοῖον. Literally, "And stepping into the boat." See Mounce's Expository Dictionary of Old and New Testament Words (p. 282), when he writes: "ἐμβαίνω (embainō), GK 1832 (S 1684), 16x. embainō means 'to get into.' In the NT, it is used only of getting or stepping into a boat. Jesus and his disciples used boats for transportation (Mt. 8:23; 9:1; 14:22; 15:39; Mk. 5:18; 6:45; 8:10, 13; Lk. 8:22; 8:37; Jn. 6:17)". Cf. Bauer's Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament (3rd edition), p. 321, "ἐμβαίνω … gener. 'to step into an area'; in our lit. mostly of boarding water transport embark … εἰς (τό) πλοῖον … Mt 8:23; 9:1; 13:2; 14:22; 15:39; Mk 4:1; 5:18; 6:45; 8:10 … Lk 8:22 …, 37; cp. 5:3; J 6:17; 21:3; Ac 21:6" (ellipsis added).

Grk. ἤρχοντο πέραν, "they were going across." Cf. The Revised Version (1881), which translates it: "they . . . were going over" (see Jn. 6:17, RV, ellipsis added). Vincent likewise affirms concerning the verb ἤρχοντο: "The imperfect, were going. So Rev." (Word Studies in the New Testament.)

John 6:18 

Greek Textus Receptus 

ἥ τε θάλασσα ἀνέμου μεγάλου πνέοντος διηγείρετο. 

Free Grace Translation

And the sea was being stirred up because a strong wind [was] blowing.

Bible Translation Notes

Commenting on the wording of John 6:18 in the Authorized Version, Marvin R. Vincent writes: 

"Arose (διηγείρετο). It is lamentable how the A.V. [the KJV] misses the graphic force of these imperfects. Rev. [The Revised Version], rightly, was rising. Literally, was being awakened. The imperfects convey the sense of gathering danger, and throw into stronger relief the fact of Jesus' appearance. They were going; the darkness had already fallen, the sea was rising, and Jesus had not yet come." 

"That blew (πνέοντος).  Literally, blowing. That was blowing would be better. John's narrative at this point is more detailed and graphic than the others." (Vincent, Word Studies in the New Testament, Vol. II, pp. 146-147.)

John 6:19 

Greek Textus Receptus

ἐληλακότες οὖν ὡς σταδίους εἰκοσιπέντε ἢ τριάκοντα, θεωροῦσι τὸν Ἰησοῦν περιπατοῦντα ἐπὶ τῆς θαλάσσης, καὶ ἐγγὺς τοῦ πλοίου γινόμενον· καὶ ἐφοβήθησαν. 

Free Grace Translation 

Then having rowed about 25 or 30 stadia, they behold Jesus walking on the sea, and approaching near the boat, and they were terrified! 

Bible Translation Notes

The Greek phrase θεωροῦσι τὸν Ἰησοῦν περιπατοῦντα ἐπὶ τῆς θαλάσσης, meaning "they behold Jesus walking on the sea," echoes the description of God in Job 9:8 from the Septuagint, which says He "walks on the sea as on firm ground." (Brenton's Septuagint Translation.) 

Grk. καὶ ἐφοβήθησαν. The meaning in English is: "and they were terrified as if they had a phobia." The Greek word (from φοβέω) is the verb form of the English word "phobia". (In English there is no verb form of the noun "phobia," but the closest approximation might be to say that the disciples became phobic, or in a more informal description: "they were freaking out!" In other words, "they were scared out of their minds!") Most English translations under translate here by merely saying, "and they were afraid." (Yawn.) Such a translation hardly does justice to the scene, which is that the disciples thought they were seeing a ghost walking toward them on the water! (Compare the parallel Gospel accounts: Matt. 14:26-27; Mk. 6:49-50.) The disciples' fear is extreme, yet most English translations merely say, "and they were afraid." Such a translation hardly conveys the disciples' terror and dread! V. E. Vine in his excellent Expository Dictionary of New Testament Words affirms: "PHOBOS (φόβος) first had the meaning of flight, that which is caused by being scared; then, that which may cause flight, (a) fear, dread, terror, always with this significance in the four Gospels" (p. 414, s.v. "FEAR"). Following is a sampling of English translations of the New Testament that best convey the sense of the Greek in John 6:19b: 

• "and they dreaded." (Jn. 6:19b, Wycliffe Bible)
• "They were terrified," (Jn. 6:19b, Moffatt, The New Testament: A New Translation) 
• "and they were terrified." (Jn. 6:19b, J. B. Phillips) 
• "and so they were terror-stricken." (Jn. 6:19b, Charles B. Williams, The New Testament: A Translation in the Language of the People) 
• "and they were terrified." (Jn. 6:19b, William F. Beck, The New Testament in the Language of Today) 
• "and they were terrified." (Jn. 6:19b, Good News Translation) 
• "And they were afraid (terrified)." (Jn. 6:19b, Amplified Bible, Classic Edition)
• "They were terrified," (Jn. 6:19b, The Living Bible) 
• "and they were terrified." (Jn. 6:19b, NIV 1984)
• "and they were terrified" (Jn. 6:19b, Mounce Reverse Interlinear) 
• "and they became terrified." (Jn. 6:19b, GOD'S WORD Translation) 
• "They were scared senseless," (Jn. 6:19b, The Message)

John 6:20 

Greek Textus Receptus

ὁ δὲ λέγει αὐτοῖς, Ἐγώ εἰμι, μὴ φοβεῖσθε. 

Free Grace Translation

But He said to them, "It is I; be not afraid." 

Bible Translation Notes 

Grk. Ἐγώ εἰμι. Literally, "I am" (cf. Exodus 3:14; John 8:58). 

Grk. μὴ φοβεῖσθε. I chose to translate it as "be not afraid" because more than simply a prohibition, Jesus' words are also a summons to courage; a command toward peace, not just away from panic. (Cf. John 6:20b in the Revised Version, which I found translates it the same.)

John 6:21 

Greek Textus Receptus

ἤθελον οὖν λαβεῖν αὐτὸν εἰς τὸ πλοῖον· καὶ εὐθέως τὸ πλοῖον ἐγένετο ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς εἰς ἣν ὑπῆγον. 

Free Grace Translation

Then they were willing to take Him into the boat, and immediately the boat was on the shore to which they were going. 

Bible Translation Notes

Grk. ἤθελον οὖν. Literally, They were willing therefore. Commenting on this phrase in the Greek, A. T. Robertson affirms: "They were willing therefore (ηθελον ουν). Inchoative imperfect, 'they began to be willing.'" Right, but the Greek word oun ("then"/"therefore") already indicates that the disciples started to be willing, so it is redundant and therefore unnecessary to say "began to be". That is already obvious from the context and from the word oun. Wallace takes it a step further by translating it, "Then the disciples wanted to take Him". That is true, but the Greek has a slightly different nuance, which is better conveyed into English by saying "Then the disciples were willing to take Him" (6:21a). So while Robertson at least kept the -ing ending on "willing" ("began to be willing"), Wallace has turned the imperfect tense verb into a simple past tense ("they wanted"), more like an aorist. Mounce translates it, "Then they were glad to take Him" — which (in distinction to Wallace) at least somewhat keeps the idea of the Greek imperfect tense by saying "they were glad" (emphasis on "were"). So Mounce's translation is sort of midway between Robertson's translation and Wallace's in terms of how it translates the verb ἤθελον, "they were willing" (6:21a). The New American Standard Bible accurately retains the past continuous sense of the Greek imperfect tense by translating ἤθελον as "they were willing" (Jn. 6:21, NASB). Unfortunately some of the other widely used English Bible translations do not, such as the revered King James Version. Commenting on the wording of John 6:21 in the Authorized Version (the KJV), the New Testament scholar Marvin R. Vincent is bold enough to correct it! He writes: "They willingly received (ηθελον λαβειν). Wrong. Rev. [i.e. the Revised Version], correctly, they were willing to receive; after being reassured by His voice. The imperfect denotes a continuous state of feeling, not a mere impulsive and temporary wish." (Vincent, Word Studies in the New Testament, Vol. II, p. 147.)

Grk. ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς. Literally, on the land. 

Free Grace Study Notes 

Compare the parallel accounts of the incident in Matthew 14:22-33 and Mark 6:45-52. Jesus initially intended to pass by the boat (Mk. 6:48), but the disciples, and Peter in particular, called out to Him. Do we call out to Jesus in our hour of need?

John 6:22 

Greek Textus Receptus 

Τῇ ἐπαύριον ὁ ὄχλος ὁ ἑστηκὼς πέραν τῆς θαλάσσης, ἰδὼν ὅτι πλοιάριον ἄλλο οὐκ ἦν ἐκεῖ εἰ μὴ ἕν ἐκεῖνο εἰς ὃ ἐνέβησαν οἱ μαθηταὶ αὐτοῦ, καὶ ὅτι οὐ συνεισῆλθε τοῖς μαθηταῖς αὐτοῦ ὁ Ἰησοῦς εἰς τὸ πλοιάριον, ἀλλὰ μόνοι οἱ μαθηταὶ αὐτοῦ ἀπῆλθον, 

Free Grace Translation

On the following day the multitude which stood on the other side of the lake, having seen that no other small boat was there except that one in which His disciples embarked, and that Jesus did not go with His disciples into the boat, but only His disciples departed [in it],

John 6:23 

Greek Textus Receptus 

ἄλλα δὲ ἦλθε πλοιάρια ἐκ Τιβεριάδος ἐγγὺς τοῦ τόπου ὅπου ἔφαγον τὸν ἄρτον, εὐχαριστήσαντος τοῦ Κυρίου· 

Free Grace Translation 

but other small boats came from Tiberias near the place where they ate the bread, after the Lord gave thanks, 

John 6:24 

Greek Textus Receptus 

ὅτε οὖν εἶδεν ὁ ὄχλος ὅτι Ἰησοῦς οὐκ ἔστιν ἐκεῖ οὐδὲ οἱ μαθηταὶ αὐτοῦ, ἐνέβησαν αὐτοὶ εἰς τὰ πλοιάρια καὶ ἦλθον εἰς Καφαρναοὺμ ζητοῦντες τὸν Ἰησοῦν. 

Free Grace Translation

when therefore the multitude saw that Jesus was not there nor His disciples, they got into the small boats and went unto Capernaum seeking Jesus. 

Bible Translation Notes

Grk. ὅτι Ἰησοῦς οὐκ ἔστιν ἐκεῖ οὐδὲ οἱ μαθηταὶ αὐτοῦ. Literally, that Jesus is not there nor His disciples.

John 6:25 

Greek Textus Receptus

καὶ εὑρόντες αὐτὸν πέραν τῆς θαλάσσης, εἶπον αὐτῷ, Ῥαββί, πότε ὧδε γέγονας; 

Free Grace Translation 

And [after] finding Him on the other side of the lake, they said to Him, "Rabbi, when did you come here?" 

Bible Translation Notes 

Grk. καὶ εὑρόντες αὐτὸν. Literally, And finding Him. But since εὑρόντες is an aorist participle, it is valid to translate it as "after" + aorist participle (see Mounce, Basics of Biblical Greek, 4th Edition, p. 323). James Moffatt translates it, "And after finding him" (Moffatt, The Historical New Testament, p. 509).

John 6:26 

Greek Textus Receptus

ἀπεκρίθη αὐτοῖς ὁ Ἰησοῦς καὶ εἶπεν, Ἀμὴν ἀμὴν λέγω ὑμῖν, ζητεῖτέ με, οὐχ ὅτι εἴδετε σημεῖα, ἀλλ’ ὅτι ἐφάγετε ἐκ τῶν ἄρτων καὶ ἐχορτάσθητε. 

Free Grace Translation 

Jesus answered them and said, "Truly, truly, I say to you, you seek Me, not because you saw miracles, but because you ate from the loaves and were filled." 

Bible Translation Notes 

Grk. ζητεῖτέ με ("you seek Me"). The verb ζητεῖτέ is second person plural, i.e. "you (plural) seek Me". 

Grk. οὐχ ὅτι εἴδετε σημεῖα. Literally, not because you saw signs. Cf. John 6:2, 14.

John 6:27 

Greek Textus Receptus

ἐργάζεσθε μὴ τὴν βρῶσιν τὴν ἀπολλυμένην, ἀλλὰ τὴν βρῶσιν τὴν μένουσαν εἰς ζωὴν αἰώνιον, ἣν ὁ υἱὸς τοῦ ἀνθρώπου ὑμῖν δώσει· τοῦτον γὰρ ὁ πατὴρ ἐσφράγισεν, ὁ Θεός. 

Free Grace Translation 

"Do not work for the food that perishes, but for the food that remains unto eternal life, which the Son of Man will give to you; for on him God the Father put His seal."

Bible Translation Notes

Grk. ἐργάζεσθε . . . τὴν βρῶσιν τὴν μένουσαν εἰς ζωὴν αἰώνιον. Literally, "work for . . . the food that remains unto eternal life". The 1st edition of Walter Bauer's Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament (BAG) has this insightful comment on ἐργάζομαι, as it is used in John 6:27 (s.v. ἐργάζομαι, definition 2.e.): "ἐ. τὴν βρῶσιν ['work for the food'] J 6:27 can, when it is alone, mean work for, earn the food (Hes., Op. βίον ἐ.; Hdt. 1, 24 χρήματα; cf. Pla., Laches 183A; X., Mem. 2, 8, 2; Theod. Pr 21:6. Also βρῶμα: Palaeph. p. 28, 10). However, in this context βρῶσις ['food'] seems to be not so much a thing to be earned, as a free gift of the Son of Man. As in the similar case of the Samaritan woman (cf. J 6:35 w. 4:14) the hearer is simply prepared for the statement that he is to accept what is freely given. But ἐργάζεσθαι ['to work for'] can also mean, when used w. food, prepare for use, digest, assimilate sc. τὴν τροφήν (Aristot., De Vita et Morte 4; more often ἐργασία τ. τροφῆς)." (Walter Bauer, A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature. Translated and adapted by William F. Arndt and F. Wilbur Gingrich [Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1957], 1st English Edition, p. 307, brackets added.) 

The 3rd edition of Bauer's Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament (BDAG) similarly states (s.v. ἐργάζομαι, definition 2.e.): "work for/earn food (Hes., Op. 43 βίον ἐ.; Hdt. 1, 24 χρήματα; cp. Pla., Hipp. Mai. 282d, Laches 183a; X., Mem. 2, 8, 2; Theod. Pr 21: 6. Also βρώμα: Palaeph. p. 28, 10) ἐ. τὴν βρώσιν ['work for the food'] J 6:27: in this context βρῶσις ['food'] appears to be the free gift of the Human One (Son of Man). As in the similar case of the Samaritan woman (cp. J 6:35 w. 4:14) hearers are simply prepared for the statement that they are to accept what is freely given. But ἐργάζεσθαι ['to work for'] can also mean, when used w. food, prepare for use, digest, assimilate sc. τὴν τροφήν (Aristot., De Vita et Morte 4; Maximus Tyr. 15, 5a [ἐργ. τὴν τροφήν of the activity of the jaws]; more often ἐργασία τ. τροφῆς)." (Walter Bauer, A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature. 3rd Edition. Revised and edited by Frederick W. Danker [Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2000], p. 389, last brackets his.) 

Grk. τὴν βρῶσιν τὴν μένουσαν εἰς ζωὴν αἰώνιον. Literally, "the food remaining unto eternal life". The Authorized Version reads: "that meat which endureth unto everlasting life" (Jn. 6:27, KJV). But the word "endureth" (or "endures") is not the best translation of μένουσαν (a participle meaning "remaining"), from μένω (ménō), which more accurately means "to remain," "to stay," or "to abide". While menō is occasionally rendered as "endure" in the A.V. (Jn. 6:27; 1 Pet. 1:25), probably a more accurate English translation is "abideth" (as in the Revised Version). The Greek word for "endure" is not so much menō but hupomenō, meaning "to remain under". As one New Testament scholar has noted, quoting the wording of John 6:27 in the Authorized Version: "endureth unto everlasting life] Better, abideth unto eternal life: see on [John] 1:33 and 3:16." (Alfred Plummer, The Gospel According to S. John, The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges [Cambridge: The University Press, 1891], p. 147, bold and italics his. Note: The Roman numerals in the original ["i. 33 and iii. 16"] have been updated to the current format.) 

Grk. τοῦτον γὰρ, etc. Literally, for (on) this (one) God the Father put His seal. Or, for (on) this (man) God the Father put His seal. I.e. for God the Father put His seal on this Man.

Free Grace Study Notes

"The Son would give this food and eternal life, but the people had a responsibility to 'work' (i.e., believe the gospel, v. 29) for it too." (Thomas L. Constable, Notes on John, commentary on John 6:27.)

John 6:28 

Greek Textus Receptus

εἶπον οὖν πρὸς αὐτόν, Τί ποιῶμεν, ἵνα ἐργαζώμεθα τὰ ἔργα τοῦ Θεοῦ; 

Free Grace Translation

Therefore they said to Him, "What should we do, so that we may work the works of God?" 

Bible Translation Notes 

Gk. ποιῶμεν. The verb is in the subjunctive mood: a "deliberative subjunctive" (Robertson's Word Pictures in the New Testament). "The subjunctive of deliberation suggests doubt on the whole subject or expresses a wish to do something." (Robertson, A Grammar of the Greek New Testament in Light of Historical Research, 4th Edition, pp. 923-924.) The listeners are deliberating about what to do. In Acts 16:30 the question was "What must I do…?" But in John 6:28 the question is in the subjunctive mood: "What should we do….?" Some of the Bible translations that bring this out well are the following: 

• Young's Literal Bible: "They said therefore unto him, 'What may we do that we may work the works of God?'"  (John 6:28, YLT)
• Darby Bible Translation: "They said therefore to him, 'What should we do that we may work the works of God?'" (John 6:28, Darby) 
• William Kelly's Translation: "They said therefore to him, What should we do that we may work the works of God?" (Kelly, An Exposition of the Gospel of John, p. 133.) 
• Wilbur N. Pickering's Translation: "So they said to Him, 'What should we do so that we may work the works of God?'" (Pickering, The Sovereign Creator Has Spoken, 3rd Edition, p. 209.) 
• New Living Translation: "They replied, 'We want to perform God’s works, too. What should we do?'" (John 6:28, NLT)

John 6:29

Greek Textus Receptus

ἀπεκρίθη ὁ Ἰησοῦς καὶ εἶπεν αὐτοῖς, Τοῦτό ἐστι τὸ ἔργον τοῦ Θεοῦ, ἵνα πιστεύσητε εἰς ὃν ἀπέστειλεν ἐκεῖνος. 

Free Grace Translation 

Jesus answered and said to them, "This is the work of God, that you should believe in Him whom He sent." 

Bible Translation Notes 

Gk. ἵνα. Depending on the context, but specifically here in John 6:29, it's acceptable to translate ἵνα as "that" rather than "in order that". See Alfred Marshall, New Testament Greek Primer (London: Samuel Bagster & Sons, 1962), pp. 124-125. 

Gk. πιστεύσητε εἰς ὃν ἀπέστειλεν ἐκεῖνος. Literally, you should believe in whom that (one) sent. In other words. believe in whom God sent. Specifically, believe in Jesus! In Greek the relative pronoun ὃν ("whom") is masculine, so that's why I translated it as "Him whom" (Jn. 6:29b). 

Free Grace Study Notes

Commenting on John 6:29, the New Testament Greek scholar Henry Alford notes: "29.] The meaning is not, that faith is wrought in us by God, is the work of God; but that the truest way of working the work of God is to believe on Him whom He hath sent." (Alford, The Greek Testament [London: 1849], 2 Vols. Vol. 1, p. 545, italics his.)

John 6:30 

Greek Textus Receptus 

εἶπον οὖν αὐτῷ, Τί οὖν ποιεῖς σὺ σημεῖον, ἵνα ἴδωμεν καὶ πιστεύσωμέν σοι; τί ἐργάζῃ; 

Free Grace Translation 

Therefore they said to Him, "Then what miraculous sign do you perform, so that we may see [it] and believe in you? What [miracle] do you work?" 

Free Grace Study Notes 

The Jews' demand for a sign from Jesus (Jn. 6:30) is illustrative of Paul's statement in 1 Corinthians 1:22, "For the Jews require a sign" (1 Cor. 1:22, KJV; cf. Isa. 45:9; Matt. 12:38, 16:1).

John 6:31 

Greek Textus Receptus 

οἱ πατέρες ἡμῶν τὸ μάννα ἔφαγον ἐν τῇ ἐρήμῳ, καθώς ἐστι γεγραμμένον, Ἄρτον ἐκ τοῦ οὐρανοῦ ἔδωκεν αὐτοῖς φαγεῖν. 

Free Grace Translation 

"Our fathers ate manna in the wilderness, just as it is written, 'He gave them bread from heaven to eat.'" 

John 6:32 

Greek Textus Receptus

εἶπεν οὖν αὐτοῖς ὁ Ἰησοῦς, Ἀμὴν ἀμὴν λέγω ὑμῖν, Οὐ Μωσῆς δέδωκεν ὑμῖν τὸν ἄρτον ἐκ τοῦ οὐρανοῦ· ἀλλ’ ὁ πατήρ μου δίδωσιν ὑμῖν τὸν ἄρτον ἐκ τοῦ οὐρανοῦ τὸν ἀληθινόν. 

Free Grace Translation 

Therefore Jesus said to them, "Truly, truly, I say to you, Moses has not given you the bread from heaven; but rather My Father gives you the true bread from heaven." 

John 6:33 

Greek Textus Receptus

ὁ γὰρ ἄρτος τοῦ Θεοῦ ἐστιν ὁ καταβαίνων ἐκ τοῦ οὐρανοῦ καὶ ζωὴν διδοὺς τῷ κόσμῳ. 

Free Grace Translation

"For the bread of God is that which comes down from heaven and gives life to the world." 

John 6:34 

Greek Textus Receptus 

εἶπον οὖν πρὸς αὐτόν, Κύριε, πάντοτε δὸς ἡμῖν τὸν ἄρτον τοῦτον. 

Free Grace Translation 

Therefore they said to Him, "Sir, always give us this bread!" 

John 6:35 

Greek Textus Receptus 

εἶπε δὲ αὐτοῖς ὁ Ἰησοῦς, Ἐγώ εἰμι ὁ ἄρτος τῆς ζωῆς· ὁ ἐρχόμενος πρός με, οὐ μὴ πεινάσῃ· καὶ ὁ πιστεύων εἰς ἐμὲ οὐ μὴ διψήσῃ πώποτε. 

Free Grace Translation 

But Jesus said to them, "I am the bread of life; the [one] [who] comes to Me will never hunger, and the [one] [who] believes in Me will never thirst again." 

Bible Translation Notes 

Grk. οὐ μὴ διψήσῃ. This verb (διψήσῃ) is in the active voice, which is why I have translated it as "will never thirst" instead of "will never be thirsty" (Mounce), which is more passive. It should also be noted in regard to διψήσῃ that in John 6:35 it is used as a durative future with οὐ μὴ. (Robertson, A Grammar of the Greek New Testament in the Light of Historical Research, 4th ed., p. 889.)

Grk. πώποτε (pōpote). Literally, "at all" or "ever yet, ever, at any time." For the translation "at all," cf. Moulton and Milligan, The Vocabulary of the Greek Testament, s.v. πώποτε. For the translation of πώποτε as "again," see William D. Mounce's Reverse Interlinear on John 6:35b, which he translates as "will never be thirsty again."

John 6:36 

Greek Textus Receptus

ἀλλ’ εἶπον ὑμῖν ὅτι καὶ ἑωράκατέ με, καὶ οὐ πιστεύετε. 

Free Grace Translation 

"But I said to you that even though you have seen Me, you still do not believe."

John 6:37 

Greek Textus Receptus

πᾶν ὃ δίδωσί μοι ὁ πατὴρ πρὸς ἐμὲ ἥξει· καὶ τὸν ἐρχόμενον πρός με οὐ μὴ ἐκβάλω ἔξω. 

Free Grace Translation 

"All that the Father gives Me will come to Me; and the one who comes to Me I will never cast out." 

John 6:38 

Greek Textus Receptus 

ὅτι καταβέβηκα ἐκ τοῦ οὐρανοῦ, οὐχ ἵνα ποιῶ τὸ θέλημα τὸ ἐμόν, ἀλλὰ τὸ θέλημα τοῦ πέμψαντός με. 

Free Grace Translation 

"For I have come down from heaven, not that I should do My will, but the will of Him who sent Me."

John 6:39 

Greek Textus Receptus 

τοῦτο δέ ἐστι τὸ θέλημα τοῦ πέμψαντός με πατρός, ἵνα πᾶν ὃ δέδωκέ μοι, μὴ ἀπολέσω ἐξ αὐτοῦ, ἀλλὰ ἀναστήσω αὐτὸ ἐν τῇ ἐσχάτῃ ἡμέρᾳ. 

Free Grace Translation

"And this is the will of the Father who sent Me: that everything which He has given to Me, I should lose none of it, but should raise it up on the last day."

John 6:40

Greek Textus Receptus

τοῦτο δὲ ἐστι τὸ θέλημα τοῦ πέμψαντός με, ἵνα πᾶς ὁ θεωρῶν τὸν υἱὸν καὶ πιστεύων εἰς αὐτόν, ἔχῃ ζωὴν αἰώνιον, καὶ ἀναστήσω αὐτὸν ἐγὼ τῇ ἐσχάτῃ ἡμέρᾳ.

Free Grace Translation

"And this is the will of Him who sent Me, that everyone who sees the Son and believes in Him should have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day."

Bible Translation Notes

Grk. θέλημα = wish, will, desire. Cf. 1 Tim. 2:4, NKJV.

Grk. τοῦ πέμψαντός με. Literally, of the (one) sending me. Technically πέμψαντός is a participle, so the phrase τοῦ πέμψαντός με could literally be translated "of the One sending Me" (i.e. the Father). But since τοῦ is masculine singular, and πέμψαντός is an aorist participle, it's also valid to translate τοῦ πέμψαντός με as "Him who sent Me". 

Grk. ἵνα . . . ἔχῃ ζωὴν αἰώνιον. Also note the hina (ἵνα) clause and that ἔχῃ is in the subjunctive mood, thus I have translated it: "should have eternal life".

Free Grace Study Notes 

God chooses to save those who choose to believe. This is the biblical balance between divine sovereignty and human responsibility.

John 6:41 

Greek Textus Receptus 

Ἐγόγγυζον οὖν οἱ Ἰουδαῖοι περὶ αὐτοῦ, ὅτι εἶπεν, Ἐγώ εἰμι ὁ ἄρτος ὁ καταβὰς ἐκ τοῦ οὐρανοῦ. 

Free Grace Translation 

Therefore the Jews were murmuring about Him, because He said, "I am the bread that came down from heaven."

John 6:42 

Greek Textus Receptus 

καὶ ἔλεγον, Οὐχ οὗτός ἐστιν Ἰησοῦς ὁ υἱὸς Ἰωσήφ, οὗ ἡμεῖς οἴδαμεν τὸν πατέρα καὶ τὴν μητέρα; πῶς οὖν λέγει οὖτος ὅτι Ἐκ τοῦ οὐρανοῦ καταβέβηκα; 

Free Grace Translation

And they were saying, "Is this not Jesus the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How then does He say that I have come down from heaven?"

John 6:43 

Greek Textus Receptus

ἀπεκρίθη οὖν ὁ Ἰησοῦς καὶ εἶπεν αὐτοῖς, Μὴ γογγύζετε μετ’ ἀλλήλων. 

Free Grace Translation: 

Jesus therefore answered and said to them, "Do not murmur with one another."

John 6:44 

Greek Textus Receptus

οὐδεὶς δύναται ἐλθεῖν πρός με, ἐὰν μὴ ὁ πατὴρ ὁ πέμψας με ἑλκύσῃ αὐτόν, καὶ ἐγὼ ἀναστήσω αὐτὸν τῇ ἐσχάτῃ ἡμέρᾳ. 

Free Grace Translation

"No one is able to come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him, and I will raise him up on the last day." 

Free Grace Study Notes  

Compare John 12:32. Jesus will draw all people to Himself when He is lifted up on the cross (cf. Jn. 3:14-17). Thus, anyone can come to Christ by faith.

John 6:45 

Greek Textus Receptus

ἔστι γεγραμμένον ἐν τοῖς προφήταις, Καὶ ἔσονται πάντες διδακτοὶ τοῦ Θεοῦ. πᾶς οὖν ὁ ἀκούσας παρὰ τοῦ πατρὸς καὶ μαθών, ἔρχεται πρός με. 

Free Grace Translation

"It is written in the Prophets, 'And they will all be taught by God.' Therefore everyone who hears and learns from the Father comes to Me."

Free Grace Study Notes 

Jesus is quoting Isaiah 54:13, which says: "All your children shall be taught by the Lord, and great shall be the peace of your children." Everett F. Harrison insightfully observes: "Here Christ quoted Isa 54:13.  If the all be emphasized, it removes any element of restriction that may seem to lurk in the idea of drawing as stated in Jn 6:44." (The Wycliffe Bible Commentary, p. 1087.)

Commenting on John 6:45, Albert Barnes writes: "In the prophets. Isa. 54.13. A similar sentiment is found in Micah 4.1-4, and Jer. 31.34; but by the prophets, here, is meant the book of the prophets, and it is probable that Jesus had reference only to the place in Isaiah, as this was the usual way of quoting the prophets. Shall be all taught of God. This explains the preceding verse. It is by the teaching of his word and Spirit that men are drawn to God. This shows that it is not compulsory, and that there is no obstacle in the way, but a strong voluntary ignorance and unwillingness." (Barnes' Notes on the New Testament [Grand Rapids: Kregel, 1975], p. 297. Note: The Roman numerals in the original have been updated to the current format.)

John 6:46 

Greek Textus Receptus

οὐχ ὅτι τὸν πατέρα τις ἑώρακέν, εἰ μὴ ὁ ὢν παρὰ τοῦ Θεοῦ, οὗτος ἑώρακε τὸν πατέρα. 

Free Grace Translation 

"Not that anyone has seen the Father, except the [one] who is from God, this [one] has seen the Father."

John 6:47 

Greek Textus Receptus 

ἀμὴν ἀμὴν λέγω ὑμῖν, ὁ πιστεύων εἰς ἐμὲ, ἔχει ζωὴν αἰώνιον. 

Free Grace Translation

"Truly, truly, I say to you, the one who believes in Me has eternal life." 

Bible Translation Notes 

The oldest Greek manuscripts of this text do not contain the words εἰς ἐμὲ, "in Me". 

Free Grace Study Notes 

The oldest Greek manuscripts of this text (e.g. Papyrus 66, Papyrus 75, Codex Sinaiticus, Codex Vaticanus, etc.) do not contain the words "in Me". In these Greek texts, John 6:47 reads as follows: "Truly, truly, I say to you, the one who believes has eternal life." So the question is: "believes" what? Related to Free Grace Theology, a distinct interpretation of John 6:47 has been prominently advocated by Zane Hodges and Bob Wilkin of the Grace Evangelical Society. This verse, particularly in its longer textual form, serves as their favorite proof-text and the central tenet around which their ministry is built. But herein lies the problem: Hodges and Wilkin have constructed their entire ministry and theology of salvation not only on one proof-text, but more specifically on a variant reading of that proof-text! Thus their hermeneutic (their method of Bible interpretation) is doubly flawed, and is therefore rightly rejected. For a fuller discussion see Fred Lybrand's article "GES Gospel: Lybrand Open Letter," particularly page 21.

John 6:48 

Greek Textus Receptus 

ἐγώ εἰμι ὁ ἄρτος τῆς ζωῆς. 

Free Grace Translation

"I am the bread of life."

John 6:49 

Greek Textus Receptus

οἱ πατέρες ὑμῶν ἔφαγον τὸ μάννα ἐν τῇ ἐρήμῳ, καὶ ἀπέθανον. 

Free Grace Translation 

"Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, and died."

 

John 6:50 

Greek Textus Receptus

οὗτός ἐστιν ὁ ἄρτος ὁ ἐκ τοῦ οὐρανοῦ καταβαίνων, ἵνα τις ἐξ αὐτοῦ φάγῃ καὶ μὴ ἀποθάνῃ. 

Free Grace Translation

"This is the bread [that] comes down from heaven, so that anyone may eat of it and not die."

John 6:51 

Greek Textus Receptus

ἐγώ εἰμι ὁ ἄρτος ὁ ζῶν, ὁ ἐκ τοῦ οὐρανοῦ καταβάς· ἐάν τις φάγῃ ἐκ τούτου τοῦ ἄρτου, ζήσεται εἰς τὸν αἰῶνα. καὶ ὁ ἄρτος δὲ ὃν ἐγὼ δώσω, ἡ σάρξ μου ἐστίν, ἣν ἐγὼ δώσω ὑπὲρ τῆς τοῦ κόσμου ζωῆς. 

Free Grace Translation

"I am the living bread [that] came down from heaven; if anyone should eat of this bread, he will live forever. And moreover, the bread that I will give is My flesh, which I will give for the life of the world."

John 6:52 

Greek Textus Receptus 

Ἐμάχοντο οὖν πρὸς ἀλλήλους οἱ Ἰουδαῖοι λέγοντες, Πῶς δύναται οὗτος ἡμῖν δοῦναι τὴν σάρκα φαγεῖν; 

Free Grace Translation

Therefore the Jews were arguing with one another saying, "How is this [man] able to give us [His] flesh to eat?" 

John 6:53 

Greek Textus Receptus

εἶπεν οὖν αὐτοῖς ὁ Ἰησοῦς, Ἀμὴν ἀμὴν λέγω ὑμῖν, ἐὰν μὴ φάγητε τὴν σάρκα τοῦ υἱοῦ τοῦ ἀνθρώπου καὶ πίητε αὐτοῦ τὸ αἷμα, οὐκ ἔχετε ζωὴν ἐν ἑαυτοῖς. 

Free Grace Translation

Then Jesus said to them, "Truly, Truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in yourselves."

John 6:54 

Greek Textus Receptus 

ὁ τρώγων μου τὴν σάρκα καὶ πίνων μου τὸ αἷμα, ἔχει ζωὴν αἰώνιον, καὶ ἐγὼ ἀναστήσω αὐτὸν τῇ ἐσχάτῃ ἡμέρᾳ. 

Free Grace Translation 

"The [one] who eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day."

Bible Translation Notes

Grk. ὁ τρώγων. Literally, The (one) eating. I chose to translate it as "The [one] who eats" to maintain English readability while preserving the definite article (ὁ). Not "Whoever" (as in the NKJV, ESV, NIV). The indefinite "Whoever" in John 6:54 is an interpretive paraphrase, not a translation. A correct translation is either "He that eateth" (RV 1885), "He who eats" (NASB 1977, 1995), "The one who eats" (NASB 2020), "The one who feeds on" (Mounce's Reverse Interlinear), "The one eating" (Berean Literal Bible), or the like.

John 6:55 

Greek Textus Receptus 

ἡ γὰρ σάρξ μου ἀληθῶς ἐστι βρῶσις, καὶ τὸ αἷμά μου ἀληθῶς ἐστι πόσις. 

Free Grace Translation 

"For My flesh is true food, and My blood is true drink."

John 6:56 

Greek Textus Receptus

ὁ τρώγων μου τὴν σάρκα καὶ πίνων μου τὸ αἷμα, ἐν ἐμοὶ μένει, κἀγὼ ἐν αὐτῷ. 

Free Grace Translation

"The one who eats My flesh and drinks My blood remains in Me, and I in him."

John 6:57 

Greek Textus Receptus

καθὼς ἀπέστειλέ με ὁ ζῶν πατήρ, κἀγὼ ζῶ διὰ τὸν πατέρα· καὶ ὁ τρώγων με, κἀκεῖνος ζήσεται δι’ ἐμέ. 

Free Grace Translation 

"Just as the living Father sent Me, and I live because of the Father; [so] also the [one] [who] feeds on Me, that [one] will live because of Me."

John 6:58 

Greek Textus Receptus

οὗτός ἐστιν ὁ ἄρτος ὁ ἐκ τοῦ οὐρανοῦ καταβάς· οὐ καθὼς ἔφαγον οἱ πατέρες ὑμῶν τὸ μάννα, καὶ ἀπέθανον· ὁ τρώγων τοῦτον τὸν ἄρτον, ζήσεται εἰς τὸν αἰῶνα. 

Free Grace Translation 

"This is the bread that came down from heaven; not as your fathers ate the manna, and died; the [one] [who] feeds on this bread, he will live forever."

Bible Translation Notes

Grk. ὁ τρώγων τοῦτον τὸν ἄρτον. Lit. the (one) feeding on this bread.

John 6:59 

Greek Textus Receptus 

ταῦτα εἶπεν ἐν συναγωγῇ διδάσκων ἐν Καπερναούμ. 

Free Grace Translation 

He said these things in [the] synagogue, teaching in Capernaum.

John 6:60 

Greek Textus Receptus

Πολλοὶ οὖν ἀκούσαντες ἐκ τῶν μαθητῶν αὐτοῦ εἶπον, Σκληρός ἐστιν οὗτος ὁ λόγος· τίς δύναται αὐτοῦ ἀκούειν; 

Free Grace Translation

Then many of his disciples, [after] hearing [these things], said, "This is a hard message; who is able to accept it?" 

Bible Translation Notes

Marcus Dods writes: "Σκληρός is rather 'hard to receive' than 'hard to understand'." (W. R. Nicoll, Editor, The Expositor's Greek Testament, Vol. I, p. 759. See also: A. T. Robertson, Word Pictures, Vol. V, p. 113; Henry Alford, The Greek Testament, Vol. I, p. 763; Alfred Plummer, The Gospel According to St John, p. 47.)

John 6:61 

Greek Textus Receptus

εἰδὼς δὲ ὁ Ἰησοῦς ἐν ἑαυτῷ ὅτι γογγύζουσι περὶ τούτου οἱ μαθηταὶ αὐτοῦ, εἶπεν αὐτοῖς, Τοῦτο ὑμᾶς σκανδαλίζει; 

Free Grace Translation

But Jesus, knowing in Himself that His disciples were murmuring about this, said to them, "Does this offend you?" 

Bible Translation Notes

Grk. Τοῦτο ὑμᾶς σκανδαλίζει. Or, "Does this shock you?" (See Bauer's Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament, s.v. σκανδαλίζω.) 

John 6:62 

Greek Textus Receptus 

ἐὰν οὖν θεωρῆτε τὸν υἱὸν τοῦ ἀνθρώπου ἀναβαίνοντα ὅπου ἦν τὸ πρότερον 

Free Grace Translation 

"Then what if you should behold the Son of Man ascending to where He was before?" 

John 6:63 

Greek Textus Receptus 

τὸ πνεῦμά ἐστι τὸ ζωοποιοῦν, ἡ σὰρξ οὐκ ὠφελεῖ οὐδέν· τὰ ῥήματα ἃ ἐγὼ λαλῶ ὑμῖν, πνεῦμά ἐστι καὶ ζωή ἐστιν. 

Free Grace Translation 

"The Spirit is life-giving, the flesh profits nothing at all; the words that I speak to you, are Spirit and are life." 

Bible Translation Notes 

Grk. τὸ πνεῦμά ἐστι τὸ ζωοποιοῦν. Cf. Bauer's Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament, s.v. ζωοποιοέω. Bauer comments: "The Spirit is called life-giving J 6:63". (Walter Bauer, A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature, 3rd Edition, p. 432.)

John 6:64 

Greek Textus Receptus

ἀλλ’ εἰσὶν ἐξ ὑμῶν τινες οἳ οὐ πιστεύουσιν. ᾔδει γὰρ ἐξ ἀρχῆς ὁ Ἰησοῦς, τίνες εἰσὶν οἱ μὴ πιστεύοντες, καὶ τίς ἐστιν ὁ παραδώσων αὐτόν. 

Free Grace Translation

"But there are some of you who do not believe." For Jesus knew from the beginning who they were that did not believe, and who it was that would betray Him.

John 6:65 

Greek Textus Receptus

καὶ ἔλεγε, Διὰ τοῦτο εἴρηκα ὑμῖν, ὅτι οὐδεὶς δύναται ἐλθεῖν πρός με, ἐὰν μὴ ᾖ δεδομένον αὐτῷ ἐκ τοῦ πατρός μου. 

Free Grace Translation 

And He was saying, "For this reason I have said to you, that no one is able to come to Me, unless it has been granted to him from My Father."

Free Grace Study Notes  

What is the will of the Father in this context? See John 6:40. 

John 6:66 

Greek Textus Receptus 

Ἐκ τούτου πολλοὶ ἀπῆλθον τῶν μαθητῶν αὐτοῦ εἰς τὰ ὀπίσω, καὶ οὐκέτι μετ’ αὐτοῦ περιεπάτουν. 

Free Grace Translation

Because of this, many of His disciples went back to their homes and no longer walked with Him. 

Bible Translation Notes 

Gk. τούτου. A near demonstrative, this. Some translations read "that". But that is a far demonstrative and a different Greek word (ekeinos). Cf. Lange's Commentary: "Ver. 66. Upon this many of his disciples.—Ἐκ τούτου. (1) From this moment (Lücke, De Wette). (2) Meyer, more correctly, according to c. 19:12: On account of this discourse, 'which disappointed their carnal messianic hopes.' And in addition had become the strongest positive offence." (John Peter Lange, Philip Schaff, Editor, A Commentary on the Holy Scriptures [New York: 1884], 25 Vols., NT Vol. III, p. 234, underlining added.) 

Gk. εἰς τὰ ὀπίσω. See Thayer's Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament, s.v. ὀπίσω. Thayer lists John 6:66 under meaning 1, "to return home, of those who grow recreant [cowardly, disloyal, or unfaithful] to Christ's teaching and cease to follow Him, Jn. vi. 66". Cf. John 6:66 in The Berkeley Version: "From then on many of His disciples returned home and no longer walked with Him."

Gk. οὐκέτι, no longer. A fun mnemonic to remember the meaning of οὐκέτι: "I will no longer clean up the (p)uke from your (spagh)etti."

Free Grace Study Notes 

If these disciples are unsaved it is because they never believed (Jn. 6:64), not because they ceased to follow Christ. Other passages indicate that believers can cease to follow Christ, i.e. stop being a follower/disciple (see Matt. 26:31, 26:56; Mk. 15:50-52; Lk. 14:26-27, 14:33, 22:54-62; Jn. 2:23-25, 8:30-31, 12:42-43, 15:8, 18:25-27; cf. "The Parable of the Soils" in Luke 8:4-15 and parallel passages. For more information, see my article: "Charles Ryrie on Repentance and Faith, Pt. 3".)

John 6:67 

Greek Textus Receptus 

εἶπεν οὖν ὁ Ἰησοῦς τοῖς δώδεκα, Μὴ καὶ ὑμεῖς θέλετε ὑπάγειν; 

Free Grace Translation

Then Jesus said to the twelve, "You don't want to leave too, do you?" 

Bible Translation Notes 

Grk. Μὴ. Since μὴ expects a negative answer, the words "do you?" have been added at the end of the sentence to make it more clear that a negative answer is expected. 

John 6:68 

Greek Textus Receptus 

ἀπεκρίθη οὖν αὐτῷ Σίμων Πέτρος, Κύριε, πρὸς τίνα ἀπελευσόμεθα; ῥήματα ζωῆς αἰωνίου ἔχεις 

Free Grace Translation 

Then Simon Peter answered Him, "Lord, to whom will we go? You have [the] words of eternal life." 

Bible Translation Notes 

Grk. ἀπελευσόμεθα. Literally, we will go. Since Peter is asking a question, the way to phrase it is: "will we go?" 

John 6:69 

Greek Textus Receptus 

καὶ ἡμεῖς πεπιστεύκαμεν καὶ ἐγνώκαμεν ὅτι σὺ εἶ ὁ Χριστὸς ὁ υἱὸς τοῦ Θεοῦ τοῦ ζῶντος. 

Free Grace Translation

"And we have believed and know that you are the Christ, the Son of the living God." 

Bible Translation Notes 

The oldest Greek manuscripts of this text read, "And we have believed and know that you are the holy one of God." 

John 6:70 

Greek Textus Receptus 

ἀπεκρίθη αὐτοῖς ὁ Ἰησοῦς, Οὐκ ἐγὼ ὑμᾶς τοὺς δώδεκα ἐξελεξάμην, καὶ ἐξ ὑμῶν εἷς διάβολός ἐστιν; 

Free Grace Translation

Jesus answered them, "Did I not choose you, the twelve, and yet one of you is a devil?"

John 6:71 

Greek Textus Receptus

ἔλεγε δὲ τὸν Ἰούδαν Σίμωνος Ἰσκαριώτην· οὗτος γὰρ ἤμελλεν αὐτὸν παραδιδόναι, εἷς ὢν ἐκ τῶν δώδεκα. 

Free Grace Translation 

But He was speaking of Judas, [the son] of Simon Iscariot; for he was about to betray Him, being one of the twelve.