Juan 6:39 Comentario

In this chapter we have, I. The miracle of the loaves (Joh 6:1-14). II. Christ's walking upon the water (Joh 6:15-21). III. The people's flocking after him to Capernaum (Joh 6:22-25). IV. His conference with them, occasioned by the miracle of the loaves, in which he reproves them for seeking carnal food, and directs them to spiritual food (Joh 6:26, Joh 6:27), showing them how they must labour for spiritual food (Joh 6:28, Joh 6:29), and what that spiritual food is (v. 30-59). V. Their discontent at what he said, and the reproof he gave them for it (Joh 6:60-65). VI. The apostasy of many from him, and his discourse with his disciples that adhered to him upon that occasion (Joh 6:66-71).

After these things,.... After Christ's curing the man at Bethesda's pool, and the vindication of himself for doing it or the sabbath day, and for asserting his equality with God; near a year after these things: for these were done at the feast of the passover, and now it was near another; and what is related here, was after the death of John the Baptist, and when the disciples had returned from preaching in the several cities and towns, where Christ afterwards went, and had given an account of their success; see Mat 14:12. Quickly after the passover was ended, Christ departed from Jerusalem, and went into Galilee, and preached in the several cities and towns in those parts, and wrought many miracles: and after these things, in process of time, Jesus went over the sea of Galilee; the same with the lake of Gennesaret, Luk 5:1; which is the sea of Tiberias; and is frequently so called by the Jewish writers (x), who often make mention of , "the sea of Tiberias"; and by other writers, it is called the lake of Tiberias (y); Pliny, who calls it the lake of Genesara (z), says, "it was sixteen miles long, and six broad, and was beset with very pleasant towns; on the east were Julias and Hippo, and on the south Tarichea, by which name some call the lake, and on the west Tiberias, wholesome for the hot waters.'' And these are the waters which the Jews call , or, the hot baths of Tiberias (a); and from the city of Tiberias built by Herod, and called so in honour of Tiberius Caesar, the sea took its name. (x) T. Bab. Bava Kama, fol. 81. 2. & Bava Bathra, fol. 74. 2. Becorot, fol. 55. 1. Megilla, fol. 5. 2. & 6. 1. Moed. Katon, fol. 18. 2. & T. Hieros. Kilaim, fol. 32. 3. & Erubin, fol. 25. 2. (y) Solin, c. 48. Pausan. l. 5. p. 298. (z) Lib. 5. c. 15. (a) T. Hieros. Peah, fol 21. 2. & Sheviith, fol. 38. 4. Kiddushin, fol. 61. 1. R. Benj. Itinerar. p. 53.

And this is the will of him that sent me,.... The Vulgate Latin adds, "of my Father"; and all the Oriental versions read only, "and this is the will of my Father"; this is his declared, his revealed will in the Gospel, which the sons of men are made acquainted with, as the other was his secret will, which was only known to the Son till he discovered it. That everyone which seeth the Son, and believeth on him; who so sees him as to believe in him; for this is not to be understood of a corporeal sight of Christ, or of a mere speculative knowledge of him, or historical faith in him; for it is not so to see him, as merely to believe what he is, the Son of God, the Messiah and Saviour of the world, or what he says, but to trust in him for righteousness, life, and happiness. Men are by nature blind, their eyes are shut to all that is spiritually good; it is the Spirit of God that opens blind eyes, and illuminates the understanding: and in his light men see not only themselves, their sin, and want of righteousness, and their lost state and condition, but Christ, and a beauty, glory, and excellency in him, ability and willingness to save, a suitableness in him for them, and a fulness of all grace; they see righteousness, peace, pardon, cleansing, wisdom, strength, grace, life, and salvation, and go out of themselves to him for all: and such a sight, though it may be but glimmering, is saving, and is self-abasing, soul rejoicing, surprising, and transforming; is attended with certainty, reality, and evidence, and is a foretaste of glory; for it is the will of God, and not man, of a gracious Father, of an unchangeable and eternal being, whose will cannot be resisted, and made void, that such may have everlasting life; which will be a life of glory, and will consist in possessing glory both in soul and body; in beholding glory, the glory of one another, the glory of angels, the glory of divine truths, and mysterious providences, the glory of the divine perfections, and of the Lord Jesus Christ; and it will be a life of perfection, of perfect knowledge, holiness, obedience, love, peace, and joy; a life free from all the miseries and inconveniences of this, both in a natural and spiritual sense; a life of pleasure, and which will last for ever: to which Christ adds, and I will raise him up at the last day; Christ will be the efficient cause, as well as he is the exemplar, the earnest, and first fruits of the resurrection of the dead; he will indeed raise all the dead by his power, but the saints particularly, by virtue of union to him, as the members of his body, and in the first place; and the very same shall rise, and with the same numerical body, that were given to him, and believe in him: and this will be at the last of the last days, at the end of all things; and is mentioned to show, that length of time will not hinder the resurrection of the dead, and in opposition to a Jewish notion, that the resurrection of the dead would be at the Messiah's coming: it will be at his second coming, but was not to be at his first; there was indeed then a resurrection of some particular persons, but not a general one of all the saints: that the Jews expect the resurrection of the dead when the Messiah comes, appears from their Targums, Talmuds, and other writers; so the Targumist on Hos 14:8, "They shall be gathered from their captivity, they shall sit under the shadow of their Messiah, "and the dead shall live", and good shall be multiplied in the land.'' And in the Talmud (p) it is said, "the holy blessed God will quicken the righteous, and they shall not return to their dust.'' The gloss upon it is, "the holy blessed God will quicken them "in the days of" the Messiah.'' And so the land of the living is said to be, "the land, whose dead live first in the days of the Messiah (q).'' And hence R. Jeremiah desired to he buried with his clothes and shoes on, and staff in his hand, that when the Messiah came, he might be ready (r) with which agree others of the more modern writers; so Kimchi on Isa 66:5. "They shall live at the resurrection of the dead, in the days of the Messiah.'' And the same writer on Jer 23:20 observes it is said, ""ye" shall consider, and not "they" shall consider; which intimates the "resurrection of the dead in the days of the Messiah".'' And says Aben Ezra on Dan 12:2, "The righteous which die in captivity shall live, when the Redeemer comes;'' though some of their writers differ in this point, and will not allow the days of the Messiah, and the resurrection of the dead, to be one and the same (s). (p) T. Bab. Sanhedrin, fol. 92. 1. (q) T. Hieros. Kilaim, fol. 32. 3. (r) T. Hieros. Kilaim, foi. 32. 3. col. 2. (s) Zohar in Gen. fol. 82. 4.

He affirms, lastly, that "the very hairs of our head are all numbered," and in the affirmation He of course includes the promise of their safety; for if they were to be lost, where would be the use of having taken such a numerical care of them? Surely the only use lies (in this truth): "That of all which the Father hath given to me, I should lose none," -not even a hair, as also not an eye nor a tooth.

"I came down from heaven not to do Mine own will, but the will of Him that sent Me." What sayest Thou? Why, is Thy will one, and His another? That none may suspect this, He explaineth it by what follows, saying; "And this is the will of Him that sent Me, that every one which seeth the Son, and believeth on Him, may have everlasting life." Is not then this Thy will? And how sayest Thou, "I am come to send fire upon the earth, and what have I desired to see, if that be already kindled"? For if Thou also desirest this, it is very clear that Thy will and the Father's is one.

"For this is the will of Him that sent Me, that of all which He hath given Me I should lose nothing." Here He showeth that He needeth not their service, that He came not for His own advantage, but for their salvation; and not to get honor from them. Which indeed He declared in a former address, saying, "I receive not honor from men"; and again, "These things I say that ye may be saved." Since He everywhere laboreth to persuade them that He came for their salvation.

"And I will raise him up at the last day." Why doth He continually dwell upon the Resurrection? Is it that men may not judge of God's providence by present things alone; that if they enjoy not results here, they become not on that account desponding, but wait for the things that are to come, and that they may not, because their sins are not punished for the present, despise Him, but look for another life.

But what is it that He saith, "All that the Father giveth Me shall come unto Me," and "I will raise it up in the last day"? Wherefore speaketh He of the common resurrection, in which even the ungodly have a part, as though it were the peculiar gift of those who believe on Him? Because He speaketh not simply of resurrection, but of a particular kind of resurrection. For having first said, "I will not cast him out, I shall lose nothing of it," He then speaketh of the resurrection. Since in the resurrection some are cast out, ("Take him, and cast him into outer darkness,") and some are destroyed. ("Rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.") This then, the resurrection to good things, is that which He here designed.

In another place also He saith, "For as the Father raiseth up the dead and quickeneth them, even so the Son quickeneth whom He will." But what is the will of the Father? Is it not, that not so much as one of them should perish? This Thou willest also. So that the will of the One differeth not from the will of the Other. So in another place He is seen establishing yet more firmly His equality with the Father, saying, "I and My Father will come, and will make Our abode with him."

Christ speaks here of the whole of his humanity, which he had taken on him in its entirety at his birth. Then shall the sheep that was lost and was wandering in the lower world be carried healthy on the Savior’s shoulders. And the sheep that was sick with sin shall be taken care of by the mercy of the Judge.

They therefore who by God's unerring providence are foreknown and predestined, called, justified, glorified, even before their new birth, or before they are born at all, are already the children of God and absolutely cannot perish. These truly come to Christ.… By him there is given also perseverance in good even to the end. For it is not given except to those who will not perish since those who do not persevere will perish.

(Tr. xxv in Joan. 16) For this very reason therefore, I will not cast out Him that cometh to Me; because I came not to do Mine own will. I came to teach humility, by being humble Myself. He that cometh to Me, is made a member of Me, and necessarily humble, because He will not do His own will, but the will of God; and therefore is not cast out. He was cast out, as proud; he returns to Me humble, he is not sent away, except for pride again; he who keeps his humility, falleth not from the truth. And further, that He does not cast out such, because He came not to do His will, He shows when He says, And this is the Father's will which hath sent Me, that of all which He hath given Me, I should lose nothing. (Mat. 18:14) Every one of an humble mind is given to Him: It is not the will of your Father, that one of these little ones should perish. The swelling ones may perish; of the little ones none can; for except ye be as a little child, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven. (Mat. 18:3, 5) (de Cor. et Gratia, c. ix) They therefore who by God's unerring providence are foreknown, and predestined, called, justified, glorified, even before their new birth, or before they are born at all, are already the sons of God, and cannot possibly perish; these are they who truly come to Christ. By Him there is given also perseverance in good unto the end; which is given only to those who will not perish. Those who do not persevere will perish.

He constantly says "The Father has given Me" in order to strike their hearts and so that they would know that they are unworthy of this gift of God. For if the Father gives faith in Christ as something great, and they do not have it, then obviously they have been deprived of the gift of God.

Then (v 39), he shows what the Father wills; and next, why he wills it (v 40). He says: I will not cast out those who come to me, because I have taken flesh in order to do the will of the Father: Now it is the will of him who sent me, the Father, that those who come to me I will not cast out; and so I will not cast them out. "This is the will of God, your sanctification" (1 Thes 4:3). Therefore he says that it is the will of the Father that of all that he, the Father, has given me I should lose nothing, i.e., that I should lose nothing until the time of the resurrection. At this time some will be lost, the wicked; but none of those given to Christ through eternal predestination will be among them: "The way of the wicked will perish" (Ps 1:7). Those, on the other hand, who are preserved until then, will not be lost. Now when he says, lose, we should not understand this as implying that he needs such people or that he is damaged if they perish. Rather, he says this because he desires their salvation and what is good for them, which he regards as his own good. What John later reports Christ as saying seems to conflict with this: "None of them," that is, of those you have given me, "have been lost except the son of perdition" (below 17:12). Thus, some of those given to Christ through eternal predestination are lost. Accordingly, what he says here, that of all that he has given me I should lose nothing, is not true. We must say to this that some are lost from among those given to Christ through a present justification; but none are lost from among those given to him through eternal predestination.

Jesus passes the sea of Tiberias, and a great multitude follow him, Joh 6:1-4. He feeds five thousand with five loaves, and two fishes, Joh 6:5-13. They acknowledge him to be the prophet that should come into the world, Joh 6:14. They purpose to force him to become their king; and he withdraws from the multitude, Joh 6:15. The disciples take ship, and go towards Capernaum, and are overtaken with a storm, Joh 6:16-18. Christ comes to them, walking upon the water, Joh 6:19-21. The people take boats and follow him, Joh 6:22-24. He reproves their fleshly motives, Joh 6:25-27. They profess a desire to be instructed, Joh 6:28. Christ preaches to them, and shows them that he is the bread of life, and that they who reject him are without excuse, Joh 6:29-40. They are offended, and cavil, Joh 6:41, Joh 6:42. He asserts and illustrates his foregoing discourse, Joh 6:43-51. They again cavil, and Christ gives farther explanations, Joh 6:52-59. Several of the disciples are stumbled at his assertion, that unless they ate his flesh and drank his blood they could not have life, Joh 6:60. He shows them that his words are to be spiritually understood, Joh 6:61-65. Several of them withdraw from him, Joh 6:66. He questions the twelve, whether they also were disposed to forsake him, and Peter answers for the whole, Joh 6:67-69. Christ exposes the perfidy of Judas, Joh 6:70, Joh 6:71.

I should lose nothing - It is the will of God that every soul who believes should continue in the faith, and have a resurrection unto life eternal. But he wills this continuance in salvation, without purposing to force the persons so to continue. God may will a thing to be, without willing that it shall be. Judas was given to Christ by the Father, Joh 17:12. The Father willed that this Judas should continue in the faith, and have a resurrection unto life eternal: but Judas sinned and perished. Now it is evident that God willed that Judas might be saved, without willing that he must be saved infallibly and unconditionally. When a man is a worker together with the grace of God, he is saved; when he receives that grace of God in vain, he is lost - not through a lack of will or mercy in God, but through lack of his co-operation with Divine grace. God saves no man as a stock or a stone, but as a reasonable being and free agent. "That which thou hast heard, thou mayest hold fast, and persevere in, if thou wilt," Says St. Augustin. In eo quod audieras, et tenueras, perseverares, si velles. De Correct. & Grat. c. 7. See Calmet. Raise it up again at the last day - The Jews believed that the wicked should have no resurrection; and that the principle that led to the resurrection of the body, in the righteous, was the indwelling Spirit of God. This is positively asserted in the Shir Hashirim Rabba. See Schoettgen.

FIVE THOUSAND MIRACULOUSLY FED. (Joh 6:1-13) a mountain--somewhere in that hilly range which skirts the east side of the lake.

And this--in the first place. is the will of Him that sent me, that of all--everything. which He hath given Me--(taking up the identical words of Joh 6:37). I should lose nothing, but should raise it up at the last day--The meaning is not, of course, that He is charged to keep the objects entrusted to Him as He received them, so as they should merely suffer nothing in His hands. For as they were just "perishing" sinners of Adam's family, to let "nothing" of such "be lost," but "raise them up at the last day," must involve, first, giving His flesh for them (Joh 6:51), that they "might not perish, but have everlasting life"; and then, after "keeping them from falling," raising their sleeping dust in incorruption and glory, and presenting them, body and soul, perfect and entire, wanting nothing, to Him who gave them to Him, saying, "Behold I and the children which God hath given Me." So much for the first will of Him that sent Him, the divine side of man's salvation, whose every stage and movement is inscrutable to us, but infallibly certain.