John 6:47 in Context

To whom did Jesus address John 6:47 (Whoever believes in Me has everlasting life)? Many view everyone at a Capernaum synagogue as the intended audience. If so, few of those to whom He aimed it had seen Him on the other side of the Sea of Galilee feed 5000 a day earlier (John 6:1–14). The common view is that most of the prior context happened on the seashore (not in the synagogue), so Jesus would essentially drop a bombshell verse on a largely unprepared audience. Instead, they were well prepared. The verse is near the end of a lengthy dialogue.

Determining the intended audience for John 6:47 is crucial. Another way to see this is to ask: Where did John 6:25 (They found Him on the other side of the sea) occur. (Having John’s Gospel open may help). John 6:22–25 shows that those who sought Jesus had been fed by Him the previous day. They went by boat to find Him. Most people assume that they found Him on the seashore and that Jesus later made His way to the synagogue. John’s Gospel paints a different picture. The searchers found Jesus in the synagogue, not the seashore. John presents those searching for Jesus as the intended audience for John 6:47, as the following will show.

John 6:47 occurs within 6:43–51, a short speech by Jesus with no intervening speakers. The introduction to this speech is in verse 43: Therefore Jesus answered them. Who are the people that He answered? Verse 41 says they were Judeans who grumbled at Him saying, I am the Bread that came down from Heaven. Verse 42 quotes their grumbling. Thus, verses 43–51 is Jesus’ response to their grumbling, so He addresses verse 47 to the grumblers.

John further identifies these grumbling Judeans. They grumbled over His claim to be the Bread from Heaven (a reference to 6:35), “I am the Bread of Life,” Jesus told them. In other words, the grumblers addressed by 6:47 were present for verse 35. Note that 6:35–40 answers what they said in verse 34, “Sir, give us this bread always!” In turn, verse 34 responds to what Jesus said to them in 32–33. Similarly, verses 30–31 led Jesus to utter verses 32–33. Introductory words in verse 30 show it as a reply to verse 29. In turn, verse 29 answers verse 28. Verse 28 was their retort to 26–27, which was His answer to verse 25, Rabbi, when did you get here?

Thus, John 6:59 (He said these things while teaching in a synagogue in Capernaum) means that all of John 6:25–58 occurred in the synagogue. Those who searched for Jesus found Him in the Capernaum synagogue, not at the seashore. Those searchers (not the worshippers in general) were the addressees of 6:47. They had crossed the sea, because He slipped away after feeding the crowd. The searchers may well include ones who sought to make Him king (John 6:15). One who could feed an army would certainly seem capable of defeating the Romans.

Why is it important to know that John 6:47 concludes 6:25ff? Consider John 6:47–51,

Amen, amen, I tell you, whoever believes in Me has eternal life. I am the Bread of Life. Your forefathers ate manna in the desert, and they died. This is the Bread that came down from Heaven so that one may eat of it and not die. I am the living Bread which came down from Heaven. If anyone eats of this Bread he will live forever. And the Bread which I will give is My flesh, which I will give for the life of the world.

Jesus articulates that (as the Bread of Life) He gives everlasting life to believers. They are to believe in Him as the lifegiving Bread of Life. Time and time again John’s Gospel shows Jesus presenting His promise of everlasting life as the reason one should believe in Him.

Moving and Travel

Soon after Zane Hodges’ death, Diane and I concluded the time for returning to the seminary classroom and writing was drawing near. Meanwhile, in December 2006 I had become Grace Chapel’s primary Teaching Elder. The transition needed to be smooth. Ultimately, the elders decided on an eighteen month timetable. Gradually, my role diminished and Ricardo Campos’ role increased. On May 1, Grace Chapel gave us a wonderful going-away party. July 14 was my last Grace Chapel message in an official capacity. We have many friends in Southern California, not to mention our younger son, Joseph, and his new bride, Missy. It is hard to move, when we have family (church and by blood) in Orange County, but we shall return—for visits.

On Fathers’ Day our home in California sold. A few days after our anniversary, we drove to Colorado. This was the first trip for our trailer after adding graphics. The trailer not only can hold thousands of Living Waters, but it is a moving billboard for them.

House hunting has occupied much time, but we found one. We are scheduled to close on it in mid-September. Praise the Lord! Before arriving, we hesitated to schedule speaking engagements, but are starting to do so. Travel will focus on a 500 mile radius of Denver this fall.

I spoke on John’s Gospel at Church of Hope, Laguna Hills, CA, on July 11, and at Fort Rock Community Church in Fort Rock, OR, on August 8.

The trip to Oregon was memorable in several ways. We visited Diane’s parents in Silver Lake, OR, at the same time that Joseph and Missy came up from California. Early in the visit, the two young folk hiked to the top of Hager Mountain (7178’), just south of town. Joseph proposed and Missy accepted. A week later, after a long courtship and a short engagement, they married. The whole family is pleased and wishes them the best.

Another memorable feature of this trip is how some diesel was paid. We transported a LeTourneau D-4 Tournapull and Q carryall scraper from Oregon to Colorado for a friend. Forty years ago, I hauled backhoes for my father, but this was my first LeTourneau load. Going through weigh stations, we tipped the scale at 19,500 pounds. Yank Tank was up to the task. The Tournapull attracted attention and even gave opportunity for distributing some Living Waters.

message of life in the classroom, in writing, at conferences, and at local churches. We seek to change to the ministry of Message of Life as little as possible. Let’s see how the Lord works.

Please pray for us as we transition to Colorado (including timely closing on the home). Please pray for our finances. Over the long haul, a Colorado location will reduce expenses for MoL, but the move has temporarily tightened finances somewhat. (To clarify a financial issue, teaching at Rocky Mountain Seminary will not affect my income. Honoraria from the school will go to Message of Life. Message of Life remains the avenue through which my income derives.) Pray for growing opportunities for Message of Life to clarify the Word.