John Chapter 6, A brief Commentary— The Bread of Life: When Many Walked Away

Jesus feeds the five Thousand.

The Gospel of John, Chapter 6, is a powerful exploration of spiritual and physical needs. It takes us on a journey with Jesus from a simple act of compassion—feeding a massive crowd—to a profound and challenging discourse on what it means to be truly nourished. The chapter starts with a public spectacle of divine power and ends with a private and difficult moment of truth, revealing the very core of Jesus’s identity and mission.

Jesus’s Miracles.

Jesus, followed by a large crowd drawn to his healing miracles, finds himself on a mountain near the Sea of Galilee. As the Passover feast approaches, the crowds are a reminder of both spiritual expectation and human need. When Jesus sees the thousands of people, He tests His disciple Philip, asking where they can buy enough food for everyone. Philip’s response highlights the impossibility of the situation; even a fortune’s worth of bread wouldn’t be enough.
It is at this moment that another disciple, Andrew, brings forward a boy with an insignificant offering: five barley loaves and two small fish. This is the catalyst for one of Jesus’s most famous miracles. Taking the meagre meal, Jesus gives thanks, and the loaves and fish are distributed to the five thousand men, plus women and children, who are all satisfied. When they have finished, the disciples gather twelve baskets full of leftovers, showing not only the abundance of the miracle but also a lesson in avoiding wasting gifts from God. The crowd, witnessing this incredible sign, immediately recognizes Jesus as the long-awaited Prophet and tries to make him their king by force.

Walking on Water and The Unseen Journey.

After the miracle, Jesus withdraws to the mountain alone to pray, sensing the crowd’s misplaced zeal for Him to be King immediately. Meanwhile, His disciples get into a boat to cross the Sea of Galilee. As a strong wind whips up the waves, they struggle against the storm. In the midst of their toil, they see Jesus’ walking on the water toward them. At first, they are terrified, mistaking Him for a spirit. Jesus reassures them with the words, “It is I; do not be afraid.” They welcome Him into the boat, and as soon as He boards, they miraculously find themselves at their destination. This second miracle not only demonstrates Jesus’s dominion over nature but also His ability to be present with His disciples in their time of struggle.

The Search for the Bread of Life.

The next day, the crowd that had been fed finds Jesus in Capernaum. They are astonished by His sudden appearance and ask Him, “Rabbi, when did you get here?” Jesus, however, knows their true motivation. He bypasses their question and cuts straight to the heart of the matter: they are seeking Him not because of the spiritual sign of the miracle, but because they were physically fed.
Jesus challenges them to seek a different kind of food—one that doesn’t perish but endures to eternal life. He tells them, “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst.” He explains that while their ancestors ate manna in the desert and still died, He offers a true, life-giving bread from heaven. This profound claim confuses His listeners. How could He be the bread from heaven? They knew Him as Jesus, the son of Joseph. Next, we read Jesus’s words, John Chapter 6:32-51
” 32 Jesus then said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, it was not Moses who gave you the bread from heaven, but my Father gives you the true bread from heaven. 33 For the bread of God is he who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.” 34 They said to him, “Sir, give us this bread always.”
35 Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst. 36 But I said to you that you have seen me and yet do not believe. 37 All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never cast out. 38 For I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will but the will of him who sent me. 39 And this is the will of him who sent me, that I should lose nothing of all that he has given me, but raise it up on the last day. 40 For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who looks on the Son and believes in him should have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day.”
41 So the Jews grumbled about him, because he said, “I am the bread that came down from heaven.” 42 They said, “Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How does he now say, ‘I have come down from heaven’?” 43 Jesus answered them, “Do not grumble among yourselves. 44 No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him. And I will raise him up on the last day. 45 It is written in the Prophets, ‘And they will all be taught by God.’ Everyone who has heard and learned from the Father comes to me— 46 not that anyone has seen the Father except he who is from God; he has seen the Father. 47 Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes has eternal life. 48 I am the bread of life. 49 Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, and they died. 50 This is the bread that comes down from heaven, so that one may eat of it and not die. 51 I am the living bread that came down from heaven.

The Difficult Truth of Spiritual Nourishment.

Jesus does not soften His words. He explains that His body is the “living bread” given for the “life of the world” and that true life comes from “eating his flesh and drinking his blood.” The Jews and even many of His followers are scandalized by this. They argue among themselves, questioning how such a thing is possible.
Jesus clarifies that His words are not about literal consumption but about spiritual assimilation. “It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh is no help at all. The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life.” This is a crucial distinction. The nourishment He offers is not a physical one but a spiritual one, received through faith in His words and His person. He knew from the beginning who would believe and who would betray Him.

Hard Sayings and Peter’s Profession of Faith.

Jesus says in john Chapter 6:
60 When many of his disciples heard it, they said, “This is a hard saying; who can listen to it?” 61 But Jesus, knowing in himself that his disciples were grumbling about this, said to them, “Do you take offense at this? 62 Then what if you were to see the Son of Man ascending to where he was before? 63 It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh is no help at all. The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life. 64 But there are some of you who do not believe.” (For Jesus knew from the beginning who those were who did not believe, and who it was who would betray him.) 65 And he said, “This is why I told you that no one can come to me unless it is granted him by the Father.”
Because of this “hard saying,” many of Jesus’s disciples turn away and no longer follow Him. It is a moment of crisis and a test of faith. Jesus turns to the twelve disciples and asks, “Do you want to go away as well?”
Simon Peter’s response is one of the most poignant moments in the Gospel. He declares, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life, and we have believed, and have come to know, that you are the Holy One of God.” Peter recognizes that although Jesus’s teaching is difficult, there is no alternative for true spiritual fulfilment. He knows that Jesus is the way to eternal life, a promise far greater than a temporary meal.
The chapter ends with a sobering note as Jesus reveals that even among the twelve, one is a “devil”—referring to Judas Iscariot, who would eventually betray Him. This serves as a reminder that the choice to believe is a personal one, and not everyone who walks with Jesus is truly committed to His spiritual truth.