John 6 Footnotes

6:14-15 In addition to specifying that it was Passover (v. 4), the attempt to make Jesus king was one of the distinctive features of John’s account of the feeding of the five thousand. But even though these details do not appear in the other Gospels, many scholars (including some who are generally skeptical of John) accept them as accurate, because they fit so well the common Jewish misconception of the role of the Messiah and because no later Christian would likely have invented the unflattering picture of Jesus “running away” from would-be subjects of an earthly kingdom.

6:52-59 Based on these verses, critics of the early church thought Christians condoned a form of cannibalism. This is not the case. The reference here is twofold, both foreshadowing the Lord’s Supper and emphasizing complete submission to Jesus as Lord. To many insiders, it has seemed as if the Lord’s Supper was a requirement for salvation. But v. 63 makes plain that only the Spirit gives life; Jesus’s flesh does not do so. These are simply striking metaphors for identifying with Christ in his atoning death for the sins of humanity.