To understand the chiasm of John 6:35-51, it is important to
understand what is happening at the moment.
The author begins John 6 with the phrase "after
these things" which is a reference to some prior events. However, the apostle John is referencing events that took
place approximately 6 months earlier and in Jerusalem which is far from
John 6's location of the Sea of Galilee. In
John 5, Jesus heals a paralytic on the Sabbath to the outrage of
Jewish religious leaders who felt that such work was prohibited by Mosaic Law.
Jesus claimed to be the Son of God and equal to God capable of resurrecting life, judgment and
granting salvation (John 5:18-30). John the Baptist testified to
His Deity (John 5:33-35). Jesus' miraculous work testified to His
Deity (John 5:36-37). Scripture testified to His Deity
(John 5:39-46).
Jesus makes the following assertions about Jewish religious leaders.
You do not have His word abiding in you, for you do not believe Him whom He sent.
(John 5:38)
I do not receive glory from men; but I know you, that you do not have the love of God in
yourselves. (John 5:41-42).
Do not think that I will accuse you before the Father; the one who accuses you is Moses,
in whom you have set your hope. For if you believed Moses, you would believe Me, for he wrote about Me. But if you
do not believe his writings, how will you believe My words?"
(John 5:45-47)
Jesus is explicitly saying that a genuine Believer of God (an Old Testament Believer) would
believe in Jesus because he would: a) have God's word abiding in him, b) have the love of God in himself and c)
believe in the Scriptures.
John 6 heralds a new event but with an
association with the events of John 5. It is the second of
three Passovers recorded in John, about 1 year before Jesus' death
(John 2:13-23; 6:4;
and 11:55), and the miraculous feeding of the five thousand
occurs on the northeastern side of the Sea of Galilee (John 6:1-4).
Three questions from the crowd and Jesus' responses illustrate their spiritual bankruptcy.
The crowd: "Rabbi, when did you get here?"
Truly, truly, I say to you, you seek Me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate
of the loaves and were filled. Do not work for the food which perishes, but for the food which endures to eternal
life, which the Son of Man will give to you, for on Him the Father, God, has set His seal.
(John 6:26)
Despite this miracle, the Jewish crowd do not recognize Jesus as deity, and do not recognize
Jesus' salvation of deliverance from sin (Matt 5:17;
9:13; Luke 4:16-21;
9:55-56).
The crowd: "What shall we do, so that we may work the works of God?"
This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He has sent.
(John 6:29)
Influenced by Judaism's misunderstanding of the Mosaic Law, the crowd perceives salvation as
based on the works of one's own efforts.
The crowd: "What then do You do for a sign, so that we may see, and believe You? What work do
You perform? Our fathers ate the manna in the wilderness; as it is written, 'He gave them bread out of heaven to eat.'"
Truly, truly, I say to you, it is not Moses who has given you the bread out of heaven, but
it is My Father who gives you the true bread out of heaven. For the bread of God is that which comes down out of heaven,
and gives life to the world. (John 6:32-33)
The crowd equates Jesus with Moses and display a poor knowledge of the Scriptures: a) the first
generation Jews of the Exodus did not believe God, and b) while both Moses and Jesus were authenticated by God's
miracles, the Jews still did not listen to either. Jesus' bread and life was a reflection of
Deuteronomy 8:3.
Against this background John 6:35-51 presents an interesting
chiasm, and the study of its literary structure provides clarity to the meaning of the phrase "all that the Father
gives Me."
A. Jesus said to them, "I am the bread of life; he who comes to Me will not hunger,
and he who believes in Me will never thirst.
B. But I said to you that you have seen Me, and yet do not believe.
C. All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes
to Me I will certainly not cast out. For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of
Him who sent Me. This is the will of Him who sent Me, that of all that He has given Me I lose nothing,
but raise it up on the last day. For this is the will of My Father, that everyone who beholds the Son and
believes in Him will have eternal life, and I Myself will raise him up on the last day."
D. Therefore the Jews were grumbling about Him, because He said, "I am the
bread that came down out of heaven."
X. They were saying, "Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and
mother we know? How does He now say, 'I have come down out of heaven'?"
D'. Jesus answered and said to them, "Do not grumble among yourselves.
C'. No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him;
and I will raise him up on the last day. It is written in the prophets, 'And they shall all be taught of God.'
Everyone who has heard and learned from the Father, comes to Me. Not that anyone has seen the Father,
except the One who is from God; He has seen the Father.
B'. Truly, truly, I say to you, he who believes has eternal life.
A'. I am the bread of life. Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, and they died.
This is the bread which comes down out of heaven, so that one may eat of it and not die. I am the living bread
that came down out of heaven; if anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever; and the bread also which I will
give for the life of the world is My flesh.
By rearranging the chiasm about the inflection point, it becomes easier to observe the similarities and
contrasts of the chiasm’s parallelism and gain a fuller understanding of the ideas that Jesus was presenting
to the Jews.
| Idea |
Inverted Parallel Idea |
Meaning |
| A. Jesus said to them, "I am the bread of life; he who comes to Me will not hunger,
and he who believes in Me will never thirst. |
A'. I am the bread of life. Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, and they died. This is
the bread which comes down out of heaven, so that one may eat of it and not die. I am the living bread that
came down out of heaven; if anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever; and the bread also which I will
give for the life of the world is My flesh. |
Believing in Jesus was essential for eternal life. By calling Himself the “bread of life”, Jesus was making
a contrast to other food that came from heaven that provided for the Jews physical well-being. Jews, like the
Sadducees, would have found this difficult to accept, because they did not believe in the resurrection of the
dead nor the eternal life of a soul. |
| B. But I said to you that you have seen Me, and yet do not believe. |
B'. Truly, truly, I say to you, he who believes has eternal life. |
Faith was simply believing that Jesus was the Messiah. This would have been difficult for all Jews as they
believed that faith required work in compliance to the Law of Moses. |
| C. All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes
to Me I will certainly not cast out. For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will
of Him who sent Me. This is the will of Him who sent Me, that of all that He has given Me I lose
nothing, but raise it up on the last day. For this is the will of My Father, that everyone who beholds the
Son and believes in Him will have eternal life, and I Myself will raise him up on the last day." |
C'. No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him;
and I will raise him up on the last day. It is written in the prophets, 'And they shall all be taught of
God.' Everyone who has heard and learned from the Father, comes to Me. Not that anyone has seen the
Father, except the One who is from God; He has seen the Father. |
Jesus presents 3 ideas that are closely related:
a) All that the Father
gives Me will come to me.
b) No one can come to Me unless the
Father who sent Me draws him.
c) Everyone who has heard and learned
from the Father, comes to Me. |
| D. Therefore the Jews were grumbling about Him, because He said, "I am the
bread that came down out of heaven." |
D'. Jesus answered and said to them, "Do not grumble among yourselves. |
The Jews' disbelief is displayed by their attitude towards Jesus. |
The chiasm is an indictment of the Jews; they are unaware of what a genuine faith in God
is, and the inflection point places emphasis on their failure and lack of knowledge of the Old Testament.
By connecting John 6 with
John 5, the apostle John appears to be elaborating upon the
Jesus' assertions of John 5:
If a genuine Believer of God (an Old Testament Believer) has a) God's word abiding in him, b)
the love of God in him and c) a belief in the Scriptures, then he has "heard and learned from the Father" and
comes to Jesus. This implies that knowledge of the Scripture and Its prophecies of the Messiah would provide the
basis of discerning who the Messiah was. Since the Holy Spirit is the author of Scripture, it can be seen how God
draws.
In this light, what God gives to Jesus may well be genuine Old Testament Believers who are
"God's people and His possession" (Ex 19:5;
Deut 7:6; Mal 3:16-18).
This suggests a transition for genuine Old Testament Believers from salvation under the Mosaic Law to salvation
under the coming New Covenant.
The inflection point of the chiasm (John 6:42) highlights the
failure of the Jews to believe that Jesus was the Messiah.
They were saying, "Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know?
How does He now say, 'I have come down out of heaven'?" (John 6:42)
The Jews do not know Scripture and fail to recognize the fulfillment of Isaiah's prophecy of
the Messiah's virgin birth (Isa 7:14;
Matt 1:22-23). This stands in contrast to those who did recognize
the baby Jesus as the Messiah: Simeon (Luke 2:25-35), Anna
(Luke 2:36-38), the Magi
(Matt 2:1-12), and the shepherds
(Luke 2:8-20).
Is it correct to understand the phrase "all that the Father gives Me"
(John 6:37, 39; John 13:3;
17:2) or the similar phrase "all things have been handed over to me by
My Father" (Matt 11:27;
Luke 10:22; John 3:35)
as a reference to Old Testament Believers?
The phrases appear to be a reference of more than just Old Testament Believers. The phrase "all
things," or something similar, appears to be everything belonging to God and the authority over everything including
judgment and salvation (John 5:21-22;
9:39).
During supper, the devil having already put into the heart of Judas Iscariot, the son of
Simon, to betray Him, Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into His hands, and that He had
come forth from God and was going back to God, got up from supper, and laid aside His garments; and taking a towel,
He girded Himself. Then He poured water into the basin, and began to wash the disciples' feet and to wipe them with
the towel with which He was girded. So He came to Simon Peter. He said to Him, "Lord, do You wash my feet?" Jesus
answered and said to him, "What I do you do not realize now, but you will understand hereafter." Peter said to Him,
"Never shall You wash my feet!" Jesus answered him, "If I do not wash you, you have no part with Me." Simon Peter
said to Him, "Lord, then wash not only my feet, but also my hands and my head." Jesus said to him, "He who has bathed
needs only to wash his feet, but is completely clean; and you are clean, but not all of you." For He knew the one who
was betraying Him; for this reason He said, "Not all of you are clean."
(John 13:2-11)
Jesus spoke these things; and lifting up His eyes to heaven, He said, "Father, the hour has
come; glorify Your Son, that the Son may glorify You, even as You gave Him authority over all flesh, that to all
whom You have given Him, He may give eternal life. This is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true
God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent. I glorified You on the earth, having accomplished the work which You have
given Me to do. Now, Father, glorify Me together with Yourself, with the glory which I had with You before the world
was. "I have manifested Your name to the men whom You gave Me out of the world; they were Yours and You gave them
to Me, and they have kept Your word. Now they have come to know that everything You have given Me is from You; for
the words which You gave Me I have given to them; and they received them and truly understood that I came forth from
You, and they believed that You sent Me. I ask on their behalf; I do not ask on behalf of the world, but of those whom
You have given Me; for they are Yours; and all things that are Mine are Yours, and Yours are Mine; and I have been
glorified in them. (John 17:1-10)
At that time Jesus said, "I praise You, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that You have
hidden these things from the wise and intelligent and have revealed them to infants. Yes, Father, for this way was
well-pleasing in Your sight. All things have been handed over to Me by My Father; and no one knows the Son
except the Father; nor does anyone know the Father except the Son, and anyone to whom the Son wills to reveal Him.
(Matt 11:25-27)
At that very time He rejoiced greatly in the Holy Spirit, and said, "I praise You, O Father,
Lord of heaven and earth, that You have hidden these things from the wise and intelligent and have revealed them to
infants. Yes, Father, for this way was well-pleasing in Your sight. All things have been handed over to Me by My
Father, and no one knows who the Son is except the Father, and who the Father is except the Son, and anyone to
whom the Son wills to reveal Him." (Luke 10:21-22)
For He whom God has sent speaks the words of God; for He gives the Spirit without measure.
The Father loves the Son and has given all things into His hand. He who believes in the Son has eternal life;
but he who does not obey the Son will not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him." Therefore when the Lord knew
that the Pharisees had heard that Jesus was making and baptizing more disciples than John (although Jesus Himself was
not baptizing, but His disciples were), He left Judea and went away again into Galilee.
(John 3:34-John 4:3)
The Jews then gathered around Him, and were saying to Him, "How long will You keep us in
suspense? If You are the Christ, tell us plainly." Jesus answered them, "I told you, and you do not believe; the works
that I do in My Father's name, these testify of Me. But you do not believe because you are not of My sheep. My sheep
hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me; and I give eternal life to them, and they will never perish; and
no one will snatch them out of My hand. My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one
is able to snatch them out of the Father's hand. I and the Father are one."
(John 10:24-30)
Could the phrase "all that the Father gives Me" (John 6:37, 39;
13:3; 17:2) or the
similar phrase "all things have been handed over to me by My Father"
(Matt 11:27; Luke 10:22;
John 3:35) include New Testament Believers?
It does not appear to be so. Jesus states that if He is raised, He will draw all men; God is not
invoked as the means of drawing.
Jesus answered and said, "This voice has not come for My sake, but for your sakes. Now
judgment is upon this world; now the ruler of this world will be cast out. And I, if I am lifted up from the earth,
will draw all men to Myself." (John 12:31-32)