Chapter
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21

John 6:32

ESV 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.
NIV Jesus said to them, 'Very truly I tell you, it is not Moses who has given you the bread from heaven, but it is my Father who gives you the true bread from heaven.
NASB Jesus then said to them, '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.
CSB Jesus said to them, "Truly I tell you, Moses didn't give you the bread from heaven, but my Father gives you the true bread from heaven.
NLT Jesus said, 'I tell you the truth, Moses didn’t give you bread from heaven. My Father did. And now he offers you the true bread from heaven.
KJV Then Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Moses gave you not that bread from heaven; but my Father giveth you the true bread from heaven.

What does John 6:32 mean?

As Jesus attempts to explain the real message behind His miracles, the people are still hung up on materialism. They are seeking free food (John 6:26) and the spectacle of a miracle, rather than actual truth. When Jesus clarifies that salvation is based on belief, not on good works or rituals (John 6:29), the people immediately demand another miracle! Further, they invoke the provision of bread, in the form of manna, when Israel was in the wilderness under Moses. Their challenge, it seems, is that Jesus ought to do something more spectacular than that if He is to claim to have more authority than Moses.

In response, Jesus continues to draw a distinction between material bread and spiritual bread (Isaiah 55:2; Matthew 4:4). The first correction He makes is that God was the one who provided the manna—these people need to focus on God, and His requirement of faithful belief, rather than ritual obedience to the laws of Moses (Romans 10:1–4). Just as Jesus pointed out that material food is temporary, but spiritual food is eternal (John 6:27; Matthew 6:19–20), He now suggests that the manna was merely a physical item, while "the true bread from heaven" is something else.

In the following verse, Jesus will explicitly state that He is this "bread of God" which gives eternal life to the world. Even so, the people's fixation on material things will cause them to misunderstand. They will once again ask for something physical, rather than spiritual.
Expand
Expand
Expand
What is the Gospel?
Download the app: