John 6:51
ESV
I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. And the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh."
NIV
I am the living bread that came down from heaven. Whoever eats this bread will live forever. This bread is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world."
NASB
I am the living bread that came down out of heaven; if anyone eats from this bread, he will live forever; and the bread which I will give for the life of the world also is My flesh.'
CSB
I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread he will live forever. The bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh."
NLT
I am the living bread that came down from heaven. Anyone who eats this bread will live forever; and this bread, which I will offer so the world may live, is my flesh.'
KJV
I am the living bread which came down from heaven: if any man eat of this bread, he shall live for ever: and the bread that I will give is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world.
NKJV
I am the living bread which came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever; and the bread that I shall give is My flesh, which I shall give for the life of the world.”
What does John 6:51 mean?
As the people begin to complain about Jesus' claims to have come from heaven (John 6:38), He gives a deeper explanation of His meaning. In the wilderness, God sent physical bread from heaven to meet a physical need. That manna symbolized Jesus. Manna had to be accepted as a gift or simply walked on. Now, according to Jesus, God has sent the "true bread from heaven" (John 6:32), in the form of a person (John 6:33). This is Christ Himself (John 6:48). Eternal life is only for those who believe in Christ (John 6:40). This explanation came after the people misunderstood the symbolic nature of the "Bread of Life" (John 6:26, 34).This verse contains the statement which truly derails Jesus' worldly popularity. Prior to this conversation, the people were ready to make Jesus king—by force, if necessary (John 6:15). Showing that His ministry is spiritual, not physical, has taken some of that enthusiasm away (John 6:41). Now Jesus refers to the real role of the Messiah: to suffer and die for the people. The offering which will grant eternal life to those who believe is Jesus' body: His flesh.
This comment contradicts the prevailing Jewish view of Messiah as a warrior-king. Worse, it sounds like cannibalism to those still fixated on material things. As the next passage shows, when Jesus makes this claim, it pushes the crowd from complaining to outright fighting.
