to speak or say (by word or writing) · verb — second aorist active indicative, 3rd person plural
therefore
οὖνoun
G3767
(adverbially) certainly · conjunction
him
αὐτῷ·autō
G846
the reflexive pronoun self · personal pronoun — dative singular masculine
What
τίti
G5101
an interrogative pronoun · interrogative pronoun — accusative singular neuter
sign
σημεῖονsēmeion
G4592
an indication · noun — accusative singular neuter
shewest
ποιεῖςpoieis
G4160
to make or do (in a very wide application · verb — present active indicative, 2nd person singular
thou
σὺsu
G4771
thou · personal pronoun — 2nd person nominative singular
then
οὖνoun
G3767
(adverbially) certainly · conjunction
that
ἵναina
G2443
compare G3588 (ὁ)) · conjunction
see
ἴδωμενidōmen
G1492
used only in certain past tenses · verb — second aorist active subjunctive, 1st person plural
and
καὶkai
G2532
and · conjunction
believe
πιστεύσωμένpisteusōmen
G4100
to have faith (in · verb — aorist active subjunctive, 1st person plural
thee
σοίsoí
G4671
to thee
what
τίti
G5101
an interrogative pronoun · interrogative pronoun — accusative singular neuter
work
ἐργάζῃ;ergazē
G2038
to toil (as a task · verb — present middle or passive deponent indicative, 2nd person singular
Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).
Cross-references
John 12:37 But though he had done so many miracles before them, yet they believed not on him:
John 6:36 But I said unto you, That ye also have seen me, and believe not.
John 10:38 But if I do, though ye believe not me, believe the works: that ye may know, and believe, that the Father is in me, and I in him.
1 Corinthians 1:22 For the Jews require a sign, and the Greeks seek after wisdom:
Exodus 4:8 And it shall come to pass, if they will not believe thee, neither hearken to the voice of the first sign, that they will believe the voice o…
1 Kings 13:3 And he gave a sign the same day, saying, This is the sign which the LORD hath spoken; Behold, the altar shall be rent, and the ashes that ar…
1 Kings 13:5 The altar also was rent, and the ashes poured out from the altar, according to the sign which the man of God had given by the word of the LO…
Isaiah 5:19 That say, Let him make speed, and hasten his work, that we may see it: and let the counsel of the Holy One of Israel draw nigh and come, tha…
Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).
Commentary
Matthew Henry on John 6:28-59
Whether this conference was with the Capernaites, in whose synagogue Christ now was, or with those who came from the other side of the sea, is not certain nor material; however, it is an instance of Christ's condescension that he gave them leave to ask him questions, and did not resent the interruption as an affront, no, not from his common hearers, though not his immediate followers. Those that would be apt to teach must be swift to hear, and study to answer. It is the wisdom of teachers, when they are asked even impertinent unprofitable questions, thence to take occasion to answer in that which is profitable, that the question may be rejected, but not the request. Now,
I. Christ having tol…
What sign showest thou, &c.--But how could they ask "a sign," when many of them scarce a day before had witnessed such a "sign" as had never till then been vouchsafed to men; when after witnessing it, they could hardly be restrained from making Him a king; when they followed Him from the one side of the lake to the other; and when, in the opening words of this very discourse, He had chided them for seeking Him, "not because they saw the signs," but for the loaves? The truth seems to be that they were confounded by the novel claims which our Lord had just advanced. In proposing to make Him a king, it was for far other purposes than dispensing to the world the bread of an everlasting life; and…
What sign - Τι σημειον, What miracle; so the word is evidently used, Joh 2:11, Joh 2:23, and in many other places.
That we may see, and believe thee - That, having seen the miracle, we may believe thee to be the promised Messiah. They had already seen the miracle of the five loaves, and did not believe; and it was impossible for them to see any thing more descriptive of unlimited power and goodness. Even miracles themselves are lost on persons whose hearts are fixed on the perishing things of the world, and whose minds are filled with prejudice against the truth.
The Church Fathers
Because, then, He invited them to faith, they still on their part desired to see signs that they might believe. They did not count Him worthy of belief, to whom they themselves bore the witness that He had fed so many thousands with five loaves. Already they had forgotten: they sought meat that perisheth. They said therefore to Him, "What sign showest Thou, that we may see and believe Thee? What dost Thou work? Our fathers did eat manna in the desert, as it is written, He gave them bread from heaven to eat." What is it that I promise? I promise the bread from heaven.
(xxv. 12) To eat then that meat which endureth unto everlasting life, is to believe on Him. Why dost thou make ready thy tooth and thy belly? Only believe, and thou hast eaten already. As He called on them to believe, they still asked for miracles whereby to believe; They said therefore unto Him, What sign shewest Thou then, that we may see and believe Thee? What dost Thou work? (Tr. xxv. s. 12) Or thus; Our Lord sets Himself above Moses, who did not dare to say that He gave the meat which perisheth not. The multitude therefore remembering what Moses had done, and wishing for some greater miracle, say, as it were, Thou promisest the meat which perisheth not, and doest not works equal to those Moses did. He gave us not barley loaves, but manna from heaven.
Mark too their hypocrisy. They said not, "Moses did this sign, what doest thou?" thinking it would annoy Him; but for a while they address Him with great reverence, through expectation of food. So they neither said, "God did this, what doest thou?" that they might not seem to make Him equal with God; nor did they bring forward Moses, that they might not seem to lower Him, but put the matter in an intermediate form, "Our fathers did eat manna in the wilderness." He indeed might have replied, "I, but now, have wrought greater wonders than did Moses, requiring no rod, having no need of prayer, but doing all of Myself; and, if ye call to remembrance the manna, see, I have given you bread." But this was not the season for such speeches; and the one thing He earnestly desired was, to bring them to spiritual food.
The Church Fathers: public-domain translations (Ante-Nicene and Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers), verse-indexed by SermonIndex (CC BY 4.0).
Dictionary and topics
Capernaum — Nahum’s town, a Galilean city frequently mentioned in the history of our Lord. It is not mentioned in the Old Testament. After our Lord’s expulsion from Nazareth (Matt. 4:13-16; Luke 4:16-31),…
Crucifixion — A common mode of punishment among heathen nations in early times. It is not certain whether it was known among the ancient Jews; probably it was not. The modes of capital punishment according to the…
Philip — Lover of horses. (1.) One of the twelve apostles; a native of Bethsaida, “the city of Andrew and Peter” (John 1:44). He readily responded to the call of Jesus when first addressed to him (43), and…
Manna · Given: As a sign of Moses’s divine mission — Given: As a sign of Moses’s divine mission
Dictionary: Easton's (1897) and Smith's (1863), public domain. Topics: Nave's Topical Bible (1896) and Torrey's Topical Textbook (1897), public domain. Both as parsed by NEUU (CC BY 4.0).
John Gill on John 6:30
They said therefore unto him,.... Seeing he proposed believing in him as the grand work of God to be done, and what is most acceptable in his sight:
what sign showest thou then, that we may see and believe thee? The people of the Jews were always requiring signs and wonders, and when they had one and another shown them, they still sought for more, and were never satisfied; see Matthew 12:39. These men had lately seen various signs and miracles of Christ, as healing the sick, and feeding live thousand of them, and more, with five loaves, and two fishes; and though, for the time present, these had some influence upon them, and they were ready to believe he was that prophet; yet now, at least…
John 6:30-33
30. They said therefore to him, What sign doest thou then, that we may see and believe thee? What dost thou work? [141] 31. Our fathers ate manna in the wilderness, as it is written, He gave them bread of heaven to eat, (Exodus 16:15; Psalm 78:24.) 32. Jesus therefore said to them, Verily, verily, I say to you, Moses gave you not bread from heaven, but my Father giveth you the true bread from heaven. [142] 33. For the bread of God is this which hath come down from heaven, and giveth life to the world.
30. What sign doest thou? This wickedness abundantly proves how truly it is said elsewhere, This wicked generation seeketh a sign, (Matthew 12:39.) They had been at first drawn t…
The crowd demanded a miraculous sign to demonstrate Jesus’ status as Messiah. Jews believed that when the Messiah appeared, he would duplicate the great miracle of Moses. Manna would once again fall, and everyone would consider it a second exodus.
