a "father" (literally or figuratively · noun — nominative singular masculine, a title
living
ζῶνzōn
G2198
to live (literally or figuratively) · verb — present active participle, nominative singular masculine
Father
πατέρα,patera
G3962
a "father" (literally or figuratively · noun — accusative singular masculine, a title
hath sent
ἀπέστειλένapesteilen
G649
set apart · verb — aorist active indicative, 3rd person singular
me
μεme
G3165
me · personal pronoun — 1st person accusative singular
and I
κἀγώkagṓ
G2504
so also the dative case
live
ζῶzō
G2198
to live (literally or figuratively) · verb — present active indicative, 1st person singular
by
διὰdia
G1223
through (in very wide applications · preposition
the Father
πατήρpatḗr
G3962
a "father" (literally or figuratively
so
κἀγὼkagō
G2532
and · personal pronoun — 1st person nominative singular + conjunction
he that eateth
τρώγωνtrōgōn
G5176
or perhaps rather of a base of G5167 (τρυγών) and G5149… · verb — present active participle, nominative singular masculine
me
μεme
G3165
me · personal pronoun — 1st person accusative singular
even he
κἀκεῖνοςkakeînos
G2548
likewise that (or those)
shall live
ζήσειzēsei
G2198
to live (literally or figuratively) · verb — future active indicative, 3rd person singular
by
δι᾽di᾽
G1223
through (in very wide applications · preposition
me
ἐμέemé
G1691
me
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 5:26 For as the Father hath life in himself; so hath he given to the Son to have life in himself;
John 17:21 That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou h…
Galatians 2:20 I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by th…
Colossians 3:3-4 For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God.
Psalms 18:46 The LORD liveth; and blessed be my rock; and let the God of my salvation be exalted.
Jeremiah 10:10 But the LORD is the true God, he is the living God, and an everlasting king: at his wrath the earth shall tremble, and the nations shall not…
John 3:17 For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.
Matthew 16:16 And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.
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…
As the living Father hath sent me--to communicate His own life.
and I live by the Father--literally, "because of the Father"; My life and His being one, but Mine that of a Son, whose it is to be "of the Father." (See Joh 1:18; Joh 5:26).
he that eateth me, . . . shall live by me--literally, "because of Me." So that though one spiritual life with Him, "the Head of every man is Christ, as the head of Christ is God" (Co1 11:3; Co1 3:23).
Adam Clarke on John 6:57
So he that eateth me, even he shall live by me - From which we learn that the union between Christ and his followers shall be similar to that which subsists between God and Christ.
John Gill on John 6:57
As the living Father hath sent me,.... Into the world, to be the Saviour of it; not by local motion, but by assumption of human nature; and not against his will, or as having superiority over him; but by joint consent and agreement: the first person in the Godhead is here styled, "the living Father"; not because he is the Father of spirits, of angels, and the souls of men; and the Father of all men by creation, and of saints by adoption; and the Father, or author of all mercies, spiritual and temporal; but because he is the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ; and this character is peculiar to him: he is indeed the living God, and has life in himself, and is the fountain of life to others; but n…
The Church Fathers
All things that the Father has are the Son's. On the other hand, all that belongs to the Son is the Father's. Nothing then is unique to either one, because all things are in common. For their being [essence] itself is common and equal, even though the Son receives it from the Father. It is in this respect … that it is said, "I live by the Father," not as though his life and being were kept together by the Father but because he has his being from him beyond all time and beyond all cause.
(Hom. xlvi) And because I live, it is manifest that he will live also: As the living Father hath sent Me, and I lice by the Father, even so he that eateth Me, even he shall live by Me. (Aug. de Verb. Dom. [Nic.]). As if He said, As the Father liveth, so do I live; adding, lest you should think Him unbegotten, By the Father, meaning that He has His source in the Father. He that eateth Me, even he shall live by Me; the life here meant is not life simply, but the justified life: for even unbelievers live, who never eat of that flesh at all. Nor is it of the general resurrection He speaks, (for all will rise again,) but of the resurrection to glory, and reward.
Can lifeless copies be put on a level with their living originals? Can painted or carved or molten effigies be put on a level with the nature that they imitate? The Son is not the image of the Father after such a fashion as this; he is the living image of the Living. The Son who is born of the Father has a nature in no way different from his. And, because his nature is not different, he possesses the power of the nature that is the same as his own. The fact that he is the image proves that God the Father is the author of the birth of the Only Begotten, who is himself revealed as the likeness and image of the invisible God. And hence the likeness, which is joined in union with the divine nature, is indelibly his own because the powers of that nature are inalienably his own.
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…
Eating — The ancient Hebrews would not eat with the Egyptians (Gen. 43:32). In the time of our Lord they would not eat with Samaritans (John 4:9), and were astonished that he ate with publicans and sinners…
Eternal life — This expression occurs in the Old Testament only in Dan. 12:2 (R.V., “everlasting life”). It occurs frequently in the New Testament (Matt. 7:14; 18:8, 9; Luke 10:28; comp. 18:18). It comprises the…
Lords Supper — The words which thus describe the great central act of the worship of the Christian Church occur but in a single passage of the New Testament— (1 Corinthians 11:20)
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…
Fellowship · WITH CHRIST — WITH CHRIST
Flesh · .Body of Christ symbolized by the bread — .Body of Christ symbolized by the bread
Life, Eternal · Results from: Eating the bread of life — Results from: Eating the bread of life
Life, Spiritual · Is maintained by: Christ — Is maintained by: Christ
John 6:52-58
52. The Jews therefore debated among themselves, saying, How can this man give us his flesh to eat? 53. Jesus therefore said to them, Verily, verily, I say to you, Unless you eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink his blood, you have not life in you. 54. He who eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, hath eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day. 55. For my flesh is truly food, and my blood is truly drink. 56. He who eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, dwelleth in me, and I in him. 57. As the living Father hath sent me, and I live on account of my Father; and he who eateth me, even he shall live for my sake. 58. This is the bread which hath come down from h…
eat the flesh . . . drink his blood: Jesus answered the question the people asked (6:52). His words hinted at the Lord’s Supper yet to come (see Luke 22:19). Since “flesh and blood” was a Jewish idiom for the whole person, Jesus might have been calling people to consume him fully by completely believing in him. Some Christian traditions see the bread as Christ’s literal flesh broken for us and the wine as his literal blood poured out for us. Others take the meaning in purely spiritual terms. Either way, receiving communion means no less than embracing Jesus’ life-giving sacrifice.
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).
