Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of John 6:69
And we believe and are sure that thou art that Christ, the Son of the living God.
69. we believe ] Rather, we have believed: the perfect tense implies that the faith and knowledge which they possess have been theirs for some time past. ‘Are sure’ means literally ‘ have come to know.’
thou art that Christ, &c.] These words seem to have been imported hither from S. Peter’s Confession, Mat 16:16. The true reading here is; Thou art the Holy One of God. This is altogether a different occasion from Mat 16:16, and probably previous to it. The Confessions are worth comparing. 1. ‘Thou art the Son of God’ (Mat 14:33); in this the other Apostles joined. 2. ‘Thou art the Holy One of God’ (Joh 6:69). 3. ‘Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God’ (Mat 16:16). They increase in fulness, as we might expect.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
We are sure … – See a similar confession of Peter in Mat 16:16, and the notes at that place. Peter says we are sure, in the name of the whole of the apostles. Jesus immediately cautions him, as he did on other occasions, not to be too confident, for one of them actually had no such feelings, but was a traitor.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Joh 6:69
We believe and are sure that Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God
The Christ of God
Faith without knowledge is mere fancy.
For the want of knowledge the faith of the ancient Jews gave way in the wilderness. So here the nominal disciples went away because they did not know who He was from whom they went. To the apostles this knowledge gave stability to their faith and they remained.
I. THE TESTIMONY. That Christ was the Messiah.
1. The provision that is by this Christ could not be by any other.
(1) His sacrifice is of eternal worth.
(2) It eternally satisfies the soul.
(3) It is the ground upon which all things work together for good.
(4) We should labour by faith and prayer for this meat.
2. By partaking of this provision we shall never come to want. Away then with anxieties and fears.
3. To accept this provision is the counsel of God to man.
II. THE SONSHIP. Christ is the Son of God in a way no other can be.
1. Because He was born as no other was ever born.
2. Because He was a complex person–God and man.
3. Because of His infallible purity.
4. Because He embodies blessings which no other person ever did.
5. Because He included in His sonship millions of others.
III. THE NOTE OF DISTINCTION. Living in contrast to idols and false religions (Isa 26:1-21.). Because God never dies His people can never die.
IV. THE ASSURANCE OF FAITH. (James Wells.)
The threefold Christ
I. THE CHRIST OF PROPHECY.
1. Christ was the Desire of all nations, the Saviour for which all nations yearned.
2. His coming was in accordance with the plan of God from the first. Hence then were preparations not only among the Jews but in general history for His coming.
3. But the Christ who was blindly felt after by sage and seer was the Christ of an assured prophecy in Judaea. Abraham had seen His day. Even earlier to Adam and Noah the promise had gone forth. You know the tenor of Isaiah, Daniel and the minor prophets.
II. THE CHRIST OF HISTORY corresponds in every particular to the Christ of prophecy. Eight different writers record His life, but they all agree in saying that Christ was what many more before He came said He was to be.
III. THE CHRIST OF EXPERIENCE.
1. Christs promise was that He would manifest Himself to and live in His people. The Apostles point out this as the central Christian privilege. It therefore becomes our duty, that as there is an indwelling Christ in every true believer, to bring out in ourselves the Christ should be our end and aim.
2. The Christ of prophecy was needed as the initiation of the Divine plan for our salvation. But the benefits of the Christ of prophecy to us are simply that they confirm our faith and raise in us a more exalted idea of His excellence.
3. The Christ of history, too, has passed away, but the Christ of experience is based upon and modelled after and by the Christ of history. (A. B. Livermore.)
A simple confession
I. AN ANTECEDENT FAITH. The disciples commenced their investigations into the theme of Christs personality.
1. Not by practising unlimited credulity as opposed to sober inquiry.
2. Not by superstitiously committing themselves to extravagant conceptions as to His rank.
3. By accepting honestly and trustfully the evidence placed before them in the character and works of Jews without partiality or prejudice, and then forming their conclusion.
II. A CONSEQUENT KNOWLEDGE. The result was that they arrived at a clear and intelligent judgment as to who Christ was. The glory of the Incarnate Son having shined into their souls they were enabled to realize the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. (T. Whitelaw, D. D.)
Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell
Verse 69. We believe] On the authority of thy word; and are sure-have known, , by the evidence of thy miracles, that thou art the Christ, the promised Messiah. [-Anglo-Saxon-] And we belyfath and witen that thu eart Crist Godes Son. Anglo-Saxon. How near is the mother to the daughter tongue!
Instead of Christ the Son of the living God, some excellent MSS., BCDL, and others, read , the holy one of God; and this reading Griesbach has received into the text, leaving out , the living. , and convey nearly the same meaning; but the AEthiopic, as usual, retains both. is omitted by BCDL, H, the Coptic, Sahidic, Armenian, later Persic, Vulgate, all the Itala but one, and by the Anglo-Saxon; which last Griesbach has not noticed.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
We believe (saith Peter) and are sure, both from what we have heard from time, and from the miracles which we have seen wrought by thee,
that thou art that Christ, the Son of the living God. The very words by which St. Matthew (Mat 16:16) expresses that noble confession of his, which our Saviour calleth the rock, upon which he would build his church. But notwithstanding this acknowledgment, which speaks the seeds of this faith now sown in the heart of Peter, and the hearts of the rest; yet whoso considereth the passages of the other evangelists after this, will see reason to believe, that their persuasion as to this was but faint, till Christ by his resurrection declared himself the Son of God with power.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
69. And we believe,(See on Mt16:16). Peter seems to have added this not merelyprobably notso muchas an assurance to his Lord of his heart’s belief inHim, as for the purpose of fortifying himself and his faithfulbrethren against that recoil from his Lord’s harsh statementswhich he was probably struggling against with difficulty at thatmoment. Note.There are seasons when one’s faith is tried tothe utmost, particularly by speculative difficulties; the spiritualeye then swims, and all truth seems ready to depart from us. At suchseasons, a clear perception that to abandon the faith of Christ is toface black desolation, ruin and death; and on recoiling fromthis, to be able to fall back, not merely on first principles andimmovable foundations, but on personal experience of a LivingLord in whom all truth is wrapt up and made flesh for our verybenefitthis is a relief unspeakable. Under that blessed Wingtaking shelter, until we are again fit to grapple with the questionsthat have staggered us, we at length either find our way throughthem, or attain to a calm satisfaction in the discovery that they liebeyond the limits of present apprehension.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
And we believe and are sure,…. Or know of a certainty: they believed upon the first call of them by Christ, and their following of him, that he was the true Messiah; and they came to an assurance of it, by the miracles he wrought, and by the doctrines which he taught; their faith, how weak soever it might be at first, rose up to a full assurance of faith, and of understanding; there was a reality and a certainty in it, as there is in all true faith, with respect to the object, though not always with respect to interest in it; which was the case here, as appears by what follows:
that thou art that Christ; or Messiah, that was promised by God of old, spoken of by the prophets, and expected by the Jews; that anointed prophet Moses had spoken of, that should arise out of Israel, like unto him that anointed priest, who, according to the oath of God, was to be priest for ever, after the order of Melchizedek; and that anointed King, whom God has set over his holy hill of Zion:
the son of the living God; this they knew, and were sure of, both by John’s testimony, and by the father’s voice from heaven; which three of them heard, at Christ’s transfiguration on the mount: God the father is called “the living God”; though the Vulgate Latin version leaves out the word “living”; not to distinguish him from his son; for he also is the living God; and is so called, Heb 3:12, but to distinguish him from the idols of the Gentiles, who have no life nor breath in them: and Christ is called the son of the living God, as he is a divine person, as he is truly God; and to show that he has the same life his father has; being a partaker of the same nature, and divine perfections: and this is another reason why sensible souls will go to Christ, and no other; because he is the Messiah, the Saviour, and Redeemer, and an able one; and because he is God, and there is none else.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
We have believed ( ). Perfect active indicative of , “We have come to believe and still believe” (verse 29).
And know ( ). Same tense of , “We have come to know and still know.”
Thou art the Holy One of God ( ). Bernard follows those who believe that this is John’s report of the same confession given by the Synoptics (Mark 8:27; Matt 16:13-20; Luke 9:18), an utterly unjustifiable conclusion. The details are wholly different. Here in the synagogue in Capernaum, there on Mt. Hermon near Caesarea Philippi. What earthly difficulty is there in supposing that Peter could make a noble confession twice? That is to my mind a wooden conception of the apostles in their growing apprehension of Christ.
Fuente: Robertson’s Word Pictures in the New Testament
Are sure [] . Literally, have come to know. The order of the words believe and know is reversed in Joh 17:8; 1Jo 4:16. In the case of the first disciples, faith, produced by the overpowering impression of Jesus ‘ works and person, preceded intellectual conviction.
That Christ, the Son of the living God. The best texts substitute oJ agiov tou Qeou, the holy one of God. The other reading has resulted from the attempt to bring Peter’s confession here into accord with that in Mt 16:16. The two confessions differ in that “here the confession points to the inward character in which the Apostles found the assurance of life; there the confession was of the public office and theocratic person of the Lord” (Westcott).
Fuente: Vincent’s Word Studies in the New Testament
1) ”And we believe and are sure,” (kai hemeis pepisteukamen kai egnokamen) “And we have believed and known,” are convinced: 1) By prophetic fulfillments, 2) By the miracles you have performed, 3) And by the teaching you have done, Joh 20:30-31; Mat 7:28-29; Joh 5:39-40.
2) ”That thou art that Christ,” (hoti su ei) “That you are or exist in essence as the Christ, “the Messiah, Mat 16:13-16. The ”that Christ” term refers to the Holy 0ne who was to come, to whom they were all to give heed, Deu 18:15,18.
3) “The Son of the living God.” (ho hagios tou theou) “The holy one of God,” who was to come, virgin conceived and virgin born, Isa 7:14; the child who was born, and the Son who was given, Isa 9:6; Joh 3:16; Gal 4:4-5.
Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary
69. And we have believed and known. The verbs are in the past tense, but they may be changed into the present tense, we believe and know, but it makes little difference in the meaning. In these words Peter gives a brief summary of faith. But the confession appears to have nothing to do with the matter in hand, for the question had been raised about eating the flesh of Christ. I reply, although the twelve did not at once comprehend all that Christ had taught, yet it is enough that, according to the capacity of their faith, they acknowledge him to be the Author of salvation, and submit themselves to him in all things. The word believe is put first, because the obedience of faith is the commencement of right understanding, or rather, because faith itself is truly the eye of the understanding. But immediately afterwards knowledge is added, which distinguishes faith from erroneous and false opinions; for Mahometans and Jews and Papists believe, but they neither know nor understand any thing. Knowledge is connected with faith, because we are certain and fully convinced of the truth of God, not in the same manner as human sciences are learned, but when the Spirit seals it on our hearts.
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
(69) And we believe and are sure.Better, We have believed and are sure. (Comp. Joh. 1:41-42.) Go away? The faith which first burned in their hearts has passed into the calm certainty of settled knowledge.
Thou art that Christ, the Son of the living God, has found its way into this place from the confession of Mat. 16:16. The almost certain reading here is, Thou art the Holy One of God. They had heard this title ascribed to Him by beings from the spirit world (comp. Note on Mar. 1:24), and it has been, perhaps, suggested by the present discourse (Joh. 6:32; Joh. 6:46). Like the title Messiah, or Christ, it marks out the consecration to His work. (Comp. Joh. 10:30; 1Jn. 2:20; Rev. 3:7.) The true reading brings out the successive confessions, which are certainly twice, and probably three times, spoken by Peter. This is the second, coming between that of Mat. 14:33 and that of Mat. 16:16. (See Notes at these places.)
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
69. We believe A generous confiding we; proof of a good heart but of a fallible head. Here, as ever. there is a slight collapse after Peter’s magnanimous assumptions.
Christ, the Son of the living God The words of this confession are given very differently in different ancient manuscripts. Alford decides for the reading, thou art the holy one of God. And this is fully as strong as the words in our English version. It, then, means that he is God’s sole holy one. He is, then, all he ever claims himself to be. Had the Jews, (Joh 6:41,) or the disciples of Joh 6:60 and Joh 6:66, had this simple faith in the very self of Jesus, they would not have been disturbed by the mystery of his discourse about himself. (Joh 6:51-58.) Thou art first of all the holy one of God; then, what thy works or thy words, however mysterious, proclaim thee to be, that thou art; and that I believe so far as I understand, and trust so far as I understand not.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
69 And we believe and are sure that thou art that Christ, the Son of the living God.
Ver. 69. We believe and have known ] In matters of divinity we must first believe, and then know; not know, and then believe. In human sciences it is otherwise. Men are brought to assent and believe by experience, knowledge, and sense; as to believe that fire is hot, &c. But here, belief and assent go before experimental knowledge, sense, and use.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
69. ] seems to be used absolutely, as in Joh 6:64 : we believe, and have long done so .
In the following words the readings vary; the common text having been to all appearance introduced from Mat 16:16 . The circumstance of the Lord not being elsewhere called . by John, is of course in favour of the reading. The idea however is found (ch. Joh 10:36 ). I regard the coincidence with the testimony of the dmoniacs, reff. Mark [95] , as a remarkable one. Their words appear to have been the first plain declaration of the fact, and so to have laid hold on the attention of the Apostles.
[95] When, in the Gospels, and in the Evangelic statement, 1Co 11:23-25 , the sign () occurs in a reference, it is signified that the word occurs in the parallel place in the other Gospels, which will always be found indicated at the head of the note on the paragraph. When the sign () is qualified , thus, ‘ Mk.,’ or ‘ Mt. Mk.,’ &c., it is signified that the word occurs in the parallel place in that Gospel or Gospels, but not in the other or others .
Fuente: Henry Alford’s Greek Testament
believe = have believed. App-150.
are sure = have got to know. Greek. ginosko See App-132. See note on Joh 1:10.
that Christ = the Messiah. App-98.
the Son of . . . God. Thus, the second portion of the Lords ministry ends with a similar declaration on the part of Simon Peter, as in Mat 16:16, though not the same occasion. So the Syriac reads, showing that the various readings of the Greek need not be heeded. See App-94.
the living God. This expression always implies the contrast with all other gods.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
69.] seems to be used absolutely, as in Joh 6:64 : we believe, and have long done so.
In the following words the readings vary; the common text having been to all appearance introduced from Mat 16:16. The circumstance of the Lord not being elsewhere called . by John, is of course in favour of the reading. The idea however is found (ch. Joh 10:36). I regard the coincidence with the testimony of the dmoniacs, reff. Mark [95], as a remarkable one. Their words appear to have been the first plain declaration of the fact, and so to have laid hold on the attention of the Apostles.
[95] When, in the Gospels, and in the Evangelic statement, 1Co 11:23-25, the sign () occurs in a reference, it is signified that the word occurs in the parallel place in the other Gospels, which will always be found indicated at the head of the note on the paragraph. When the sign () is qualified, thus, Mk., or Mt. Mk., &c., it is signified that the word occurs in the parallel place in that Gospel or Gospels, but not in the other or others.
Fuente: The Greek Testament
Joh 6:69. , we) whatsoever others may determine on.- , we have believed and known [are sure, Engl. Vers.]) From the words of Jesus, knowledge follows faith: 2Pe 1:5, Add to your faith virtue, and to virtue knowledge. They are astray who demand knowledge first: it follows faith and obedience: ch. Joh 7:17, If any man will do His will, he shall know of the doctrine. We have known, that is, we have it as a sure and certain truth.
Fuente: Gnomon of the New Testament
Joh 6:69
Joh 6:69
And we have believed and know that thou art the Holy One of God.-He here gives his full appreciation of Jesus and his mission of guiding to eternal life.
Fuente: Old and New Testaments Restoration Commentary
we believe
Or, we have believed and come to understand that thou art the Holy One of God.
Fuente: Scofield Reference Bible Notes
we believe: Joh 1:29, Joh 1:41, Joh 1:45-49, Joh 11:27, Joh 20:28, Joh 20:31, Mat 16:16, Mar 1:1, Mar 8:29, Luk 9:20, Act 8:37, Rom 1:3, 1Jo 5:1, 1Jo 5:20
the living: Joh 6:57
Reciprocal: Jos 3:10 – living Mat 14:33 – Of Mat 22:42 – What Mat 26:63 – the Christ Mar 1:11 – Thou Mar 9:7 – This Luk 1:32 – the Son Luk 2:11 – which Joh 1:34 – this Joh 4:42 – and know Joh 5:40 – that Joh 7:41 – This is Joh 9:35 – Dost Joh 14:4 – and the Joh 15:4 – Abide Rom 10:9 – and shalt 2Co 1:19 – the Son Gal 2:16 – we have Gal 2:20 – the Son Col 2:2 – understanding 1Ti 3:15 – the living 1Pe 2:7 – you
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
9
In this verse Peter was speaking for the group of apostles, and as far as he knew, all of them were favorable to the teaching of Christ.
Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary
Ver. 69. The pronoun , we, sets the apostles in marked contrast with the disciples who had just deserted Jesus. The verbs in the perfect tense have believed, known, indicate things gained for the future and which are not necessary to be reconsidered. Jesus may declare in their presence the most surprising things; it matters not; the faith which they have in Him and the knowledge which they have of Him cause them in advance to accept all. There is a certain knowledge which precedes faith (1Jn 4:16); but there is also a knowledge which follows it and which has a more inward and profound character (Php 3:10); it is of this latter that Peter here speaks. Under the power of an immediate impression theyJohn, Andrew and himselfhad proclaimed Jesus as the Christ (Joh 1:42; Joh 1:50), and from that time they had, through a daily experience, recognized and established the truth of that first impression.
The substance of Peter’s profession is formulated somewhat differently in the Alexandrian and Byzantine readings. The expression: Son of the living God, in the second, is connected with the whole contents of the chapter; comp. Joh 6:57 : The living Father. But what renders it suspicious is its resemblance to Peter’s confession in Mat 16:16. At the first glance, the designation: the Holy One of God, of the Alexandrian authorities is less easily justified in this context. But it is nevertheless connected with the idea expressed in Joh 6:27 : He whom the Father, God, has sealed. The unexceptionable divine seal, by which the apostles had recognized Jesus as the Messiah was not especially His acts of power; it was His holiness. The term: Holy One of God, set apart from the rest of men by His consecration, is not a Messianic designation either in the Old Testament or in the New Testament. It is the demons who used it the first time (Mar 1:24 and Luk 4:34). They were led to it by the feeling of the contrast between Christ and themselves, impure spirits; Peter and the apostles, by that of sympathy. Comp. Luk 1:35; Act 4:27; Rev 3:7.