When they found him on the other side of the sea, they asked him, “Rabbi, when did you come here?”
Parallel Translations
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When they found him on the other side of the sea, they asked him, “Rabbi, when did you come here?”
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And when they had founde him on the other syde of the see they sayd vnto him: Rabbi when camest thou hidder?
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And when they had founde him on the other side of the sea, they sayde vnto him, Rabbi, when camest thou hither?
Cross-references (2)
Passages linked to John 6:25 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, ordered by reader-vote popularity; verse text shown in World English Bible.
- Matthew 23:7 the salutations in the marketplaces, and to be called ‘Rabbi, Rabbi’ by men.
- John 1:38-39 Jesus turned and saw them following, and said to them, “What are you looking for?” They said to him, “Rabbi” (which is to say, being interpreted, Teacher), “where are you staying?” He said to them, “Come, and see.” They came and saw where he was staying, and they stayed with him that day. It was about the tenth hour.
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this verse (12 sources)
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John Calvin 1540 · Public Domain 25. On the other side of the sea. We…
25. On the other side of the sea. We have already said that Capernaum was not situated on the opposite shore; for Tiberias is situated on that part of the lake where it is broadest, Bethsaida follows next, and Capernaum lies near the lowest part, not far from where the river Jordan issues from the lake. Now, when John places it on the other side of the lake itself, we must not understand him as if its position were directly across, but because, at the lower extremity, the lake made a large winding, and, on account of the bay that intervened, it was impossible to go by land without a very circuitous journey. The Evangelist therefore says, on the other side of the sea, adopting the mode of expression used by the common people, because the only direct and ordinary mode of conveyance was by a boat.
John Calvin's Commentaries (1540-1563) — public domain. Text from the Calvin Translation Society English edition (1840s-50s) via the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (ccel.org). Calvin's coverage is partial (roughly two-thirds of the Bible); uncommented books and verses are honest gaps, never fabricated. The 19th-century editor's footnotes and remarks are omitted so the notes are faithfully Calvin's own voice.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain 25 And when they had found him on the…
25 And when they had found him on the other side of the sea, they said unto him, Rabbi, when camest thou hither?
Ver. 25. Rabbi, when camest thou hither?] This question they moved, not so much to learn what they knew not, as to make show of what they knew before. But two things make a man truly virtuous, -good actions and good aims. Finibus non officiis a vitiis discernuntur virtutes, saith Augustine: The end maketh or marreth the act. Christus opera nostra non tam actibus quam finibus pensat, saith another. The glory of God should consume all sinister ends, as the sunlight puts out the fire, or as Moses’ serpent swallowed up the sorcerers’ serpents.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain They asked him, When camest thou hither? A curious…
They asked him, When camest thou hither? A curious and impertinent question, to which he doth not think fit to give an apposite answer, but at first letteth them know, that he knew their hearts, and what designs they had in following him; which was not to see the miraculous effects of the Divine power, the credentials of his commission from heaven, and to receive him as the true Messiah, and believe his doctrine; but they came upon so low an account as to be fed by him.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain Jesus answered them and said,.... Not by replying to…
Jesus answered them and said,.... Not by replying to their question, or giving a direct answer to that, which he could have done, by telling them that he walked upon the water, and found his disciples in great distress, and delivered them, and came early that morning with them to the land of Gennesaret, and so to Capernaum: but not willing to gratify their curiosity; and knowing from what principles, and with what views they sought after him, and followed him; and willing to let them know that he knew them, being the searcher of hearts, and to reprove them for them, thus addressed them:
verily, verily, I say unto you; this is a certain truth, and was full well known to Christ, and what their own consciences must attest:
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ye seek me not because ye saw the miracles; of feeding so large a number with so small a quantity of food, and of healing them that needed it, Luk 9:11. Not but that they did regard the miracles of Christ, and concluded from thence he must be that prophet that was to come, and were for taking him by force, and proclaiming him king; but then they had a greater respect to their own worldly interest, and their carnal appetites, than to these, as follows:
but because ye did eat of the loaves, and were filled; they regarded their own bellies more than the honour and glory of Christ, and even than the good of their immortal souls, and the spiritual and eternal salvation of them: and it is to be feared that this is the case of too many who make a profession of religion; their view being their own worldly advantages, and not the spiritual and everlasting good of their souls, and the real interest of a Redeemer: hence the following advice.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain Verse 25. On the other side of the sea]…
Verse 25. On the other side of the sea] That is, on the sea coast, to the northward of it, where Capernaum lies in the land of Genesaret: but see the note, on Joh 6:17; Joh 6:22. It was in one of the synagogues of Capernaum that he delivered the following discourse: see Joh 6:59.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain Joh 6:25-27. When they had found him on the…
Joh 6:25-27. When they had found him on the other side — Namely, in the synagogue of Capernaum, as appears from Joh 6:59; they said unto him — As soon as the worship was over, and even before they quitted the place; Rabbi, when camest thou hither? — They ask this question because, as Jesus did not go on the preceding evening with his disciples, they expected to have found him on the other side of the sea, and could not conceive when he could come, or what imaginable means he could have of crossing the water. Jesus, modestly waiving the recital of those extraordinary circumstances which attended his passage, diverted the discourse to a more important and edifying subject; and knowing, by an intimate penetration of their very hearts, that they were governed only by carnal motives in this attendance upon him, humble and zealous as it might appear, he said — With great solemnity, Verily, ye seek me, not because ye saw the miracles — Because, having been eye-witnesses of the miracles which I performed, you are convinced by them that I am a divine teacher, and are now disposed to hearken unto and obey my doctrine: but because ye did eat of the loaves, and were filled — And have from thence concluded, that you shall gain great secular advantages by following me: having been once fed, you expect that I will feed you frequently by a miracle; and the satisfaction you have found in that meal has made you conceive great hopes of temporal felicity under my administration. These are the views with which you are following me; but you are entirely mistaken in them, for your happiness does not consist in the meat that perisheth, neither is it that sort of meat which the Messiah will give you. Hitherto Christ had been gathering hearers; he now begins to try their sincerity by a figurative discourse concerning his passion, and the fruit of it to be received by faith. Labour not for the meat which perisheth — For bodily food, or for any merely temporal blessing; not for that only, not chiefly: not at all, but in subordination to divine knowledge and grace, faith and love; the meat that endureth to everlasting life — Which, by invigorating all the faculties of the soul, and making it wise and good, holy and happy, renders it incorruptible and immortal, entitled to, and prepared for, everlasting felicity. Which meat, or which life, the Son of man shall give you — If with sincerity, earnestness, and faith, you apply to him for it. It is his gift, χαρισμα, a gift of grace, Rom 6:23: and yet we are commanded to labour for it, as if it were to be procured by our own industry, and sold upon that valuable consideration. But when we have laboured with the utmost diligence for it, still we have not merited it as our hire, but the Son of man gives it. And it is an encouragement, that he who has the giving of it is the Son of man, our kinsman and brother; for, in consequence of that, we may hope that the sons of men, who seek it and labour for it, shall not fail to obtain it. For him hath God the Father sealed — By this very miracle, as well as by his whole testimony concerning him. Having given him authority, he has given us assurance of it; having intrusted him with unlimited powers, he hath satisfied us by undoubted proofs that he has done so. Sealing a writing is a mark of the authenticity of it. God the Father sealed his Son, or manifested that he had commissioned him to be the Teacher, Redeemer, Saviour, and Governor of his church, by causing his Holy Spirit to rest on him, by the voice from heaven uttered once and again, and by the testimony he bore to him in signs and wonders.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain when they had found him on the other side--at…
when they had found him on the other side--at Capernaum.
they said, &c.--astonished at His being there, and wondering how He could have accomplished it, whether by land or water, and when He came; for being quite unaware of His having walked upon the sea and landed with the disciples in the ship, they could not see how, unless He had travelled all night round the head of the lake alone, He could have reached Capernaum, and even then, how He could have arrived before themselves.
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain 25. When they had found him—Jesus first landed at…
25. When they had found him—Jesus first landed at the plain of Gennesaret; but before these pursuers found him he had arrived in the synagogue of Capernaum. See notes on Mat_14:34-36.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain 25. on the other side of the sea] This…
25. on the other side of the sea] This now means the western shore; in Joh_6:22 it meant the eastern. From Joh_6:59 we have the locality fixed very distinctly as the synagogue at Capernaum.
when camest thou] Including how? they suspect something miraculous. Christ does not gratify their curiosity: if the feeding of the 5000, which they had witnessed, taught them nothing, what good would it do them to hear of the crossing of the sea? ‘Camest Thou hither’ is literally ‘hast Thou come to be here:’ comp. Joh_1:15.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain (25) Rabbi, when camest thou hither?—This discourse took place…
(25) Rabbi, when camest thou hither?—This discourse took place in the synagogue at Capernaum (Joh_6:59). They are amazed to find Him here. When and how could He have come? He had not gone in the boat with the disciples, and no other boats had crossed but those in which they themselves came. On the title Rabbi, see Note on Joh_1:38.
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain When they had found him on the other side…
When they had found him on the other side of the sea (other side than that on which the miracle took place, and yet near Capernaum. This contradicts the exposition which would make the site of the feeding to be on the Western side), they said unto him, Rabbi, when earnest thou? and how happens it that thou art here? The pote wde gegonav ; is difficult to translate. The when? practically includes the how? also. The difficulty lay in the time. They were sure that Jesus had not started before the disciples, and they knew that there was no method by which the lake itself would have been available, and they want explanation. The news of his crossing the water after some fashion that would ally him to Moses, Joshua, Elijah, may easily have got disseminated, one report or another being rapidly circulated.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
B. W. Johnson 1891 · Public Domain 25. Rabbi, when camest thou hither? He had not…
25. Rabbi, when camest thou hither? He had not crossed the sea with his disciples; he had not come with them; how and when did he come? The day was the Sabbath, they had sought him in the synagogue, the question was asked there, and the discourse that follows was spoken there (see verse 59).
B. W. Johnson's The People's New Testament with Notes (1889–1891) — public domain. Electronic text from the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (CCEL) ThML edition.