John 6:14

Men. Gr. anthropoi; see on v. 10.

Miracle. See p. 208.

Said. Literally, “they kept saying”; that is, the statement was repeated again and again as it spread through the crowd.

Prophet that should come. Again, John is the only gospel writer to record the impression made upon the people by this miracle (see on Matt. 14:22).

The readiness with which the common people of Galilee were willing to accept Jesus as the Messiah indicates both how general was the expectation of a Saviour and how great the popularity of Jesus had now become. He had already shown Himself to be a leader of men; they knew He could heal any who might be wounded in battle; now they saw that He could furnish an army with food! Surely such a leader would be invincible in battle against the Roman oppressor. He must be the Messiah!

The Jews were keenly aware of the fact that the true prophetic gift had not been manifest among them for several centuries. It is not surprising, then, that they expected its renewal in connection with the coming of the Messiah (for such expectations in the 2d century B.C., see 1 Maccabees 4:46; 14:41; cf. John 1:21). Repeatedly during the 1st century A.D. overzealous Jews were deceived by impostors who proclaimed themselves to be “prophets” and promised to liberate the Jews from Roman rule, as the popular concept of the Messiah envisioned. Josephus (Antiquities xx. 5. 1; 8. 6) records the downfall of two such “prophets,” Theudas and an Egyptian (cf. Acts 5:36; 21:38). Jesus warned His disciples against the coming of false “christs,” or messiahs (Matt. 24:4, 5).