John 6 42

John 6:42 kjv

And they said, Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? how is it then that he saith, I came down from heaven?

John 6:42 nkjv

And they said, "Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How is it then that He says, 'I have come down from heaven'?"

John 6:42 niv

They said, "Is this not Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How can he now say, 'I came down from heaven'?"

John 6:42 esv

They said, "Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How does he now say, 'I have come down from heaven'?"

John 6:42 nlt

They said, "Isn't this Jesus, the son of Joseph? We know his father and mother. How can he say, 'I came down from heaven'?"

John 6 verses

John 6 42 Meaning

John 6:42 records the Jewish crowd's murmuring challenge to Jesus' claim of coming down from heaven. They knew His earthly parents, Joseph and Mary, and His origin from Nazareth, which in their minds, directly contradicted a divine, heavenly origin. This verse highlights the deep conflict between their perceived factual knowledge of Jesus' human background and His assertion of divine pre-existence and identity. It underscores their spiritual blindness, unable to look beyond the physical to grasp spiritual truth.

John 6 42 Context

John chapter 6 primarily focuses on Jesus as the "Bread of Life." It begins with the miraculous feeding of the five thousand (vv. 1-15), followed by Jesus walking on water (vv. 16-21). These miracles attract a large crowd seeking physical food. However, Jesus shifts the discourse from physical sustenance to spiritual, eternal life, declaring Himself to be the "bread which comes down from heaven" (v. 33, 35, 38). This teaching immediately causes dispute among the Jews. Verse 42 is their explicit verbalization of their objection to Jesus' claim, demonstrating their inability to comprehend a spiritual reality that transcends their carnal understanding and familiar human observations. The historical context reflects a Jewish culture heavily reliant on familial lineage and geographical origin for identification and credibility. Their knowledge of Jesus' supposed parentage in Nazareth conflicted with any notion of a literal descent from heaven, causing profound cognitive dissonance and fueling their unbelief. This also shows an indirect polemic against Jesus' divinity as the "son of God" (understood spiritually) by emphasizing His "son of Joseph" (understood literally and solely physically).

John 6 42 Word analysis

• And they said (καὶ ἔλεγον - kai elegon): "They" refers to "the Jews" from verse 41 who were murmuring. The imperfect tense ("ἔλεγον") suggests continuous or repeated speech, indicating an ongoing conversation or a collective, possibly agitated, expression of disbelief, rather than a single, one-off statement.
• Is not this (οὐχ οὗτός ἐστιν - ouch houtos estin): This is a rhetorical question in Greek, introduced by "οὐχ," which expects a "yes" answer. It conveys their strong conviction and surprise, implying, "Surely this is... as we all know!"
• Jesus (Ἰησοῦς - Iēsous): The common, familiar name. Their tone likely conveyed no respect, but rather a dismissal based on presumed familiarity.
• the son of Joseph? (ὁ υἱὸς Ἰωσήφ - ho huios Iōsēph): This identifies Jesus solely by His earthly, human lineage, perceived father. This assertion directly counters Jesus' claim of divine, heavenly origin. To them, being the son of a known human father definitively meant He could not have literally "come down from heaven."
• whose father and mother (οὗ ἡμεῖς οἴδαμεν τὸν πατέρα καὶ τὴν μητέρα - hou hēmeis oidamen ton patera kai tēn mētera): This phrase emphasizes their "knowledge."
• we know (οἴδαμεν - oidamen): The perfect tense verb means "we have known and continue to know." It indicates settled, factual, eyewitness acquaintance, reinforcing their belief that Jesus' earthly background is undeniable and thus contradicts His divine claim.
• how then does He now say (πῶς νῦν λέγει οὗτος - pōs nyn legei houtos):
  • how then (πῶς νῦν - pōs nyn): Expresses incredulity and logical impossibility from their perspective. Given their knowledge, "how" could He possibly say such a thing? The "then" (νῦν) adds to the immediate, current nature of their astonishment.
  • He now says (λέγει οὗτος - legei houtos): The pronoun "οὗτος" (this man) is emphatic, possibly derogatory, further highlighting their dismissal of Him as "just a man." The "now" (νῦν) focuses on His current provocative statement.
• ‘I have come down from heaven’ (ὅτι Ἐκ τοῦ οὐρανοῦ καταβέβηκα - hoti Ek tou ouranou katabebēka):
  • from heaven (Ἐκ τοῦ οὐρανοῦ - Ek tou ouranou): The preposition "ἐκ" indicates origin "out of," strongly implying His source and departure from heaven itself.
  • I have come down (καταβέβηκα - katabebēka): This is a perfect tense verb, indicating an action completed in the past with continuing present results – Jesus has descended, and He is still "from heaven." This is the core claim that provokes their disbelief, speaking of a pre-existent state.

Words-group by words-group analysis:

• "Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph?": This question immediately grounds Jesus in their known human reality, forming the bedrock of their rejection. It encapsulates their disbelief by placing Jesus firmly within the confines of mundane experience, setting the stage for direct confrontation with His divine claims.
• "whose father and mother we know": This phrase strongly underlines their conviction based on apparent, verifiable facts. Their personal knowledge of Jesus' family solidifies their conviction that He is merely human and, by extension, unable to fulfill His audacious claims. This "knowing" becomes an obstacle to true faith, based on limited human understanding.
• "how then does He now say, ‘I have come down from heaven’?": This constitutes the core conflict of the verse. It represents the clash between human reason, grounded in empirical observation (knowing His parents), and divine revelation (His claim of heavenly origin). Their "how then" reflects their inability to reconcile the two, showcasing the fundamental barrier of natural understanding against spiritual truth, thereby leading to outright rejection.

John 6 42 Bonus section

• Theological Irony: The Jews were correct in stating that Jesus had an earthly father (Joseph, His legal father in Jewish society) and mother (Mary). However, they lacked the crucial knowledge of His miraculous virgin birth and His divine Sonship. Their factual knowledge was incomplete, thus leading to a false conclusion.
• Echoes of Old Testament Figures: Just as prophets in the Old Testament were often rejected by their own people (e.g., Elijah, Jeremiah) who knew their background, Jesus faced similar resistance because His origins seemed too common for such extraordinary claims.
• Spiritual Blindness Motif in John: This verse is a classic example of a recurring theme in John's Gospel where characters, through lack of spiritual insight or willingness, misunderstand or deliberately misinterpret Jesus' words and identity. They seek signs (like the bread) but fail to grasp the deeper spiritual meaning or the person behind the signs.
• Christological Significance: The Jews' objection encapsulates one of the central challenges in Christology: how to affirm both the full humanity of Jesus (He truly was from Nazareth, had a human mother) and His full divinity (He truly came down from heaven). Their question "how then does He now say" reveals their inability to comprehend this profound mystery without divine revelation.

John 6 42 Commentary

John 6:42 illustrates a profound human limitation in recognizing the divine. The Jews, basing their understanding purely on physical and familiar observations—Jesus' known parentage and upbringing—found His claims of heavenly origin logically impossible and offensive. Their "knowledge" became a barrier to faith, hindering them from perceiving His true identity as the Son of God manifested in the flesh. This encounter reveals that true spiritual discernment often requires looking beyond superficial appearances and preconceived notions. It also foreshadows the broader human struggle to reconcile Jesus' full humanity with His full divinity, a tension central to Christian theology.