The Meaning of John 6:42 Explained

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?

YLT: and they said, 'Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we have known? how then saith this one -- Out of the heaven I have come down?'

Darby: And they said, Is not this Jesus the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we have known? how then does he say, I am come down out of heaven?

ASV: And they said, Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? how doth he now say, I am come down out of heaven?

KJV Reverse Interlinear

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? 

What does John 6:42 Mean?

Context Summary

John 6:41-51 - The Food Of Eternal Life
That phrase, the last day, was constantly on the Master's lips, John 6:39-40; John 6:44; John 6:54; John 12:48. It is an indefinite expression for those final scenes in which the history of our race is to be consummated through resurrection and judgment. Jesus lays great emphasis on His resurrection as completing His work for those who come to Him. It is not enough to impart eternal life. That would bless the spirit, but leave the body untouched. And He cannot rest until the whole of our complex nature shares in the emancipation and fullness of His salvation. A transfigured manhood and a glorified body must be the crown of His service to His own. By His mighty power, He will raise them up in the likeness of His glory, that they may share His royal and exalted state. Nothing less will satisfy Him, or undo the ruin that sin has introduced. Let us feed on Christ, by meditation on His words, and by communion with Himself, of which the sacred Feast of the Lord's Table is a perpetual reminder. Notice that every soul which is taught of God will recognize Christ, John 6:45! [source]

Chapter Summary: John 6

1  Jesus feeds five thousand men with five loaves and two fishes
15  Thereupon the people would have made him king;
16  but withdrawing himself, he walks on the sea to his disciples;
26  reproves the people flocking after him, and all the fleshly hearers of his word;
32  declares himself to be the bread of life to believers
66  Many disciples depart from him
68  Peter confesses him
70  Judas is a devil

Greek Commentary for John 6:42

How doth he now say? [Πως νυν λεγει]
They knew Jesus as the son of Joseph and Mary. They cannot comprehend his claim to be from heaven. This lofty claim puzzles sceptics today. [source]
We know []
Not implying necessarily that Joseph was still alive, but merely the fact that Joseph was recognized as the father of Jesus. [source]

Reverse Greek Commentary Search for John 6:42

John 6:33 The bread of God [ο αρτος του τεου]
All bread is of God (Matthew 6:11). The manna came down from heaven (Numbers 11:9) as does this bread Refers to the bread Bernard notes that this phrase (coming down) is used seven times in this discourse (John 6:33, John 6:38, John 6:41, John 6:42, John 6:50, John 6:51, John 6:58). Giveth life Chrysostom observes that the manna gave nourishment This is a most astounding statement to the crowd. [source]
John 6:52 Strove [εμαχοντο]
Imperfect (inchoative) middle of μαχομαι — machomai to fight in armed combat (Acts 7:26), then to wage a war of words as here and 2 Timothy 2:24. They were already murmuring (John 6:41), now they began bitter strife with one another over the last words of Jesus (John 6:43-51), some probably seeing a spiritual meaning in them. There was division of opinion about Jesus in Jerusalem also later (John 7:12, John 7:40; John 9:16; John 10:19). How can? The very idiom used by Nicodemus in John 3:4, John 3:9. Here scornful disbelief. This man Contemptuous use pictured in John 6:42. His flesh to eat As if we were cannibals! Some MSS. do not have αυτου — autou but the meaning is clear. The mystical appropriation of Christ by the believer (Galatians 2:20; Ephesians 3:17) they could not comprehend, though some apparently were against this literal interpretation of “flesh” (σαρχ — sarx). [source]
John 7:27 Howbeit [αλλα]
Clearly adversative here. This man Possibly contemptuous use of ουτος — houtos as may be true in John 7:25, John 7:26. Whence he is The Galilean Jews knew the family of Jesus (John 6:42), but they knew Jesus only as from Nazareth, not as born in Bethlehem (John 7:42). When the Christ cometh Prolepsis of ο Χριστος — ho Christos and indefinite temporal clause with οταν — hotan and the present middle subjunctive ερχηται — erchētai rather than the more usual second aorist active ελτηι — elthēi as in John 7:31, a trifle more picturesque. This is a piece of popular theology. “Three things come wholly unexpected - Messiah, a godsend, and a scorpion” (Sanhedrin 97a). The rulers knew the birthplace to be Bethlehem (John 7:42; Matthew 2:5.), but some even expected the Messiah to drop suddenly from the skies as Satan proposed to Jesus to fall down from the pinnacle of the temple. The Jews generally expected a sudden emergence of the Messiah from concealment with an anointing by Elijah (Apoc. of Bar. XXIX. 3; 2Esdr. 7:28; 13:32; Justin Martyr, Tryph. 110). [source]

What do the individual words in John 6:42 mean?

And they were saying Not this is Jesus the son of Joseph of whom we know the father the mother How then says He - From - heaven I have come down
καὶ ἔλεγον Οὐχ οὗτός ἐστιν Ἰησοῦς υἱὸς Ἰωσήφ οὗ ἡμεῖς οἴδαμεν τὸν πατέρα τὴν μητέρα πῶς νῦν λέγει ὅτι Ἐκ τοῦ οὐρανοῦ καταβέβηκα

ἔλεγον  they  were  saying 
Parse: Verb, Imperfect Indicative Active, 3rd Person Plural
Root: λέγω  
Sense: to speak, say.
οὗτός  this 
Parse: Demonstrative Pronoun, Nominative Masculine Singular
Root: οὗτος  
Sense: this.
Ἰησοῦς  Jesus 
Parse: Noun, Nominative Masculine Singular
Root: Ἰησοῦς  
Sense: Joshua was the famous captain of the Israelites, Moses’ successor.
υἱὸς  son 
Parse: Noun, Nominative Masculine Singular
Root: υἱός  
Sense: a son.
Ἰωσήφ  of  Joseph 
Parse: Noun, Genitive Masculine Singular
Root: Ἰωσήφ 
Sense: the patriarch, the eleventh son of Jacob.
οὗ  of  whom 
Parse: Personal / Relative Pronoun, Genitive Masculine Singular
Root: ὅς 
Sense: who, which, what, that.
οἴδαμεν  know 
Parse: Verb, Perfect Indicative Active, 1st Person Plural
Root: οἶδα  
Sense: to see.
πατέρα  father 
Parse: Noun, Accusative Masculine Singular
Root: προπάτωρ 
Sense: generator or male ancestor.
μητέρα  mother 
Parse: Noun, Accusative Feminine Singular
Root: μήτηρ  
Sense: a mother.
πῶς  How 
Parse: Adverb
Root: πῶς  
Sense: how, in what way.
λέγει  says  He 
Parse: Verb, Present Indicative Active, 3rd Person Singular
Root: λέγω 
Sense: to say, to speak.
ὅτι  - 
Parse: Conjunction
Root: ὅτι  
Sense: that, because, since.
τοῦ  - 
Parse: Article, Genitive Masculine Singular
Root:  
Sense: this, that, these, etc.
οὐρανοῦ  heaven 
Parse: Noun, Genitive Masculine Singular
Root: οὐρανός  
Sense: the vaulted expanse of the sky with all things visible in it.
καταβέβηκα  I  have  come  down 
Parse: Verb, Perfect Indicative Active, 1st Person Singular
Root: καταβαίνω  
Sense: to go down, come down, descend.