The Meaning of John 6:36 Explained

John 6:36

KJV: But I said unto you, That ye also have seen me, and believe not.

YLT: but I said to you, that ye also have seen me, and ye believe not;

Darby: But I have said to you, that ye have also seen me and do not believe.

ASV: But I said unto you, that ye have seen me, and yet believe not.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

But  I said  unto you,  That  ye  also  have seen  me,  and  believe  not. 

What does John 6:36 Mean?

Verse Meaning

Jesus charged these Galileans with unbelief as He had formerly charged the Judean residents of Jerusalem with it ( John 5:36-38). They had seen Him physically, and on the physical level they had concluded that He might be the predicted Prophet. However, they had not seen who He was spiritually. They did not believe that He was the divine Messiah. Physical sight and spiritual insight are two different things.

Context Summary

John 6:30-40 - The Father's Will Jesus' Law Of Life
On the day following, our Lord had to encounter, first the demand of the people for a continuation of the miracle of the preceding night, John 6:25-40; second, the murmur of "the Jews," that is, their religious leaders, John 6:41-51; third, the growing heat of His opponents, John 6:52-59; and lastly, the failure of many of His disciples, John 6:60-71. But His mountain prayer had prepared Him, John 6:15.
The manna was only a type of His mission to meet the hunger of the human spirit for truth, and love, and hope. He is the true bread from heaven, God's best gift (of the reality of which all material substances are but emblems), not only satisfying passing hunger but imparting life, and only waiting to be appropriated by any that will. Let us come to Him, turning from all else. To come is to cease to hunger, to trust is to lose our thirst. Jesus suffices for heaven; shall he not suffice also for earth? Note the identical clauses of John 6:37. All whom the Father gives to Christ come to Him; and all who come to Him prove that they are included in the Father's gift, bestowed before the worlds were made. See John 10:28-29; John 17:6. [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 6:36

That ye have seen me [οτι και εωρακατε με]
It is not certain that με — me is genuine. If not, Jesus may refer to John 6:26. If genuine, some other saying is referred to that we do not have. Note και — kai (also or even). And yet believe not Use of και — kai = and yet. [source]
But []
Though you have seen as you asked, I repeat what I said to you that you have seen and do not believe. [source]

Reverse Greek Commentary Search for John 6:36

John 6:40 Seeth [θεωρῶν]
The word is designedly used. The saving vision of Christ is not here seeing, but earnest contemplation. Rev., beholdeth. See on John 1:18. Compare ye have seen me, and believe not (John 6:36). [source]

What do the individual words in John 6:36 mean?

But I said to you that also you have seen Me and yet not believe
ἀλλ’ εἶπον ὑμῖν ὅτι καὶ ἑωράκατέ με καὶ οὐ πιστεύετε

εἶπον  I  said 
Parse: Verb, Aorist Indicative Active, 1st Person Singular
Root: λέγω  
Sense: to speak, say.
ὑμῖν  to  you 
Parse: Personal / Possessive Pronoun, Dative 2nd Person Plural
Root: σύ  
Sense: you.
ὅτι  that 
Parse: Conjunction
Root: ὅτι  
Sense: that, because, since.
καὶ  also 
Parse: Conjunction
Root: καί  
Sense: and, also, even, indeed, but.
ἑωράκατέ  you  have  seen 
Parse: Verb, Perfect Indicative Active, 2nd Person Plural
Root: εἶδον 
Sense: to see with the eyes.
με  Me 
Parse: Personal / Possessive Pronoun, Accusative 1st Person Singular
Root: ἐγώ  
Sense: I, me, my.
καὶ  and  yet 
Parse: Conjunction
Root: καί  
Sense: and, also, even, indeed, but.
πιστεύετε  believe 
Parse: Verb, Present Indicative Active, 2nd Person Plural
Root: πιστεύω  
Sense: to think to be true, to be persuaded of, to credit, place confidence in.