Bible Strands
John 6:66
From that time on many of His disciples turned back and no longer walked with Him.
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — The narrator reports the immediate consequence of Jesus' declaration in v. 65 that no one comes to Him except by the Father's grant. Many disciples, who had already called the teaching "difficult" (v. 60), depart.
The words — ἀπῆλθον (apēlthon), aorist of ἀπέρχομαι, marks a completed going-away, not a hesitation; the preposition ἐκ (ek) before "disciples" marks separation from a defined group. The quantifier πολλοί (polloi) — "many" — leaves the Twelve still in place (v. 67).
The thread — 1 John 2:19 echoes the same pattern: "they went out from us, but they did not belong to us." Luke 9:62 draws the same line: looking back disqualifies one for the kingdom.
Why it lands — The verse is a record, not a rebuke, but it forces the reader to ask which side of the line they are on. The difficulty of the teaching is not a problem to be solved but the filter that separates those who stay from those who do not.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Greek words
King James Version
From that time many of his disciples went back, and walked no more with him.
Cross-references
- Luke 9:62 Then Jesus declared, “No one who puts his hand to the plow and then looks back is fit for the kingdom of God.”
- 1 John 2:19 They went out from us, but they did not belong to us. For if they had belonged to us, they would have remained with us. But their departure made it clear that none of them belonged to us.
- John 6:60 On hearing it, many of His disciples said, “This is a difficult teaching. Who can accept it?”
- Hebrews 10:38 But My righteous one will live by faith; and if he shrinks back, I will take no pleasure in him.”
- John 8:31 So He said to the Jews who had believed Him, “If you continue in My word, you are truly My disciples.
- Matthew 19:22 When the young man heard this, he went away in sorrow, because he had great wealth.
- 2 Timothy 4:10 because Demas, in his love of this world, has deserted me and gone to Thessalonica. Crescens has gone to Galatia, and Titus to Dalmatia.
- Zephaniah 1:6 and those who turn back from following the LORD, neither seeking the LORD nor inquiring of Him.”
- John 6:64 However, there are some of you who do not believe.” (For Jesus had known from the beginning which of them did not believe and who would betray Him.)
- 2 Timothy 1:15 You know that everyone in the province of Asia has deserted me, including Phygelus and Hermogenes.