Jesus' claim clashed with what they thought they already knew about Him. They knew His family, so a man from an ordinary home could not, in their eyes, have come down from heaven. Gill suggests that "Joseph and Mary might be personally known by the inhabitants of Capernaum." The first question presses His ordinary origin; the second uses it to dismiss His heavenly one. Gill explains that "they could not tell how to reconcile these things, not knowing either his miraculous conception and incarnation, nor his divine sonship."

Jesus did not argue about His family. He said, "Murmur not among yourselves" (John 6:43), and then, "No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him" (John 6:44). He added, "It is written in the prophets, And they shall be all taught of God" (John 6:45). Instead of withdrawing His claim, He repeated it more strongly: "I am the living bread which came down from heaven" (John 6:51).

Jesus was publicly known as Joseph's son. Philip had introduced Him the same way: "Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph" (John 1:45). Gill notes that these hearers knew nothing of His miraculous conception, so to them the claim sounded impossible.

John places this exchange "in the synagogue, as he taught in Capernaum" (John 6:59).

This question shows how familiarity can blind people. They thought knowing Jesus' family meant they knew who He was. Jesus answered that seeing who He truly is depends on the Father's work: the Father draws, and those taught by God come to Him (John 6:44-45). Matthew Henry puts it simply: "God draws with his word and the Holy Ghost; and man's duty is to hear and learn."

Jesus did not lower His claim to fit their expectations. He said it again: He is the bread "which came down from heaven" (John 6:51). The question that was meant to dismiss Him became an occasion for Him to say more about where He came from.