Sometimes it may not be enough to say to come to me, since an expression of movement may be understood only in a literal sense. A more satisfactory equivalent may be “to follow after me” or “to come and learn from me.”

The preceding verse speaks of eternal life, and that is the meaning of the word life in this verse. In order to emphasize the qualitative distinction in the kind of life offered by Jesus, the final clause of verse 40 may be translated “in order to really live.”

Quoted with permission from Newman, Barclay M. and Nida, Eugene A. A Handbook on the Gospel of John. (UBS Handbook Series). New York: UBS, 1980. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .