I Am the Bread of Life

22 On the next day the crowd that remained on the other side of the sea saw that there had been only (A)one boat there, and that Jesus had not entered the boat with his disciples, but that his disciples had gone away alone. 23 Other boats from Tiberias came near the place where they had eaten the bread after the Lord (B)had given thanks. 24 (C)So when the crowd saw that Jesus was not there, nor his disciples, they themselves got into the boats and (D)went to Capernaum, seeking Jesus.

25 When they found him on the other side of the sea, they said to him, (E)“Rabbi, when did you come here?” 26 Jesus answered them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, (F)you are seeking me, not because you saw (G)signs, but because you ate your fill of the loaves. 27 (H)Do not work for the food that perishes, but for (I)the food that endures to eternal life, which (J)the Son of Man will give to you. For on (K)him God the Father has (L)set his seal.” 28 Then they said to him, “What must we do, to be doing (M)the works of God?” 29 Jesus answered them, “This is the work of God, (N)that you believe in him whom (O)he has sent.” 30 So they said to him, (P)“Then what sign do you do, that we may see and believe you? What work do you perform? 31 (Q)Our fathers ate the manna in the wilderness; as it is written, (R)‘He gave them bread from heaven to eat.’” 32 Jesus then said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, it was not Moses who gave you the bread from heaven, but my Father gives you the true bread from heaven. 33 For the bread of God is (S)he who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.” 34 They said to him, (T)“Sir, give us this bread always.”

35 Jesus said to them, (U)“I am the bread of life; (V)whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst. 36 But I said to you that you have seen me and yet do not believe. 37 (W)All that (X)the Father gives me will come to me, and (Y)whoever comes to me I will never cast out. 38 For (Z)I have come down from heaven, not to do (AA)my own will but (AB)the will of him (AC)who sent me. 39 And (AD)this is the will of him who sent me, (AE)that I should lose nothing of (AF)all that he has given me, but (AG)raise it up on the last day. 40 For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who (AH)looks on the Son and (AI)believes in him (AJ)should have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day.”

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Jesus teaches about the true bread

22-25 The following day, the crowd, who had remained on the other side of the lake, noticed that only the one boat had been there, and that Jesus had not embarked on it with the disciples, but that they had in fact gone off by themselves. Some other small boats from Tiberias had landed quite near the place where they had eaten the food and the Lord had given thanks. When the crowd realised that neither Jesus nor the disciples were there any longer, they themselves got into the boats and went off to Capernaum to look for Jesus. When they had found him on the other side of the lake, they said to him, “Master, when did you come here?”

26-27 “Believe me,” replied Jesus, “you are looking for me now not because you saw my signs but because you ate that food and had all you wanted. You should not work for the food which does not last but for the food which lasts on into eternal life. This is the food the Son of Man will give you, and he is the one who bears the stamp of God the Father.”

28 This made them ask him, “What must we do to carry out the work of God?”

29 “The work of God for you,” replied Jesus, “is to believe in the one whom he has sent to you.”

30-31 Then they asked him, “Then what sign can you give us that will make us believe in you? What work are you doing? Our forefathers ate manna in the desert just as the scripture says, ‘He gave them bread out of Heaven to eat.’”

32-33 To which Jesus replied, “Yes, but what matters is not that Moses gave you bread from Heaven, but that my Father is giving you the true bread from Heaven. For the bread of God which comes down from Heaven gives life to the world.”

34 This made them say to him, “Lord, please give us this bread, always!”

35-40 Then Jesus said to them, “I myself am the bread of life. The man who comes to me will never be hungry and the man who believes in me will never again be thirsty. Yet I have told you that you have seen me and do not believe. Everything that my Father gives me will come to me and I will never refuse anyone who comes to me. For I have come down from Heaven, not to do what I want, but to do the will of him who sent me. The will of him who sent me is that I should not lose anything of what he has given me, but should raise it up when the last day comes. And this is the will of the one who sent me, that everyone who sees the Son and trusts in him should have eternal life, and I will raise him up when the last day comes.”

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