John 6
New Catholic Bible
The Bread of Life[a]
Chapter 6
Signs of Salvation
Jesus Feeds the Crowds.[b] 1 After this, Jesus crossed the Sea of Galilee, also called the Sea of Tiberias, 2 and a large crowd of people followed him because they saw the signs he performed on the sick. 3 Jesus went up on a mountainside and sat down there with his disciples. 4 The Jewish feast of Passover was approaching.
5 When Jesus looked up and saw a large crowd coming toward him, he said to Philip, “Where are we to buy bread for them to eat?” 6 He said this to test him, because Jesus himself knew what he was going to do. 7 Philip answered him, “Two hundred days’ wages[c] would not buy enough bread for each of them to have a small piece.” 8 One of his disciples, Andrew, the brother of Simon Peter, said to him, 9 “There is a boy here who has five barley loaves and two fish. But what help will they be among so many?”
10 Jesus said, “Have the people sit down.” Now there was plenty of grass in that place, so the men sat down, about five thousand of them. 11 Then Jesus took the loaves, and when he had given thanks, he distributed them to the people who were sitting there. He did the same with the fish, as much as they wanted. 12 When they all had eaten enough, he said to the disciples, “Gather up the fragments that are left over, so that nothing will be wasted.” 13 So they gathered them up and filled twelve baskets with the fragments of the five barley loaves left by those who had eaten.
14 When the people saw the sign he had performed, they began to say, “This is indeed the Prophet who is to come into the world.” 15 Then Jesus realized that they were going to come and carry him off to make him king, so he again withdrew to the mountain by himself.
16 Jesus Walks on the Water.[d] When evening came, the disciples went down to the sea, 17 got into a boat, and set out across the sea to Capernaum. It was already dark, and Jesus had not yet joined them. 18 The sea then became rough because a strong wind had started to blow.
19 When they had rowed about three or four miles, they saw Jesus walking on the sea and approaching the boat, and they were terrified. 20 But he said to them, “It is I.[e] Do not be afraid!” 21 They were ready to take him into the boat, but the boat immediately reached the shore toward which they were heading.
Jesus, the Bread of Life for Believers[f]
Earthly Food and Heavenly Bread.[g] The next day, the crowd that had stayed on the other side of the sea realized that there had only been one boat there, and that Jesus had not gone along with his disciples; rather, the disciples had left by themselves. 23 Then some boats from Tiberias came near the place where the people had eaten the bread after the Lord had given thanks. 24 When the crowd saw that neither Jesus nor his disciples were there, they themselves got into the boats and came to Capernaum looking for Jesus.25 When the people found him on the other side of the sea, they said to him, “Rabbi, when did you come here?” 26 Jesus answered them,
“Amen, amen, I say to you,
you came looking for me
not because you have seen signs
but because you ate the loaves
and your hunger was satisfied.
27 Do not work for food that perishes
but for the food that endures for eternal life,
which the Son of Man will give you.
For it is on him
that God the Father has set his seal.”
28 Then they asked him, “What must we do if we are to carry out the works of God?” 29 Jesus replied,
“This is the work of God:
to believe in the one whom he has sent.”
30 They asked him further, “What sign can you give us that we can see and come to believe in you? What work will you do? 31 Our ancestors ate manna in the desert. As it is written, ‘He gave them bread from heaven[h] to eat.’ ” 32 Jesus replied,
“Amen, amen, I say to you,
it was not Moses
who gave you the bread from heaven.
It is my Father
who gives you the true bread from heaven.
33 For the bread of God is
he who comes down from heaven
and gives life to the world.”
34 The Bread of Life.[i]“Sir,” they begged him, “give us this bread always.” 35 Jesus answered them,
“I am[j] the bread of life.
Whoever comes to me will never be hungry,
and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.
36 But I said to you that you have seen me
and yet you do not believe.
37 All that the Father gives me
will come to me,
and anyone who comes to me
I will never turn away.
38 For I have come down from heaven
not to do my own will
but the will of him who sent me.
39 “And this is the will of him who sent me:
that I should lose nothing
of all that he has given me,
but that I should raise it up
on the last day.
40 This indeed is the will of my Father:
that all who see the Son
and believe in him
may have eternal life,
and I shall raise them up
on the last day.”
41 Faith, a Gift of God.[k] Then the Jews murmured about him because he said, “I am the bread that came down from heaven.” 42 They said, “Is this not Jesus, the son of Joseph? We know his father and mother. How can he say, ‘I have come down from heaven’?”
43 “Stop murmuring among yourselves!” Jesus said.
44 “No one can come to me
unless he is drawn by the Father who sent me,
and I will raise up that person on the last day.
45 It is written in the Prophets,
‘They will all be taught by God.’
Everyone who has listened to my Father
and learned from him comes to me.
46 Not that anyone has seen the Father
except the one who is from God;
he has seen the Father.
47 “Amen, amen, I say to you,
whoever believes has eternal life.
My Flesh for the Life of the World[l]
48 “I am the bread of life.
49 Your ancestors ate the manna in the wilderness,
and yet they died.
50 This is the bread that comes down from heaven,
so that one may eat it and not die.
51 I am the living bread that came down from heaven.
Whoever eats this bread will live forever;
and the bread that I will give
is my flesh, for the life of the world.”
52 Then the Jews started to argue among themselves, saying, “How can this man give us his flesh to eat?” 53 Jesus said to them,
“Amen, amen, I say to you,
unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man
and drink his blood,
you do not have life within you.
54 Whoever feeds upon my flesh
and drinks my blood
has eternal life,
and I will raise him up on the last day.
55 For my flesh is real food,
and my blood is real drink.
56 “Whoever feeds upon my flesh and drinks my blood
dwells in me and I dwell in him.
57 Just as the living Father sent me
and I have life because of the Father,
so whoever feeds upon me will live because of me.
58 This is the bread that came down from heaven.
Unlike your ancestors who ate
and nevertheless died,
the one who feeds upon this bread
will live forever.”
59 The Holy One of God.[m] Jesus said these things while he was teaching in the synagogue at Capernaum. 60 After hearing his words, many of his disciples said, “This is a hard saying. Who can accept it?” 61 Aware of the complaints of his disciples, Jesus said to them,
“Does this shock you?
62 What then if you were to behold the Son of Man
ascend to where he was before?
63 It is the spirit that gives life;
the flesh[n] can achieve nothing.
The words that I have spoken to you
are spirit and life.
64 But there are some among you
who do not believe.”
For from the very beginning Jesus knew who did not believe, and who would betray him. 65 He said,
“This is why I told you
that no one can come to me
unless it is granted to him by my Father.”
66 After this, many of his disciples turned away and no longer remained with him. 67 Then Jesus said to the Twelve, “Do you also wish to leave?” 68 Simon Peter answered him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. 69 We have come to believe and know that you are the Holy One of God.”
70 Jesus replied, “Did I not choose you twelve? Yet one of you is a devil.” 71 He was speaking of Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot. Although he was one of the Twelve, he would be the one who would betray him.
Footnotes
- John 6:1 The Jewish Passover is near at hand, and with it the days on which unleavened bread is eaten as a sign of renewal; the action also recalls the manna that fed the Hebrews in the wilderness. It is in this context that the evangelist places Jesus’ act of feeding the hungry crowd. The whole action is a sign and foreshadowing of a new Passover and a true life-giving food. Jesus himself, in his person, is the bread of life that God offers to humanity. In order to receive this bread that makes a person live forever, one must believe in the Word.
- John 6:1 This is one of the rare passages in which all four Gospels are clearly parallel. At this point, John introduces the discourse on the bread of life. The sign of the loaves is seen as a symbol of the food given to mankind in the Word of God and especially in the Eucharist.
- John 6:7 Two hundred days’ wages: literally: two hundred denarii. A denarius was the average wage for a day’s work (see Mt 20:2).
- John 6:16 This account is connected with the preceding passage in the oldest tradition. Like the miracle of the loaves, it shows the absolute mastery Jesus exercises over creatures. For the disciples it is an invitation to believe without reserve: with Jesus present, they will lack nothing, and nothing can put them in peril.
- John 6:20 It is I: literally, “I AM,” the formula that reveals the name of the Lord in the Old Testament (see Ex 3:14; Isa 41:4, 10, 14; 43:1-3, 10, 13). Hence, the evangelist is alluding to Jesus as the Son of God. See note on Jn 4:26.
- John 6:22 Jesus’ gestures and actions are always signs of God; in them is expressed something of the mystery of Christ. Thus, the fourth evangelist places on the lips of Jesus a discourse that unveils the mystery. Here, then, is the deep meaning of the miracle of the loaves: Jesus is the Messenger of God, the true Bread handed over to gain life with God for the whole world.
22
Thus, it is announced that the words of Jesus are food for people, and that the life of Jesus is given on the cross for the salvation of all. But the Christian addressees of the fourth Gospel could not read this discourse without interpreting it as already announcing the rite inaugurated at the Last Supper (Mt 26:26), the Eucharist, memorial of the body handed over, of the blood shed, of the sacrifice of the cross.
Therefore, this discourse can be read on two levels. The author of the Gospel certainly wanted it so read: the word of God instructs one in the ways of God and the word of God is the bread of life that nourishes the spiritual hunger of God’s people. - John 6:22 There is a hunger for everlasting life, a hunger for God! And there is a bread of God, a food that gives everlasting life to those who believe in Jesus. The miracle of the manna was a symbol of this food (Ex 16:4, 13-15).
- John 6:31 Bread from heaven: see Ex 16:4, 15, 32-34; Ps 78:24. There was a belief that the manna had been hidden by Jeremiah (see 2 Mac 2:5-8) and would reappear at Passover in Messianic times.
- John 6:34 Jesus makes an astonishing affirmation: there is a Bread of God for us, and it is a person. Jesus himself fulfills his Father’s plan for us; in Jesus, God is present so that we may have true life. To receive God’s Bread is to believe in Jesus and accept him as the Son of God to receive through him the life his Father intends for us. What an astonishing gift! Jesus does not allow himself to be worshiped as a god or a hero; he says of himself that he came to satisfy the hunger of people and to fulfill our life. Every other food is only a diversion for our essential hunger. Jesus is the Bread that satisfies this hunger.
- John 6:35 I am . . . : this is the first of seven self-descriptions of Jesus introduced by “I am” (see Jn 8:12; and 9:5; 10:7, 9; 10:11, 14; 11:25; 14:6; 15:1, 5). These echo Ex 3:14 (see notes on Jn 4:26 and 6:20).
- John 6:41 During the period in the wilderness, the Hebrews doubted the Lord and “grumbled” against him; the memory of this had remained as a warning for all time (see Ex 16; Num 11; Ps 106:25).
When the fourth Gospel speaks of “the Jews,” the reference is to this mentality, this attitude of rejection, rather than to people as a whole or even to their leaders. - John 6:48 In what sense does Jesus do the Father’s will? By giving his life. He does not use the word “sacrifice,” but the terms “flesh” and “blood” express that idea in a very realistic way. In this gift, the life of the Father is given to human beings and becomes their everlasting life. That is a strong statement, and yet the objection of the Jews, who take it in the most material sense, does not lead to any toning down of it. On the contrary!
- John 6:59 After the success of the multiplication of loaves, scandal arises. The “flesh” (v. 63)—that is, people with their petty desires and thoughts—could not but be shocked by a revelation as absolute as the one they have just heard (that Jesus is the living Bread come down from heaven). Many of his disciples as well as some other people stopped following him, and Judas was already thinking of handing him over.
Only the Spirit gives people the will to believe that the Father speaks in Jesus. It is the Spirit who inspires Peter’s profession of faith (see Mt 16:16; Mk 8:29; Lk 9:20). But the Spirit would not be given in fullness until after Jesus’ Resurrection (see Jn 7:39).
In regard to Jesus, there is a division among the people. This division and Peter’s profession of faith mark a parting of the ways in the life of Jesus. The time of revelation to the disciples has begun and from now on the conflict with the official religion will develop irreconcilably. - John 6:63 Flesh: the human being with its desires and thoughts.
Yochanan 6
Orthodox Jewish Bible
6 After these things, Rebbe, Melech HaMoshiach departed beyond Lake Kinneret (Lake Tiberias).
2 And a riezige (sizable) multitude was following him, because they were seeing the otot (miraculous signs) which he was doing on the cholim (the ones being ill).
3 And Rebbe, Melech HaMoshiach went up to the mountain, and there he was sitting with his talmidim.
4 Pesach was near at hand, the Chag (Jewish Feast).
5 Therefore, having lifted up his eyes, Rebbe, Melech HaMoshiach saw that a great multitude is coming to him, and he says to Philippos, From where may we buy lechem that these ones may eat?
6 But he was saying this to test Philippos, for he himself knew what he was about to do.
7 In reply, Philippos said, Two hundred denarii worth of lechem would not be enough that each one may take a little okhel.
8 One of his talmidim, Andrew, ach of Shimon Kefa, says to him,
9 There is a na’ar (lad) here who has five barley loaves and two dagim (fish), but what are these for so many? [2Kg 4:43]
10 Rebbe, Melech HaMoshiach said, Instruct the anashim (men) to recline. Now there was much grass in the area. Therefore the anashim reclined, their number being about chameshet alafim.
11 Therefore, Rebbe, Melech HaMoshiach took the loaves and, having made the bracha, distributed to the ones bimesibba (reclining); likewise also he distributed of the dagim (fish) as much as they were wanting.
12 Now when they were filled, he tells his talmidim, Gather the shirayim (Rebbe’s leftovers), that nothing may be lost.
13 Therefore, what they gathered from the five barley loaves filled Sheneym Asar (Twelve) baskets of shirayim left over by the ones having eaten.
14 Therefore, the anashim, having seen what ot (miraculous sign) he did, were saying, This one is beemes the Navi, Hu HaBah, the one coming into the Olam Hazeh. [DEVARIM 18:15,18]
15 Therefore, Yehoshua, having had da’as that they are about to come and to seize him that they might make him king by force, departed alone again to the mountain, withdrawing by himself.
16 And as erev came, his talmidim went down to the sea.
17 And having embarked into a sirah, they were going across the sea to K’far-Nachum. And choshech already had come and Yehoshua had not yet come to them.
18 And the sea, as a great wind blew, was becoming aroused.
19 Therefore, having rowed about esrim v’chamash or sheloshim stadia, they see Rebbe, Melech HaMoshiach walking on the sea and coming near the sirah, and they were gefeirlich (horribly) frightened. [IYOV 9:8]
20 But he says to them, Ani Hu. Do not be afraid.
21 Therefore, the talmidim were willing to receive him into the sirah. And immediately the sirah came to the shore to which they were going. [TEHILLIM 106:30 TARGUM HASHIVIM]
22 On the next day the multitude that had stayed on the other side of Lake Kinneret saw that there had been only one sirah with which to cross the sea. They knew that Yehoshua had not embarked with his talmidim in that sirah, but that his talmidim had departed by themselves.
23 Then some sirot (boats) came ashore from Tiberias and landed near the area where they ate the lechem after Rebbe, Melech HaMoshiach Adoneinu had made the bracha.
24 Therefore, when the multitude saw Rebbe, Melech HaMoshiach is not there, nor his talmidim, they embarked into the sirot and came to K’far-Nachum, seeking Yehoshua.
25 And having found him across the sea, they said to him, Rebbe, when did you come here?
26 In reply, Rebbe, Melech HaMoshiach said, Omein, omein, I say to you, you are seeking me not because you saw otot (miraculous signs), but because you ate of the loaves and were glutted.
27 Do not work for the okhel that is perishing, but for the okhel remaining to Chayyei Olam, which the Ben HaAdam [Moshiach] will give to you, for Elohim HaAv has set His chotam (seal) on this one [YESHAYAH 55:2].
28 Therefore, they said to Rebbe, Melech HaMoshiach, What may we do that we may work the pe’ulot Hashem?
29 In reply, Rebbe, Melech HaMoshiach said to them, This is the mitzvah of Hashem, that you may believe in Rebbe, Melech HaMoshiach whom Hashem has sent.
30 They said, therefore, to him, What ot (sign) then do you perform that we may see and may have emunah in you? What work do you do?
31 Avoteinu ate the manna in the wilderness [BAMIDBAR 11:7-9; SHEMOT 16:4,15; NECHEMYAH 9:15], as it has been written, LECHEM from SHOMAYIM he gave them to eat. [TEHILLIM 78:24; 105:40]
32 Therefore, Rebbe, Melech HaMoshiach said to them, Omein, omein, I say to you, it was not Moshe who has given you the lechem out of Shomayim, but HaAv of me gives you the lechem ha’amitti (the true bread) out of Shomayim.
33 For the lechem of Hashem is that which comes down out of Shomayim and giving Chayyim (Life) to HaOlam.
34 Therefore, they said to Rebbe, Melech HaMoshiach, Adoni, always give us this lechem.
35 Rebbe, Melech HaMoshiach said to them, Ani Hu [SHEMOT 3:14] the lechem haChayyim; the one coming to me never hungers, and the one with emunah in me will never thirst again.
36 But I said to you that you have seen me and yet you do not have bitachon, you lack emunah.
37 All which HaAv gives to me will come to me, and the one coming to me I will never turn away.
38 For I have come down from Shomayim not that I may do my ratzon, but the ratzon of the One having sent me.
39 Now this is the ratzon of the One Who sent me, that I should lose nothing of all which He has given me, but I will raise him up on the Yom HaAcharon (Last Day). [Isa 27:3; Jer 23:4]
40 For this is the ratzon of Avi: that everyone seeing the Ben [HaElohim Moshiach] and believing in him may have Chayyei Olam, and on Yom HaAcharon I will raise him up.
41 Therefore, those of Yehudah were murmuring about Rebbe, Melech HaMoshiach, because he said, Ani Hu [SHEMOT 3:14] the lechem having come down out of Shomayim. [SHEMOT 16:4]
42 And they were saying, Is this man not Yehoshua Ben Yosef [Ben Dovid], and do we not know his Av and his Em? Now how does he say, Out of Shomayim I have come down. [Yochanan 1:1,14]
43 Rebbe, Melech HaMoshiach answered and said to them, Do not grumble among yourselves.
44 No one is able to come to me unless HaAv Who sent me should draw him, and I will raise him up on the Yom HaAcharon. [Jer 31:3; Hos 11:4]
45 It has been written in the Nevi’im, V’CHOL they LIMUDI HASHEM (They shall all be taught of G-d [Isa 54:13; see Jer 31:33, 34]. Everyone having heard from HaAv and having learned comes to me.
46 Not that anyone has seen HaAv except the one being sent from Hashem; this one has seen HaAv.
47 Omein, omein, I say to you, the one having emunah has Chayyei Olam.
48 Ani Hu the lechem haChayyim. [BAMIDBAR 14:23; DEVARIM 1:35]
49 Your Avot ate in the wilderness the manna and died.
50 This is the lechem coming down out of Shomayim, so that anyone may eat of it and not die. [Gn 3:22]
51 Ani hu the lechem haChai (the living bread) having come down out of Shomayim. If anyone eats of this lechem he will live l’olam v’ed. And, indeed, the lechem which I will give on behalf of the Chayyim (life) of HaOlam is the basar of me [Ex 12:8].
52 Therefore, those of Yehudah were arguing with one another, saying, How is this man able to give us the basar of him to eat?
53 Therefore, he said to them, Omein, omein, I say to you, unless you eat the [Seudas Moshiach Seh] basar of the Ben HaAdam and drink [the Kiddush Cup of the Brit Chadasha in] his dahm, you do not have Chayyim (Life) in yourselves [Ex 12:3; Isa 53:7].
54 The one feeding on my [Seh Elohim] basar and drinking [Cup of Redemption in] dahmi has Chayyei Olam and I will raise him up on the Yom HaAcharon [Ruth 4:5,10].
55 For my basar is okhel emes (true food) and dahmi is shikuy emes (true drink).
56 The one feeding on my basar and drinking dahmi abides in, [YESHAYAH 53:7; SHEMOT 12:3] dwells in me and I in him [Ex 12:22].
57 As HaAv HaChai sent me and I live because of HaAv, so also whoever is feeding on me even that one will live because of me.
58 This is the lechem out of Shomayim having come down, not as the Avot ate and died; the one feeding on this lechem will live l’olam v’ed.
59 These things he said in a shul while teaching in K’far-Nachum.
60 Therefore, many of Moshiach’s talmidim, having heard, said, Hard is this dvar Torah. Who is able to hear it? [YESHAYAH 53:1]
61 And Rebbe, Melech HaMoshiach, having da’as in himself that his talmidim are grumbling about this, said to them, Does this cause a michshol for you?
62 What if you behold the Ben HaAdam ascending where he was Bereshis?
63 The Ruach Hakodesh is that which is making alive, the basar does not profit anything. The dvarim which I have spoken to you are as Ruach and they are as Chayyim (Life).
64 But there are of you some who do not have emunah. For from Bereshis, he had da’as of whom are the ones not having emunah and who is the one betraying him.
65 And he was saying, Because of this, I have told you that no one is able to come to me unless it has been given to him from HaAv.
66 From this time, many of his talmidim fell away and no longer followed him as talmidim.
67 Therefore, he said to the Sheneym Asar, Surely you do not want to depart also?
68 In reply, Shimon Kefa said to Rebbe, Melech HaMoshiach, Adoni, to whom will we go? You have the divrei haChayyei Olam.
69 And we have bitachon and have trusted with emunah and we have da’as that you are HaKadosh of Hashem (the Holy One of G-d, YESHAYAH 49:7).
70 In reply, Rebbe, Melech HaMoshiach said to them, Did I not choose you Sheneym Asar (Twelve)? And is one of you not a Satan?
71 Now he was speaking of Yehudah Ben Shimon from K’riot, for, though he was one of the Sheneym Asar, this one was about to betray Rebbe, Melech HaMoshiach.
John 6
Modern English Version
The Feeding of the Five Thousand(A)
6 After these things Jesus went across the Sea of Galilee, which is the Sea of Tiberias. 2 And a great crowd followed Him, because they saw His signs which He did for the sick. 3 Then Jesus went up on a mountain, and He sat there with His disciples. 4 Now the Passover, the feast of the Jews, was near.
5 When Jesus looked up and saw a great crowd coming to Him, He said to Philip, “Where shall we buy bread that these may eat?” 6 He said this to test him, for He Himself knew what He would do.
7 Philip answered Him, “Two hundred denarii[a] worth of bread is not sufficient for each of them to receive but a little.”
8 One of His disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, said to Him, 9 “There is a boy here who has five barley loaves and two small fish. But what are they among so many?”
10 Jesus said, “Make the people sit down.” Now there was much grass in the place. So the men sat down, numbering about five thousand. 11 Jesus then took the loaves, and when He had given thanks, He distributed them to the disciples, and the disciples to those who were sitting down; and likewise, they distributed the fish, as much as they wanted.
12 When they were filled, He told His disciples, “Collect the fragments that remain, that nothing may be lost.” 13 So they collected them and filled twelve baskets with the fragments of the five barley loaves which were left over by those who had eaten.
14 When those men saw the sign which He had done, they then said, “This is truly the Prophet who is to come into the world.” 15 Therefore, knowing that they would come and take Him by force to make Him king, Jesus departed again to a mountain by Himself alone.
Walking on the Water(B)
16 Now when evening came, His disciples went down to the sea. 17 They got into a boat and went across the sea toward Capernaum. It was now dark, and Jesus had not come to them. 18 The sea was stirred up because a strong wind was blowing. 19 So when they had rowed about three or four miles,[b] they saw Jesus walking on the sea and coming near the boat. And they were afraid. 20 But He said to them, “It is I. Do not be afraid.” 21 Then they gladly received Him into the boat, and immediately the boat was at the land to which they were going.
Jesus the Bread of Life
22 The following day the people who stood on the other side of the sea saw that there was no other boat there, except the one which His disciples had entered, and that Jesus had not entered the boat with His disciples, but that His disciples had gone away alone. 23 However, other boats came from Tiberias near the place where they ate bread when the Lord had given thanks. 24 When the people therefore saw that neither Jesus nor His disciples were there, they also got into boats and came to Capernaum, looking for Jesus.
25 When they found Him on the other side of the sea, they said to Him, “Rabbi, when did You come here?”
26 Jesus answered them, “Truly, truly I say to you, you seek Me not because you saw signs, but because you ate of the loaves and were filled. 27 Do not work for the food which perishes, but for that food which endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. For God the Father has set His seal on Him.”
28 Then they asked Him, “What shall we do that we may work the works of God?”
29 Jesus answered them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He has sent.”
30 Therefore they said to Him, “What sign do You show then, that we may see and believe You? What work will You perform? 31 Our fathers ate manna in the desert. As it is written, ‘He gave them bread from heaven to eat.’[c]”
32 Then Jesus said, “Truly, truly I say to you, Moses did not give you the bread from heaven, but My Father gives you the true bread from heaven. 33 For the bread of God is He who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.”
34 Then they said to Him, “Lord, give us this bread always.”
35 Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to Me shall never hunger, and whoever believes in Me shall never thirst. 36 But I told you that you have seen Me, and yet do not believe. 37 All whom the Father gives Me will come to Me, and he who comes to Me I will never cast out. 38 For I came down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me. 39 This is the will of the Father who has sent Me, that of all whom He has given Me, I should lose nothing, but should raise it up at the last day. 40 This is the will of Him who sent Me, that everyone who sees the Son and believes in Him may have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day.”
41 The Jews then murmured about Him, because He said, “I am the bread which came down from heaven.” 42 They said, “Is this not Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How is it then that He says, ‘I have come down from heaven’? ”
43 Jesus therefore answered them, “Do not murmur among yourselves. 44 No one can come to Me unless the Father who has sent Me draws him. And I will raise him up on the last day. 45 It is written in the Prophets, ‘They shall all be taught by God.’[d] Therefore everyone who has heard and has learned of the Father comes to Me. 46 Not that anyone has seen the Father, except He who is from God. He has seen the Father. 47 Truly, truly I say to you, whoever believes in Me has eternal life. 48 I am the bread of life. 49 Your fathers ate manna in the wilderness, and they died. 50 This is the bread which comes down from heaven, that one may eat of it and not die. 51 I am the living bread which came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. The bread which I shall give for the life of the world is My flesh.”
52 The Jews therefore quarreled among themselves, saying, “How can this Man give us His flesh to eat?”
53 Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in you. 54 Whoever eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life. And I will raise him up on the last day. 55 For My flesh is food indeed, and My blood is drink indeed. 56 Whoever eats My flesh and drinks My blood remains in Me, and I in him. 57 As the living Father sent Me, and I live because of the Father, so whoever feeds on Me also will live because of Me. 58 This is the bread which came down from heaven, not as your fathers ate manna and died. He who eats this bread will live forever.” 59 He said these things in the synagogue, as He taught in Capernaum.
The Words of Eternal Life
60 When they heard this, many of His disciples said, “This is a hard saying. Who can listen to it?”
61 Knowing in Himself that His disciples murmured about it, Jesus said to them, “Does this offend you? 62 Then what if you see the Son of Man ascend to where He was before? 63 It is the Spirit who gives life. The flesh profits nothing. The words that I speak to you are spirit and are life. 64 But there are some of you who do not believe.” For Jesus knew from the beginning who they were who did not believe, and who it was who would betray Him. 65 Then He said, “For this reason I have said to you that no one can come to Me unless it were given him by My Father.”
66 From that time many of His disciples went back and walked no more with Him.
67 So Jesus said to the twelve, “Do you also want to go away?”
68 Simon Peter answered Him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. 69 We have believed and have come to know that You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”
70 Jesus answered them, “Have I not chosen you, the twelve, and yet one of you is a devil?” 71 He spoke of Judas Iscariot, the son of Simon. For it was he who would betray Him, being one of the twelve.
Copyright © 2002, 2003, 2008, 2010, 2011 by Artists for Israel International
The Holy Bible, Modern English Version. Copyright © 2014 by Military Bible Association. Published and distributed by Charisma House.