The Feeding of Five Thousand

6 After these things Jesus went away to the other side of the sea of Galilee (that is, Tiberias). ² And a large crowd was following him because they were observing the signs that he was doing on those who were sick. ³ So Jesus went up on the mountain and sat down there with his disciples. ⁴ (Now the Passover, the feast of the Jews, was near.) ⁵ Then Jesus, when he looked up^{[a] [b]} and saw that a large crowd was coming to him, said to Philip, “Where can we buy bread so that these people can eat?” ⁶ (Now he said this to test him, because he knew what he was going to do.) ⁷ Philip replied to him, “Two hundred denarii worth of bread would not be enough for them, in order that each one could receive a little.” ⁸ One of his disciples, Andrew the brother of Simon Peter, said to him, ⁹ “Here is a boy who has five barley loaves and two fish, but what are these for so many people?” ¹⁰ Jesus said, “Make the people recline.” (Now there was a lot of grass in the place.) So the men reclined, approximately five thousand in number. ¹¹ Then Jesus took the bread, and after he^[c] had given thanks, he distributed it^[d] to those who were reclining—likewise also of the fish, as much as they wanted. ¹² And when they were satisfied, he said to his disciples, “Gather the remaining fragments so that nothing is lost.” ¹³ So they gathered them,^[e] and filled twelve baskets with fragments from the five barley loaves which were left over by those who had eaten.

¹⁴ Now when^[f] the people saw the sign that he performed, they began to say,^[g] “This one is truly the Prophet who is to come into the world!” ¹⁵ Then Jesus, because he^[h] knew that they were about to come and seize him in order to make him^[i] king, withdrew again up the mountain by himself alone.

Jesus Walks on the Water

¹⁶ Now when evening came, his disciples went down to the sea. ¹⁷ And getting into a boat, they began to go^[j] to the other side of the sea, to Capernaum. And it had already become dark, and Jesus had not yet come to them. ¹⁸ And the sea began to be stirred up^[k] because^[l] a strong wind was blowing. ¹⁹ Then when they^[m] had rowed about twenty-five or thirty stadia,^[n] 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 So they were wanting to take him into the boat, and immediately the boat came to the land to which they were going.

Discourse About the Bread of Life

²² On the next day, the crowd that was on the other side of the sea saw that other boats were not there (except one), and that Jesus had not entered with his disciples into the boat, but his disciples had departed alone. ²³ Other boats from Tiberias came near the place where they had eaten the bread after^[o] the Lord had given thanks. ²⁴ So when the crowd saw that Jesus was not there, nor his disciples, they themselves got into the boats and came to Capernaum seeking Jesus.

²⁵ And when they^[p] found him on the other side of the sea, they said to him, “Rabbi, when did you get here?” ²⁶ Jesus replied to them and said, “Truly, truly I say to you, you seek me not because you saw signs, but because you ate of the loaves and were satisfied! ²⁷ Do not work for the food that perishes, but the food that remains to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give to you. For God the Father has set his seal on this one.”

²⁸ So they said to him, “What shall we do that we can accomplish the works of God?” ²⁹ Jesus answered and said to them, “This is the work of God: that you believe in the one whom that one sent.” ³⁰ So they said to him, “Then what sign will you perform, so that we can see it^[q] and believe you? What will you do? ³¹ Our fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, just as it is written, ‘He gave them bread from heaven to eat.’^[r]

³² Then Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly I say to you, Moses did not give you bread from heaven, but my Father is giving you the true bread from heaven! ³³ For the bread of God is the one who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.” ³⁴ So they said to him, “Sir, always give us this bread!”

³⁵ Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life. The one who comes to me will never be hungry, and the one who believes in me will never be thirsty again. ³⁶ But I said to you that you have seen me and do not believe. ³⁷ Everyone whom the Father gives to me will come to me, and the one who comes to me I will never throw out, ³⁸ because I have come down from heaven not that I should do my will, but the will of the one who sent me. ³⁹ Now this is the will of the one who sent me: that everyone whom he has given me, I would not lose any of them,^[s] but raise them^[t] up on the last day. ⁴⁰ For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who looks at the Son and believes in him would have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day.”

⁴¹ Now the Jews began to grumble^[u] about him because he said, “I am the bread that came down from heaven,” ⁴² and they were saying, “Is this one not Jesus the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How does he now say, ‘I have come down from heaven’?” ⁴³ Jesus answered and said to them, “Do not grumble among yourselves!^{[v] 44} No one is able to come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him, and I will raise him up on the last day. ⁴⁵ It is written in the prophets, ‘And they will all be taught by God.’^[w] Everyone who hears from the Father and learns comes to me. ⁴⁶ (Not that anyone has seen the Father except the one who is from God—this one has seen the Father.)^{[x] 47} Truly, truly I say to you, the one who believes has eternal life. ⁴⁸ I am the bread of life. ⁴⁹ Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness and they died. ⁵⁰ This is the bread that comes down from heaven so that someone may eat from it and not die. ⁵¹ I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats from this bread, he will live forever.^[y] And the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh.”

⁵² So the Jews began to quarrel^[z] among themselves,^[aa] saying, “How can this man give us his flesh to eat?” ⁵³ Then 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 do not have life in yourselves! ⁵⁴ The one who 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 true food, and my blood is true drink. ⁵⁶ The one who eats^[ab] my flesh and drinks my blood resides in me and I in him. ⁵⁷ Just as the living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father, so also the one who eats^[ac] me—that one will live because of me. ⁵⁸ This is the bread that came down from heaven, not as the fathers ate and died. The one who eats^[ad] this bread will live forever.”^[ae]

Many of Jesus’ Disciples Offended by His Teaching

⁵⁹ He said these things while^[af] teaching in the synagogue in Capernaum. ⁶⁰ Thus many of his disciples, when they^[ag] heard it,^[ah] said, “This saying is hard! Who can understand it?” ⁶¹ But Jesus, because he^[ai] knew within himself that his disciples were grumbling about this, said to them, “Does this cause you to be offended? ⁶² Then what if you see the Son of Man ascending where he was before? ⁶³ The Spirit is the one who gives life; the flesh profits nothing. The words that I have spoken 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 And he said, “Because of this I said to you that no one can come to me unless it has been granted to him by the Father.”

Peter’s Confession

⁶⁶ For this reason many of his disciples drew back^[aj] and were not walking with him any longer. ⁶⁷ So Jesus said to the twelve, “You do not want to go away also, do you?”^{[ak] 68} Simon Peter answered him, “Lord, to whom would we go? You have the words of eternal life. ⁶⁹ And we have believed, and have come to know, that you are the Holy One of God.” ⁷⁰ Jesus replied to them, “Did I not choose you, the twelve, and one of you is the devil?” ⁷¹ (Now he was speaking about Judas son of Simon Iscariot, because this one—one of the twelve—was going to betray him.)