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.
John 6
EasyEnglish Bible
Jesus feeds 5,000 men and their families
6 Some time after that, Jesus went across Lake Galilee, which is also called Lake Tiberias. 2 A large crowd of people followed him, because of the miracles that he had done. They had seen him make sick people well. 3 Jesus went up a hill and he sat down there with his disciples. 4 It was nearly the time for the Jewish Passover Festival.
5 Jesus looked up. He saw a large crowd of people who were coming towards him. He said to Philip, ‘Where can we buy enough bread to feed all these people?’ 6 Jesus himself already knew what he would do. But he asked Philip this question because he wanted to know what Philip would say. 7 Philip answered, ‘A man could work for eight months to get 200 silver coins. But he still would not have enough money to buy bread for all these people. There would not be enough bread for each person here to have even a little piece.’ 8 Then Andrew, another one of Jesus' disciples, spoke. He was Simon Peter's brother. 9 He said to Jesus, ‘Here is a boy who has five small loaves and two fish. But that will certainly not be enough food for so many people.’
10 Jesus said, ‘Tell the people to sit down.’ There was plenty of grass in that place, so the people sat down. There were about 5,000 men in the crowd. 11 Jesus took the loaves of bread and he thanked God for them. Then he broke the loaves into pieces. He passed them to all the people who were sitting there. Everyone had as much bread as they wanted to eat. Jesus did the same with the fish. 12 When everyone had eaten enough food, Jesus said to his disciples, ‘Do not waste anything. Pick up all the little bits of food that people have not eaten.’ 13 So the disciples picked up all the pieces. They filled 12 baskets with the bits of bread that the people had not eaten.
14 The people saw this miracle that Jesus did. So they began to talk about it. They said, ‘Certainly, this man is the Prophet who must come into the world.’ 15 The people wanted to take hold of Jesus so that they could make him their king. But Jesus knew that they wanted to do this. So he went away to the hills again by himself.
Jesus walks on the water
16 When it was evening, Jesus' disciples went down to the lake. 17 They got into a boat and they started to sail towards Capernaum. It had become dark and Jesus still had not come to them. 18 A very strong wind was blowing and the waves became dangerous. 19 The disciples were trying to move the boat through the water. When they had gone about six kilometres they saw Jesus. He was walking on the water and coming near to the boat. They were very afraid. 20 But Jesus said to them, ‘It is I. Do not be afraid.’ 21 So the disciples were happy to let Jesus get into the boat. Immediately, the boat came to the shore where they wanted to be.
The crowd looks for Jesus
22 The crowd of people had stayed on the other side of the lake. The next day, they saw that the only boat had gone. They knew that Jesus' disciples had taken it. They also knew that Jesus had not gone with his disciples. 23 Other boats from Tiberias then arrived near to the place where all the people were. They had eaten the bread there after the Lord Jesus had thanked God for it. 24 The crowd saw that neither Jesus nor his disciples were still there. So they got into the boats and they went to Capernaum. They went there to look for Jesus.
Jesus is the bread that gives us life with God
25 The people found Jesus on the other side of the lake. They asked him, ‘Teacher, when did you arrive here?’ 26 Jesus answered, ‘I tell you this: You saw me do miracles that show God's power. But you are not looking for me because of that. No, you are looking for me because you ate the loaves. I gave you all the food that you needed. 27 Do not work only for that kind of food. It soon becomes spoiled. Instead, work to get the food that continues for ever. That kind of food gives you life with God. The Son of Man will give this food to you. God, the Father, has given the Son authority to do this.’
28 Then the people asked him, ‘How can we do the work that God wants us to do?’ 29 Jesus answered, ‘You should believe in the one that God has sent to you. That is the work that God wants you to do.’ 30 So then the people asked him, ‘What miracle will you do? Do one that shows that God has sent you. If we see that, we will believe in you. What will you do? 31 Our ancestors ate manna in the wilderness. We know that it says in the Bible, “God gave bread to them from heaven for them to eat.” ’[a]
32 Jesus said to them, ‘I tell you this: It was not Moses who gave bread to you from heaven. No. It is my Father who gives to you the true bread from heaven. 33 God's bread is the one who comes down from heaven. He is the one who gives life to people in the world.’ 34 So they said to him, ‘Sir, please give this bread to us now and always.’
35 Then Jesus said to them, ‘I am the bread that gives life to people. Anyone who comes to me will never be hungry. Anyone who believes in me will never be thirsty. 36 You have seen me, but still you do not believe in me. I have told you that before. 37 Everyone that the Father gives to me will come to me. When anyone comes to me, I will never send that person away. 38 I have not come down from heaven to do what I myself choose to do. No, my Father has sent me. I have come to do what he wants me to do. 39 He has sent me. He does not want me to lose any of the people that he has given to me. Not even one of them. He wants me to raise all of them up to life on the last day. 40 These are the people who will have life for ever with God: everyone who sees the Son and believes in him. I will raise them all up on the last day. That is what my Father wants.’
41 Jesus had said, ‘I am the bread that came down from heaven.’ When he said this, the Jewish leaders there did not like it. So they started to say bad things about Jesus. 42 They said, ‘This is Jesus, the son of Joseph. We know his father and his mother. He should not say that he came down from heaven.’
43 Jesus answered, ‘Stop saying these bad things about me to each other. 44 The Father has sent me. Nobody can come to me unless the Father brings them to me. I will raise those people up on the last day, so that they have life for ever. 45 The prophets wrote in the Bible, “God will teach all the people.” Everyone who hears the Father's message and learns from him will come to me.[b] 46 I came from God and I am the only one who has seen the Father. Nobody else has seen him. 47 I tell you this: The person who believes my message has life for ever. 48 I am the bread that causes you to live. 49 Your ancestors ate the manna in the wilderness, but they died. 50 This bread that comes down from heaven is different. Anyone who eats this bread will not die. 51 I am the bread that gives life to people. This bread came down from heaven. If anyone eats this bread, he will live for ever. The bread that I will give is my own body. I will give it so that all people in the world may have life with God.’
52 Then the Jewish leaders became angry and they argued with each other even more. They said, ‘This man cannot give his body to us so that we can eat it!’ 53 Jesus said to them, ‘I tell you this: You must eat the body of the Son of Man and you must drink his blood. Unless you do those things, you do not have true life. 54 Every person needs to eat my body and they need to drink my blood. If they do those things, they have life for ever with God. I will raise them up on the last day. 55 My body is the true food and my blood is the true drink. 56 Anyone who eats my body and drinks my blood lives in me. And I live in them. 57 The Father, who has life, sent me. I live because of him. In the same way, anyone who takes me as their food will live because of me. 58 This is the bread that came down from heaven. It is not like the manna that your ancestors ate. They ate it but they died. But the person who eats this bread will live for ever.’
59 Jesus said these things while he was teaching in the Jewish meeting place at Capernaum.
Many disciples go away from Jesus
60 Many of Jesus' disciples did not like these words. They said, ‘This thing that he teaches is too difficult. Nobody can agree with it!’ 61 Jesus himself knew that the disciples did not like his message. He did not need anyone to tell him. He said to them, ‘This seems to make you angry. 62 Think about this: The Son of Man will go up again to the place where he was before. And you will see him go up. Will you agree to that? 63 It is the Spirit that gives you life. People cannot do that. The words that I have spoken to you come from the Spirit. They give you life. 64 But some of you do not believe my message.’
Jesus had known from the beginning which of them would not believe in him. Also, he had always known who would sell him to his enemies. 65 Then Jesus said to them, ‘That is why I told you that only the Father can bring people to me. Nobody can come to me unless the Father makes them able to come.’
66 From that time, many of Jesus' disciples left him. They did not go with him any longer. 67 Then Jesus asked the 12 apostles, ‘Do you want to go away from me, too?’ 68 Simon Peter answered him, ‘Lord, there is nobody else that we could go to. You speak the words that give us life for ever. 69 We believe that you are the Holy One that God has sent. We are sure about that.’ 70 Jesus replied, ‘I have chosen the 12 of you. But one of you is a servant of Satan!’ 71 He was speaking about Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot. Judas was one of the 12 apostles, but later he would sell Jesus to Jesus' enemies.
Footnotes
- 6:31 See Exodus 16:4.
- 6:45 See Isaiah 54:13.
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