⁴¹ At this the Jews there began to grumble 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,^(A) whose father and mother we know?^(B) How can he now say, ‘I came down from heaven’?”^(C)

Joseph Accepts Jesus as His Son

¹⁸ This is how the birth of Jesus the Messiah came about^[a]: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be pregnant through the Holy Spirit.^{(A) 19} Because Joseph her husband was faithful to the law, and yet^[b] did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce^(B) her quietly.

²⁰ But after he had considered this, an angel^(C) of the Lord appeared to him in a dream^(D) and said, “Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. ²¹ She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus,^[c](E) because he will save his people from their sins.”^(F)

²² All this took place to fulfill^(G) what the Lord had said through the prophet: ²³ “The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel”^[d](H) (which means “God with us”).

²⁴ When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel^(I) of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary home as his wife. ²⁵ But he did not consummate their marriage until she gave birth to a son. And he gave him the name Jesus.^(J)

John Testifies About Jesus

²⁹ The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, “Look, the Lamb of God,^(A) who takes away the sin of the world!^{(B) 30} This is the one I meant when I said, ‘A man who comes after me has surpassed me because he was before me.’^{(C) 31} I myself did not know him, but the reason I came baptizing with water was that he might be revealed to Israel.”

³² Then John gave this testimony: “I saw the Spirit come down from heaven as a dove and remain on him.^{(D) 33} And I myself did not know him, but the one who sent me to baptize with water^(E) told me, ‘The man on whom you see the Spirit come down and remain is the one who will baptize with the Holy Spirit.’^{(F) 34} I have seen and I testify that this is God’s Chosen One.”^[a](G)

¹⁸ The Jews^(A) then responded to him, “What sign^(B) can you show us to prove your authority to do all this?”^(C)

¹⁹ Jesus answered them, “Destroy this temple, and I will raise it again in three days.”^(D)

²⁰ They replied, “It has taken forty-six years to build this temple, and you are going to raise it in three days?” ²¹ But the temple he had spoken of was his body.^{(E) 22} After he was raised from the dead, his disciples recalled what he had said.^(F) Then they believed the scripture^(G) and the words that Jesus had spoken.

²³ Now while he was in Jerusalem at the Passover Festival,^(H) many people saw the signs^(I) he was performing and believed^(J) in his name.^[a]

Jesus Heals an Official’s Son

⁴³ After the two days^(A) he left for Galilee. ⁴⁴ (Now Jesus himself had pointed out that a prophet has no honor in his own country.)^{(B) 45} When he arrived in Galilee, the Galileans welcomed him. They had seen all that he had done in Jerusalem at the Passover Festival,^(C) for they also had been there.

⁴⁶ Once more he visited Cana in Galilee, where he had turned the water into wine.^(D) And there was a certain royal official whose son lay sick at Capernaum. ⁴⁷ When this man heard that Jesus had arrived in Galilee from Judea,^(E) he went to him and begged him to come and heal his son, who was close to death.

⁴⁸ “Unless you people see signs and wonders,”^(F) Jesus told him, “you will never believe.”

⁴⁹ The royal official said, “Sir, come down before my child dies.”

⁵⁰ “Go,” Jesus replied, “your son will live.”

The man took Jesus at his word and departed. ⁵¹ While he was still on the way, his servants met him with the news that his boy was living. ⁵² When he inquired as to the time when his son got better, they said to him, “Yesterday, at one in the afternoon, the fever left him.”

⁵³ Then the father realized that this was the exact time at which Jesus had said to him, “Your son will live.” So he and his whole household^(G) believed.

⁵⁴ This was the second sign^(H) Jesus performed after coming from Judea to Galilee.

Jesus Feeds the Five Thousand^(A)

6 Some time after this, Jesus crossed to the far shore of the Sea of Galilee (that is, the Sea of Tiberias), ² and a great crowd of people followed him because they saw the signs^(B) he had performed by healing the sick. ³ Then Jesus went up on a mountainside^(C) and sat down with his disciples. ⁴ The Jewish Passover Festival^(D) was near.

⁵ When Jesus looked up and saw a great crowd coming toward him, he said to Philip,^(E) “Where shall we buy bread for these people to eat?” ⁶ He asked this only to test him, for he already had in mind what he was going to do.

⁷ Philip answered him, “It would take more than half a year’s wages^[a] to buy enough bread for each one to have a bite!”

⁸ Another of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother,^(F) spoke up, ⁹ “Here is a boy with five small barley loaves and two small fish, but how far will they go among so many?”^(G)

¹⁰ Jesus said, “Have the people sit down.” There was plenty of grass in that place, and they sat down (about five thousand men were there). ¹¹ Jesus then took the loaves, gave thanks,^(H) and distributed to those who were seated as much as they wanted. He did the same with the fish.

¹² When they had all had enough to eat, he said to his disciples, “Gather the pieces that are left over. Let nothing be wasted.” ¹³ So they gathered them and filled twelve baskets with the pieces of the five barley loaves left over by those who had eaten.

¹⁴ After the people saw the sign^(I) Jesus performed, they began to say, “Surely this is the Prophet who is to come into the world.”^{(J) 15} Jesus, knowing that they intended to come and make him king^(K) by force, withdrew again to a mountain by himself.^(L)

⁴³ “Stop grumbling among yourselves,” Jesus answered. ⁴⁴ “No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws them,^(A) and I will raise them up at the last day. ⁴⁵ It is written in the Prophets: ‘They will all be taught by God.’^[a](B) Everyone who has heard the Father and learned from him comes to me. ⁴⁶ No one has seen the Father except the one who is from God;^(C) only he has seen the Father. ⁴⁷ Very truly I tell you, the one who believes has eternal life.^{(D) 48} I am the bread of life.^{(E) 49} Your ancestors ate the manna in the wilderness, yet they died.^{(F) 50} But here is the bread that comes down from heaven,^(G) which anyone may eat and not die. ⁵¹ I am the living bread^(H) that came down from heaven.^(I) Whoever eats this bread will live forever. This bread is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world.”^(J)

²⁷ And beginning with Moses^(A) and all the Prophets,^(B) he explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning himself.^(C)

³⁹ You study^[a] the Scriptures^(A) diligently because you think that in them you have eternal life.^(B) These are the very Scriptures that testify about me,^{(C) 40} yet you refuse to come to me^(D) to have life.