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
Living Bible
6 After this, Jesus crossed over the Sea of Galilee, also known as the Sea of Tiberias. 2-5 And a huge crowd, many of them pilgrims on their way to Jerusalem for the annual Passover celebration, were following him wherever he went, to watch him heal the sick. So when Jesus went up into the hills and sat down with his disciples around him, he soon saw a great multitude of people climbing the hill, looking for him.
Turning to Philip he asked, “Philip, where can we buy bread to feed all these people?” 6 (He was testing Philip, for he already knew what he was going to do.)
7 Philip replied, “It would take a fortune[a] to begin to do it!”
8-9 Then Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, spoke up. “There’s a youngster here with five barley loaves and a couple of fish! But what good is that with all this mob?”
10 “Tell everyone to sit down,” Jesus ordered. And all of them—the approximate count of the men only was five thousand—sat down on the grassy slopes. 11 Then Jesus took the loaves and gave thanks to God and passed them out to the people. Afterwards he did the same with the fish. And everyone ate until full!
12 “Now gather the scraps,” Jesus told his disciples, “so that nothing is wasted.” 13 And twelve baskets were filled with the leftovers!
14 When the people realized what a great miracle had happened, they exclaimed, “Surely, he is the Prophet we have been expecting!”
15 Jesus saw that they were ready to take him by force and make him their king, so he went higher into the mountains alone.
16 That evening his disciples went down to the shore to wait for him. 17 But as darkness fell and Jesus still hadn’t come back, they got into the boat and headed out across the lake toward Capernaum. 18-19 But soon a gale swept down upon them as they rowed, and the sea grew very rough. They were three or four miles out when suddenly they saw Jesus walking toward the boat! They were terrified, 20 but he called out to them and told them not to be afraid. 21 Then they were willing to let him in, and immediately the boat was where they were going![b]
22-23 The next morning, back across the lake, crowds began gathering on the shore waiting to see Jesus.[c] For they knew that he and his disciples had come over together and that the disciples had gone off in their boat, leaving him behind. Several small boats from Tiberias were nearby, 24 so when the people saw that Jesus wasn’t there, nor his disciples, they got into the boats and went across to Capernaum to look for him.
25 When they arrived and found him, they said, “Sir, how did you get here?” 26 Jesus replied, “The truth of the matter is that you want to be with me because I fed you, not because you believe in me. 27 But you shouldn’t be so concerned about perishable things like food. No, spend your energy seeking the eternal life that I, the Messiah,[d] can give you. For God the Father has sent me for this very purpose.”
28 They replied, “What should we do to satisfy God?”
29 Jesus told them, “This is the will of God, that you believe in the one he has sent.”
30-31 They replied, “You must show us more miracles if you want us to believe you are the Messiah. Give us free bread every day, like our fathers had while they journeyed through the wilderness! As the Scriptures say, ‘Moses gave them bread from heaven.’”
32 Jesus said, “Moses didn’t give it to them. My Father did.[e] And now he offers you true Bread from heaven. 33 The true Bread is a Person—the one sent by God from heaven, and he gives life to the world.”
34 “Sir,” they said, “give us that bread every day of our lives!”
35 Jesus replied, “I am the Bread of Life. No one coming to me will ever be hungry again. Those believing in me will never thirst. 36 But the trouble is, as I have told you before, you haven’t believed even though you have seen me. 37 But some will come to me—those the Father has given me—and I will never, never reject them. 38 For I have come here from heaven to do the will of God who sent me, not to have my own way. 39 And this is the will of God, that I should not lose even one of all those he has given me, but that I should raise them to eternal life at the Last Day. 40 For it is my Father’s will that everyone who sees his Son and believes on him should have eternal life—that I should raise him at the Last Day.”
41 Then the Jews began to murmur against him because he claimed to be the Bread from heaven.
42 “What?” they exclaimed. “Why, he is merely Jesus the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know. What is this he is saying, that he came down from heaven?”
43 But Jesus replied, “Don’t murmur among yourselves about my saying that. 44 For no one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him to me, and at the Last Day I will cause all such to rise again from the dead. 45 As it is written in the Scriptures, ‘They shall all be taught of God.’ Those the Father speaks to, who learn the truth from him, will be attracted to me. 46 (Not that anyone actually sees the Father, for only I have seen him.)
47 “How earnestly I tell you this—anyone who believes in me already has eternal life! 48-51 Yes, I am the Bread of Life! When your fathers in the wilderness ate bread from the skies, they all died. But the Bread from heaven gives eternal life to everyone who eats it. I am that Living Bread that came down out of heaven. Anyone eating this Bread shall live forever; this Bread is my flesh given to redeem humanity.”
52 Then the Jews began arguing with each other about what he meant. “How can this man give us his flesh to eat?” they asked.
53 So Jesus said it again, “With all the earnestness I possess I tell you this: Unless you eat the flesh of the Messiah[f] and drink his blood, you cannot have eternal life within you. 54 But anyone who does eat my flesh and drink my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him at the Last Day. 55 For my flesh is the true food, and my blood is the true drink. 56 Everyone who eats my flesh and drinks my blood is in me, and I in him. 57 I live by the power of the living Father who sent me, and in the same way those who partake of me shall live because of me! 58 I am the true Bread from heaven; and anyone who eats this Bread shall live forever, and not die as your fathers did—though they ate bread from heaven.” 59 (He preached this sermon in the synagogue in Capernaum.)
60 Even his disciples said, “This is very hard to understand. Who can tell what he means?”
61 Jesus knew within himself that his disciples were complaining and said to them,
65 And he remarked, “That is what I meant when I said that no one can come to me unless the Father attracts him to me.”
66 At this point many of his disciples turned away and deserted him.
67 Then Jesus turned to the Twelve and asked, “Are you going too?”
68 Simon Peter replied, “Master, to whom shall we go? You alone have the words that give eternal life, 69 and we believe them and know you are the holy Son of God.”
70 Then Jesus said, “I chose the twelve of you, and one is a devil.” 71 He was speaking of Judas, son of Simon Iscariot, one of the Twelve, who would betray him.
Footnotes
- John 6:7 a fortune, literally, “200 denarii,” a denarius being a full day’s wage.
- John 6:21 immediately the boat was where they were going, literally, “straightway the boat was at the land.”
- John 6:22 waiting to see Jesus, implied.
- John 6:27 the Messiah, literally, “the Son of Man.” So also in v. 53.
- John 6:32 My Father did, implied.
- John 6:53 the Messiah, literally, “the Son of Man.” Also in v. 62.
- John 6:63 Only the Holy Spirit gives eternal life, literally, “It is the Spirit who quickens.” with physical birth, literally, “the flesh profits nothing”; see 1:13.
John 6
New King James Version
Feeding the Five Thousand(A)
6 After (B)these things Jesus went over the Sea of Galilee, which is the Sea of (C)Tiberias. 2 Then a great multitude followed Him, because they saw His signs which He performed on those who were (D)diseased.[a] 3 And Jesus went up on the mountain, and there He sat with His disciples.
4 (E)Now the Passover, a feast of the Jews, was near. 5 (F)Then Jesus lifted up His eyes, and seeing a great multitude coming toward Him, He said to (G)Philip, “Where shall we buy bread, that these may eat?” 6 But this He said to test him, for He Himself knew what He would do.
7 Philip answered Him, (H)“Two hundred denarii worth of bread is not sufficient for them, that every one of them may have a little.”
8 One of His disciples, (I)Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, said to Him, 9 “There is a lad here who has five barley loaves and two small fish, (J)but what are they among so many?”
10 Then Jesus said, “Make the people sit down.” Now there was much grass in the place. So the men sat down, in number about five thousand. 11 And Jesus took the loaves, and when He had given thanks He distributed them [b]to the disciples, and the disciples to those sitting down; and likewise of the fish, as much as they wanted. 12 So when they were filled, He said to His disciples, “Gather up the fragments that remain, so that nothing is lost.” 13 Therefore they gathered them up, and filled twelve baskets with the fragments of the five barley loaves which were left over by those who had eaten. 14 Then those men, when they had seen the sign that Jesus did, said, “This is truly (K)the Prophet who is to come into the world.”
Jesus Walks on the Sea(L)
15 Therefore when Jesus perceived that they were about to come and take Him by force to make Him (M)king, He departed again to the mountain by Himself alone.
16 (N)Now when evening came, His disciples went down to the sea, 17 got into the boat, and went over the sea toward Capernaum. And it was already dark, and Jesus had not come to them. 18 Then the sea arose because a great wind was blowing. 19 So when they had rowed about [c]three or four miles, they saw Jesus walking on the sea and drawing near the boat; and they were (O)afraid. 20 But He said to them, (P)“It is I; do not be afraid.” 21 Then they willingly received Him into the boat, and immediately the boat was at the land where they were going.
The Bread from Heaven
22 On the following day, when the people who were standing on the other side of the sea saw that there was no other boat there, except [d]that one [e]which His disciples had entered, and that Jesus had not entered the boat with His disciples, but His disciples had gone away alone— 23 however, other boats came from Tiberias, near the place where they ate bread after the Lord had given thanks— 24 when the people therefore saw that Jesus was not there, nor His disciples, they also got into boats and came to Capernaum, (Q)seeking Jesus. 25 And 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 and said, “Most assuredly, I say to you, you seek Me, not because you saw the signs, but because you ate of the loaves and were filled. 27 (R)Do not labor for the food which perishes, but (S)for the food which endures to everlasting life, which the Son of Man will give you, (T)because God the Father has set His seal on Him.”
28 Then they said to Him, “What shall we do, that we may work the works of God?”
29 Jesus answered and said to them, (U)“This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He sent.”
30 Therefore they said to Him, (V)“What sign will You perform then, that we may see it and believe You? What work will You do? 31 (W)Our fathers ate the manna in the desert; as it is written, (X)‘He gave them bread from heaven to eat.’ ”
32 Then Jesus said to them, “Most assuredly, I say to you, Moses did not give you the bread from heaven, but (Y)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 (Z)Then they said to Him, “Lord, give us this bread always.”
35 And Jesus said to them, (AA)“I am the bread of life. (AB)He who comes to Me shall never hunger, and he who believes in Me shall never (AC)thirst. 36 (AD)But I said to you that you have seen Me and yet (AE)do not believe. 37 (AF)All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and (AG)the one who comes to Me I will [f]by no means cast out. 38 For I have come down from heaven, (AH)not to do My own will, (AI)but the will of Him who sent Me. 39 This is the will of the Father who sent Me, (AJ)that of all He has given Me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up at the last day. 40 And this is the will of Him who sent Me, (AK)that everyone who sees the Son and believes in Him may have everlasting life; and I will raise him up at the last day.”
Rejected by His Own
41 The Jews then [g]complained about Him, because He said, “I am the bread which came down from heaven.” 42 And they said, (AL)“Is not this 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 and said to them, [h]“Do not murmur among yourselves. 44 (AM)No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me (AN)draws him; and I will raise him up at the last day. 45 It is written in the prophets, (AO)‘And they shall all be taught by God.’ (AP)Therefore everyone who [i]has heard and learned from the Father comes to Me. 46 (AQ)Not that anyone has seen the Father, (AR)except He who is from God; He has seen the Father. 47 Most assuredly, I say to you, (AS)he who believes [j]in Me has everlasting life. 48 (AT)I am the bread of life. 49 (AU)Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, and are dead. 50 (AV)This is the bread which comes down from heaven, that one may eat of it and not die. 51 I am the living bread (AW)which came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever; and (AX)the bread that I shall give is My flesh, which I shall give for the life of the world.”
52 The Jews therefore (AY)quarreled among themselves, saying, “How can this Man give us His flesh to eat?”
53 Then Jesus said to them, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless (AZ)you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in you. 54 (BA)Whoever eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day. 55 For My flesh is [k]food indeed, and My blood is [l]drink indeed. 56 He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood (BB)abides in Me, and I in him. 57 As the living Father sent Me, and I live because of the Father, so he who feeds on Me will live because of Me. 58 (BC)This is the bread which came down from heaven—not (BD)as your fathers ate the manna, and are dead. He who eats this bread will live forever.”
59 These things He said in the synagogue as He taught in Capernaum.
Many Disciples Turn Away
60 (BE)Therefore many of His disciples, when they heard this, said, “This is a [m]hard saying; who can understand it?”
61 When Jesus knew in Himself that His disciples [n]complained about this, He said to them, “Does this [o]offend you? 62 (BF)What then if you should see the Son of Man ascend where He was before? 63 (BG)It is the Spirit who gives life; the (BH)flesh profits nothing. The (BI)words that I speak to you are spirit, and they are life. 64 But (BJ)there are some of you who do not believe.” For (BK)Jesus knew from the beginning who they were who did not believe, and who would betray Him. 65 And He said, “Therefore (BL)I have said to you that no one can come to Me unless it has been granted to him by My Father.”
66 (BM)From that time many of His disciples went [p]back and walked with Him no more. 67 Then Jesus said to the twelve, “Do you also want to go away?”
68 But Simon Peter answered Him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have (BN)the words of eternal life. 69 (BO)Also we have come to believe and know that You are the [q]Christ, the Son of the living God.”
70 Jesus answered them, (BP)“Did I not choose you, the twelve, (BQ)and one of you is a devil?” 71 He spoke of (BR)Judas Iscariot, the son of Simon, for it was he who would (BS)betray Him, being one of the twelve.
Footnotes
- John 6:2 sick
- John 6:11 NU omits to the disciples, and the disciples
- John 6:19 Lit. 25 or 30 stadia
- John 6:22 NU omits that
- John 6:22 NU omits which His disciples had entered
- John 6:37 certainly not
- John 6:41 grumbled
- John 6:43 Stop grumbling
- John 6:45 M hears and has learned
- John 6:47 NU omits in Me
- John 6:55 NU true food
- John 6:55 NU true drink
- John 6:60 difficult
- John 6:61 grumbled
- John 6:61 make you stumble
- John 6:66 Or away; lit. to the back
- John 6:69 NU Holy One of God.
The Living Bible copyright © 1971 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
