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.