New Testament in a Year
22 The following day some people gathered on the other side of the sea and saw that only one boat had been there; they were perplexed. They remembered seeing the disciples getting into the boat without Jesus.
23 Other boats were arriving from Tiberias near the grassy area where the Lord offered thanks and passed out bread. 24 When this crowd could not find Him or His disciples, they boarded their small boats and crossed the sea to Capernaum looking for Him. 25 When they found Jesus across the sea, they questioned Him.
Crowd: Teacher, when did You arrive at Capernaum?
Jesus: 26 I tell you the truth—you are tracking Me down because I fed you, not because you saw signs from God. 27 Don’t spend your life chasing food that spoils and rots. Instead, seek the food that lasts into all the ages and comes from the Son of Man, the One on whom God the Father has placed His seal.
Crowd: 28 What do we have to do to accomplish the Father’s works?
Jesus: 29 If you want to do God’s work, then believe in the One He sent.
Crowd: 30 Can You show us a miraculous sign? Something spectacular? If we see something like that, it will help us to believe. 31 Our fathers ate manna when they wandered in the desert. The Hebrew Scriptures say, “He gave them bread from heaven to eat.”[a]
Jesus: 32 I tell you the truth: Moses did not give you bread from heaven; it is My Father who offers you true bread from heaven. 33 The bread of God comes down out of heaven and breathes life into the cosmos.
Crowd: 34 Master, we want a boundless supply of this bread.
Jesus: 35 I am the bread that gives life. If you come to My table and eat, you will never go hungry. Believe in Me, and you will never go thirsty. 36 Here I am standing in front of you, and still you don’t believe. 37 All that My Father gives to Me comes to Me. I will receive everyone; I will not send away anyone who comes to Me. 38 And here’s the reason: I have come down from heaven not to pursue My own agenda but to do what He desires. I am here on behalf of the Father who sent Me. 39 He sent Me to care for all He has given Me so that nothing and no one will perish. In the end, on the last day, He wants everything to be resurrected into new life. 40 So if you want to know the will of the Father, know this: everyone who sees the Son and believes in Him will live eternally; and on the last day, I am the One who will resurrect him.
41 Some of the Jews began to grumble quietly against Him because He said, “I am the bread that came down from heaven.”
Crowd: 42 Isn’t Jesus the son of Joseph? We know His parents! We know where He came from, so how can He claim to have “come down from heaven”?
Jesus: 43 Stop grumbling under your breaths. 44 If the Father who sent Me does not draw you, then there’s no way you can come to Me. But I will resurrect everyone who does come on the last day.
The Voice Bible Copyright © 2012 Thomas Nelson, Inc. The Voice™ translation © 2012 Ecclesia Bible Society All rights reserved.