Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
2 And all the people of Israel complained against Moses and Aaron in the desert, 3 saying, “We should have died by the Lord’s hand in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the pots of meat and ate all the bread we wanted. For you have brought us out into this desert to kill all of us with hunger.”
4 Then the Lord said to Moses, “See, I will rain bread from heaven for you. The people will go out and gather a day’s share every day, so I may test them to see if they will follow My Law or not.
9 Then Moses said to Aaron, “Say to all the people of Israel, ‘Come near to the Lord, for He has heard your complaining.’” 10 When Aaron spoke to all the people of Israel, they looked toward the desert. And they saw in the cloud the shining-greatness of the Lord. 11 The Lord said to Moses, 12 “I have heard the complaining of the people of Israel. Say to them, ‘In the evening you will eat meat, and in the morning you will be filled with bread. Then you will know that I am the Lord your God.’”
13 In the evening quails came and covered the place where the people were staying. And in the early morning a little water was around the tents. 14 When the water had gone, there were small white pieces all over the ground of the desert. 15 When the people of Israel saw it, they said to one another, “What is it?” For they did not know what it was. Moses said to them, “It is the bread that the Lord has given you to eat.
23 Yet He spoke to the clouds above, and opened the doors of heaven. 24 He sent down bread from heaven for them to eat. He gave them food from heaven. 25 Men ate the bread of angels. He sent them all the food they could eat. 26 He made the east wind blow in the heavens. And He brought in the south wind by His power. 27 He sent meat down on them like dust, winged birds like the sand of the sea. 28 He let them fall in the place where they were staying, all around their tents. 29 So they ate until they were full. He gave them what they wanted.
Full-Grown Christians
4 I am being held in prison because of working for the Lord. I ask you from my heart to live and work the way the Lord expected you to live and work. 2 Live and work without pride. Be gentle and kind. Do not be hard on others. Let love keep you from doing that. 3 Work hard to live together as one by the help of the Holy Spirit. Then there will be peace. 4 There is one body and one Spirit. There is one hope in which you were called. 5 There is one Lord and one faith and one baptism. 6 There is one God. He is the Father of us all. He is over us all. He is the One working through us all. He is the One living in us all.
7 Loving-favor has been given to each one of us. We can see how great it is by the gift of Christ. 8 The Holy Writings say, “When Christ went up to heaven, He took those who were held with Him. He gave gifts to men.” (A) 9 When they say, “He went up,” what does it mean but that He had first gone down to the deep parts of the earth? 10 Christ Who went down into the deep also went up far above the heavens. He did this to fill all the world with Himself.
11 Christ gave gifts to men. He gave to some the gift to be missionaries, some to be preachers, others to be preachers who go from town to town. He gave others the gift to be church leaders and teachers. 12 These gifts help His people work well for Him. And then the church which is the body of Christ will be made strong. 13 All of us are to be as one in the faith and in knowing the Son of God. We are to be full-grown Christians standing as high and complete as Christ is Himself. 14 Then we will not be as children any longer. Children are like boats thrown up and down on big waves. They are blown with the wind. False teaching is like the wind. False teachers try everything possible to make people believe a lie, 15 but we are to hold to the truth with love in our hearts. We are to grow up and be more like Christ. He is the leader of the church. 16 Christ has put each part of the church in its right place. Each part helps other parts. This is what is needed to keep the whole body together. In this way, the whole body grows strong in love.
24 The people saw that Jesus and His followers were not there. They got into boats and went to Capernaum looking for Jesus.
25 The people found Him on the other side of the lake. They said to Him, “Teacher, when did You come here?” 26 Jesus said to them, “For sure, I tell you, you are not looking for Me because of the powerful works. You are looking for Me because you ate bread and were filled. 27 Do not work for food that does not last. Work for food that lasts forever. The Son of Man will give you that kind of food. God the Father has shown He will do this.”
Jesus Teaches about Doing the Work of God
28 Then the people said to Him, “What are the works God wants us to do?” 29 Jesus said to them, “This is the work of God, that you put your trust in the One He has sent.” 30 They said to Him, “Can You show us some powerful work? Then we can see it and believe You. What will You do? 31 Our early fathers ate bread that came from heaven in the desert. This happened as it is written, ‘He gave them bread from heaven to eat.’” (A)
Jesus Is the Bread of Life
32 Then Jesus said to the people, “For sure, I tell you, it was not Moses who gave you bread from heaven. My Father gives you the true Bread from heaven. 33 The Bread of God is He Who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.” 34 They said to Him, “Sir, give us this Bread all the time.”
35 Jesus said to them, “I am the Bread of Life. He who comes to Me will never be hungry. He who puts his trust in Me will never be thirsty.
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