John 6

¹ After this, Jesus went away to the other side of the Sea of Galilee, which is the Sea of Tiberias.

² And a great crowd was following him, because they saw the signs that he was doing on those who were sick.

³ Jesus went up on the mountain, and there he sat with his disciples.

⁴ Now the Passover, the feast of the Jews, was near.

⁵ Jesus, lifting up his eyes and seeing that a great crowd was coming toward him, said to Philip, "Where are we to buy bread, so that these may eat?"

⁶ He said this to test him, for he himself knew what he was about to do.

⁷ Philip answered him, "Two hundred denarii worth of bread would not be enough for them, that each one might receive a little."

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 small fish; but what are they among so many?"

¹⁰ Jesus said, "Have the people sit down." Now there was much grass in the place. So the men sat down, about five thousand in number.

¹¹ Jesus then took the loaves, and when he had given thanks, he distributed them to those who were seated. So also with the fish, as much as they wanted.

¹² When they had eaten their fill, he said to his disciples, "Gather up the leftover fragments, that nothing may be lost."

¹³ So they gathered them up, and filled twelve baskets with fragments from the five barley loaves left over by those who had eaten.

¹⁴ When the people saw the sign that he had done, they said, "This is truly the Prophet who is to come into the world."

¹⁵ Jesus, knowing that they were about to come and take him by force to make him king, withdrew again to the mountain by himself.

¹⁶ When evening came, his disciples went down to the sea,

¹⁷ and getting into a boat, they set off across the sea to Capernaum. It was already dark, and Jesus had not yet come to them.

¹⁸ And the sea began to rise because a strong wind was blowing.

¹⁹ When they had rowed about three or four miles, they saw Jesus walking on the sea and coming near the boat, and they were frightened.

²⁰ But he said to them, "I am — do not be afraid."

²¹ Then they were willing to receive him into the boat, and immediately the boat was at the land to which they were going.

²² On the next day the crowd that had stood on the other side of the sea saw that no other boat had been there, except one, and that Jesus had not entered the boat with his disciples, but that his disciples had gone away alone.

²³ But other boats came from Tiberias, near the place where they had eaten the bread after the Lord had given thanks.

²⁴ So when the crowd saw that Jesus was not there, nor his disciples, they themselves got into the boats and went to Capernaum, 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, "Truly, truly, I say to you, you seek me not because you saw signs, but because you ate of the loaves and were filled.

²⁷ Do not work for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. For on him God the Father has set his seal."

²⁸ Then they said to him, "What must we do to be doing the works of God?"

²⁹ Jesus answered them, "This is the work of God: that you believe in him whom he has sent."

³⁰ So they said to him, "Then what sign do you do, that we may see and believe you? What work do you perform?

³¹ Our fathers ate the manna in the wilderness; as it is written, 'He gave them bread from heaven to eat.'"

³² Jesus then said to them, "Truly, truly, I say to you, it was not Moses who gave you the bread from heaven, but 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 They said to him, "Sir, give us this bread always."

³⁵ Jesus said to them, "I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst.

³⁶ But I said to you that you have seen me and yet do not believe.

³⁷ All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never cast out.

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 none of all that he has given me, but raise it up on the last day.

⁴⁰ For this is the will of my Father: that everyone who looks upon the Son and believes in him shall have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day."

⁴¹ So the Jewish leaders 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, whose father and mother we know? How does he now say, 'I have come down from heaven'?"

⁴³ Jesus answered them, "Do not grumble among yourselves.

⁴⁴ No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him; and I will raise him up on the last day.

⁴⁵ It is written in the prophets, 'And they will all be taught by God.' Everyone who has heard from the Father and learned comes to me—

⁴⁶ not that anyone has seen the Father, except the one who is from God; he has seen the Father.

⁴⁷ Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes has eternal life.

⁴⁸ I am the bread of life.

⁴⁹ Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, and they died.

⁵⁰ This is the bread that comes down from heaven, so that one may eat of it and not die.

⁵¹ I am the living bread that came down from heaven; if anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. And the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh."

⁵² Then the Jewish leaders disputed among themselves, saying, "How can this man give us his flesh to eat?"

⁵³ Jesus then said to them, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in yourselves.

⁵⁴ Whoever chews my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day.

⁵⁵ For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink.

⁵⁶ Whoever chews my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me, and I in him.

⁵⁷ Just as the living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father, so the one who chews me, he also will live because of me.

⁵⁸ This is the bread that came down from heaven, not like the bread the fathers ate and died. Whoever chews this bread will live forever."

⁵⁹ These things he said in the synagogue as he taught at Capernaum.

⁶⁰ Many of his disciples, when they heard this, said, "This is a hard saying; who can listen to it?"

⁶¹ But Jesus, knowing in himself that his disciples were grumbling about this, said to them, "Does this offend you?

⁶² Then what if you were to see the Son of Man ascending where he was before?

⁶³ It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing. The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and are life.

⁶⁴ But there are some of you who do not believe." For Jesus knew from the beginning who they were that did not believe and who it was that would betray him.

⁶⁵ And he said, "This is why I told you that no one can come to me unless it has been granted him by the Father."

⁶⁶ From that time on, many of his disciples turned back and no longer walked with him.

⁶⁷ Then Jesus said to the Twelve, "Do you also wish to go away?"

⁶⁸ Simon Peter answered him, "Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life,

⁶⁹ and we have believed and have come to know that you are the Holy One of God."

⁷⁰ Jesus answered them, "Did I not choose you, the Twelve? And one of you is a devil."

⁷¹ He spoke of Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot, for he, one of the Twelve, was about to betray him.