John 6:15–71

¹⁵Therefore, when Jesus realized that they were about to come and take him by force to make him king,ⁿ he withdrew again to the mountain by himself.

THE FIFTH SIGN: WALKING ON WATER

¹⁶When^o evening came, his disciples went down to the sea, ¹⁷got into a boat, and started across the sea to Capernaum.^p Darkness had already set in, but Jesus had not yet come to them. ¹⁸A high wind arose, and the sea began to churn. ¹⁹After they had rowed about three or four miles,^B they saw Jesus walking on the sea. He was coming near the boat, and they were afraid. ²⁰But he said to them, “It is I.^Cq Don’t be afraid.” ²¹Then they were willing to take him on board, and at once the boat was at the shore where they were heading.

THE BREAD OF LIFE

²²The next day, the crowd that had stayed on the other side of the sea saw there had been only one boat.^Dr They also saw that Jesus had not boarded the boat with his disciples, but that his disciples had gone off alone. ²³Some boats from Tiberias^s came near the place where they had eaten the bread after the Lord had given thanks. ²⁴When the crowd saw that neither Jesus nor his disciples were there, they got into the boats and went to Capernaum looking for Jesus. ²⁵When they found him on the other side of the sea, they said to him, “Rabbi,^t when did you get here?”

²⁶Jesus answered, “Truly I tell you, you are looking for me, not because you saw^E the signs, but because you ate the loaves and were filled. ²⁷Don’t work for the food that perishes^u but for the food that lasts for eternal life,^v which the Son of Man^w will give you, because God the Father^x has set his seal of approval on him.”

²⁸“What can we do to perform the works of God?” they asked.

²⁹Jesus replied, “This is the work^y of God—that you believe in the one he has sent.”^z

³⁰“What sign, then, are you going to do so that we may see and believe you?” they asked. “What are you going to perform? ³¹Our ancestors ate the manna^aa in the wilderness,^ab just as it is written: He gave them bread from heaven to eat.”^Fac

³²Jesus said to them, “Truly I tell you, Moses^ad didn’t give you the bread from heaven, but my Father gives you the true bread from heaven. ³³For the bread of God is the one who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.”

³⁴Then they said, “Sir, give us this bread always.”

³⁵“I am^ae the bread of life,” Jesus told them. “No one who comes to me^af will ever be hungry,^ag and no one who believes in me^ah will ever be thirsty^ai again. ³⁶But as I told you, you’ve seen me,^G and yet you do not believe. ³⁷Everyone the Father gives me will come to me, and the one who comes to me I will never cast out.^{aj 38}For I have come down from heaven,^ak not to do my own will, but the will of him^al who sent me. ³⁹This is the will of him who sent me: that I should lose none of those he has given me but should raise^am them up on the last day. ⁴⁰For this is the will of my Father:^an that everyone who sees the Son^ao and believes in him will have eternal life, and I will raise^ap him up on the last day.”

⁴¹Therefore the Jews started grumbling about him because he said, “I am the bread that came down from heaven.” ⁴²They were saying, “Isn’t this Jesus the son of Joseph,^aq whose father and mother we know? How can he now say, ‘I have come down from heaven’?”

⁴³Jesus answered them, “Stop grumbling among yourselves. ⁴⁴No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws^A him, and I will raise him up on the last day. ⁴⁵It is written in the Prophets:^a And they will all be taught by God.^Bb Everyone who has listened to and learned from the Father^c comes to me—⁴⁶not that anyone has seen the Father^d except the one who is from God.^e He has seen the Father.^f

⁴⁷“Truly I tell you, anyone who believes^C has eternal life. ⁴⁸I am the bread of life. ⁴⁹Your ancestors ate the manna^g in the wilderness,^h and they died. ⁵⁰This is the bread that comes down from heaven so that anyone may eat of it and not die.^{i 51}I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread he will live^j forever.^k The bread that I will give for the life^l of the world is my flesh.”^m

⁵²At that, the Jews arguedⁿ among themselves,^o “How can this man give us his flesh to eat?”

⁵³So Jesus said to them, “Truly I tell you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man^p and drink his blood,^q you do not have life in yourselves. ⁵⁴The one who eats my flesh and drinks my blood^r has eternal life, and I will raise^s him up on the last day, ⁵⁵because my flesh is true food and my blood is true drink. ⁵⁶The one who eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me, and I in him.^{t 57}Just as the living^u Father sent me and I live because of the Father, so the one who feeds on me will live^v because of me. ⁵⁸This is the bread that came down from heaven; it is not like the manna^D your ancestors ate—and they died. The one who eats this bread will live forever.”^w

⁵⁹He said these things while teaching in the synagogue^x in Capernaum.^y

MANY DISCIPLES DESERT JESUS

⁶⁰Therefore, when many of his disciples heard this, they said, “This teaching is hard. Who can accept^E it?”

⁶¹Jesus, knowing in himself^z that his disciples were grumbling about this, asked them, “Does this offend you? ⁶²Then what if you were to observe the Son of Man^aa ascending^ab to where he was before? ⁶³The Spirit^ac is the one who gives life. The flesh doesn’t help at all. The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and are life. ⁶⁴But there are some among you who don’t believe.” (For Jesus knew from the beginning^ad those who did not^F believe and the one who would betray^ae him.) ⁶⁵He said, “This is why I told you that no one can come to me^af unless it is granted to him by the Father.”

⁶⁶From that moment^A many of his disciples turned back and no longer accompanied him. ⁶⁷So Jesus said to the Twelve,^ag “You don’t want to go away too, do you?”

⁶⁸Simon Peter^ah answered, “Lord, to whom will we go? You have the words of eternal life. ⁶⁹We have come to believe and know that you are the Holy One of God.”^Bai

⁷⁰Jesus replied to them, “Didn’t I choose you, the Twelve?^aj Yet one of you is a devil.”^{ak 71}He was referring to Judas,^al Simon Iscariot’s son,^C one of the Twelve, because he was going to betray^am him.