Discourse About the Bread of Life

22 On the next day, the crowd that was on the other side of the sea saw that other boats were not there (except one), and that Jesus had not entered with his disciples into the boat, but his disciples had departed alone. 23 Other boats from Tiberias came 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 came 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 get here?” 26 Jesus replied to them and said, “Truly, truly I say to you, you seek me not because you saw signs, but because you ate of the loaves and were satisfied! 27 Do not work for the food that perishes, but the food that remains to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give to you. For God the Father has set his seal on this one.”

28 So they said to him, “What shall we do that we can accomplish the works of God?” 29 Jesus answered and said to them, “This is the work of God: that you believe in the one whom that one sent.” 30 So they said to him, “Then what sign will you perform, so that we can see it* and believe you? What will you do? 31 Our fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, just as it is written, ‘He gave them bread from heaven to eat.’c

32 Then Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly I say to you, Moses did not give you bread from heaven, but my Father is giving you the true bread from heaven! 33 For the bread of God is the one who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.” 34 So they said to him, “Sir, always give us this bread!”

35 Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life. The one who comes to me will never be hungry, and the one who believes in me will never be thirsty again. 36 But I said to you that you have seen me and do not believe. 37 Everyone whom the Father gives to me will come to me, and the one who comes to me I will never throw out, 38 because I have come down from heaven not that I should do my will, but the will of the one who sent me. 39 Now this is the will of the one who sent me: that everyone whom he has given me, I would not lose any of them,d but raise theme up on the last day. 40 For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who looks at the Son and believes in him would have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day.”

41 Now the Jews began to grumble* about him because he said, “I am the bread that came down from heaven,” 42 and they were saying, “Is this one 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 and said to them, “Do not grumble ⌊among yourselves⌋!f 44 No one is able to 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.’g Everyone who hears from the Father and learns comes to me. 46 (Not that anyone has seen the Father except the one who is from God—this one has seen the Father.)h 47 Truly, truly I say to you, the one who 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 someone may eat from it and not die. 51 I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats from this bread, he will live ⌊forever⌋.i And the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh.”

52 So the Jews began to quarrel* ⌊among themselves⌋,j saying, “How can this man give us his flesh to eat?” 53 Then Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you do not have life in yourselves! 54 The one who eats 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 The one who eats* my flesh and drinks my blood resides in me and I in him. 57 Just as the living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father, so also the one who eats* me—that one will live because of me. 58 This is the bread that came down from heaven, not as the fathers ate and died. The one who eats* this bread will live ⌊forever⌋.”k

Many of Jesus’ Disciples Offended by His Teaching

59 He said these things while* teaching in the synagogue in Capernaum. 60 Thus many of his disciples, when they* heard it,* said, “This saying is hard! Who can understand it?” 61 But Jesus, because he* knew within himself that his disciples were grumbling about this, said to them, “Does this cause you to be offended? 62 Then what if you see the Son of Man ascending where he was before? 63 The Spirit is the one 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 who did not believe, and who it was who would betray him.) 65 And he said, “Because of this I said to you that no one can come to me unless it has been granted to him by the Father.”

Peter’s Confession

66 For this reason many of his disciples ⌊drew back⌋l and were not walking with him any longer. 67 So Jesus said to the twelve, “You do not want to go away also, do you?”* 68 Simon Peter answered him, “Lord, to whom would 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 replied to them, “Did I not choose you, the twelve, and one of you is the devil?” 71 (Now he was speaking about Judas son of Simon Iscariot, because this one—one of the twelve—was going to betray him.)