John 6:15–71

Christ Walks on the Water

Matt. 14:22–33; Mark 6:45–52

¹⁵Therefore when Jesus perceived that they were about to come and take Him by force to make Him ^kking, He departed again to the mountain by Himself alone.

^16lNow when evening came, His disciples went down to the sea, ¹⁷got into the boat, and went over the sea toward Capernaum. And it was already dark, and Jesus had not come to them. ¹⁸Then the sea arose because a great wind was blowing. ¹⁹So when they had rowed about ³three or four miles, they saw Jesus walking on the sea and drawing near the boat; and they were ^mafraid. ²⁰But He said to them, ⁿ“It is I; do not be afraid.” ²¹Then they willingly received Him into the boat, and immediately the boat was at the land where they were going.

“I Am the Bread of Life”

²²On the following day, when the people who were standing on the other side of the sea saw that there was no other boat there, except ⁴that one ⁵which His disciples had entered, and that Jesus had not entered the boat with His disciples, but His disciples had gone away alone—²³however, other boats came from Tiberias, near the place where they ate bread after the Lord had given thanks—²⁴when the people therefore saw that Jesus was not there, nor His disciples, they also got into boats and came to Capernaum, ^oseeking Jesus. ²⁵And when they found Him on the other side of the sea, they said to Him, “Rabbi, when did You come here?”

²⁶Jesus answered them and said, “Most assuredly, I say to you, you seek Me, not because you saw the signs, but because you ate of the loaves and were filled. ^27pDo not labor for the food which perishes, but ^qfor the food which endures to everlasting life, which the Son of Man will give you, ^rbecause God the Father has set His seal on Him.”

²⁸Then they said to Him, “What shall we do, that we may work the works of God?”

²⁹Jesus answered and said to them, ^s“This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He sent.”

³⁰Therefore they said to Him, ^t“What sign will You perform then, that we may see it and believe You? What work will You do? ^31uOur fathers ate the manna in the desert; as it is written, ^v‘He gave them bread from heaven to eat.’ ”

³²Then Jesus said to them, “Most assuredly, I say to you, Moses did not give you the bread from heaven, but ^wMy Father gives you the true bread from heaven. ³³For the bread of God is He who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.”

^34xThen they said to Him, “Lord, give us this bread always.”

³⁵And Jesus said to them, ^y“I am the bread of life. ^zHe who comes to Me shall never hunger, and he who believes in Me shall never ^athirst. ^36bBut I said to you that you have seen Me and yet ^cdo not believe. ^37dAll that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and ^ethe one who comes to Me I will ⁶by no means cast out. ³⁸For I have come down from heaven, ^fnot to do My own will, ^gbut the will of Him who sent Me. ³⁹This is the will of the Father who sent Me, ^hthat of all He has given Me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up at the last day. ⁴⁰And this is the will of Him who sent Me, ⁱthat everyone who sees the Son and believes in Him may have everlasting life; and I will raise him up at the last day.”

⁴¹The Jews then ⁷complained about Him, because He said, “I am the bread which came down from heaven.” ⁴²And they said, ^j“Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How is it then that He says, ‘I have come down from heaven’?”

⁴³Jesus therefore answered and said to them, ⁸“Do not murmur among yourselves. ^44kNo one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me ^ldraws him; and I will raise him up at the last day. ⁴⁵It is written in the prophets, ^m‘And they shall all be taught by God.’ ⁿTherefore everyone who ⁹has heard and learned from the Father comes to Me. ^46oNot that anyone has seen the Father, ^pexcept He who is from God; He has seen the Father. ⁴⁷Most assuredly, I say to you, ^qhe who believes ¹in Me has everlasting life. ^48rI am the bread of life. ^49sYour fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, and are dead. ^50tThis is the bread which comes down from heaven, that one may eat of it and not die. ⁵¹I am the living bread ^uwhich came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever; and ^vthe bread that I shall give is My flesh, which I shall give for the life of the world.”

⁵²The Jews therefore ^wquarreled among themselves, saying, “How can this Man give us His flesh to eat?”

⁵³Then Jesus said to them, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless ^xyou eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in you. ^54yWhoever eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day. ⁵⁵For My flesh is ²food indeed, and My blood is ³drink indeed. ⁵⁶He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood ^zabides in Me, and I in him. ⁵⁷As the living Father sent Me, and I live because of the Father, so he who feeds on Me will live because of Me. ^58aThis is the bread which came down from heaven—not ^bas your fathers ate the manna, and are dead. He who eats this bread will live forever.”

⁵⁹These things He said in the synagogue as He taught in Capernaum.

Rejection by Many Followers

^60cTherefore many of His disciples, when they heard this, said, “This is a ⁴hard saying; who can understand it?”

⁶¹When Jesus knew in Himself that His disciples ⁵complained about this, He said to them, “Does this ⁶offend you? ^62dWhat then if you should see the Son of Man ascend where He was before? ^63eIt is the Spirit who gives life; the ^fflesh profits nothing. The ^gwords that I speak to you are spirit, and they are life. ⁶⁴But ^hthere are some of you who do not believe.” For ⁱJesus knew from the beginning who they were who did not believe, and who would betray Him. ⁶⁵And He said, “Therefore ^jI have said to you that no one can come to Me unless it has been granted to him by My Father.”

^66kFrom that time many of His disciples went ⁷back and walked with Him no more.

Confession by Peter

⁶⁷Then Jesus said to the twelve, “Do you also want to go away?”

⁶⁸But Simon Peter answered Him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have ^lthe words of eternal life. ^69mAlso we have come to believe and know that You are the ⁸Christ, the Son of the living God.”

⁷⁰Jesus answered them, ⁿ“Did I not choose you, the twelve, ^oand one of you is a devil?” ⁷¹He spoke of ^pJudas Iscariot, the son of Simon, for it was he who would ^qbetray Him, being one of the twelve.