João 6

¹ After this Jesus went away across the Sea of Galilee (that is the lake of Tiberias).

² A great crowd were following him, because they witnessed the signs which he was continually performing among those who were ill.

³ Then Jesus walked up the hills and sat down there with his disciples. Now the Jewish feast, the Passover, was at hand.

⁴ Accordingly when he looked up, and perceived a great crowd was coming unto him,

⁵ he said to Philip, "Where shall we buy bread for these people to eat?"

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

⁷ "Thirty-five dollars worth of bread," answered Philip, "is not enough for them, so that each can take a morsel."

⁸ One of his disciples, Andrew, the brother of Simon, said to him.

⁹ "There is a lad who has five barley loaves and a couple of fish; but what is that among so many?"

¹⁰ "Make the men sit down," said Jesus. The ground was covered with thick grass; so the men sat down, in numbers about five thousand. "of righteousness, because I am going to my Father, and you will no longer see me;

¹¹ Then Jesus took the loaves, and when he had given thanks he distributed them among those who were seated; in like manner also of the fish, as much as they wished,

¹² and when they were satisfied, he said to his disciples, "Gather up the fragments that are left, so that nothing may be wasted."

¹³ So they gathered them up, and filled twelve baskets with the fragments of the five barley loaves – the broken pieces that were left after they had eaten.

¹⁴ So when the people saw the sign which he had performed, they said, "This is in the truth the Prophet who is to come into the world."

¹⁵ When Jesus perceived that they intended to seize him in order to make him a king, he retired again to the hill all by himself.

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

¹⁷ There they got in a boat, and started across the sea for Capernaum. The darkness had already fallen,

¹⁸ Jesus had not yet come to them, and the sea began to rise, because a strong wind was blowing.

¹⁹ After they had rowed three or four miles, they saw Jesus walking upon the sea, and drawing near to the boat, and they were terrified;

²⁰ but he said to them, "It is I, be not afraid."

²¹ Then they were willing to take him on board, and immediately the boat reached the shore they were making for.

²² The crowd that remained on the other side of the sea had seen that there was only one small boat there, and that Jesus had not gone aboard with his disciples, but that his disciples had gone away by themselves.

²³ So, on the following day, when boats came from Tiberias near the place were they had eaten bread, after the Lord had given thanks, they got into the boats themselves,

²⁴ when they saw that neither Jesus nor his disciples were there, and went to Capernaum to look for Jesus.

²⁵ When they found him on the other side of the sea, they said to him, "Rabbi, when did you get here?"

²⁶ Jesus answered. "In solemn truth I tell you that you are looking for me, not because you saw miracles signs, but because you ate of the bread and were filled.

²⁷ "Labor not for food which perishes, but for the food that endures eternal life – that which the Son of man will give you; for on the Father – God – has set his seal."

²⁸ "What are we to do habitually," they asked him, "that we may keep working the words of God?"

²⁹ "This is the work of God," answered Jesus, "that you believe on him whom He has sent you."

³⁰ The they said to him. "What sign, then, are you performing, so that we may see it and believe in you? What work are you doing?

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

³² "In solemn truth I tell you," said Jesus in reply, "Moses did not give you the bread out of heaven, but my Father does give you the true bread out of heaven;

³³ "for the bread of God is what come down from heaven, and gives life to the world."

³⁴ "Ah, Sir," said they, "evermore give us this bread."

³⁵ "I myself am the bread of life," answered Jesus; "he who comes to me shall never hunger, and he that believes on me shall never thirst again.

³⁶ "But as I told you, you have seen me, and yet you do not believe.

³⁷ "Everyone whom the Father gives me will come to me; and him who comes to me I will never reject.

³⁸ "For I am 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 not lose one of all those whom he has given me, but should raise them up at the last day.

⁴⁰ "For this is my Fathers will, that every one who beholds the Son and believes on him, shall have eternal life. and I will raise him up at the last day."

⁴¹ Then the Jews began to find fault with Jesus, because he said, "I am the bread which comes down out of heaven," and they kept asking.

⁴² "Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph? Do we not know his father and mother? How is it that he now says, I have come down from heaven?"

⁴³ "Do not find fault with me among yourselves,"

⁴⁴ answered Jesus; "no one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draw him; then I will raise him up on the last day.

⁴⁵ "It is written in the Prophets, "And they shall all of them be taught of God. Every one who has listened to the father and learns from him, comes to me.

⁴⁶ "Not that any one has seen the Father, except the one who is from God; he has seen the Father.

⁴⁷ "I tell you solemnly that he who believes has eternal life.

⁴⁸ "I am the bread of life.

⁴⁹ "Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness; yet they died.

⁵⁰ "This is the bread that comes down from heaven, that one may eat thereof and never die.

⁵¹ "I myself am the living bread that has come down from heaven. Any one who eats this bread will live forever; and moreover, the bread which I will give is my flesh, given for the life of the world."

⁵² Then the Jews began to dispute among themselves, saying, "How can this man give us his flesh to eat?"

⁵³ "I tell you solemnly," said Jesus, "that unless you eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink his blood, you have no life in you.

⁵⁴ "He who feeds upon 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 "He who feeds upon my flesh abides in me and I in him.

⁵⁷ "Just as the living Father has sent me, and I live by the Father, so also that man who feeds on me shall live by me.

⁵⁸ "This is the bread which came down from heaven; not such as your fathers ate and died, for he who feeds upon this bread shall live forever."

⁵⁹ He spoke these words while in the synagogue, while he was teaching in Capernaum.

⁶⁰ So many of his disciples, when they heard it, said. "This teaching is unbelievable! Who can listen to him?"

⁶¹ Jesus, conscious within himself that his disciples were finding fault with him about his teaching, said to them.

⁶² "Does this displease you? What then if you were to behold the Son of man ascending to where he was before?

⁶³ "The spirit is what gives life; the flesh is of no avail. The words which I have been speaking to you, are spirit and are life.

⁶⁴ "Yet 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 should betray him.

⁶⁵ So he added, "This is why I told you that no on can come to me unless it be given from the Father."

⁶⁶ Therefore many of his disciples drew back and no longer companied with him.

⁶⁷ So Jesus appealed to the Twelve. "You also do not wish to leave me, do you?"

⁶⁸ Simon Peter answered. "To whom shall we go Master? You have words of eternal life;

⁶⁹ "and we have learned to believe and we know that you are the holy one of God."

⁷⁰ In reply Jesus said to them. "Have I not chosen you, the Twelve? And yet even of you one is an enemy."

⁷¹ Now Jesus was speaking of Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot; for Judas was to betray him, although he was one of the Twelve.