John 6
6
Feeding five thousand
(Matthew 14.13-21; Mark 6.30-44; Luke 9.10-17)
1Jesus crossed Lake Galilee, which was also known as Lake Tiberias. 2A large crowd had seen him perform miracles to heal the sick, and those people went with him. 3-4It was almost time for the Jewish festival of Passover, and Jesus went up on a mountain with his disciples and sat down.#6.3,4 sat down: Possibly to teach. Teachers in the ancient world, including Jewish teachers, usually sat down to teach.
5When Jesus saw the large crowd coming towards him, he asked Philip, “Where will we get enough food to feed all these people?” 6He said this to test Philip, since he already knew what he was going to do.
7Philip answered, “Don't you know that it would take almost a year's wages#6.7 almost a year's wages: The Greek text has “two hundred silver coins”. Each coin was worth the average day's wages for a worker. just to buy only a little bread for each of these people?”
8Andrew, the brother of Simon Peter, was one of the disciples. He spoke up and said, 9“There is a boy here who has five small loaves#6.9 small loaves: These would have been flat and round or in the shape of a bun. of barley bread and two fish. But what good is that with all these people?”
10The ground was covered with grass, and Jesus told his disciples to make everyone sit down. About five thousand men were in the crowd. 11Jesus took the bread in his hands and gave thanks to God. Then he passed the bread to the people, and he did the same with the fish, until everyone had plenty to eat.
12The people ate all they wanted, and Jesus told his disciples to gather up the leftovers, so that nothing would be wasted. 13The disciples gathered them up and filled twelve large baskets with what was left over from the five barley loaves.
14After the people had seen Jesus perform this miracle,#6.14 miracle: See the note at 2.11. they began saying, “This must be the Prophet#6.14 the Prophet: See the note at 1.21. who is to come into the world!” 15Jesus realized that they would try to force him to be their king. So he went up on a mountain, where he could be alone.
Jesus walks on the water
(Matthew 14.22-27; Mark 6.45-52)
16That evening, Jesus' disciples went down to the lake. 17They got into a boat and set off for Capernaum. Later that evening Jesus had still not come to them, 18and a strong wind was making the water rough.
19When the disciples had rowed for five or six kilometres, they saw Jesus walking on the water. He kept coming closer to the boat, and they were terrified. 20But he said, “I am Jesus!#6.20 I am Jesus: The Greek text has “I am”. See the note at 8.24. Don't be afraid!” 21The disciples wanted to take him into the boat, but suddenly the boat reached the shore where they were headed.
The bread that gives life
22The people who had stayed on the east side of the lake knew that only one boat had been there. They also knew that Jesus had not left in it with his disciples. But the next day 23some boats from Tiberias sailed near the place where the crowd had eaten the bread for which the Lord had given thanks. 24They saw that Jesus and his disciples had left. Then they got into the boats and went to Capernaum to look for Jesus. 25They found him on the west side of the lake and asked, “Rabbi, when did you get here?”
26Jesus answered, “I tell you for certain that you are not looking for me because you saw the miracles,#6.26 miracles: The Greek text has “signs” here and “sign” in verse 30. See the note at 2.11. but because you ate all the food you wanted. 27Don't work for food that spoils. Work for food that gives eternal life. The Son of Man will give you this food, because God the Father has given him the right to do so.”
28“What exactly does God want us to do?” the people asked.
29Jesus answered, “God wants you to have faith in the one he sent.”
30They replied, “What miracle will you perform, so that we can have faith in you? What will you do? 31For example, when our ancestors were in the desert, they were given manna#6.31 manna: When the people of Israel were wandering through the desert, the Lord gave them a special kind of food to eat. It tasted like a wafer and was called “manna”, which in Hebrew means, “What is this?” to eat. It happened just as the Scriptures say, ‘God gave them bread from heaven to eat.’ ”#Ex 16.4,15; Ps 78.24.
32Jesus then told them, “I tell you for certain that Moses wasn't the one who gave you bread from heaven. My Father is the one who gives you the true bread from heaven. 33And the bread that God gives is the one who came down from heaven to give life to the world.”
34The people said, “Lord, give us this bread and don't ever stop!”
35Jesus replied:
I am the bread that gives life! No one who comes to me will ever be hungry. No one who has faith in me will ever be thirsty. 36I have told you already that you have seen me and still do not have faith in me. 37Everything and everyone that the Father has given me will come to me, and I won't turn any of them away.
38I didn't come from heaven to do what I want! I came to do what the Father wants me to do. He sent me, 39and he wants to make certain that none of the ones he has given me will be lost. Instead, he wants me to raise them to life on the last day.#6.39 the last day: When God will judge all people. 40My Father wants everyone who sees the Son to have faith in him and to have eternal life. Then I will raise them to life on the last day.
41The people started grumbling because Jesus had said he was the bread that had come down from heaven. 42They were asking each other, “Isn't he Jesus, the son of Joseph? Don't we know his father and mother? How can he say that he has come down from heaven?”
43Jesus told them:
Stop grumbling! 44No one can come to me, unless the Father who sent me makes them want to come. But if they do come, I will raise them to life on the last day. 45One of the prophets wrote, “God will teach all of them.” And so everyone who listens to the Father and learns from him will come to me.#Is 54.13.
46The only one who has seen the Father is the one who has come from him. No one else has ever seen the Father. 47I tell you for certain that everyone who has faith in me has eternal life.
48I am the bread that gives life! 49Your ancestors ate manna#6.49 manna: See the note at 6.31. in the desert, and later they died. 50But the bread from heaven has come down, so that no one who eats it will ever die. 51I am that bread from heaven! Everyone who eats it will live for ever. My flesh is the life-giving bread that I give to the people of this world.
52They started arguing with each other and asked, “How can he give us his flesh to eat?”
53Jesus answered:
I tell you for certain that you won't live unless you eat the flesh and drink the blood of the Son of Man. 54But if you do eat my flesh and drink my blood, you will have eternal life, and I will raise you to life on the last day. 55My flesh is the true food, and my blood is the true drink. 56If you eat my flesh and drink my blood, you are one with me, and I am one with you.
57The living Father sent me, and I have life because of him. Now everyone who eats my flesh will live because of me. 58The bread that comes down from heaven isn't like what your ancestors ate. They died, but whoever eats this bread will live for ever.
59Jesus was teaching in a Jewish place of worship in Capernaum when he said these things.
The words of eternal life
60Many of Jesus' disciples heard him and said, “This is too hard for anyone to understand.”
61Jesus knew that his disciples were grumbling. So he asked, “Does this bother you? 62What if you should see the Son of Man go up to heaven where he came from? 63The Spirit is the one who gives life! Human strength can do nothing. The words that I have spoken to you are from that life-giving Spirit. 64But some of you refuse to have faith in me.” Jesus said this, because from the beginning he knew who would have faith in him. He also knew which one would betray him.
65Then Jesus said, “You cannot come to me, unless the Father makes you want to come. That is why I have told these things to all of you.”
66Because of what Jesus said, many of his disciples turned their backs on him and stopped following him. 67Jesus then asked his twelve disciples if they were going to leave him. 68Simon Peter answered, “Lord, there is no one else that we can go to! Your words give eternal life.#Mt 16.16; Mk 8.29; Lk 9.20. 69We have faith in you, and we are sure that you are God's Holy One.”
70Jesus told his disciples, “I chose all twelve of you, but one of you is a demon!” 71Jesus was talking about Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot.#6.71 Iscariot: This may mean “a man from Kerioth” (a place in Judea). But more probably it means “a man who was a liar” or “a man who was a betrayer”. He would later betray Jesus, even though he was one of the twelve disciples.
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John 6: CEVUK
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© British and Foreign Bible Society 2012
John 6
6
The Feeding of Five Thousand
1 After these things Jesus went away to the other side of the sea of Galilee (that is, Tiberias). 2And a large crowd was following him because they were observing the signs that he was doing on those who were sick. 3So Jesus went up on the mountain and sat down there with his disciples. 4(Now the Passover, the feast of the Jews, was near.) 5Then Jesus, when he looked up#Literally “then Jesus lifting up the eyes” #*Here “when” in the translation is supplied as a component of the participle “lifting up” which is understood as temporal and saw that a large crowd was coming to him, said to Philip, “Where can we buy bread so that these people can eat?” 6(Now he said this to test him, because he knew what he was going to do.) 7Philip replied to him, “Two hundred denarii worth of bread would not be enough for them, in order that each one could receive a little.” 8One of his disciples, Andrew the brother of Simon Peter, said to him, 9“Here is a boy who has five barley loaves and two fish, but what are these for so many people?” 10Jesus said, “Make the people recline.” (Now there was a lot of grass in the place.) So the men reclined, approximately five thousand in number. 11Then Jesus took the bread, and after he#*Here “after” is supplied as a component of the participle (“had given thanks”) which is understood as temporal had given thanks, he distributed it#*Here the direct object is supplied from context in the English translation to those who were reclining—likewise also of the fish, as much as they wanted. 12And when they were satisfied, he said to his disciples, “Gather the remaining fragments so that nothing is lost.” 13So they gathered them,#*Here the direct object is supplied from context in the English translation and filled twelve baskets with fragments from the five barley loaves which were left over by those who had eaten.
14Now when#*Here “when” is supplied as a component of the participle (“saw”) which is understood as temporal the people saw the sign that he performed, they began to say,#*The imperfect tense has been translated as ingressive here (“began to say”) “This one is truly the Prophet who is to come into the world!” 15Then Jesus, because he#*Here “because” is supplied as a component of the participle (“knew”) which is understood as causal knew that they were about to come and seize him in order to make him#*Here the direct object is supplied from context in the English translation king, withdrew again up the mountain by himself alone.
Jesus Walks on the Water
16Now when evening came, his disciples went down to the sea. 17And getting into a boat, they began to go#*The imperfect tense has been translated as ingressive here (“began to go”) to the other side of the sea, to Capernaum. And it had already become dark, and Jesus had not yet come to them. 18And the sea began to be stirred up#*The imperfect tense has been translated as ingressive here (“began to be stirred up”) because#*Here “because” is supplied as a component of the participle (“was blowing”) which is understood as causal a strong wind was blowing. 19Then when they#*Here “when” is supplied as a component of the participle (“had rowed”) which is understood as temporal had rowed about twenty-five or thirty stadia,#A “stade” or “stadium” (plur. “stadia”) is about 607 ft (187 m), so this was around 3 miles (5 km) they saw Jesus walking on the sea and coming near the boat, and they were afraid. 20But he said to them, “It is I! Do not be afraid!” 21So they were wanting to take him into the boat, and immediately the boat came to the land to which they were going.
Discourse About the Bread of Life
22On 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. 23Other boats from Tiberias came near the place where they had eaten the bread after#*Here “after” is supplied as a component of the temporal genitive absolute participle (“had given thanks”) the Lord had given thanks. 24So when the crowd saw that Jesus was not there, nor his disciples, they themselves got into the boats and came to Capernaum seeking Jesus.
25And when they#*Here “when” is supplied as a component of the participle (“found”) which is understood as temporal found him on the other side of the sea, they said to him, “Rabbi, when did you get here?” 26Jesus 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! 27Do 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.”
28So they said to him, “What shall we do that we can accomplish the works of God?” 29Jesus answered and said to them, “This is the work of God: that you believe in the one whom that one sent.” 30So they said to him, “Then what sign will you perform, so that we can see it#*Here the direct object is supplied from context in the English translation and believe you? What will you do? 31Our fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, just as it is written, ‘He gave them bread from heaven to eat.’#A quotation from Ps 78:24 which refers to the events of Exod 16:4–36
32Then 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! 33For the bread of God is the one who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.” 34So they said to him, “Sir, always give us this bread!”
35Jesus 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. 36But I said to you that you have seen me and do not believe. 37Everyone whom the Father gives to me will come to me, and the one who comes to me I will never throw out, 38because I have come down from heaven not that I should do my will, but the will of the one who sent me. 39Now this is the will of the one who sent me: that everyone whom he has given me, I would not lose any of them,#This pronoun is neuter singular in Greek, but is collective but raise them#This pronoun is neuter singular in Greek, but is collective up on the last day. 40For 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.”
41Now the Jews began to grumble#*The imperfect tense has been translated as ingressive here (“began to grumble”) about him because he said, “I am the bread that came down from heaven,” 42and 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’?” 43Jesus answered and said to them, “Do not grumble among yourselves!#Literally “with one another” 44No 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. 45It is written in the prophets, ‘And they will all be taught by God.’#A quotation from Isa 54:13 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.)#The switch from first person in vv. 44–45 to third person here and back to first person in vv. 47–51 suggests that this verse is a parenthetical comment by the author rather than the words of Jesus 47Truly, truly I say to you, the one who believes has eternal life. 48I am the bread of life. 49Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness and they died. 50This is the bread that comes down from heaven so that someone may eat from it and not die. 51I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats from this bread, he will live forever.#Literally “for the age” And the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh.”
52So the Jews began to quarrel#*The imperfect tense has been translated as ingressive here (“began to quarrel”) among themselves,#Literally “with one another” saying, “How can this man give us his flesh to eat?” 53Then 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! 54The one who eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day. 55For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink. 56The one who eats#*This term is somewhat graphic and typically used for animals feeding, but the distinction from other Greek verbs for eating is difficult to convey in English my flesh and drinks my blood resides in me and I in him. 57Just as the living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father, so also the one who eats#*This term is somewhat graphic and typically used for animals feeding, but the distinction from other Greek verbs for eating is difficult to convey in English me—that one will live because of me. 58This is the bread that came down from heaven, not as the fathers ate and died. The one who eats#*This term is somewhat graphic and typically used for animals feeding, but the distinction from other Greek verbs for eating is difficult to convey in English this bread will live forever.”#Literally “for the age”
Many of Jesus’ Disciples Offended by His Teaching
59He said these things while#*Here “when” is supplied as a component of the participle (“teaching”) which is understood as temporal teaching in the synagogue in Capernaum. 60Thus many of his disciples, when they#*Here “when” is supplied as a component of the participle (“heard”) which is understood as temporal heard it,#*Here the direct object is supplied from context in the English translation said, “This saying is hard! Who can understand it?” 61But Jesus, because he#*Here “because” is supplied as a component of the participle (“knew”) which is understood as causal knew within himself that his disciples were grumbling about this, said to them, “Does this cause you to be offended? 62Then what if you see the Son of Man ascending where he was before? 63The Spirit is the one who gives life; the flesh profits nothing. The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and are life. 64But 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.) 65And 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
66For this reason many of his disciples drew back#Literally “went away to the things behind” and were not walking with him any longer. 67So Jesus said to the twelve, “You do not want to go away also, do you?”#*The negative construction in Greek anticipates a negative answer here, indicated in the translation by the phrase “do you” 68Simon Peter answered him, “Lord, to whom would we go? You have the words of eternal life. 69And we have believed, and have come to know, that you are the Holy One of God.” 70Jesus 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.)
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