JHN 6

The Feeding of the Five Thousand

Matt. 14:13-21; Mk. 6:30-44; Lk. 9:10-17

1 After these events had transpired, Jesus travelled away to the opposite shore of the Sea of Galilee (which is also known as the Sea of Tiberias).

2 A vast multitude of people was following Him in pursuit, because they were observing and witnessing the miraculous signs which He was performing upon those who were afflicted with sickness and disease.

3 Then Jesus went up onto the mountainside, and there He sat down in the company of His disciples to rest.

4 (Now the Passover feast, the great feast of the Jewish people, was soon to take place.)

5 Then Jesus, lifting up His eyes and seeing that a vast crowd was making their way towards Him, said to Philip with a question, "Where are we to purchase bread, so that these people may have something to eat?"

6 But He was posing this question to test Philip's faith and understanding, for Jesus already knew what He was about to do to meet the need.

7 Philip answered Him with a calculation, "Two hundred denarii worth of bread would not be sufficient for them, in order that each person may receive even a small portion."

8 One of His disciples, Andrew, who was the brother of Simon Peter, spoke up and said to Him,

9 "Here is a young boy who has five barley loaves and two small fish in his possession, but what are these meagre provisions for such a vast number of people?"

10 Jesus gave this instruction: "Have the people sit down in a relaxed posture on the ground." (Now there was an abundance of grass in that location.) So the people sat down in a relaxed posture, numbering approximately five thousand men.

11 Then Jesus took the loaves of bread into His hands, and having given thanks to the Father, He began to distribute the food to those who were reclining in a relaxed posture. He did likewise also with the fish, providing as much as they desired to eat.

12 When they had eaten their fill, He said to His disciples, "Gather up what remains of the broken pieces, so that nothing is wasted or lost."

13 So they gathered them up, and they filled twelve baskets to overflowing with broken pieces from the five barley loaves which were left over after those who had eaten were satisfied.

14 When the people saw the miraculous sign which He performed, they began to say with conviction, "This is truly the Prophet who is destined to come into the world, the One Moses promised."

15 So Jesus, having perceived that they were about to come and seize Him by force in order to make Him their king, withdrew once more to the mountain by Himself alone, escaping their intentions.

Jesus Walks on the Water

Matt. 14:22-27; Mk. 6:45-52

16 Now when evening had arrived, His disciples went down to the shore of the sea,

17 and after getting into a boat, they began to make their way across to the other side of the sea, heading towards Capernaum. Darkness had already fallen, and Jesus had not yet come to join them.

18 A strong wind was blowing across the water, and the sea began to be stirred up with increasingly rough waves.

19 Then, when they had rowed approximately twenty-five or thirty stadia, a distance of about three or four miles, they observed Jesus walking on the surface of the sea and drawing near the boat; and they were alarmed.

20 But He spoke to them reassuringly, "It is I, I am. Do not be afraid."

21 Then they were willing to take Him into the boat with them, and at once, the boat arrived at the land to which they were headed, reaching their destination.

Jesus is the Bread of Life

22 The next day, the crowd that had remained on the other side of the sea noticed that there had been no other boats present there except one, and that Jesus had not entered together with His disciples into the boat when they departed, but that His disciples had gone away alone without Him.

23 But other boats from Tiberias arrived near the location where they had eaten the bread, after the Lord had given thanks and blessed it.

24 So when the crowd came to understand that Jesus was not present there, nor were His disciples, they themselves got into the available boats and travelled to Capernaum, actively seeking Jesus and hoping to find Him.

25 When they found Him on the other side of the sea, they said to Him with curiosity, "Rabbi, at what time did You arrive here? When did You come to this place?"

26 Jesus answered them directly and said, "I tell you with absolute certainty and truth: You are seeking Me, not because you saw miraculous signs that pointed to My identity, but because you ate of the loaves and were satisfied and had your physical hunger met.

27 Do not labour for the food that perishes, but rather work for the food that remains to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give to you as a gift. For on Him God the Father has set His seal of authentication."

28 Then they said to Him, seeking instruction, "What shall we do, so that we may perform and accomplish the works that God requires?"

29 Jesus answered and said to them, "This is the work that God requires, that you believe in and place your trust in Him whom He has sent into the world."

30 So they said to Him, demanding proof, "Then what miraculous sign do You perform, so that we may see it with our own eyes and believe in You? What supernatural work will You perform to validate Your claims?

31 Our fathers ate the manna in the wilderness during their journey, just as it stands written in Scripture: 'He gave them bread from heaven to eat.'"

32 Then Jesus said to them with emphasis, "I tell you with absolute certainty and truth: It is not Moses who has given you the bread from heaven, but My Father is giving you the true bread from heaven.

33 For the bread of God is that which comes down from heaven and gives life to the world and all its people."

34 So they said to Him eagerly, "Sir, give us this bread at all times, continually and without ceasing."

35 Jesus declared to them, "I am the bread of life, the source of spiritual nourishment. The one who comes to Me in faith will never be hungry or experience spiritual want, and the one who believes in Me and trusts in Me will never be thirsty again or lack spiritual satisfaction.

36 But I said to you previously that you have seen Me with your own eyes and witnessed My works, and still you do not believe or place your trust in Me.

37 All whom the Father gives to Me as a gift will come to Me in faith, and the one who comes to Me I will never cast out or reject, never turning anyone away.

38 I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will or pursue My own agenda, but rather to do the will of the One who sent Me into the world.

39 Now this is the will of the One who sent Me, that I shall lose nothing and no one of all whom He has given to Me as a trust, but that I should raise it up and restore it to life on the last day at the resurrection.

40 For this is the will of My Father, that everyone who looks upon the Son with faith and believes in Him shall have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day."

41 So the Jewish leaders began to grumble about Him because He made the declaration, "I am the bread that came down from heaven."

42 They began to say among themselves, "Is this not Jesus the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know personally? How does He now make the claim and say, 'I have come down from heaven'?"

43 Jesus responded and said to them, "Do not murmur among yourselves about what I have said.

44 No one has the ability to come to Me in faith unless the Father who sent Me draws him to Myself. And I will raise him up on the last day.

45 It stands written in the Prophets: 'And they will all be taught by God directly.' Everyone who has heard instruction and learned from the Father comes to Me in faith.

46 This does not mean that anyone has seen the Father directly with physical eyes, except the One who is from God and originates with God—He alone has seen the Father face to face.

47 I tell you with absolute certainty and truth: The one who believes and places his trust in Me has eternal life, even at this present moment.

48 I am the bread of life, the source of spiritual sustenance.

49 Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness during their wanderings, yet they died physically despite this provision.

50 This is the bread that comes down from heaven, so that anyone may eat from it and not die spiritually or eternally.

51 I am the living bread that came down from heaven to give life. If anyone eats from this bread, he will live forever in eternity. And the bread which I will give for the life of the world also is My flesh, which I will sacrifice."

52 Then the Jewish leaders began to dispute among themselves, saying with confusion and hostility, "How can this man give us His flesh to eat? How is this possible?"

53 Then Jesus said to them with great solemnity, "I tell you with absolute certainty and truth: Unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, appropriating His sacrifice, you have no life in yourselves, no spiritual vitality.

54 The one who eats My flesh and drinks My blood, embracing My sacrificial death, has eternal life at this moment, and I will raise him up on the last day.

55 For My flesh constitutes true food, genuine nourishment, and My blood constitutes true drink, genuine satisfaction.

56 The one who eats My flesh and drinks My blood, accepting My atoning sacrifice, remains in Me in intimate union, and I remain in him in abiding presence.

57 Just as the living Father sent Me into the world, and I live because of the Father and draw My life from Him, so the one who feeds on Me spiritually, that one also will live because of Me and draw spiritual life from Me.

58 This is the bread that came down from heaven, not like the bread your fathers ate and yet died. The one who eats this bread will live forever in eternity."

59 He spoke these profound things while teaching in the synagogue in Capernaum, proclaiming this message publicly.

The Words of Eternal Life

60 Therefore, many of His disciples, when they heard this teaching, said with difficulty, "This is a hard and difficult saying to accept. Who has the ability to understand it or embrace it?"

61 But Jesus, knowing within Himself that His disciples were secretly speaking and grumbling about this teaching, said to them, "Does this provoke a sense of offence in you? Does this cause you to stumble?

62 Then what if you see and witness the Son of Man ascending to where He was before, returning to heaven? Would that resolve your difficulty?

63 It is the Spirit who gives life and imparts spiritual vitality. The flesh, by itself, yields no benefit or profit whatsoever. The words that I have spoken to you are spirit in nature, and they are life-giving in power.

64 Yet there are some among you who do not believe or place their trust in Me." For Jesus had known from the beginning, before they ever followed Him, who those were who did not truly believe, and who it was who would betray Him.

65 And He continued saying, "For this reason, I have told you that no one has the ability to come to Me in genuine faith unless it has been granted to him as a gift from the Father."

66 From this time forward, many of His disciples drew back, and no longer walked with Him or followed Him as disciples.

67 So Jesus said to the Twelve with a question, "You do not want to go away and leave Me too, do you? Do you also wish to depart?"

68 Simon Peter responded to Him with conviction, "Lord, to whom shall we go? Where else would we turn? You alone have the words of eternal life.

69 And we have believed and placed our trust in You, and have come to know with certainty, that You are the Holy One of God, set apart and sent by Him."

70 Jesus answered them soberly, "Did I not choose you, the Twelve, selecting you for this purpose? Yet one of you is a devil, an adversary aligned with Satan!"

71 Now He was speaking of Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot, as he—though he was one of the Twelve chosen disciples—was going to betray Him to His enemies.

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