John - Chapter 6

Passage

After these things Jesus went across the sea of Galilee, which is the sea of Tiberias. And a great crowd followed him, because they saw the miracles which he did on those who were sick. Jesus therefore went up a mountain: and there he sat with his disciples. Now the pasch, the festival day of the Jews, was near at hand. When Jesus therefore had lifted up his eyes and seen that a very great crowd was coming to him, he said to Philip: Where shall we buy bread, so that these may eat? And this he said to test him: for he himself knew what he would do. Philip answered him: Two hundred pennies' worth of bread is not enough for them, for each one to take a little. One of his disciples, Andrew, the brother of Simon Peter, said to him: There is a boy here who has five barley loaves and two fish. But what are these among so many? Then Jesus said: Make the men sit down. Now there was much grass in the place. The men therefore sat down, about five thousand in number. And Jesus took the loaves: and when he had given thanks, he distributed them to those who were seated. In the same way also of the fish, as much as they wanted. And when they were filled, he said to his disciples: Gather up the fragments that remain, so that nothing is lost. They gathered them up therefore and filled twelve baskets with the fragments of the five barley loaves which were left over by those who had eaten. Now those men, when they had seen what a miracle Jesus had done, said: This is truly the prophet who is to come into the world. Jesus therefore, when he knew that they would come to take him by force and make him king, withdrew again into the mountain, himself alone. And when evening had come, his disciples went down to the sea. And when they had gotten into a boat, they went across the sea to Capernaum. And it was now dark: and Jesus had not come to them. And the sea grew rough, because a strong wind was blowing. When they had rowed therefore about twenty-five or thirty furlongs, they saw Jesus walking upon the sea and drawing near to the boat. And they were afraid. But he said to them: It is I. Do not be afraid. They were willing therefore to take him into the boat. And at once the boat was at the land to which they were going. The next day, the crowd that stood on the other side of the sea saw that there was no other boat there but one: and that Jesus had not entered the boat with his disciples, but that his disciples had gone away alone. But other boats came from Tiberias, near the place where they had eaten the bread after the Lord had given thanks. When therefore the crowd saw that Jesus was not there, nor his disciples, they got into the boats and came to Capernaum, looking for Jesus. And when they had found him on that other side of the sea, they said to him: Rabbi, when did you come here? Jesus answered them and said: Amen, amen, I say to you, you seek me, not because you have seen miracles, but because you ate of the loaves and were filled. Do not labor for the food which perishes, but for that which endures to life everlasting, which the Son of man will give you. For on him God the Father has set his seal. They said therefore to him: What shall we do, so that we may work the works of God? Jesus answered and said to them: This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent. They said therefore to him: What sign then do you show, so that we may see and may believe you? What work do you do? Our fathers ate manna in the desert, as it is written: He gave them bread from heaven to eat. Then Jesus said to them: Amen, amen, I say to you, Moses did not give you bread from heaven, but my Father gives you the true bread from heaven. For the bread of God is that which comes down from heaven and gives life to the world. They said therefore to him: Lord, give us always this bread. And Jesus said to them: I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me shall not hunger: and whoever believes in me shall never thirst. But I said to you that you also have seen me, and you do not believe. All that the Father gives to me shall come to me: and whoever comes to me, I will not cast out. Because I came down from heaven, not to do my own will but the will of him who sent me. Now this is the will of the Father who sent me: that of all that he has given me, I should lose nothing, but should raise it up again on the last day. And this is the will of my Father who sent me: that everyone who sees the Son and believes in him may have life everlasting. And I will raise him up on the last day. The Jews therefore murmured about him, because he had said: I am the living bread which came down from heaven. And they said: Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How then does he say: I came down from heaven? Jesus therefore answered and said to them: Do not murmur among yourselves. No one can come to me unless the Father, who has sent me, draws him. And I will raise him up on the last day. It is written in the prophets: And they shall all be taught by God. Everyone who has heard of the Father and has learned comes to me. Not that anyone has seen the Father: but he who is from God, he has seen the Father. Amen, amen, I say to you: Whoever believes in me has everlasting life. I am the bread of life. Your fathers ate manna in the desert: and they died. This is the bread which comes down from heaven, so that if anyone eats of it, he may not die. I am the living bread which came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he shall live for ever: and the bread that I will give is my flesh, for the life of the world. The Jews therefore argued among themselves, saying: How can this man give us his flesh to eat? Then Jesus said to them: Amen, amen, I say to you: unless you eat the flesh of the Son of man and drink his blood, you shall not have life in you. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has everlasting life: and I will raise him up on the last day. For my flesh is food indeed: and my blood is drink indeed. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me: and I in him. As the living Father has sent me and I live by the Father: so whoever eats me, he also shall live by me. This is the bread that came down from heaven. Not as your fathers ate manna and died. Whoever eats this bread shall live for ever. These things he said, teaching in the synagogue, in Capernaum. Many therefore of his disciples, hearing it, said: This saying is hard; and who can listen to it? But Jesus, knowing in himself that his disciples were murmuring at this, said to them: Does this scandalize you? What then if you should see the Son of man ascend up where he was before? It is the spirit that gives life: the flesh profits nothing. The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life. But there are some of you who do not believe. For Jesus knew from the beginning who they were that did not believe and who it was that would betray him. And he said: That is why I said to you that no one can come to me unless it is given him by my Father. After this, many of his disciples went back and no longer walked with him. Then Jesus said to the twelve: Will you also go away? And Simon Peter answered him: Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. And we have believed and have known that you are the Christ, the Son of God. Jesus answered them: Have I not chosen you twelve? And one of you is a devil. Now he meant Judas Iscariot, the son of Simon: for this same man was about to betray him, though he was one of the twelve.