John 6 New American Standard Bible (NASB)
Five Thousand Fed
6 After these
things Jesus went away to the other side of the Sea of Galilee (or Tiberias). 2 A large crowd followed Him, because they saw the [a]signs which He was performing on those who were sick.3 Then Jesus went up on the mountain, and
there He sat down with His disciples.
4 Now the Passover, the feast of the Jews, was near. 5 Therefore Jesus, lifting up His eyes and seeing that a large crowd
was coming to Him, *said to Philip, “Where are we to buy bread, so that these may eat?” 6 This He was saying to test him, for He Himself knew what
He was intending to do. 7 Philip
answered Him, “Two hundred [b]denarii worth of bread is not sufficient for them, for everyone to
receive a little.”
8 One of His disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, *said
to Him, 9 “There is a
lad here who has five barley loaves and two fish, but what are these for so many
people?” 10 Jesus said, “Have the people [c]sit down.” Now there was much grass in the place. So the men [d]sat down, in number about five thousand. 11 Jesus then took the loaves, and having given thanks, He distributed
to those who were seated; likewise also of the fish as much as they wanted. 12 When they were filled, He *said to His disciples, “Gather up the leftover fragments so that nothing will be lost.” 13 So they gathered them up, and filled twelve baskets with fragments from the five
barley loaves which were left over by those who had eaten. 14 Therefore when the people saw the [e]sign which He had performed, they said, “This is truly the Prophet who is to come into the
world.”
Jesus Walks on the Water
15 So Jesus, perceiving that they were [f]intending to come and take Him by force to make Him king, withdrew again to the mountain by Himself alone.
16 Now when
evening came, His disciples went down to the sea,17 and after
getting into a boat, they started to cross the sea to Capernaum. It had already become
dark, and Jesus had not yet come to them. 18 The sea began to be stirred up because a strong
wind was blowing. 19 Then, when
they had rowed about [g]three or four miles, they *saw Jesus walking on the sea and
drawing near to the boat; and they were frightened. 20 But He *said to them, “It is I; [h]do not be afraid.” 21 So they were willing to receive Him into the boat, and immediately
the boat was at the land to which they were going.
22 The next day the crowd that stood on the other
side of the sea saw that there was no other small boat there, except one, and
that Jesus had not entered with His disciples into the boat, but that His disciples had gone away alone. 23 There came other small boats from Tiberias near to the place where
they ate the bread after the Lord had given thanks. 24 So when the crowd saw that Jesus was not there, nor His disciples,
they themselves got into the small boats, and came to Capernaum seeking Jesus. 25 When they found Him on the other side of the sea, they said to
Him, “Rabbi, when did You get here?”
Words to the People
26 Jesus answered 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 filled. 27 Do not work for the food which perishes,
but for the food which endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give to you, for
on Him the Father, God, has set His seal.” 28 Therefore they said to Him, “What shall we do, so that we may work
the works of God?” 29 Jesus
answered and said to them,“This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He has sent.” 30 So they said to Him, “What then do You do for a sign, so that we may see, and
believe You? What work do You perform?31 Our fathers
ate the manna in the wilderness; as it is written, ‘He gave them bread out of heaven to eat.’” 32 Jesus then
said to them,
“Truly, truly, I say to you, it is not Moses who has given you the
bread out of heaven, but it is My Father who gives you the true bread out of
heaven. 33 For the bread of God is [i]that which comes down out of heaven, and gives life to the world.” 34 Then they said to Him, “Lord, always give us this bread.”
35 Jesus said
to them, “I am the
bread of life; he who comes to Me will not hunger, and he who believes in Me will never thirst. 36 But I said
to you that you have seen Me, and yet do not believe. 37 All that the
Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will certainly
not cast out. 38 For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me.39 This is the will of Him who sent Me, that of all that He has given Me I lose nothing, but raise it up on the last day. 40 For this is
the will of My Father, that everyone who beholds the Son and believes in Him will have eternal
life, and I Myself will raise him up on the last day.”
Words to the Jews
41 Therefore the Jews were grumbling about Him, because He said, “I am the bread that came down out of heaven.” 42 They were saying, “Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose
father and mother we know? How does He now say, ‘I have come down out of heaven’?” 43 Jesus
answered and said to them, “Do not grumble among yourselves. 44 No one can
come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up on the last day.45 It is written in the prophets, ‘And they shall all be taught of God.’ Everyone who has heard and learned from the Father, comes to Me. 46 Not that anyone
has seen the Father, except the One who is from God; He has seen the Father. 47 Truly,
truly, I say to you, he who believes has eternal life. 48 I am the
bread of life. 49 Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, and they died. 50 This is the
bread which comes down out of heaven, so that one may eat of it and not die. 51 I am the
living bread that came down out of heaven; if anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever; and the bread
also which I will give for the life of the world is My flesh.”
52 Then the
Jews began to argue with one another, saying,
“How can this man give us His flesh to eat?” 53 So 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 have no life in yourselves. 54 He who eats
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 eats
My flesh and drinks My blood abides in Me, and I in him. 57 As the living Father sent Me, and I live because of the
Father, so he who eats Me, he also will live because of Me. 58 This is the
bread which came down out of heaven; not as the fathers ate and died; he who
eats this bread will live forever.”
Words to the Disciples
59 These things He said in the synagogue as He taught in Capernaum.
60 Therefore
many of His disciples, when they heard this said, “This is a difficult
statement; who can listen to it?” 61 But Jesus ,conscious that His disciples grumbled at this, said to
them, “Does this cause you to stumble? 62 What then if you see the Son of Man ascending to where He was before? 63 It is the
Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing; the words that I have spoken to you
are spirit and are life. 64 But 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 that would [j]betray Him. 65 And He was
saying, “For this
reason I have said to you, that no one can come to Me unless it has been granted him from the
Father.”
Peter’s Confession of Faith
66 As a result of this many of His disciples withdrew and were not walking with
Him anymore. 67 So Jesus
said to the twelve, “You do not want to go away also, do you?” 68 Simon Peter answered Him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have words of eternal life. 69 We have believed and have come to know that You are the Holy One of God.” 70 Jesus answered them, “Did I Myself not choose you, the twelve, and yet one of you is a devil?” 71 Now He meant Judas the son of Simon Iscariot, for he, one of the twelve, [k]was going to betray Him.
John 6
V 1–3: SIGNS AND SITTING Jesus
crosses the Sea of Galilee and many follow Him because of His signs in healing
diseased people. After that, He goes to a mountain and takes time to sit down
with His disciples. Jesus is as interested in personal time with His disciples
as He is in working in the lives of others.
V 4–14: POWER TO PROVIDE A huge crowd,
including 5,000 men, are fed by the miraculous multiplying by Jesus of five
loaves and two fish. All are filled. The disciples are involved in the
distribution of the food and in the collection of what is left over. This sign
convinces the men that Jesus is the Prophet who is to come into the world.
V 15–21: WALKING ON WATER Jesus resists the
popular acclaim and goes to a mountain to be alone. His disciples start rowing
to the other side of the lake, towards Capernaum. It is night and a storm
arises while they are three or four miles out. Jesus walks to them on the water
and assures them of who He is. When Jesus enters the boat, it immediately
reaches its destination.
V 22–42: GIVEN FROM GLORY The
people, still impressed by the feeding of the huge multitude from a few loaves
and fish, come to find Jesus. He warns them about seeking Him just because they
are taken up too much with the miraculous feeding itself rather than with what
that shows about the character and Godhead of the Lord Jesus Christ, and tells
them that the important thing is to believe in Him. He declares Himself as
coming from heaven in just the same way as manna was given from heaven in the
wilderness. He is the Bread of Life. He gives eternal life and fulfilment to
those who come to Him. The Jews complain, because they recognise that He is
talking about His heavenly origin and they know that He is the ‘son of Joseph’,
probably remembering that Joseph was not the natural father of Jesus. They
dispute that Jesus is given from glory.
V 43–66: DIFFICULTY IN DOCTRINE
Jesus teaches that those who come to Him are drawn by the Father and then
develops the thought of Himself as the Bread of Life. He says no one may have
everlasting life without eating His flesh and drinking His blood. The disciples
are offended by this difficult saying and do not understand it. Jesus then
explains that He is speaking spiritually. This is merely an illustrative
parallel, and not a literal cannibalistic requirement! He is talking about
spiritual faith in Christ, and stresses that it is belief that saves. (Over the
years, some people have sought to support a wrong view of the meaning of holy
communion from these verses, but Jesus is clearly teaching a spiritual belief
in Him through a dramatic illustration. Nowhere in the Bible is it taught that
the bread and the wine actually become His body and His blood. If that were a
requirement for everlasting life, then all of His physical disciples would be
lost because at the time they ate communion with Him, He had not even died upon
the cross, and clearly His body and blood were intact.) Some go back and walk
with Jesus no more when He tells them that He knows those who believe in Him, and
who will betray Him.
V 67–71: DISTINCTION IN DISCIPLES
Simon Peter confesses that Jesus has the words of eternal life, and that He is
‘the Christ, the Son of the Living God’. Jesus reveals that one of the twelve
is against Him but He does not reveal that his name is Judas Iscariot.
The Bible Panorama
