6 After this Jesus crossed to the other side of the Lake of Galilee (or Tiberias) 2 and a large crowd was following him because they had seen the miraculous signs which he was performing for sick people. 3 Jesus then went up a hillside and sat there with his disciples. 4 The Jewish[581] annual festival of Passover was approaching.  5 Jesus looked out on the large crowd which was coming to him, and he said to Philip, “Where are we going to buy food for these people to eat?”  6 He said this as a test for Philip because he knew what he was intending to do. 7 So Philip answered, “200 denarii worth of bread would be not enough, even for each of them to have a small portion.”  8 One of his disciples, Andrew, brother of Simon Peter, said,  9 “There is a young lad here who has five loaves of bread and two fish, but this is hardly sufficient for such a crowd.” 10 Jesus said, “Tell the people to sit down.” There was a lot of grass at that place, and so about 5,000 men were seated.  11 Jesus then took the loaves and having given thanks distributed them to the people who were seated. He did the same with the fish, as much as they wanted.  12 When the people had eaten their fill, he said to the disciples, “Collect the remaining pieces of bread so that nothing is wasted.”  13 So they gathered what was left of the five barley loaves, filling twelve baskets.  14 When the people saw the miraculous sign that Jesus had performed they were saying, “This must truly be the prophet who was to come into the world.” [582] 15 So Jesus, knowing that they were about to come and seize him and make him king, withdrew again to the mountain alone by himself.
    16 And when it was late the disciples departed in a boat  17 and crossed the lake to Capernaum, and it was already getting dark and Jesus had not yet come to them.  18 The sea was becoming rough because a strong wind was blowing.  19 When they had rowed about 3 or 4 miles they saw Jesus walking on the sea and approaching them, and they were frightened. 20 He said to them, “It is me,[584] do not be scared.”  21 They wanted to take him into the boat, and immediately the boat arrived at the shore where they were headed.
    22 The next day the crowd standing on the other side of the lake saw only one[585] small boat there. They noticed that Jesus had not gone in the boat with his disciples, but that the disciples had left on their own. 23 Other small boats came from Tiberias near the place where they had eaten the bread after the lord had given thanks.  24 When they saw that Jesus was not there nor the disciples with him, they got into small boats and went to Capernaum looking for Jesus. 25 Finding him across the lake, they said to him, “Rabbi, when did you get here?”
    26 Jesus answered, “I tell you on the highest authority, you are looking for me not because you saw the miracles but because you were given food and were satisfied. 27 Do not work for perishable food, but for the food which remains for the Age to Come,[586] which the Son of Man[587] will give you because the Father, who is God,[588] has authorized him to provide this.” 28 So they said to him, “What shall we do to work the works of God?”  29 Jesus answered, “This is the work of God: that you believe in the one whom God has commissioned as His representative.” 30 So they said to him, “What sign are you going to give us so that we may understand and believe you? What will you do? 31 Our ancestors ate the manna in the wilderness as it is written in Scripture: “He gave them bread from heaven to eat.”  32 So Jesus said to them, “I tell you on the highest authority: it was not Moses who gave you that bread from heaven but my Father who gives you the genuine bread from heaven, 33 for God’s bread is the bread coming from heaven and it gives Life[589] to the world.” 34 So they said to him, “lord, keep on giving us this bread.”
    35 Jesus said to them, “I am that bread of life. Everyone who comes to me will not be hungry and the one believing in me will never again be thirsty. 36 But I said to you that you have seen me and still do not believe. 37 Everyone whom my Father gives to me comes to me, and the person who comes to me I will never turn away, 38 because I have come down from heaven[590] not to do my own will but the will of the One commissioning me.  39 This is the will of the One who commissioned me: that everyone given to me by God should not be lost, but I will resurrect him on the final day of this age.  40 This is the will of my Father, that everyone who sees the Son and believes in him should gain the Life of the Age to Come,[591] and I will resurrect him on the final day of this age.”
    41 This caused the Jews to grumble at him because he said, “I am the bread which comes down from heaven.” 42 They were saying, “Surely this is Jesus the son of Joseph whom we know, whose father and mother we know? How then can he say that he came down from heaven?”  43 Jesus answered them, “Do not grumble among yourselves. 44 No one is able to come to me unless the Father who commissioned me draws him, and I will resurrect him on the final day of this age. 45 It stands written in Scripture in the prophets: ‘They will all be taught by God.’ Everyone who has heard and learned from the Father comes to me,  46 not that anyone has seen the Father. Only the one who is from the Father has truly seen[592] the Father. 47 I tell you on the highest authority, the one who believes has the Life of the Age to Come. 48 I am the bread of life. 49 Your ancestors ate the manna in the wilderness and died. 50 This is the bread which comes down from heaven so that you may eat it and not die. 51 I am the life-giving bread which came from heaven. If someone eats this bread he will live in the Age to Come,[593] and the bread which I will give is my flesh,[594] and it is for the life of the world.”
    52 So the Jews were arguing among themselves, “How can this person give us his flesh to eat?” 53 Jesus replied, “I tell you on the highest authority: unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man[595] and drink his blood you have no life in yourselves. 54 The one ‘chewing on’ my flesh and ‘drinking my blood’ has the Life of the Age to Come, and I will resurrect him on the last day of this present age. 55 For my flesh is the genuine food and my blood is genuine drink. 56 The one ‘chewing on my flesh’ and ‘drinking my blood’ remains in me and I in him. 57 Just as the living Father commissioned me, so I live because of the Father, and the one ‘chewing on me’[596] will live because of me. 58 This is the bread[597] which came down from heaven — not like your ancestors who ate and died. The one chewing this bread will live in the Coming Age.” [598] 59 This was Jesus’ message as he taught in the synagogue in Capernaum.
    60 Many of his disciples who heard this said, “This is a difficult teaching. Who can grasp it?” 61 Jesus, conscious of the fact that they were grumbling over his teaching, said to them, “Are you offended by this too? 62 What if you should see the Son of Man ascending to where he was before? [599] 63 It is the spirit which gives life; the flesh gains you nothing. The words which I have spoken to you are spirit and are life. 64 But there are some among you who refuse to believe.” Jesus knew from the beginning which ones would not believe and who would betray him, 65 so he was saying, “That is why I said to you, no one can come to me unless it is granted to him by the Father.”
    66 Because of these words many of his disciples left him and no longer continued to associate with him. 67 So Jesus said to the twelve, “Are you wanting to leave also?” 68 Simon Peter replied, “Master,[600] who would we join? You have the words of the Life of the Age to Come,[601] and 69 we believe and have come to know that you are God’s Holy One.” 70 Jesus replied, “Have I not chosen you twelve, yet one of you is a devil?” [602] 71 He was referring to Judas Iscariot. He was one of the twelve and was about to betray Jesus.