0550513 Bread of Life discourse – John 6:22-7:1, A.D. 28 Capernaum
On the next day, the multitude that stood on the other side of the sea saw that there was no other boat there, except one, and that Jesus hadn’t entered with his disciples into the boat, but his disciples had gone away alone. However, boats from Tiberias came near to the place where they ate the bread after the Lord had given thanks. And when the multitude therefore saw that Jesus was not there, nor his disciples, they themselves got into the boats, and came to Capernaum, seeking Jesus. And when they found him on the other side of the sea, they said to him, “Rabbi, when did you come here?”
And Jesus answered them and said, “Most certainly I say to you, you seek me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate of the loaves, and were filled. Do not work for the food which perishes, but for the food which remains to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give to you. For God the Father has sealed him.” And they said therefore to him, “What must we do, that we may work the works of God?” And Jesus answered and said to them, “This is the work of God: that you believe in him whom he has sent.” And they said therefore to him, “What then do you do for a sign, that we may see, and believe you? What work do you do? Our fathers ate the manna in the wilderness. As it is written, ‘He gave them bread out of heaven to eat.’”
And Jesus therefore said to them, “Most certainly, I say to you, it was not Moses who gave you the bread out of heaven, but my Father gives you the true bread out of heaven. For the bread of God is that which comes down out of heaven and gives life to the world.” And they said therefore to him, “Lord, always give us this bread.” And Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will not be hungry, and he who believes in me will never be thirsty. But I said to you that you have seen me, and yet you do not believe. All those who the Father gives me will come to me and he who comes to me I will in no way throw out. For I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will, but the will of him who sent me. And this is the will of him who sent me, that of all he has given to me I should lose nothing but should raise him up at the last day. For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who sees the Son, and believes in him, should have eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day.”
And the Jews therefore murmured concerning him, because he said, “I am the bread which came down out of heaven.” And they said, “Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How then does he now say, ‘I have come down out of heaven?’” Jesus answered and said to them, “Do not murmur among yourselves. No man can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him, and I will raise him up in the last day. It is written in the prophets, ‘And they will all be taught by God.’ Everyone who hears from the Father, and has learned, comes to me. Not that any man has seen the Father, except he who is from God. He has seen the Father. Most certainly, I say to you, he who believes in me has eternal life. I am the bread of life. Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, and they died. This is the bread which comes down out of heaven, that a man may eat of it and not die. I am the living bread which came down out of heaven. If any man eats of this bread, he will live forever. Yes, and the bread which I will give for the life of the world is my flesh.”
And the Jews therefore contended with one another, saying, “How can this man give us his flesh to eat?” And Jesus therefore said to them, “Most certainly 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. And he who eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day. For my flesh is food indeed, and my blood is drink indeed. And he who eats my flesh and drinks my blood lives in me, and I in him. And as the living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father; so he who feeds on me, he will also live because of me. This is the bread which came down out of heaven—not as our fathers ate and died. And he who eats this bread will live forever.” And he said these things in the synagogue, as he taught in Capernaum.
Therefore, many of his disciples, when they heard this, said, “This is a hard saying! Who can listen to it?” But Jesus knowing in himself that his disciples murmured at this, said to them, “Does this cause you to stumble? Then what if you would see the Son of Man ascending to where he was before? It is the spirit who gives life. The flesh profits nothing. And the words that I speak to you are spirit and are life. 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 who would betray him. And he said, “For this cause have I said to you that no one can come to me, unless it is given to him by my Father.” At this, many of his disciples went back, and walked no more with him. And Jesus said therefore to the twelve, “You do not also want to go away, do you?” Simon Peter answered him, “Lord, to whom would we go? You have the words of eternal life. And we have come to believe and know that you are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” And Jesus answered and said to them, “Didn’t I choose you, the twelve, and one of you is a devil?” And now he spoke of Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot, for it was he who would betray him, being one of the twelve. After these things, Jesus was walking in Galilee, for he wouldn’t walk in Judea, because the Jews sought to kill him.
