John 6:43-65

I Am the Bread of Life

43 Jesus answered them, "Do not grumble among yourselves. 44 No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me q draws him. And r I will raise him up on the last day. 45 It is written in the Prophets, s 'And they will all be t taught by God.' u Everyone who has heard and learned from the Father comes to me - 46 v not that anyone has seen the Father except w he who is from God; he x has seen the Father. 47 Truly, truly, I say to you, y whoever believes has eternal life. 48 z I am the bread of life. 49 a Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, and b they died. 50 c This is the bread that comes down from heaven, so that one may eat of it d and not die. 51 I am the living bread e that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. And the bread that I will give f for the life of the world is g my flesh."

52 The Jews then h disputed among themselves, saying, i "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 j the Son of Man and drink his blood, you k have no life in you. 54 Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood l has eternal life, and m I will raise him up on the last day. 55 For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink. 56 Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood n abides in me, and I in him. 57 As o the living Father p sent me, and q I live because of the Father, so whoever feeds on me, he also will live because of me. 58 r This is the bread that came down from heaven, not like the bread 1 the fathers ate and died. Whoever feeds on this bread will live forever." 59 Jesus 2 said these things in the synagogue, as he taught s at Capernaum.

The Words of Eternal Life

60 t When many of his disciples heard it, they said, "This is a hard saying; who can listen to it?" 61 But Jesus, v knowing in himself that his disciples were grumbling about this, said to them, "Do you take offense at this? 62 Then what if you were to see w the Son of Man x ascending to y where he was before? 63 z It is the Spirit who gives life; a the flesh is no help at all. b The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life. 64 But c there are some of you who do not believe." (For Jesus v knew from the beginning who those were who did not believe, and d who it was who would betray him.) 65 And he said, "This is why I told you e that no one can come to me unless it is granted him by the Father."

  1. Cross References
    John 12:32
    And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself.
    Jeremiah 31:3
    The Lord appeared to him from far away. I have loved you with an everlasting love; therefore I have continued my faithfulness to you.
    Hosea 11:4
    I led them with cords of kindness, with the bands of love, and I became to them as one who eases the yoke on their jaws, and I bent down to them and fed them.
    John 6:65
    And he said, "This is why I told you that no one can come to me unless it is granted him by the Father.
    John 4:23
    But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship him.
  2. Cross References
    John 6:39
    And this is the will of him who sent me, that I should lose nothing of all that he has given me, but raise it up on the last day.
  3. Cross References
    Isaiah 54:13
    All your children shall be taught by the Lord, and great shall be the peace of your children.
    Jeremiah 31:33 - 34
    But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the Lord : I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts. And I will be their God, and they shall be my people.
    Hebrews 8:10 - 11
    For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the Lord: I will put my laws into their minds, and write them on their hearts, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.
  4. Cross References
    1 Corinthians 2:13
    And we impart this in words not taught by human wisdom but taught by the Spirit, interpreting spiritual truths to those who are spiritual.
    1 Thessalonians 4:9
    Now concerning brotherly love you have no need for anyone to write to you, for you yourselves have been taught by God to love one another.
    1 John 2:20
    But you have been anointed by the Holy One, and you all have knowledge.
  5. Cross References
    John 6:37
    All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never cast out.
  6. Cross References
    Isaiah 54:13
    All your children shall be taught by the Lord, and great shall be the peace of your children.
  7. Cross References
    John 1:18
    No one has ever seen God; the only God, who is at the Father's side, he has made him known.
  8. Cross References
    John 7:29
    I know him, for I come from him, and he sent me.
  9. Cross References
    John 3:32
    He bears witness to what he has seen and heard, yet no one receives his testimony.
    John 8:38
    I speak of what I have seen with my Father, and you do what you have heard from your father.
  10. Cross References
    John 3:36
    Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him.
  11. Cross References
    John 6:35
    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.
  12. Cross References
    John 6:31
    Our fathers ate the manna in the wilderness; as it is written, 'He gave them bread from heaven to eat.'
  13. Cross References
    John 6:58
    This is the bread that came down from heaven, not like the bread the fathers ate and died. Whoever feeds on this bread will live forever.
  14. Cross References
    John 6:33
    For the bread of God is he who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.
  15. Cross References
    John 6:51
    I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. And the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh.
    John 6:58
    This is the bread that came down from heaven, not like the bread the fathers ate and died. Whoever feeds on this bread will live forever.
  16. Cross References
    John 3:13
    No one has ascended into heaven except he who descended from heaven, the Son of Man.
  17. Cross References
    John 6:57
    As the living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father, so whoever feeds on me, he also will live because of me.
    Luke 22:19
    And he took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to them, saying, "This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.
  18. Cross References
    John 6:53 - 56
    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 you.
    John 1:14
    And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.
  19. Cross References
    John 9:16
    Some of the Pharisees said, "This man is not from God, for he does not keep the Sabbath." But others said, "How can a man who is a sinner do such signs?" And there was a division among them.
    John 10:19
    There was again a division among the Jews because of these words.
  20. Cross References
    John 6:60
    When many of his disciples heard it, they said, "This is a hard saying; who can listen to it?
    John 3:9
    Nicodemus said to him, "How can these things be?
  21. Cross References
    John 6:27
    Do not labor for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give to you. For on him God the Father has set his seal.
  22. Cross References
    John 20:31
    But these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.
  23. Cross References
    John 6:40
    For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who looks on the Son and believes in him should have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day.
  24. Cross References
    John 6:39
    And this is the will of him who sent me, that I should lose nothing of all that he has given me, but raise it up on the last day.
  25. Cross References
    John 15:4 - 5
    Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me.
    1 John 3:24
    Whoever keeps his commandments abides in God, and God in him. And by this we know that he abides in us, by the Spirit whom he has given us.
    1 John 4:13
    By this we know that we abide in him and he in us, because he has given us of his Spirit.
    1 John 4:15 - 16
    Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God.
  26. Cross References
    John 5:26
    For as the Father has life in himself, so he has granted the Son also to have life in himself.
    Matthew 16:16
    Simon Peter replied, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.
  27. Cross References
    John 3:17
    For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.
  28. Cross References
    John 11:25
    Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live.
    Revelation 1:18
    And the living one. I died, and behold I am alive forevermore, and I have the keys of Death and Hades.
  29. Cross References
    John 6:31
    Our fathers ate the manna in the wilderness; as it is written, 'He gave them bread from heaven to eat.
    John 6:33
    For the bread of God is he who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.
    John 6:49 - 51
    Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, and they died.
  30. Cross References
    John 6:24
    So when the crowd saw that Jesus was not there, nor his disciples, they themselves got into the boats and went to Capernaum, seeking Jesus.
  31. Cross References
    John 6:66
    After this many of his disciples turned back and no longer walked with him.
    John 6:64
    But there are some of you who do not believe." (For Jesus knew from the beginning who those were who did not believe, and who it was who would betray him.)
  32. Cross References
    John 2:24 - 25
    But Jesus on his part did not entrust himself to them, because he knew all people
  33. Cross References
    John 6:27
    Do not labor for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give to you. For on him God the Father has set his seal.
  34. Cross References
    Mark 16:19
    So then the Lord Jesus, after he had spoken to them, was taken up into heaven and sat down at the right hand of God.
  35. Cross References
    John 17:5
    And now, Father, glorify me in your own presence with the glory that I had with you before the world existed.
    John 3:13
    No one has ascended into heaven except he who descended from heaven, the Son of Man.
  36. Cross References
    1 Corinthians 15:45
    Thus it is written, "The first man Adam became a living being"; the last Adam became a life-giving spirit.
    2 Corinthians 3:6
    Who has made us competent to be ministers of a new covenant, not of the letter but of the Spirit. For the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.
  37. Cross References
    John 3:6
    That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.
  38. Cross References
    John 6:68
    Simon Peter answered him, "Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.
  39. Cross References
    John 6:66
    After this many of his disciples turned back and no longer walked with him.
  40. Cross References
    John 6:61
    But Jesus, knowing in himself that his disciples were grumbling about this, said to them, "Do you take offense at this?
  41. Cross References
    John 6:71
    He spoke of Judas the son of Simon Iscariot, for he, one of the Twelve, was going to betray him.
    John 13:11
    For he knew who was to betray him; that was why he said, "Not all of you are clean.
  42. Cross References
    John 6:44 - 45
    No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him. And I will raise him up on the last day.
    John 3:27
    John answered, "A person cannot receive even one thing unless it is given him from heaven.
English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers.