John 6:1-21

John 6

Jesus Feeds the Five Thousand

¹ After this, Jesus crossed over to the other side of the Sea of Galilee (or Tiberias). ² A large crowd followed him because they saw the miraculous signs he was performing on those who were sick. ³ Jesus went up on the hillside and sat down there with his disciples. ⁴ The Jewish Passover Festival was near.

⁵ When Jesus looked up and saw a huge crowd coming toward him, he asked Philip, “Where can we buy bread for these people to eat?” ⁶ But Jesus was saying this to test him, for he himself knew what he was going to do.

⁷ Philip answered him, “Two hundred denarii ^[1] worth of bread would not be enough for each of them to have just a little.”

⁸ One of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, said to him, ⁹ “There’s a boy here who has five barley loaves and two fish, but what is that for so many people?”

¹⁰ Jesus said, “Have the people sit down.” There was plenty of grass in that place, so they sat down. There were about five thousand men.

¹¹ Then Jesus took the loaves and, after giving thanks, he distributed pieces to those who were seated. He also did the same with the fish—as much as they wanted.

¹² When the people were full, he told his disciples, “Gather the pieces that are left over so that nothing is wasted.” ¹³ So they gathered them and filled twelve baskets with pieces from the five barley loaves left over by those who had eaten.

¹⁴ When the people saw the miraculous sign Jesus did, they said, “This really is the Prophet who is coming into the world.”

Jesus Walks on Water

¹⁵ When Jesus realized that they intended to come and take him by force to make him king, he withdrew again to the mountain by himself.

¹⁶ When evening came, his disciples went down to the sea, ¹⁷ got into a boat, and started across the sea to Capernaum. It was already dark, and Jesus had not yet come to them. ¹⁸ A strong wind started to blow, and the sea became rough.

¹⁹ After they had rowed about three or four miles, they saw Jesus walking on the sea toward their boat, and they were afraid.

²⁰ But he said to them, “It is I. Do not be afraid!”

²¹ Then they were willing to take him into the boat, and immediately the boat reached the shore where they were heading.