King James Version · Under Rome
John 6
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After these things went over , which is the . And a great multitude followed him, because they saw his miracles which he did on them that were diseased. And went up into a mountain, and there he sat with his . And , a feast of the , was nigh. When then lifted up his eyes, and saw a great company come unto him, he saith unto , Whence shall we buy bread, that these may eat? And this he said to prove him: for he himself knew what he would do. answered him, Two hundred pennyworth of bread is not sufficient for them, that every one of them may take a little. One of his , , ’s brother, saith unto him, There is a lad here, which hath five barley loaves, and two small fishes: but what are they among so many? And said, Make the men sit down. Now there was much grass in the place. So the men sat down, in number about five thousand. And took the loaves; and when he had given thanks, he distributed to , and to them that were set down; and likewise of the fishes as much as they would. When they were filled, he said unto his , Gather up the fragments that , that nothing be lost. Therefore they gathered them together, and filled twelve baskets with the fragments of the five barley loaves, which remained over and above unto them that had eaten. Then those men, when they had seen the miracle that did, said, This is of a truth that that should come into the world. When therefore perceived that they would come and take him by force, to make him a king, he departed again into a mountain himself alone. 16And when even was now come, his went down unto the sea, And entered into a ship, and went over the sea toward . And it was now dark, and was not come to them. And the sea arose by reason of a great wind that blew. So when they had rowed about five and twenty or thirty furlongs, they see walking on the sea, and drawing nigh unto the ship: and they were afraid. But he saith unto them, It is I; be not afraid. Then they willingly received him into the ship: and immediately the ship was at the land whither they went. The day following, when the people which stood on the other side of the sea saw that there was none other boat there, that one whereinto his were entered, and that went not with his into the boat, but that his were gone away alone; (Howbeit there came other boats from nigh unto the place where they did eat bread, after that had given thanks:) When the people therefore saw that was not there, neither his , they also took shipping, and came to , seeking for . And when they had found him on the other side of the sea, they said unto him, Rabbi, when camest thou hither? answered them and said, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Ye seek me, not because ye saw the miracles, but because ye did eat of the loaves, and were filled. Labour not for the meat which perisheth, but for that meat which endureth unto , which shall give unto you: for him hath sealed. Then said they unto him, What shall we do, that we might work the works of ? answered and said unto them, This is the work of , that ye on him whom he hath sent. They said therefore unto him, What sign shewest thou then, that we may see, and thee? what dost thou work? Our fathers did eat in ; as , He gave them to eat. Then said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, gave you not that ; but giveth you the true . For the bread of is he which cometh down from , and giveth life unto the world. Then said they unto him, , evermore give us this bread. And said unto them, I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never ; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst. But I said unto you, That ye also have seen me, and not. All that giveth me shall come to me; and him that cometh to me I will in no cast out. For I came down from , not to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent me. And this is ’s will which hath sent me, that of all which he hath given me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up again at the last day. And this is the will of him that sent me, that every one which seeth the Son, and believeth on him, may have : and I will raise him up at the last day. The then murmured at him, because he said, I am the bread which came down from . And they said, Is not this , the son of , whose and mother we know? how is it then that he saith, I came down from ? therefore answered and said unto them, Murmur not among yourselves. No man can come to me, except which hath sent me draw him: and I will raise him up at the last day. in , And they shall be all taught of . Every man therefore that hath heard, and hath learned of , cometh unto me. Not that any man hath seen , he which is of , he hath seen . Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me hath . I am that bread of life. Your fathers did eat in , and are . This is the bread which cometh down from , that a man may eat thereof, and not . I am the living bread which came down from : if any man eat of this bread, he shall live for ever: and the bread that I will give is my , which I will give for the life of the world. The therefore strove among themselves, saying, How can this man give us his to eat? Then said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except ye eat of , and drink his , ye have no life in you. Whoso eateth my , and drinketh my , hath ; and I will raise him up at the last day. For my is meat indeed, and my is drink indeed. He that eateth my , and drinketh my , dwelleth in me, and I in him. As the living hath sent me, and I live by : so he that eateth me, even he shall live by me. This is that bread which came down from : not as your fathers did eat , and are : he that eateth of this bread shall live for ever. These things said he in the , as he taught in . Many therefore of his , when they had heard this, said, This is an hard saying; who can hear it? When knew in himself that his murmured at it, he said unto them, Doth this offend you? What and if ye shall see ascend up where he was before? It is that quickeneth; profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are , and they are life. But there are some of you that not. For knew who they were that not, and who should betray him. And he said, Therefore said I unto you, that no man can come unto me, except it were given unto him of . From that time many of his went back, and walked no more with him. Then said unto the twelve, Will ye also go away? Then answered him, , to whom shall we go? thou hast the words of . And we and are sure that thou art that , the Son of the living . answered them, Have not I chosen you twelve, and one of you is a devil? He spake of the son of : for he it was that should betray him, being one of the twelve.
The 1611 translation, public domain. Its original printing included the Apocrypha, which is why the deuterocanonical books can be read here. Notes and cards are EKLI’s own.
Christians read this chapter differently
- Does God choose us, or do we choose God? · John 6:37-44
- What happens at the Lord's Supper? · John 6:51-58
Every view at its strongest, with who holds it and what it has to answer for.
The world at this moment · Under Rome, 63 BC to AD 100 ›
Judea as a client kingdom and then a province. Roads, garrisons, taxes, crucifixion, and a common Greek language that let a message travel the empire faster than any before it.
- Rome
- The republic tears itself apart in civil war and comes out as an empire under Augustus. What follows is two centuries of relative peace across the whole Mediterranean, enforced by legions and paid for by taxes, with safe roads and safe sea lanes. Every one of Paul's journeys depends on that.
- Judea
- Governed first through Herod the Great, a client king of enormous ability and enormous brutality who rebuilds the temple into one of the wonders of the ancient world, then directly by Roman prefects. Crucifixion is the standard penalty for sedition and is used often and publicly.
- The wider world
- Greek is spoken from Spain to Syria, which means a letter written in Corinth can be read in Rome without translation. Jewish communities already exist in most major cities, which is where the first Christian preaching lands. Mystery religions, imperial cult, and philosophy all compete in the same marketplace.
- Further afield
- The Han dynasty rules China and trades silk westward along routes that touch the Roman world at second hand. In Britain the Roman conquest begins within a decade of the crucifixion.