John 6:52-71

International Standard Version

⁵² Then the Jewish leaders^[a] debated angrily with each other, asking, “How can this man give us his flesh to eat?”

⁵³ So Jesus told them, “Truly, I tell all of you^[b] emphatically, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you don’t have life in yourselves. ⁵⁴ Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I’ll raise him to life on the last day, ⁵⁵ because my flesh is real^[c] food, and my blood is real^[d] drink. ⁵⁶ The person who eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me, and I in him. ⁵⁷ Just as the living Father sent me and I live because of the Father, so the one who feeds on me will also live because of me. ⁵⁸ This is the bread that came down from heaven, not the kind that your ancestors ate. They died, but the one who eats this bread will live forever.” ⁵⁹ He said this while teaching in the synagogue at Capernaum.

The Words of Eternal Life

⁶⁰ When many of his disciples heard this, they said, “This is a difficult statement. Who can accept^[e] it?”

⁶¹ But Jesus, knowing within himself that his disciples were grumbling about this, asked them, “Does this offend you? ⁶² What if you saw the Son of Man going up to the place where he was before? ⁶³ It’s the Spirit who gives life; the flesh accomplishes nothing. The words that I’ve spoken to you are spirit and life. ⁶⁴ But there are some among you who don’t believe...”—because Jesus knew from the beginning those who weren’t believing, as well as the one who would betray him. ⁶⁵ So he said, “That’s why I told you that no one can come to me unless it be granted him by the Father.” ⁶⁶ As a result,^[f] many of his disciples turned back and no longer associated^[g] with him.

⁶⁷ So Jesus asked the Twelve, “You don’t want to leave, too, do you?”

⁶⁸ Simon Peter answered him, “Lord, to whom would we go? You have the words of eternal life. ⁶⁹ Besides, we have believed and remain convinced that you are the Holy One of God.”^[h]

⁷⁰ Jesus answered them, “I chose you, the Twelve, didn’t I? Yet one of you is a devil.” ⁷¹ Now he was speaking about Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot,^[i] because this man was going to betray him, even though he was one of the Twelve.