Jesus Feeds the Five Thousand
1Some time after this, Jesus crossed to the far shore of the Sea of Galilee (that is, the Sea of Tiberias), 2and a great crowd of people followed him because they saw the signs he had performed by healing the sick. 3Then Jesus went up on a mountainside and sat down with his disciples. 4The Jewish Passover Festival was near.
5When Jesus looked up and saw a great crowd coming toward him, he said to Philip, “Where shall we buy bread for these people to eat?” 6He asked this only to test him, for he already had in mind what he was going to do.
7Philip answered him, “It would take more than half a year’s wages6:7 Greek take two hundred denarii to buy enough bread for each one to have a bite!”
8Another of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, spoke up, 9“Here is a boy with five small barley loaves and two small fish, but how far will they go among so many?”
10Jesus said, “Have the people sit down.” There was plenty of grass in that place, and they sat down (about five thousand men were there). 11Jesus then took the loaves, gave thanks, and distributed to those who were seated as much as they wanted. He did the same with the fish.
12When they had all had enough to eat, he said to his disciples, “Gather the pieces that are left over. Let nothing be wasted.” 13So they gathered them and filled twelve baskets with the pieces of the five barley loaves left over by those who had eaten.
14After the people saw the sign Jesus performed, they began to say, “Surely this is the Prophet who is to come into the world.” 15Jesus, knowing that they intended to come and make him king by force, withdrew again to a mountain by himself.
Jesus Walks on the Water
16When evening came, his disciples went down to the lake, 17where they got into a boat and set off across the lake for Capernaum. By now it was dark, and Jesus had not yet joined them. 18A strong wind was blowing and the waters grew rough. 19When they had rowed about three or four miles,6:19 Or about 5 or 6 kilometers they saw Jesus approaching the boat, walking on the water; and they were frightened. 20But he said to them, “It is I; don’t be afraid.” 21Then they were willing to take him into the boat, and immediately the boat reached the shore where they were heading.
22The next day the crowd that had stayed on the opposite shore of the lake realized that only one boat had been there, and that Jesus had not entered it with his disciples, but that they had gone away alone. 23Then some boats from Tiberias landed near the place where the people had eaten the bread after the Lord had given thanks. 24Once the crowd realized that neither Jesus nor his disciples were there, they got into the boats and went to Capernaum in search of Jesus.
Jesus the Bread of Life
25When they found him on the other side of the lake, they asked him, “Rabbi, when did you get here?”
26Jesus answered, “Very truly I tell you, you are looking for me, not because you saw the signs I performed but because you ate the loaves and had your fill. 27Do not work for food that spoils, but for food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. For on him God the Father has placed his seal of approval.”
28Then they asked him, “What must we do to do the works God requires?”
29Jesus answered, “The work of God is this: to believe in the one he has sent.”
30So they asked him, “What sign then will you give that we may see it and believe you? What will you do? 31Our ancestors ate the manna in the wilderness; as it is written: ‘He gave them bread from heaven to eat.’6:31 Exodus 16:4; Neh. 9:15; Psalm 78:24,25”
32Jesus said to them, “Very truly I tell you, it is not Moses who has given you the bread from heaven, but it is my Father who gives you the true bread from heaven. 33For the bread of God is the bread that comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.”
34“Sir,” they said, “always give us this bread.”
35Then Jesus declared, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty. 36But as I told you, you have seen me and still you do not believe. 37All those the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never drive away. 38For I have come down from heaven not to do my will but to do the will of him who sent me. 39And this is the will of him who sent me, that I shall lose none of all those he has given me, but raise them up at the last day. 40For my Father’s will is that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in him shall have eternal life, and I will raise them up at the last day.”
41At this the Jews there began to grumble about him because he said, “I am the bread that came down from heaven.” 42They said, “Is this not Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How can he now say, ‘I came down from heaven’?”
43“Stop grumbling among yourselves,” Jesus answered. 44“No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws them, and I will raise them up at the last day. 45It is written in the Prophets: ‘They will all be taught by God.’6:45 Isaiah 54:13 Everyone who has heard the Father and learned from him comes to me. 46No one has seen the Father except the one who is from God; only he has seen the Father. 47Very truly I tell you, the one who believes has eternal life. 48I am the bread of life. 49Your ancestors ate the manna in the wilderness, yet they died. 50But here is the bread that comes down from heaven, which anyone may eat and not die. 51I am the living bread that came down from heaven. Whoever eats this bread will live forever. This bread is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world.”
52Then the Jews began to argue sharply among themselves, “How can this man give us his flesh to eat?”
53Jesus said to them, “Very truly I tell you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. 54Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise them up at the last day. 55For my flesh is real food and my blood is real drink. 56Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me, and I in them. 57Just as the living Father sent me and I live because of the Father, so the one who feeds on me will live because of me. 58This is the bread that came down from heaven. Your ancestors ate manna and died, but whoever feeds on this bread will live forever.” 59He said this while teaching in the synagogue in Capernaum.
Many Disciples Desert Jesus
60On hearing it, many of his disciples said, “This is a hard teaching. Who can accept it?”
61Aware that his disciples were grumbling about this, Jesus said to them, “Does this offend you? 62Then what if you see the Son of Man ascend to where he was before! 63The Spirit gives life; the flesh counts for nothing. The words I have spoken to you—they are full of the Spirit6:63 Or are Spirit; or are spirit and life. 64Yet there are some of you who do not believe.” For Jesus had known from the beginning which of them did not believe and who would betray him. 65He went on to say, “This is why I told you that no one can come to me unless the Father has enabled them.”
66From this time many of his disciples turned back and no longer followed him.
67“You do not want to leave too, do you?” Jesus asked the Twelve.
68Simon Peter answered him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. 69We have come to believe and to know that you are the Holy One of God.”
70Then Jesus replied, “Have I not chosen you, the Twelve? Yet one of you is a devil!” 71(He meant Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot, who, though one of the Twelve, was later to betray him.)
Bespisningen af de 5000
Matt. 14,13-21; Mark. 6,33-44; Luk. 9,10-17
1Nogen tid efter sejlede Jesus og disciplene over til den østlige side af Galilæasøen, som også kaldes Tiberiassøen. 2En stor skare mennesker fulgte efter ham inde på bredden, fordi de havde set, hvordan han mirakuløst havde helbredt de syge. 3Da de var gået i land, gik de op på en skråning, og der satte Jesus sig ned og begyndte at undervise disciplene. 4(Der var kun få dage til den jødiske påskehøjtid.) 5Da han kiggede op, så han, at en stor skare mennesker var på vej hen imod ham.
Senere på dagen sagde han til Filip: „Hvor kan vi købe brød, så alle de her mennesker kan få noget at spise?” 6Det sagde han for at udfordre Filips tro, for han vidste godt selv, hvad han ville gøre. 7Filip svarede: „Selv om vi købte brød for 200 denarer, ville der kun blive en lille smule til hver.”
8En anden discipel, Andreas, Simon Peters bror, sagde: 9„Her er en dreng med fem bygbrød og to fisk. Men hvad er det til så mange mennesker?”
10„Sig til folk, at de skal sætte sig ned,” sagde Jesus. Alle satte sig ned på den græsklædte skråning. Der var mere end 5000 mænd, foruden kvinder og børn. 11Så tog Jesus brødene, takkede Gud og delte ud af dem. Det samme gjorde han med fiskene, 12og alle spiste sig mætte. Så sagde han til disciplene: „Saml nu de stykker sammen, som er tilovers, så der ikke går noget til spilde.” 13Det gjorde de, og det viste sig, at der var så meget brød tilovers fra de oprindelige fem bygbrød, at 12 kurve blev fyldt op.
14Da det gik op for folk, hvilket under der var sket, udbrød de: „Han må være den Profet, som Gud har lovet at sende til os!” 15Jesus var klar over, at de var opsat på at føre ham bort med magt og gøre ham til konge. Derfor trak han sig tilbage og gik længere op ad bjerget for at være alene.
Jesus kommer gående på vandet
Matt. 14,22-32; Mark. 6,45-52
16Hen imod aften gik disciplene ned til søen. 17Da Jesus endnu ikke var kommet ved mørkets frembrud, gik de om bord i båden og satte kurs mod Kapernaum. 18Inden længe begyndte det at blæse op, så de måtte kæmpe mod vinden og bølgerne. 19Da de havde roet ca. fem kilometer, fik de pludselig øje på Jesus, der kom gående på vandet hen mod båden, og de blev skrækslagne. 20„Det er mig,” råbte Jesus. „I skal ikke være bange!” 21Så tog de ham op i båden, og straks efter gik de i land ved deres bestemmelsessted.
Jesus som det virkelige, livgivende brød
22Næste morgen var der stadig mange mennesker samlet på den østlige side af søen. De havde lagt mærke til, at der kun havde været én båd, og at Jesus ikke var med om bord, da disciplene sejlede ud. 23I mellemtiden var der kommet en del småbåde fra Tiberias, og de havde lagt til i nærheden af det sted, hvor bespisningsunderet var foregået. 24Da folk nu opdagede, at hverken Jesus eller hans disciple var der, gik de om bord i bådene og sejlede over til Kapernaum for at lede efter ham dér.
25Da de havde fundet ham, spurgte de: „Mester, hvordan er du kommet herover?”
26Jesus svarede: „Det siger jeg jer: I søger mig, fordi I kunne spise jer mætte, ikke fordi I forstod betydningen af det under, jeg udførte. 27Arbejd ikke for den mad, som forgår, men for den mad, som varer ved og giver evigt liv, det liv, som Faderen, Gud selv, har givet Menneskesønnen fuldmagt til at give jer.”
28„Jamen, hvordan kan vi arbejde for Gud?” spurgte de.
29Jesus svarede: „At arbejde for Gud vil sige at tro på den, han har sendt.”
30Så spurgte de: „Hvilket tegn vil du give os, så vi kan tro dig? 31Vores forfædre, der vandrede i ørkenen, fik jo sendt manna fra himlen, sådan som der står skrevet: ‚Han gav dem brød fra himlen at spise.’ ”6,31 Sl. 78,24b, jf. 2.Mos. 16.
32Jesus svarede: „Det siger jeg jer: Det var ikke Moses, der gav dem brød. Det var min Far. Og han tilbyder jer nu det virkelige brød fra Himlen. 33Guds brød er den, som kommer ned fra Himlen, den, som giver liv til mennesker.”
34„Så giv os det brød hver dag!” sagde de alle sammen.
35Jesus svarede: „Jeg er det brød, der giver liv. Ingen af dem, der kommer til mig, vil nogen sinde sulte; og den, der tror på mig, vil aldrig mere tørste. 36Men som jeg har sagt jer før: I tror det ikke, selv om I har set mig. 37Dog er der nogle, som vil komme til mig, nemlig alle dem, som Faderen giver mig, og dem vil jeg aldrig vise bort. 38Jeg er jo kommet fra Himlen, ikke for at gøre det, jeg selv vil, men for at gøre det, min Far vil. 39Og det er hans vilje, at jeg ikke skal miste en eneste af alle dem, han har givet mig. 40Min Far vil nemlig, at alle, der ser Sønnen og tror på ham, skal have evigt liv, og at jeg skal oprejse dem fra de døde på den sidste dag.”
41De jødiske ledere kunne ikke acceptere, at Jesus havde sagt, at han var kommet ned fra Himlen. 42De stak hovederne sammen og hviskede til hinanden: „Det er jo Jesus, ham der er søn af Josef! Vi ved, hvem hans far og mor er. Hvad er det for noget snak, at han skulle være kommet ned fra Himlen?”
43Men Jesus svarede: „Lad være med at stå der og skumle! 44Ingen kan komme til mig, hvis ikke Faderen, som sendte mig, drager dem til mig, og på den sidste dag vil jeg opvække dem fra de døde. 45Der står skrevet hos profeterne: ‚De vil alle blive undervist af Gud.’6,45 Es. 54,13.
Alle, som har lyttet til Faderen og erkendt sandheden, vil komme til mig. 46Det betyder ikke, at der er nogen, som har set Faderen, undtagen mig, som er kommet fra Gud. Jeg har set Faderen.
47Det siger jeg jer: Den, der tror, har allerede fået det evige liv. 48Jeg er det brød, der giver liv. 49Det gav ikke jeres forfædre livet at spise det brød, der kom ned fra himlen under ørkenvandringen. 50Det brød, jeg taler om, er kommet ned fra Himlen, for at alle kan få mulighed for at spise det. Og gør de det, skal de ikke dø. 51Jeg er det livgivende brød, der er kommet ned fra Himlen. Alle, som spiser af det brød, skal leve i al evighed. Det brød er mit eget legeme, som jeg vil give til mennesker, for at de kan opnå det evige liv.”
52Det udløste en heftig diskussion blandt de jødiske ledere. „Hvad mener han?” sagde de. „Hvordan kan han give os sit legeme at spise?”
53Så sagde Jesus til dem: „Det siger jeg jer: Hvis ikke I spiser Menneskesønnens legeme og drikker hans blod, har I ikke evigt liv i jer! 54Men de, der spiser mit legeme og drikker mit blod, har evigt liv, og jeg vil opvække dem på den sidste dag. 55Mit legeme er den sande mad, og mit blod er den sande drik. 56De, der spiser mit legeme og drikker mit blod, vil opleve et varigt fællesskab med mig. 57Jeg lever i kraft af Gud, som har sendt mig, ham som er kilden til alt liv. På samme måde skal de, der spiser mig, leve i kraft af mig. 58Jeres forfædre spiste manna, som kom ned fra himlen, men det gav dem ikke evigt liv. Anderledes er det med dem, der spiser af det brød, som nu er kommet ned fra Himlen—de skal leve til evig tid.”
59Alt det her sagde Jesus, mens han underviste i synagogen i Kapernaum.
Nogle falder fra, andre holder fast
60Selv mange af Jesu tilhængere begyndte at stikke hovederne sammen og sige til hinanden: „Nu er han gået for vidt. At sige sådan noget er helt uacceptabelt!”
61Jesus var klar over, hvad det var, de mumlede om. „Er de ord, jeg her har talt, nok til, at I falder fra?” spurgte han. 62„Hvad ville I da sige til at se Menneskesønnen stige op til Himlen, hvor han kom fra? 63Det er kun Guds Ånd, der kan give åndeligt liv. Det liv kan man ikke få på menneskelig vis, men de ord, jeg har talt til jer, giver liv, fordi de kommer fra Guds Ånd. 64Men nogle af jer tror ikke på mig.” Jesus vidste nemlig fra begyndelsen, hvem der ikke troede på ham, og at en af hans disciple ville forråde ham. 65Han tilføjede: „Det var det, jeg mente, da jeg sagde, at ingen kan komme til mig, hvis ikke Faderen drager dem til mig.”
66Derefter var der mange af Jesu tilhængere, der trak sig tilbage og ikke længere ville have noget med ham at gøre. 67Så vendte Jesus sig til de Tolv og spurgte: „Går I også jeres vej?”
68Simon Peter svarede: „Herre, hvor skulle vi gå hen? Du taler de ord, som giver evigt liv, 69og vi er kommet til tro på og har erkendt, at du er Messias, Guds Søn!6,69 Eller: „Guds Hellige”. Håndskrifterne varierer.”
70Da sagde Jesus: „Jeg har selv udvalgt jer 12, og alligevel er en af jer en djævel.” 71Dermed hentydede han til Judas Iskariot, som senere forrådte ham, skønt han var en af de Tolv.
