Jesus, the Bread of Life (continued)

⁵²Then the Jews began to argue among themselves. They said, "How can this man give us his body to eat?" ⁵³Jesus said, "I tell you the truth. You must eat the body of the Son of Man.* And you must drink his blood. If you don't do this, then you don't have real life in you. ⁵⁴The person that eats my body and drinks my blood has eternal life. I will raise up that person on the last day. ⁵⁵My body is true food. My blood is true drink. ⁵⁶If a person eats my body and drinks my blood, then that person lives in me, and I live in that person. ⁵⁷The Father sent me. The Father lives, and I live because of the Father. So the person that eats me will live because of me. ⁵⁸I am not like the bread that our ancestors* ate [in the desert]. They ate that bread. But, [like all people], they died. I am the bread that came down from heaven. The person that eats this bread will live forever." ⁵⁹Jesus said all these things while he was teaching in the synagogue* in the city of Capernaum.

Many Followers Leave Jesus

⁶⁰The followers of Jesus heard this. Many of the followers said, "This teaching is hard [to accept]. Who can accept this teaching?" ⁶¹Jesus knew that his followers were complaining about this. So Jesus said, "Is this teaching a problem for you? ⁶²Then will it also be a problem for you to see the Son of Man* going back to the place where he came from? ⁶³It is not the body that gives a person life. It is the spirit that gives life. The things I told you are spirit. And so these things give life. ⁶⁴But some of you don't believe." (Jesus knew the people that did not believe. Jesus knew this from the beginning. And Jesus knew the person that would turn against him.) ⁶⁵Jesus said, "That is why I said, 'If the Father does not let a person come to me, then that person cannot come.'" ⁶⁶After Jesus said these things, many of his followers left him. They stopped following Jesus. ⁶⁷Jesus asked the twelve apostles,*"Do you want to leave too?" ⁶⁸Simon Peter answered Jesus, "Lord, where would we go? You have the things that give life forever. ⁶⁹We believe in you. We know that you are the Holy One from God." ⁷⁰Then Jesus answered, "I chose all twelve of you. But one of you is a devil." ⁷¹Jesus was talking about Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot. Judas was one of the twelve [apostles].* But later Judas would turn against Jesus.

Son of Man A name Jesus used for himself. In Dan. 7:13-14, this is the name for the Messiah, the one God chose to save his people. ancestors Literally, "fathers," meaning a person's parents, grandparents, and all the people they are descended from. synagogue(s) Synagogues were places where Jews gathered for prayer, study of the Scriptures, and other public meetings. apostles The men Jesus chose to be his special helpers.