Jesus answered, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to Me will never hunger, and whoever believes in Me will never thirst.
Parallel translations
- WEB Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will not be hungry, and he who believes in me will never be thirsty.
- KJV And Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst.
- NKJV And Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life. He who comes to Me shall never hunger, and he who believes in Me shall never thirst.
- NASB Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life; the one who comes to Me will not be hungry, and the one who believes in Me will never be thirsty.
- NLT Jesus replied, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry again. Whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Jesus declares, 'I am the bread of life,' promising that whoever comes and believes will never hunger or thirst. This is the first of His great 'I am' sayings and the heart of the discourse.
Overview
Jesus identifies Himself as the bread that truly satisfies, fulfilling the manna and answering humanity's deepest need. Coming to Him and believing in Him are parallel, defining saving faith. The promise of never hungering or thirsting points to the complete and lasting satisfaction Christ alone gives the soul.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 16
- John 6:48–58I am the bread of life.
- Rev 22:17The Spirit and the bride say, “Come!” Let the one who hears say, “Come!” And let the one who is thirsty come, and the one who desires the water of life drink freely.
- Isa 55:1–3“Come, all you who are thirsty, come to the waters; and you without money, come, buy, and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without cost!
- John 6:41At this, the Jews began to grumble about Jesus because He had said, “I am the bread that came down from heaven.”
- Isa 49:10They will not hunger or thirst, nor will scorching heat or sun beat down on them. For He who has compassion on them will guide them and lead them beside springs of water.
- John 7:37–38On the last and greatest day of the feast, Jesus stood up and called out in a loud voice, “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to Me and drink.
- Rev 7:16‘Never again will they hunger, and never will they thirst; nor will the sun beat down upon them, nor any scorching heat.’
- Matt 11:28Come to Me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.
- 1 Cor 11:23–29For I received from the Lord what I also passed on to you: The Lord Jesus, on the night He was betrayed, took bread,
- John 4:13–14Jesus said to her, “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again.
- John 6:37Everyone the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will never drive away.
- Luke 6:25Woe to you who are well fed now, for you will hunger. Woe to you who laugh now, for you will mourn and weep.
- 1 Cor 10:16–18Is not the cup of blessing that we bless a participation in the blood of Christ? And is not the bread that we break a participation in the body of Christ?
- John 6:65Then Jesus said, “This is why I told you that no one can come to Me unless the Father has granted it to him.”
- John 5:40yet you refuse to come to Me to have life.
- John 6:44–45“No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him, and I will raise him up at the last day.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
John declares him plainly: the eternal Word made flesh, the Lamb of God, the great 'I AM' — bread, light, door, shepherd, way, truth, life, resurrection — that you may believe and have life in his name.
How John 6:35 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Greek word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.