48 ^zI am the bread of life. 49 ^aYour fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, and ^bthey died. 50 ^cThis is the bread that comes down from heaven, so that one may eat of it ^dand not die. 51 I am the living bread ^ethat came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. And the bread that I will give ^ffor the life of the world is ^gmy flesh.”

52 The Jews then ^hdisputed among themselves, saying, ⁱ“How can this man give us his flesh to eat?” 53 So Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of ^jthe Son of Man and drink his blood, you ^khave no life in you. 54 Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood ^lhas eternal life, and ^mI will raise him up on the last day. 55 For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink. 56 Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood ⁿabides in me, and I in him. 57 As ^othe living Father ^psent me, and ^qI live because of the Father, so whoever feeds on me, he also will live because of me. 58 ^rThis is the bread that came down from heaven, not like the bread¹ the fathers ate, and died. Whoever feeds on this bread will live forever.” 59 Jesus² said these things in the synagogue, as he taught ^sat Capernaum.

The Words of Eternal Life

60 ^tWhen many of his disciples heard it, they said, “This is a hard saying; who can listen to it?” 61 But Jesus, ^vknowing in himself that his disciples were grumbling about this, said to them, “Do you take offense at this? 62 Then what if you were to see ^wthe Son of Man ^xascending to ^ywhere he was before? 63 ^zIt is the Spirit who gives life; ^athe flesh is no help at all. ^bThe words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life.

Jesus Washes the Disciples’ Feet

1 Now ⁿbefore ^othe Feast of the Passover, when Jesus knew that ^phis hour had come ^qto depart out of this world to the Father, ^rhaving loved ^shis own who were in the world, he loved them to the end. 2 During supper, when ^tthe devil had already put it into the heart of Judas Iscariot, Simon’s son, to betray him, 3 Jesus, knowing ^uthat the Father had given all things into his hands, and that ^vhe had come from God and ^wwas going back to God, 4 rose from supper. He laid aside his outer garments, and taking a towel, ^xtied it around his waist. 5 Then he ^ypoured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples’ feet and to wipe them with the towel that was wrapped around him. 6 He came to Simon Peter, who said to him, “Lord, do you wash my feet?” 7 ^zJesus answered him, “What I am doing ^ayou do not understand now, but afterward you will understand.” 8 ^bPeter said to him, “You shall never wash my feet.” Jesus answered him, ^c“If I do not wash you, you have no share with me.” 9 Simon Peter said to him, “Lord, not my feet only but also my hands and my head!” 10 Jesus said to him, “The one who has bathed does not need to wash, ^dexcept for his feet,¹ but is completely clean. And ^eyou² are clean, ^fbut not every one of you.” 11 ^gFor he knew who was to betray him; that was why he said, “Not all of you are clean.”

12 When he had washed their feet and ^hput on his outer garments and resumed his place, he said to them, ⁱ“Do you understand what I have done to you? 13 ^jYou call me ^kTeacher and Lord, and you are right, for so I am. 14 If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, ^lyou also ought to wash one another’s feet. 15 For I have given you an example, ^mthat you also should do just as I have done to you. 16 Truly, truly, I say to you, ⁿa servant³ is not greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him. 17 If you know these things, ^oblessed are you if you do them.