Jesus Calls Andrew and Peter

³⁵ The next day John the Baptist was standing with two of his own followers. ³⁶ Jesus walked by. John looked at Him and said, “See! The Lamb of God.” ³⁷ John’s two followers heard him say this and followed Jesus.

³⁸ Jesus turned around and saw them following. He said to them, “What are you looking for?” They answered, “Teacher, where are you staying?” ³⁹ He said to them, “Come and see.” They followed Him and saw where He lived. They stayed with Him that day. It was about four o’clock in the afternoon.

⁴⁰ Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, was one of the two who had heard John’s words and had followed Jesus. ⁴¹ The first thing he did was to find his brother Simon. He said to him, “We have found the Christ!” ⁴² Andrew took Simon to Jesus. When Jesus saw Simon, He said, “You are Simon, the son of John. Your name will be Cephas.” The name Cephas means Peter, or a rock.

The Feeding of the Five Thousand ^(A)

6 After this Jesus went over to the other side of the Sea of Galilee. It is sometimes called Tiberias. ² Many people followed Him. They saw the powerful works He did on those who were sick. ³ Jesus went up on a mountain and sat down with His followers. ⁴ The special religious supper to remember how the Jews left Egypt was soon.

⁵ Jesus looked up and saw many people coming to Him. He said to Philip, “Where can we buy bread to feed these people?” ⁶ He said this to see what Philip would say. Jesus knew what He would do. ⁷ Philip said to Him, “The money we have is not enough to buy bread to give each one a little.”

⁸ One of His followers was Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother. He said to Jesus, ⁹ “There is a boy here who has five loaves of barley bread and two small fish. What is that for so many people?” ¹⁰ Jesus said, “Have the people sit down.” There was much grass in that place. About five thousand men sat down.

¹¹ Jesus took the loaves and gave thanks. Then He gave the bread to those who were sitting down. The fish were given out the same way. The people had as much as they wanted. ¹² When they were filled, Jesus said to His followers, “Gather up the pieces that are left. None will be wasted.” ¹³ The followers gathered the pieces together. Twelve baskets were filled with pieces of barley bread. These were left after all the people had eaten.

The Greek People Want to See Jesus

²⁰ Some Greek people had come to worship at the religious gathering. They were among the others who had come to worship. ²¹ These Greek people came to Philip. He was from the city of Bethsaida in the country of Galilee. They said to him, “Sir, we want to see Jesus!” ²² Philip went and told Andrew. Then Andrew and Philip told Jesus.

The Law of Life

²³ Jesus said to them, “The hour is near for the Son of Man to be taken to heaven to receive great honor. ²⁴ For sure, I tell you, unless a seed falls into the ground and dies, it will only be a seed. If it dies, it will give much grain. ²⁵ Anyone who loves his life will lose it. Anyone who hates his life in this world will keep it forever. ²⁶ If anyone wants to serve Me, he must follow Me. So where I am, the one who wants to serve Me will be there also. If anyone serves Me, My Father will honor him.

²⁷ “Now My soul is troubled. Should I say, ‘Father, save Me from this time of trouble and pain’? No, this is why I came to this time. ²⁸ Father, honor Your name!”

The People Hear the Voice of God

Then a voice from heaven came, saying, “I have already honored My name. I will honor it again!” ²⁹ The people heard the voice. Some who stood there said, “It was thunder.” Others said, “An angel spoke to Him.” ³⁰ Jesus said, “The voice did not come for Me, but it came to be a help to you.

Jesus Tells How He Will Die

³¹ “Now this world is being told it is guilty. Now the leader of this world will be thrown out. ³² And when I am lifted up from the earth, I will attract all people toward Me.” ³³ He said this to tell the kind of death He was going to die.

³⁴ The people said to Him, “The Law of Moses says that the Christ is to live forever. Why do you say, ‘The Son of Man must be lifted up’? Who is this Son of Man?”

³⁵ Jesus said to them, “The Light will be with you for a little while yet. Go on your way while you have the Light so you will not be in the dark. When a man is walking in the dark, he does not know where he is going. ³⁶ While you have the Light, put your trust in the Light. Then you will be the sons of the Light.” Jesus said these things and then went away. He hid Himself from them.