out of heaven."

And they said, "Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and
mother we know? how doth he now say, 'I am come down out of heaven'?"

{163}{164}

[Illustration]
THE LORD JESUS
By Heinrich Hofmann (1824-
[End illustration]

{165}

Jesus answered and said unto them, "Murmur not among yourselves. No
man can come to me, except the Father who sent me draw him: and I will
raise him up in the last day. It is written in the prophets, 'And they
shall all be taught of God.' Everyone that hath heard from the Father,
and hath learned, cometh unto me. Not that any man hath seen the
Father, save he which is from God, he hath seen the Father. Verily,
verily, I say unto you, He that believeth hath eternal life. I am the
bread of life. Your fathers did eat the manna in the wilderness, and
they died. This is the bread which cometh down out of heaven, that a
man may eat thereof, and not die. I am the living bread which came
down out of heaven: if any man eat of this bread, he shall live
forever: yea, and the bread which I will give is my flesh, for the
life of the world."

Many therefore of his disciples, when they heard this, said, "This is
a hard saying; who can hear it?"

But Jesus knowing in himself that his disciples murmured at this, said
unto them, "Doth this cause you to stumble? What then if ye should
behold the Son of man ascending where he was before? It is the spirit
that giveth life; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I have
spoken unto you are spirit, and are life. But there are some of you
who believe not."

For Jesus knew from the beginning who they were that believed not, and
who it was who should betray him.

And he said, "For this cause have I said unto you, that no man can
come unto me, except it be given unto him of the Father."

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Upon this many of his disciples went back, and walked no more with
him. Jesus said therefore unto the twelve, "Would ye also go away?"
Simon Peter answered him, "Lord, to whom shall we go? thou hast the
words of eternal life. And we have believed and know that thou art the
Holy One of God."

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II

THE ENEMIES OF JESUS

_How the Leaders of the People Had Already Begun to Turn Against the
Lord Jesus and to Dispute His Teaching_.

_Conflict About the Sabbath_.

There was a feast of the Jews; and Jesus went up to Jerusalem.

Now there is in Jerusalem by the sheep gate a pool, which is called in
Hebrew Bethesda, havi