You’ll please turn with me in your Bibles to John chapter 6, beginning at verse 59.
Jesus said these things in the synagogue as he taught at Capernaum. When many of his disciples heard it, they said, ‘This is a hard saying; who can listen to it?’ But Jesus, knowing in himself that his disciples were grumbling about this, said to them, ‘Do you take offense at this? Then what if you were to see the Son of Man ascending to where he was before? It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh is no help at all. The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life, but there are some of you who do not believe.’ For Jesus knew from the beginning who those were who did not believe and who it was who would betray him. And he said, ‘This is why I told you that no one can come to me unless it is granted him by the Father.’
After this, many of his disciples turned back and no longer walked with him. So Jesus said to the Twelve, ‘Do you want to go away as well?’ Simon Peter answered him, ‘Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life, and we have believed and have come to know that you are the Holy One of God.’ Jesus answered them, ‘Did I not choose you, the Twelve? And yet one of you is a devil.’ He spoke of Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot, for he, one of the Twelve, was going to betray him.
This is the word of the Lord. Thanks be to God.
Let us pray. Lord, we thank you for your word; we thank you for your Son who brought it and has given it to us, even when at times it seems hard to understand and even harder to accept. Give us faith, give us wisdom to understand, and hope and confidence to believe him who said these things. We pray this in Jesus’ name. Amen.
Now, most of this chapter has been given over to things that Jesus said and taught in the Capernaum synagogue—his extraordinary teaching and assertion that ‘I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst.’ But I said to you that you have seen me and yet do not believe.
All this occurred during a time of formal worship and in a place for orthodox religious teaching. So if what Jesus said and taught was out of line or out of accord with the accepted religious truth, if Jesus spoke blasphemy, then he could have, should have, and must have been immediately corrected, rebuked, and condemned for it. I mean, common synagogue practice did permit and even encourage the reading and exhorting of scripture by wise members of the lay, but someone still would have been serving as the synagogue master, as an authority figure. There still would have been a local official arbiter of truth present and available for appeal or to answer questions.
Even though this was still a hundred years before the rise of rabbinic Judaism that we’re familiar with today, surely it was a sign of the respect that the people held for Jesus and his ordinarily clear wisdom, and their acceptance of his words as truth that he was unquestioned here. Although Jesus received no formal discipline or rebuke for this teaching, the conclusion of this chapter demonstrates a rebuke from the world along with the worldly consequences that Jesus received.
When many of his disciples heard it, they said, ‘This is a hard saying; who can listen to it?’ These many disciples were the crowd that had first received the miraculous feeding and then had gone in search of Jesus in Capernaum. While it’s unlikely that the whole host of over 5,000 was present and in attendance, it is more probable that Jesus’s words and his teaching were being relayed and shared with disciples on the outside and then with others over the next several hours and days, because news of this particular teaching would surely have spread like wildfire.
So the response of ‘This is a hard saying; who can listen to it?’ should be unsurprising to us because we also feel the same deep down. These are very hard and difficult teachings for anyone to accept, much less to live in belief of. It is impossible for us to believe in and trust in Jesus as our only hope for salvation and our source of confidence in being justified and accepted by the Lord God according to our own power and ability. We require and need the Holy Spirit’s help to both believe and to be sustained within our faith in Christ.
So, in a sense, these Jews actually were right. They were simply being honest; just not honest in the sense that they thought they were. Because if they were thinking of this philosophically, culturally, and pragmatically, then they were 100% correct. No one could listen to, accept, and abide by this teaching without some kind of external help. That’s why Jesus previously said, ‘All that the Father gives to me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never cast out, and that I shall lose nothing of all that he has given me but raise it up on the last day,’ saying this to warn and encourage those who do believe that our Father in heaven is our soul help and to build up hope in Jesus’s promise to preserve them, to preserve us through this teaching.
But Jesus, knowing in himself that his disciples were grumbling about this, said to them, ‘Do you take offense at this?’ He asked them whether they took offense at his teaching that they must trust in him, to trust in his righteousness for their right standing before God instead of trusting in themselves and their own works. Is that offensive? What Jesus demands of us by insisting upon our having faith in him is actually a great act of humility on our part. It is a needful act of submission for us to depend upon God’s grace alone, because when we do, if we do so truly, then we must admit that we cannot do it by ourselves; that we need his help.
Believing in Jesus Christ and trusting in Him requires the death of our sinful pride and our sinful self-righteousness—the two things which the sinful nature loves most and best. So it is no wonder that worldly people and unregenerate people will always take offense to Jesus and the proclamation of his gospel.
Then what if you were to see the Son of Man ascending to where he was before? Jesus here suggests one final ultimate sign and wonder, almost sarcastically implying that they would not even believe that, thinking that this must be some kind of trick or a falsehood. And truly, if that evidence would not convince them—Jesus ascending into heaven—then surely no evidence, no earthly argument, would convince them; not even Jesus’s resurrection. God alone can convince them.
It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh is no help at all.
See, Jesus has kept on repeating this point, emphasizing it and hammering it home because since we all have a desire to have a positive impact on our salvation, we need to be regularly reminded that the only thing we do for it is to sin and make the atoning work of Christ necessary. Finally, Jesus concludes this round of teaching by saying, ‘The words that I’ve spoken to you are spirit and life, but there are some of you who do not believe.’ That’s why I told you, ‘No one can come to me unless it is granted him by the Father.’
He reaffirms what he has said and taught is spiritual and life-giving. Even though heeding and following his words will enable a person to live in communion and fellowship with both God and man, Jesus knows that not everyone will do so, so we shouldn’t be surprised either.
Although the Lord desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth, scripture makes it apparent that he does not will that all people should be saved, since all people are not drawn to Christ. Because if they were, that would be universalism—a damnable heresy that is clearly refuted by scripture and by our own experience, because the Father has clearly not given everyone to Christ. There are so many people out here who reject Jesus and deny God; they live as if there is no tomorrow, with no final judgment. That is the world’s true religion—a nihilistic existence devoid of all meaning except for whatever meaning each individual might choose to impart—an existence where there is neither past nor future, only an infinite present; a world without any absolute right or wrong because everything is subjected to every individual’s perspective and preference—a world where the only constant is inconstancy and the only thing ordered and expected is chaos.
Is there any sane reason why a person would want to live in such a world? Yet, sin is not… Disobedience to and rebellion against the one person that possesses the power and ability to create you, the world, and everything in it, and also therefore the power and ability to unmake you on account of your offensiveness, is the most insane thing imaginable.
So because everyone sins and so falls short of the glory of God, we understand that the ordinary state of humanity is hopeless unless, until, and except that the Lord acts and does something about it. Since really, if we honestly wanted to be better people or to do things any differently, then we would, if we could.
There are few harder truths for a person to accept than the fact that they are unable to do something that they desire to do. The encouraging news is this: if a person does not want to believe in God or to trust in Jesus Christ, then they won’t. And they won’t be bothered by their inability.
So if you do believe in Jesus Christ, or even only think that you might be believing, and if something causes you to question or doubt that faith, and if your questioning or doubting bothers you or causes you distress, worry, or fear for your salvation or faith, then be encouraged! Because that is a sign that your faith is real and true.
Then be encouraged because you are being given an opportunity to pray, like the father of the demonically possessed child, saying, ‘I believe; help my unbelief.’ And be encouraged because by this you can know that your heart and mind and soul have been converted. And be encouraged because this is a sign that you do not lack faith, just understanding—something that you will gain over time. Gaining experience through life, prayerful patience, and study is important for us to remember that those who do not believe do not care, and they are completely unconcerned that they do not believe. There’s nothing we can do to change it except to pray for them, and to continue living an exemplary and godly life, and to continue loving our neighbors as Jesus has first loved us.
So after hearing these teachings of Jesus, many of his disciples turned back and no longer walked with him. Many of those who were still worldly, carnal, and unregenerate abandoned Jesus in his teaching. This was the world rebuking him for speaking God’s truth. This was the world abandoning him by withdrawing the appearance of its favor. The world was denying him prestige and influence over the hearts and minds of these people, just as it does for everyone who has not yet been called by the Father.
However, this statement by the evangelist is not devoid of all hope for those disciples. We should not assume that this must necessarily have been a final walking away for them. Many of them could have only fallen away for a time—like so many Christians who sometimes backslide and fall back into sinful activities and practices temporarily. Although we shall never know for certain in this life, we still hold out hope for these disciples because there was hope for us.
And while life remains, there is hope for everyone that we know, love, and hold dear, that appears far, far from the Lord. We simply must remember that our time, our schedule, our plan is not God’s. He is not subject to our whims and wants; his plan and timing are far better than ours could possibly be. So this just was not God’s time for them yet.
We should also consider the likelihood that many of these disciples were present in Jerusalem on Pentecost. As the gospel seed was already planted, it would be reasonable for the Holy Spirit to cause their dormant faith to sprout upon hearing Peter’s proclamation of the resurrection if that were the divinely appointed time for their calling and conversion.
As the Jews’ persecution of early Christians increased, the gospel witness expanded and took hold throughout Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and out to the ends of the earth. So it is difficult for us to imagine that none of these early disciples were later truly converted, returning to Christ according to Jesus’s promise that ‘I shall lose nothing of all that the Father has given me.’
The story does leave us to wonder how Jesus felt in his human nature—a measure of disappointment and discouragement whenever people forsook him, denied him, abandoned him, or ignored him. Despite the fact that he knew from the beginning who those were who did not believe and who it was who had betrayed him, I think that perhaps his foreknowledge made this actuality even more grievous and painful to bear.
The prophet Isaiah wrote about the suffering servant, the Messianic figure of Old Testament prophecy that Jesus embodied, saying, ‘He was despised and rejected by man, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief; and as one from whom men hid their faces, he was despised, and we esteemed him not.’
We most commonly recall this description in relation to Jesus’s final rejection by the Jewish people and his abandonment by the Twelve at his arrest and execution. But I believe the evangelist here shows us that this feeling and experience were a more common companion to Christ. I think it was because of this human emotion—him being overwhelmed by the sense of betrayal and abandonment—that prompted Jesus to next turn to the Twelve, his closest companions and disciples, and ask them, ‘Do you want to go away as well?’
Considering our own recent soul search, with each of us asking ourselves, ‘Why do I seek Jesus?’ think about the answers that you’ve given yourself. If you were to hear that question from Jesus, ‘Do you want to go away as well?’ how would you answer it? Are the teachings of Jesus too challenging for you to believe and accept? Are you too proud to depend upon the grace of God, trusting to faith in Christ alone?
Or are you willing to accept and affirm his moral lessons yet still refuse to also accept his claim of divinity and all its evidence? Are the commandments of Christ too difficult for you to obey? Would you refuse to love your neighbor as an expression of your love for Jesus? Do you not want to do unto others as you would have them do unto you? Have you found a more excellent way to live life than as a follower of Jesus, empowered by his Holy Spirit? Will any other way of life make you happy, fulfilled, and satisfied in the long run? Could you live any other kind of life and not look back with profound regret during your final hour?
Ultimately, the answer you gave yourself for ‘Why are you seeking Jesus?’ must inform your answer to Jesus asking, ‘Do you want to go away as well?’ Just like it did for the Twelve.
Simon Peter answered him, ‘Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life, and we have believed and have come to know that you are the Holy One of God.’ He responded by asking Jesus, ‘To whom shall we go? Who else has the answer to the questions that we have not even thought about asking? Who else knows and teaches the truth of God?’
Peter’s response denies the potential rightness of all other religions, removing any opportunity or biblical rationale for a Christian to justify harmonizing Jesus with any pagan religion like Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism, neopaganism, Judaism, naturalism, socialism, or any other form of politicization.
Peter professed to Jesus that ‘You have the words of eternal life,’ demonstrating that he already understood that following Jesus is the only way for a person to enjoy fellowship and peace with the Lord. It was clear to him that Jesus was greater than Moses, that what Jesus taught was greater than the law of Moses and its interpretation by the scribes and Pharisees.
Peter confessed to Jesus on behalf of the Twelve that ‘We have believed and have come to know that you are the Holy One of God,’ declaring and affirming that they had faith (pisto) in him, that they understood (genosco) who he is, that Jesus is the Holy One of God, the Christ, and the Son of Man, and that’s why they were following him.
Peter’s ecstatic affirmation and confession deny the possibility that the disciples could have even considered Jesus to just be a good teacher, a wise philosopher, or simply a moralist. Clearly, based on Peter’s response, John is telling us definitively that the Twelve were seeking and following Jesus for the right reason. Unlike the crowd, they knew who Jesus is; although it’s certain they did not yet understand the fullness of what that meant, they already were trusting him.
They certainly did not yet understand the full entirety of what they were trusting him for, but they clearly honored and respected him because they had abandoned their ordinary lives, their families, and their vocations to follow him since they recognized that it was the right thing to do. They knew that what they were doing was ultimately for God’s glory and his divine purposes.
They followed Jesus for the right reason—because he is the Holy One of God—and this was the only right response. Throughout this chapter, John has recorded Jesus saying several very hard teachings, particularly that the teachings of Moses are insufficient for a person to be justified before the Lord, but that Jesus’s are sufficient instead.
That Jesus has been sent by the Lord, that he has come down from heaven, physically, just by everyone knowing his close relations; that he will lose no one whom the Father gives to him; that everyone whom the Father gives to him shall have faith in Jesus and that he will raise them up on the last day; that no one can come to him and no one shall have faith in him except unless the Father, the Lord, first draws them and gives them to him, with them being all those whom the Father has chosen.
That according to the prophets, since everybody will be taught by God, then everyone so taught will be those who come to him. Because believing and understanding this about Jesus is evidence that the Father is drawing them and giving them to him—that they have been specifically chosen for Christ.
That Jesus will give his righteousness and his very life as a substitute for these chosen ones to redeem them from sharing in the condemnation of the world, and that lastly Jesus will do all of this to inaugurate and establish the New Covenant that the prophets wrote about—the Covenant of Grace which he mediated with her heavenly Father.
Again, all of these teachings, whether they’re considered individually or together, were challenging and impossible for Jesus’s original Jewish hearers to accept without them having a severe cardiac adjustment by the Holy Spirit, just as these are challenging and impossible for all the rest of humanity, including us, without a similar adjustment.
Just as the law of Moses was made so difficult to obey fully and keep in order to demonstrate and prove to us our own incapacity, so too these teachings are so difficult for us to accept in order to demonstrate and prove to us our incapacity.
Both administrations—the Covenant of Grace, the law of Moses, and the gospel—require of us something that is impossible for us to give: perfect obedience and fidelity to the Lord’s covenant, making a substitute necessary. The recognition of our own incapacity awakens within the regenerate person a knowledge of our need for God’s grace and mercy—a need which we find being met through our drawing to Christ and that is filled through our faith and trust in him.
It is this awareness of our need and our understanding of the unique capacity of Jesus to satisfy the need which prompts us to seek him. Truly, there’s a popular metaphor that suggests that there is a Jesus-shaped hole within every person, and we each spend our lives trying to fill it.
While only one thing, one person, can fill that void, we spend our whole time of reprobation trying to fill this hole with everything that the world has to offer. Despite some things that might seem close, nothing does. It’s only after the Holy Spirit works within us, after we have heard the gospel proclaimed, that that hole gets filled.
Now instead of pouring the empty pleasures of sin into that hole, we seek Jesus, and his Spirit keeps being poured into us, filling us and overflowing us.
So when we are asked, ‘Why are you seeking Jesus?’ are you able to answer the same as Peter answered Jesus when he was asked, ‘Do you want to go away as well?’ I hope so. I hope that you can and will confess your faith in and understanding of Jesus just like Peter did, and for the same reason: because you know who Jesus is and because the Father has chosen you and given you to Christ. Amen.