John 6:60-71 PODCAST
60 On hearing it, many of his disciples said, “This is a hard teaching. Who can accept it?” 61 Aware that his disciples were grumbling about this, Jesus said to them, “Does this offend you? 62 Then what if you see the Son of Man ascend to where he was before! 63 The Spirit gives life; the flesh counts for nothing. The words I have spoken to you—they are full of the Spirit and life. 64 Yet there are some of you who do not believe.” For Jesus had known from the beginning which of them did not believe and who would betray him. 65 He went on to say, “This is why I told you that no one can come to me unless the Father has enabled them.” 66 From this time many of his disciples turned back and no longer followed him. 67 “You do not want to leave too, do you?” Jesus asked the Twelve. 68 Simon Peter answered him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. 69 We have come to believe and to know that you are the Holy One of God.” 70 Then Jesus replied, “Have I not chosen you, the Twelve? Yet one of you is a devil!” 71 (He meant Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot, who, though one of the Twelve, was later to betray him.) John 6:60-71
We come to that turning point in John's gospel where due to the teachings of the Lord Jesus, many followed Him no longer. They were turning away due to His metaphoric teaching regarding His blood and His flesh. On this side of the cross, it is not difficult for us to recognize the elements of the Lord's Supper or that memorial meeting of Believer's where we remember the Lord and His work on the cross til He returns.
I have discovered that this is frequently true of those who stop following the Lord Jesus: they are bothered when difficult doctrines are taught.
At this the Lord Jesus asks the twelve a penetrating, and searching, and heart gripping question, “You do not want to leave too, do you?” Of course, they were as committed to following Him as they could be at this point. However, miracles and doctrine are not what captures our hearts for the Lord. No, it is His love that causes us to continue following Him, along with the abiding Holy Spirit.
Those choosing to follow Him no more said in v.60, “This is a hard teaching. Who can accept it?” To this response the Lord Jesus draws our attention to the workings of the Holy Spirit in v.63. It is the Holy Spirit who imparts life. It is the flesh (the evil desires within humans) that profits us nothing spiritually. In fact, the flesh is out to destroy us (see Galatians 6:8).
God always, in the Scriptures, places little upon large numbers, in contrast with the American church today. Annually, many churches set goals for growth, usually in specific terms of percentage of increase, or even an arbitrary number, arrived at out of the blue, that they are aiming to achieve. They do not get this from the Lord and we should be leery of this, for this is not the leading of the Holy Spirit.
According to v.68, Peter puts his finger on the real issue in this passage: God's definition of life. The words of the Lord Jesus are truth about life, and if we miss them, if we follow the distortions of the world and think we have adequate wisdom of our own to work out the difficulties of life, we will be so far removed from reality.
In contrast, the words of the Lord Jesus which "are full of the Spirit and life," these who were turning away from the Lord Jesus were turning away from that which provides substance in our lives, the truth. God's words always open our eyes to truth. When we respond to the truth we see, then we will be taught more truth. Scripture warns that if we resist the truth, then we lose the capacity to see and to hear more truth.
In v.68-69, Peter, in effect says, "Lord, we have investigated what you offer and the alternatives, and we have found that you have the words of eternal life. Where else would we go?" Like Peter, we know we have come to know the One who has shown us His way and His love that is unlike any other.
According to v.70-71, the Lord Jesus chose the twelve. I find it amazing that even though Judas had been with the Lord Jesus for three years and he had seen His lifestyle and His miracles, he still chose to leave the Lord Jesus in the end. Equally, I am amazed that I continue to follow the Lord Jesus on a daily basis. I shouldn't be amazed though, for the secret is discovered in His abiding presence in my life via the Holy Spirit. As Augustine said, “He who falls, falls by his own will; and he who stands, stands by God's will.”
60 On hearing it, many of his disciples said, “This is a hard teaching. Who can accept it?” 61 Aware that his disciples were grumbling about this, Jesus said to them, “Does this offend you? 62 Then what if you see the Son of Man ascend to where he was before! 63 The Spirit gives life; the flesh counts for nothing. The words I have spoken to you—they are full of the Spirit and life. 64 Yet there are some of you who do not believe.” For Jesus had known from the beginning which of them did not believe and who would betray him. 65 He went on to say, “This is why I told you that no one can come to me unless the Father has enabled them.” 66 From this time many of his disciples turned back and no longer followed him. 67 “You do not want to leave too, do you?” Jesus asked the Twelve. 68 Simon Peter answered him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. 69 We have come to believe and to know that you are the Holy One of God.” 70 Then Jesus replied, “Have I not chosen you, the Twelve? Yet one of you is a devil!” 71 (He meant Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot, who, though one of the Twelve, was later to betray him.) John 6:60-71
We come to that turning point in John's gospel where due to the teachings of the Lord Jesus, many followed Him no longer. They were turning away due to His metaphoric teaching regarding His blood and His flesh. On this side of the cross, it is not difficult for us to recognize the elements of the Lord's Supper or that memorial meeting of Believer's where we remember the Lord and His work on the cross til He returns.
I have discovered that this is frequently true of those who stop following the Lord Jesus: they are bothered when difficult doctrines are taught.
At this the Lord Jesus asks the twelve a penetrating, and searching, and heart gripping question, “You do not want to leave too, do you?” Of course, they were as committed to following Him as they could be at this point. However, miracles and doctrine are not what captures our hearts for the Lord. No, it is His love that causes us to continue following Him, along with the abiding Holy Spirit.
Those choosing to follow Him no more said in v.60, “This is a hard teaching. Who can accept it?” To this response the Lord Jesus draws our attention to the workings of the Holy Spirit in v.63. It is the Holy Spirit who imparts life. It is the flesh (the evil desires within humans) that profits us nothing spiritually. In fact, the flesh is out to destroy us (see Galatians 6:8).
God always, in the Scriptures, places little upon large numbers, in contrast with the American church today. Annually, many churches set goals for growth, usually in specific terms of percentage of increase, or even an arbitrary number, arrived at out of the blue, that they are aiming to achieve. They do not get this from the Lord and we should be leery of this, for this is not the leading of the Holy Spirit.
According to v.68, Peter puts his finger on the real issue in this passage: God's definition of life. The words of the Lord Jesus are truth about life, and if we miss them, if we follow the distortions of the world and think we have adequate wisdom of our own to work out the difficulties of life, we will be so far removed from reality.
In contrast, the words of the Lord Jesus which "are full of the Spirit and life," these who were turning away from the Lord Jesus were turning away from that which provides substance in our lives, the truth. God's words always open our eyes to truth. When we respond to the truth we see, then we will be taught more truth. Scripture warns that if we resist the truth, then we lose the capacity to see and to hear more truth.
In v.68-69, Peter, in effect says, "Lord, we have investigated what you offer and the alternatives, and we have found that you have the words of eternal life. Where else would we go?" Like Peter, we know we have come to know the One who has shown us His way and His love that is unlike any other.
According to v.70-71, the Lord Jesus chose the twelve. I find it amazing that even though Judas had been with the Lord Jesus for three years and he had seen His lifestyle and His miracles, he still chose to leave the Lord Jesus in the end. Equally, I am amazed that I continue to follow the Lord Jesus on a daily basis. I shouldn't be amazed though, for the secret is discovered in His abiding presence in my life via the Holy Spirit. As Augustine said, “He who falls, falls by his own will; and he who stands, stands by God's will.”
