[Jn 6:60-71] You Do Not Want to Leave Too, Do You?

John Lim

John 6:60-71 (4 of 4) 
“You do not want to leave too, do you?”

 

 This is the final part in this series of message from John 6. 

 

Our Lord Jesus Christ very carefully and thoroughly explained that He is the bread of life and that he who feeds on this bread will live forever in verse 59.  Now, look at verse 60.

 

            “On hearing it, many of his disciples said, "This is a hard teaching. Who can accept it?"

 

Even his disciples had some serious issues about this.  Remember, they were His disciples and have seen miracles in the time they have been with Jesus.  If they had thought that our Lord was out there in the streets and synagogues to proclaim a popular message to gain support from the public, they were dead wrong and quite disappointed. 

 

Life is always easier when a popular billboard message finds a large receptive audience.  Even this day, we hear this kind of popularized messages all the time from various religious entities.  We live in a fickle society where flavor of the month changes weekly.  There are popular movements and teachings that scream for our attention.  It seems everyone is trying to introduce something new to the Christian community that will help them grow, and mature spiritually if we simply take that course or go through that training. 

 

If Jesus’ intention was to found a grass roots movement to bring about a revolution, he surely shouldn’t have said what He said.  There was a following.  A multitude of people were only glad to join Jesus and start a huge movement.  All Jesus had to do was continue to “wow” them with spectacular miracles such as feeding them with bread and fish.  But Jesus was more concerned about their spiritual well being than their temporal being.  He was not interested in having hundreds of thousands of people clamoring for him or standing behind him to force some kind of political agenda to be carried out.    

 

When things started to really take off with the feeding of the multitude, disciples may have been pumped up and thinking how they were going to be a part of something big.  Everyone wants to be part of something big, don’t you think?  It must have been a sight to behold when Jesus fed thousands of people and people were utterly shocked and amazed.  To be part of this group at this time and be considered one of the numbered disciples, they had to have been really psyched. 

 

So in midst of this eruption, Christ basically dashes their dreams by proclaiming something so unexpected and something so profound that the audience was unable to identify or comprehend.  When you have a great following, the last thing you want to do is to scare them away or discourage them from following you.  But this is basically what Jesus did on that day.

 

He challenged them not to be so enamored with physical bread but to seek spiritual bread and to seek eternal life through personal relationship with Him, they were offended.  Look at verse 61

            “Aware that his disciples were grumbling about this, Jesus said to them, "Does this offend you?”

Can you imagine why they were grumbling?  Could it be that they thought their movement was about to take off to a higher altitude and Jesus basically puts a damper on it and everything basically just fizzles out.  When they thought Jesus was about to start something really big, he pours cold water on volcanic eruption.  That’s not the way to do things.  So, they were grumbling about this.  They might have thought that people were not ready for something this profound.  Couldn’t Jesus find another time after they gathered all the people they possibly could?  Why now, and why this way when people were clamoring for him and he was at the height of popularity? 

 

Jesus, the Son of God speaks to His disciples and asks them to think about what He said.  Does what Jesus said to the Jews in the synagogue offend them?  Should Jesus remain object of their fantasy and maintain the myth?  Should Jesus simply go along with people’s expectations of him and continue to feed them miraculously again and again?  How long should he continue to feed them physical bread?  Everyone who eats physical bread dies someday.  Being the Son of God, I am sure if he chose to do so, he could probably feed all of them for the rest of their lives.  Is that what Jesus is all about? 

So now, that Jesus challenged the people with hard truth, all of a sudden the disciples were grumbling about it.  Does this offend you?  Jesus asks.  Does the truth that I am the Son of God and that you must enter into a personal relationship with me to live eternally offend you?  Does it offend you that I can claim this boldly?  Does this offend you that you must submit yourself to me and humbly ask for forgiveness?  Does this offend you that I claim to be the Son of God?  Does the Gospel message of our Lord Jesus Christ offend people whose ears are itching for toned down version of how God cannot possibly send all those “innocent” people to hell?   

Jesus can ask the same questions of us today.  Does the truth offend you today that you must humble yourself in the sight of God and ask for forgiveness of sins and receive Jesus Christ as your Lord and personal Savior? 

Should Jesus package the gospel in such a way that is more palatable for us?  Shouldn’t he couch the gospel message in more acceptable form so that it will not be offensive to anyone but that everyone could embrace without having to raise any fear in people?  Why couldn’t he present it in such a way that everyone from all faith can accept and without offending anyone?  Is Jesus nothing more than one of the great teachers of his time?  Should Jesus be numbered among the great religious teachers and philosophers of history?  Is that all who Jesus is?   

Look at verse 62.

            “What if you see the Son of Man ascend to where he was before! “

Jesus is the Son of God who is at the right hand of God.  Can we imagine or picture Jesus with His Heavenly Father?  That is an awesome and fearful sight to behold.  Jesus is now telling them that just because He is with them and lives among them, they should forget that he is not a mere mortal but God incarnate in the form of flesh.  As I have mentioned before, familiarity sometimes breathes contempt.  Just because the disciples were hanging out with Jesus day in and day out doesn’t make Jesus not God-Man. 

Quite the contrary, Jesus is Lord who holds the world in His hand.  Jesus is simply reminding them that their perspective of who He is does not change who he truly is.  He is not just a great teacher who can perform spectacular miracles.  He is not someone who is merely interested in riding the crest of his popularity to start some kind of movement.  He is the Son of God who calls on those who are before Him to acknowledge Him as the Lord and Savior and enter into a personal relationship with Him.  He is the one who has his rightful place alongside God the Father.     

So, Jesus reminds them that He is the God-Man.  Look at verse 6

                “The Spirit gives life; the flesh counts for nothing. The words I have spoken to you are spirit and they are life.”

Here we hear from our Lord Jesus Christ that our priority should be always heavenward not earthbound.  As much as we would like to focus on living well on earth, that is not what Jesus deems truly important.  Flesh counts for nothing according to Jesus.  Everything we do here on earth has heavenly consequences.  Our life here on earth will wither away just as our flesh turns to dust.  Today, we are here but tomorrow, we are gone.  Life here on earth is always finite.  People have lived and people have gone. 

What Jesus says to them actually brings eternal life.  I cannot emphasize enough the urgency of choosing eternity over our physical realm.  In final analysis, that will be our conclusion as we leave this world someday.  Flesh counts for nothing but indeed spirit gives life. 

As Jesus in that exigent moment continues to speak to them, he observes in verse 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.” 

 

Even as Jesus spoke to his closest disciples, there were some who did not believe in what Jesus had been teaching them.  We do not have all the data to ascertain or run a profile on each of the disciples but we can rely on our infallible Lord’s assessment of His disciples.  Even as they were following Him closely, Jesus knew some did not believe. 

Think about this.  They followed Him everywhere and saw everything He did but still some did not believe that Jesus was someone more than a great teacher.  What Jesus claimed was so fantastic and so extraordinary, many simply couldn’t accept His claim or accept His authority as the Son of God.  Look at verse 65 which now brings home the most important point of this passage.   

           

“He went on to say, "This is why I told you that no one can come to me unless                                        the Father has enabled him."

 

What a dramatic conclusion from our Lord Jesus Christ.  He has been challenging them about who He is and what He is able to offer them but ultimately, he takes everything in His own hand and simply states that it is not up to them to decide but that our own response is totally dependent on God and not on us. 

We often think that we are the ones who decide to believe in Jesus Christ but nothing could be further from the truth.  No one can come to Jesus unless the Father enables him.  Do you see how salvation from the beginning to the end is the work of God not the work of man? 

We think we are the ones who came to Jesus but from what Jesus is saying, we come to Him because God has enabled us to come to Him.  We are not the ones who are capable of making that journey to Christ in our lives on our own.  We are incapable and unable to turn to Jesus.  Only when God has enabled us, we are able to see Jesus as our Lord and Savior and we come to Him.    

We have some problem with this because we want to believe that we have the power of choice and that we are able to make decisions concerning Jesus Christ.  After all, aren’t we the ones who realized our state of sin and misery and decided to turn to God?  Don’t we have the power to make that decision?  From Biblical perspective, the answer is no.  We are incapable.  Only when God enables us, do we come to Him.

We want to believe that we have the power and autonomy.  We want to believe we control our own destiny.  We do make our own decision regarding many aspects of our lives.  We choose which brand of coffee we drink and what kind of clothes we buy at stores and which car we choose to buy.  There are countless decisions we make everyday on our own and indeed, we do make those decisions.    However, when it comes to believing on Jesus Christ, it is no longer about us but all about God. 

And perhaps the saddest verse in the Bible comes in John 6:66 as you read.

           

“From this time many of his disciples turned back and no longer followed him.”

 

 

Apparently, there were quite a few followers who considered themselves His disciples but when they were confronted with our Lord’s declaration, they had a strong negative reaction.   This is a very powerful scene.  They decided that they couldn’t accept what Jesus was saying to them.  They might have believed in their own autonomy and thought that they made their own decisions regarding their life here on earth.  They could not accept or acknowledge that they had no power when it came to coming to our Lord Jesus Christ.  They did not believe that they were not in control.  So they simply turned back and no longer followed Jesus.

Even today, this is a common occurrence.  One thing people hate more than anything else is to not be in control of situation.  We live in modern day with a belief that we are in control and that we are autonomous.  To certain extent we are but we want to believe that in all areas of life, this axiom stands, even when it comes to our decision regarding God.  We want to think and believe that we make that decision.  We choose to believe in Jesus Christ and therefore we’ve become Christians.  But that is not what Jesus is saying here.  Unless we are enabled by God, we cannot come to Him.  And this goes against everything we believe about ourselves.  We think this makes us vulnerable and powerless. 

And that is true.  We are vulnerable and we are powerless.  If our eternal salvation depended on us, we would lose it many times a day.  Shouldn’t we be thankful to God that it is not dependent on us but that it is totally dependent on God?  Shouldn’t we be relieved that we do not have to carry the burden ourselves but that God already took care of that burden by simply having the control over our salvation? 

But for those who thought of themselves as being in control at all times and in all things, they simply couldn’t accept that.  Even this day, modern man would like to believe that he is in control of all things in life.  Therefore, he doesn’t want to believe that he is helpless and powerless.  He wants to negotiate terms in the contract.  He wants to be in charge even when it comes to salvation.  But you can see how silly that really is.  We are not in control.  God is in control.   He is the one who begins the work of redemption and completes it without anyone’s help. 

And as many turned their backs and no longer followed him, our Lord turns to his twelve disciples.  Look at verse 67.

           

"You do not want to leave too, do you?" Jesus asked the Twelve.”

 

This is the defining moment for the twelve disciples who were with Jesus on that day.  Jesus lays it down for them.  He is making a bold statement.  Can you imagine the scene where many of the followers, or disciples who were flocking to Jesus upon hearing such statement, turned back and no longer followed him?  Perhaps some of these who turned back were friends with the Twelve disciples.  They might have motioned to them saying come with us and join us.  They might have looked at the twelve disciples and shook their heads in disbelief as if to say, ‘You can’t believe that, can you?” 

It could have been just as easy for the Twelve disciples to throw their hands in air and join those who no longer followed him.  Who can believe what Jesus was saying?  But look at verse 68-69.

           

“Simon Peter answered him, "Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of  eternal life. We believe and know that you are the Holy One of God."

 

Simon Peter, perhaps inadvertently became the spokes person for the Twelve disciples.  In most profound way, he states his profession of faith.  First, he addresses Jesus as Lord.  He acknowledges the relationship that exists between Jesus and His disciples is not on equality but inequality.  Peter puts Jesus at a higher plane than them which is absolutely appropriate.  We are not on equal footing with Jesus Christ.  This seems so obvious and clear but those who turned back are those who would not acknowledge that.  Jesus is the Son of God who commands absolute surrender of all that we are.  When we attempt to negotiate that relationship to be more on equal footing, we know that we do not have relationship with Jesus Christ.  The only relationship that exists between Jesus and the believer is one of Savior and sinner.  Jesus is Lord.  If we cannot acknowledge this or accept this truth, we are no better than those who turned back and no longer followed Him, 2,000 years ago. 

Secondly, Peter confesses that without Jesus, they are totally lost and helpless which is also quite appropriate.  Peter’s statement, “Lord, to whom, shall we go?” is an acknowledgement that they have no other option aside from Christ.  This confession contains that helplessness Peter feels if he is to be abandoned by Christ.  In that statement, Peter humbles himself so completely at the feet of our Lord Jesus Christ.  He is like a child who looks at his parents, afraid to be abandoned with total trust and imploring heart.  Do we feel that way when we look upon our Lord Jesus this day? 

Those who turned back and no longer followed Him are those who did not feel that way.  Perhaps they thought of themselves as more independent and sophisticated.  Perhaps they thought although Jesus demanded certain respect and honor, there is no way they would humble themselves and acknowledge Jesus as their Lord and Savior.

Thirdly, Peter makes a declarative statement that Jesus has the words of eternal life.  By making this statement, he is acknowledging that indeed Jesus is the true bread from heaven that gives eternal life.  If Jesus has the words of eternal life, He is the source of true bread from heaven.  By this declaration, Peter is conforming himself to the authority of Jesus Christ and his need for Christ. 

Peter and the disciples are admitting their need for this bread for they desire eternal life through Jesus Christ.  If they did not care for this eternal life, would they have stayed with Him?  Perhaps those who left Jesus did not consider eternal life all that important. 

Even today, there are people who would laugh at the idea of eternal life for they only perceive this earthly life as the only life.  As hard as we attempt to evangelize the unbelievers with the reality of approaching eternity, many are simply living in this world as if this life is all there is.  How about us?  Do we savor eternal life with Jesus Christ in our daily life?  Even though we live in this finite world, do we ponder about eternity and cherish our personal relationship with Jesus Christ?

Fourthly, Peter speaks on behalf of the twelve disciples that indeed they believe and know that Jesus is the Holy One of God.  What a powerful statement!  What a powerful profession of faith!  Emotionally and intellectually, they acknowledged Jesus Christ as the Lord and Savior.  With heart and head, they prostrate themselves in the presence of Jesus, the Son of God, of His Lordship.  Peter’s profession culminates with acknowledgement of Jesus as the Holy One of God.  The Holy One of God is an ultimate reference to Messiah, the Son of God.  No one on earth or heaven can be referred as the Holy One of God other than Jesus Christ. 

This scene before us is a solemn moment in the life of the disciples with Jesus Christ.  Here is that moment when disciples publicly proclaim their belief in Jesus Christ.  This moment is a milestone that they will all remember for the rest of their lives.  When we profess Jesus as our Lord and Savior, we mark that moment forever in our memory and refer back to that moment when we are faced with adversities in our life’s journey.  We remind ourselves that we are God’s children and that we trust Him unequivocally no matter how life seems. 

This was an important moment for the Twelve disciples when they were confronted with the truth.  In that critical moment, they responded accordingly.  Jesus is the Son of God and He has no need to be acknowledged by His disciples as He already knows who He is but it is vitally important for the Twelve disciples as they professed their faith in Him.  Look at verse 70 as our Lord concludes.

           

“Then Jesus replied, "Have I not chosen you, the Twelve? Yet one of you is a devil!"                    (He meant Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot, who, though one of the Twelve, was later to betray him.)

 

           

Once again, our Lord Jesus utters something that is totally unexpected we can only wonder what the disciples must have thought.  Even as those disciples were serious and sincere in their profession of faith, our Lord simply tells them that He chose them to be His disciples not that they’ve chosen Him.  Jesus once for all lays aside any kind of claim that we are in charge of anything.  He is the one who chose them to be His disciples.  That is the sovereign grace of our Lord Jesus Christ.  He has drawn them to Himself.  He has chosen the twelve but sadly enough, he adds that one of them is a devil.  I don’t think there is a sadder punctuation than this statement by our Lord.  The Scripture tells us that he meant Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot who would later betray him. 

 

Our loving Lord Jesus makes a pronouncement or judgment that Judas is a devil.  If a mere man speaks this way, it probably doesn’t carry the same credence or weight but when our Lord says something like this, there is no escape and there is no doubt.  Judas though he was following Jesus along with the eleven disciples, he would never be one of them.  He is a devil.

 

Jesus in His divine providence saw fit to include Judas among the Twelve for His purpose and for His end.  It is indeed a serious matter to receive such pronouncement from none other than our Lord Himself. 

 

As we continue to live our Christian life here on earth, we are amazed and fascinated by the grace shown us by our Lord.  Who are we that we should draw near to Him and enter into a personal relationship with Him?  Who are we that we would invite Jesus into our hearts and receive him as Lord and Savior?  Isn’t it that Jesus called us to Himself and we were compelled to come to him?  Who can ever claim that we somehow deserved His grace because of what we’ve done or who we are? 

 

We can only humble ourselves in the presence of God and profess words of thanksgiving for the mercy shown us.