John 6:59-71

John 6:59-71

59 These things He said in the synagogue as He taught in Capernaum. 60 Therefore many of His disciples, when they heard this said, “This is a difficult statement; who can listen to it?” 61 But Jesus, conscious that His disciples grumbled at this, said to them, “Does this cause you to stumble? 62 “What then if you see the Son of Man ascending to where He was before? 63 “It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing; the words that I have spoken to you are spirit and are life. 64 “But there are some of you who do not believe.” For Jesus knew from the beginning who they were who did not believe, and who it was that would betray Him. 65 And He was saying, “For this reason I have said to you, that no one can come to Me unless it has been granted him from the Father.” 66 As a result of this many of His disciples withdrew and were not walking with Him anymore. 67 So Jesus said to the twelve, “You do not want to go away also, do you?” 68 Simon Peter answered Him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have words of eternal life. 69 “We have believed and have come to know that You are the Holy One of God.” 70 Jesus answered them, “Did I Myself not choose you, the twelve, and yet one of you is a devil?” 71 Now He meant Judas the son of Simon Iscariot, for he, one of the twelve, was going to betray Him.

The reactions of people are beyond our control and are often inexplicable.  Since Jesus experienced these same mixed reactions, it should not surprise us when people react to us and our message in ways we don’t expect.  Many people followed Jesus and even went to great lengths to find Him.  The problem was that they were motivated by purely physical needs.  When Jesus began to teach them eternal truths they quickly lost interest.  As soon as it became evident He would not be giving them more bread, the people began to complain and walk away.  They were more interested in bread that would satisfy them for a day than in the Bread of life that would satisfy them for eternity.  It was now time to distinguish between the true followers of Christ and those who were simply looking for their next meal.

THE PEOPLE COMPLAIN ABOUT JESUS: If there is one thing that human beings are good at doing, it is complaining.  It seems that we are always able to find something to complain about.  The multitude of people were coming to Jesus because they wanted to see miracles and get free food.  Jesus wanted them to understand that He was them Messiah so they would believe in Him and be forgiven of their sin.  Since this is not what they were expecting, they began to complain.  We all tend to create expectations and when those desires are not met, we begin to complain and make up excuses.  Too often, people begin following Christ because they think it will make their life easier or more prosperous.  At the first sign of hardship or disappointment; these people usually abandon the Lord. The call to follow Christ is a call to suffering in this life but it is a call to an eternity of joy.

THE LORD CONFIRMS HIS TEACHING: Jesus does not back down because of the people’s adverse reaction to His teachings.  He is not concerned with the popularity of His message.  He is concerned with the truth.  He was well aware of the motives of the people who had come out to see Him.  He is always aware of all of our motives too.  He can see our hearts and is every bit as concerned with why we do what we do as He is about what we do.  He warned the people that it would only become more difficult to believe as the days progressed.  His teachings would become more difficult to understand and the price they would have to pay to follow Him would only increase.  He made it very clear that there would be no massive meal but only teaching about spiritual truth that could save them from sin.  This was not the message the people wanted to hear to they simply walked away.  As we continue to proclaim the Gospel, we should come to expect rejection from people who are looking for relief and comfort as opposed to forgiveness and holiness.  Those whom God truly draws to Himself will be more interested in the spiritual than the physical and the eternal more than the temporal.

THE LORD CONFRONTS HIS DISCIPLES: As Jesus saw many people walking away in disappointment; He confronts His disciples by asking if they are planning to walk away as well.  They respond by saying that they don’t have any choice or any place worth going because they know that He has eternal life.  Peter declares that they truly believe that He is Messiah and that He has come from God and has the ability to take them to God.  They had placed all their trust and hope on Him.  This is what God looks for in His children: people who trust Him completely and hope exclusively in Him.  Jesus confirms that this is what He had chosen them for.  However, He warns the disciples that there is still one traitor in their midst because He knows that Judas will eventually betray Him.  God knows our hearts and He longs to see that we trust Him without any backup plans.  We must be ready and willing to follow Jesus no matter what the cost in this present life because He has the words of eternal life.

APPLICATION:  Don’t complain about the physical circumstances of our lives, our focus must be on that which is eternal.  Don’t be surprised when people reject the message of eternal life through faith in Christ.  Trust Jesus as our only hope for eternal life and thank Him for choosing us to be a part of His family.