08/25/2024
14th Sunday after Pentecost
Text: John 6:56-69
Title: “To Whom Shall We Go?”
Maybe you are familiar with Lewis Carroll's book, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. At one point in the story, Alice finds a cake which she thinks, if she eats it, it must be the kind of cake that either makes you grow in size or shrink down to a smaller size.
Here's what Lewis Carroll writes, “So she ate a little bit and said anxiously to herself, which way, which way, holding her hand on the top of her head to feel which way it was growing. And she was quite surprised to find that she remained the same size.”
To be sure, this generally happens when one eats cake, but Alice had got so much into the way of expecting nothing but out of the way things to happen that it seemed quite dull and stupid for life to go on in a common way. Alice was so used to out of the ordinary and unusual things that the normalcy of eating a piece of cake and not growing or shrinking seemed unusual.
We come now to the end of John 6, after spending four weeks on the chapter. The chapter began with vast crowds flocking to Jesus. Verse two says, because they saw the signs that he was doing on the sick they were seeing unusual things. Blind people given their sight, demons driven out, lame people walking around, and so they follow Jesus away from the towns, and they join him in the wilderness on the northeast side of the Sea of Galilee.
The unusual didn't end there, as we saw, Jesus feeds the whole crowd of 5000 men plus women and children, all from a tiny collection of five barley loaves and two dried up fish. It was so amazing and unusual that some of the more revolutionary people in the crowd thought that they should try to force Jesus to be their king, to be their revolutionary leader, as verses 14 and 15 told us. They're thinking, This guy's got skills. He's the one who's going to lead the uprising to throw off the Romans.
The unusualness continues in verses 16 through 21 as Jesus walks on the water. But when we get to our passage here at the end of the chapter, beginning in verse 60, there's a difference, where once people were flocking to Jesus, we're now seeing this number dwindling. We're seeing people walking away.
Unusual and out of the ordinary occurrences are exciting, but when the unusual wears off, when it comes to eating a cake that doesn't magically grow or shrink you, where's the fun in that?
Our passage for today, the final 12 verses of chapter 6 can be broken into two different halves, both of which follow, I think the same pattern. First, there's an action by the disciples. Second, Jesus asks a question. Third, there's a statement of the truth. And fourth, there's a statement of Christ's knowledge of those who were to believe.
The first half of the passage verses 60 through 65 is hard words. And the second half of the passage verses 66 through 69 is heard words, hard words, highlighting the loss of interest by one group of people and heard words highlighting the faith and belief of another group of people, despite uncertainty and despite difficulty hard words and heard words.
The contrast is stark, and I think the question will hopefully become plain. As we hear the text, when the unusual wears off and it comes time to live in the usual, will you stick with it? Will you remain faithful? Will you exercise faith even when it means hard work? Will you exercise faith even when things go on as usual? Will you, to borrow from Alice’s Adventures, eat the cake, even though it doesn't do something magical.
Let's look first at verses 60 through 65 and consider the hard words.
As I've highlighted, these past few weeks, there have been large crowds that follow Jesus in verses 2 through 40, and then there have been Jews grumbling and disputing in verses 41 through 59. There's been a sort of winnowing going on from general crowds who are curious about who this Jesus is, to Jews who, like the Jews in Jerusalem, are rejecting his message.
And now in our passage, we find a third group of disciples who are following Jesus and yet still have some serious doubts. In verse 60, it's even those who were disciples who take issue with Jesus' words. They say, “This is a hard saying.”
Now the word “hard” here doesn't just mean difficult. It doesn't just mean hard to understand. The word more specifically means harsh or offensive. It's offensive, they say, because Jesus has been cutting against their traditional understandings. He wasn't going to be that revolutionary leader who would lead the uprising. He wasn't going to give them manna from the sky like they expected the Messiah to do when he came. He made it clear that you couldn't simply rationally reason your way into belief, but you could only believe if the Father draws you, and to top it all off, you have to eat his flesh.
Maybe this wasn't what they had signed up for. After all, this wasn't the eye catching and miraculous unusual that they were originally attracted to. It requires commitment and unwavering faith, and so they say it's kind of harsh, isn't it, Jesus, how can you say these things? That's offensive.
This sort of response isn't a one time thing either. When Paul describes his own preaching of the gospel to the Corinthians. He writes in 1 Corinthians, one that the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved, it is the power of God. This word, he says, is a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles.
Here in John 6, although these are disciples of Jesus, they seem, at least at this moment, to not be those who are being drawn by the Father. Jesus’ words are folly to them.
So next, there is a question from Jesus in response, verse 61. Excuse me, but Jesus knowing in himself that his disciples were grumbling about this, said to them, do you take offense at this?
Notice the two descriptions of Jesus prior to his question. First, it says he knew in himself what they were saying, which implies that the disciples' comment wasn't an open one. It may not have been a public one. It wasn't something that they're going around and speaking openly to each other, but Jesus knew in himself what they were saying. He's not surprised by it, and he doesn't try to walk back anything either.
He doesn't say, Oh, you're right. I could see how that would come off as a little bit harsh. Here's what I actually meant. He didn't do that. He knows exactly what the state of their hearts was, because, as John 2 had told us, Jesus knew all people and needed no one to bear witness about man, for he himself knew what was in man.
Second description of him here that we see, we should notice that he knew in himself that they were grumbling. This, of course, is the same thing that the Jews were doing in verse 41. They're grumbling about his message.
So here, in verse 61 these so-called disciples are exhibiting the same sort of doubt that was inherent in the Jews of verse 41 and in the generation who died in the wilderness because of their grumbling. This isn't a good sign, is it?
Thirdly in this section, we get a restatement of the truth. This is the meatier portion of the hard words, verses 62 and 63. Jesus continues his words, “Do you take offense at this?” he asks, “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 of no help at all. The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life.”
Now again, Jesus doesn't answer their grumbling by trying to soften his words. He doesn't change his message. He doesn't deny the difficulty of believing in all that he had been saying. He doesn't say, Come on, guys, this is an easy message, why can't you get it? But in fact, he ramps it up even a little bit further.
Jesus claimed, back in verse 38 to have come down from heaven, which meant that he was making Himself equal with the Father. And as if that wasn't enough, he says here that he's going to return to where he came from.
If you think about it, it's one thing to claim heavenly origin. They can doubt him, but it's kind of hard to disprove where he came from.
It's one thing for me to tell you, I was born on the North Pole, right? You weren't there to see it happen, but if I say I'm going to go back to the North Pole next week, well that's something you can actually hold me to.
So when Jesus says he's going back to heaven where he came from, this is a more weighty statement that is a more difficult one to back up. And so it's as if he says to them here, “So you're offended by my words, okay, well, what would you think if you saw me ascend to heaven? What if you see me lifted up from the earth? Would that change anything? Would that make the message more bearable, or would it make it more offensive?”
Of course, as we've seen, it could be either, depending on the sort of eyes that one is using. There is outward seeing of the signs that Jesus is performing, but there is also inward spirit led seeing of the signs.
The moment of Christ's coming crucifixion? Is what D.A. Carson calls the very portal to the time when He would be raised and lifted up and highly exalted. When they see that, will they get it? Will they see the glory and the wonder of that sacrifice? Or will it be more offensive, because they're still stuck on the assumption that surely the Messiah can't die?
Jesus is one upping them here. If it's a hard saying that he came down from heaven to give his flesh for the life of the world, well, what will they do when they see him raised and ascending?
It's a question to keep in mind as we consider the relationship of this passage to our own lives, for us who live after the time when he was shown to be the Son of God in power according to the spirit of holiness by his resurrection from the dead, as Romans 1 says. How will we respond? What will our response be?
But then, what of that strange statement in verse 63? It is the Spirit who gives life. The flesh is of no help at all. For someone who flips open their Bible at random and just reads this statement, this could sound like Jesus is being a gnostic, right? What Jesus is really interested in is that spiritual part of you, he really wants the invisible, spiritual part, because your physical, fleshly part is disease ridden and it is sin prone.
It sounds like Jesus is saying your flesh is bad and your spirit is good. But for us, who have been marinating in this chapter for a few weeks, this statement should sound out of place. The flesh is of no help at all? What have we just been reading?
“The bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh,” verse 51. “Unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man, you have no life in you,” verse 53. “Whoever feeds on my flesh has eternal life,” verse 54. “My flesh is true food,” verse 55. “Whoever feeds on my flesh abides in me,” verse 56.
Sounds from those verses like Christ's flesh is of incredible help and eternal significance. How can he possibly say that the flesh is of no help?
Jesus has spoken repeatedly in this chapter about life. He is eternal life, he says, meaning more than just some sort of mere spiritual life. He is resurrection life.
This is a very physical chapter. How can the flesh be of no help?
Here's what I think he means when he says, It is the Spirit who gives life and the flesh is of no help at all. Of course, he can't mean that the flesh is useless and that we need to ignore it.
The point is that the flesh alone isn't going to give you life. Only the flesh, which is filled with the Spirit of God, will attain the eternal life and the raising up on the last day that Christ speaks of.
Secondly, it's only through the Incarnation, affected by the work of the Holy Spirit which unites God and man into the one person of Jesus Christ, that the flesh he offered in the sacrifice of the cross could be of any help at all.
Again, Paul fills out our understanding here in Romans 8:11, it says this, “If the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit, who dwells in you.”
The Spirit gives life not only to the spiritual portion of man, but to the physical as well. It is Christ's purpose to give life to the whole person, both body and soul.
Finally, for this section of hard words, verses 64 and 65 have Jesus hint at how God works in salvation.
Jesus continues in verse 64, “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.”
Now these statements ought to remind us of what we saw earlier in verses 37, 39, and 44. Reading again from verse 37, All that the Father gives Me will. Come to me, and whoever comes to me, I will never cast out.
“The Lord knows those who are his,” says 2 Timothy, 2:19, and “I know my own,” says Jesus later in John 10. He knows those who are His. When Jesus says here that there are some who do not believe he doesn't mean that there's a wrinkle in his plan. This doesn't mean that there are some that he tries to get to believe but who don't. There's not a wrinkle in the plan. This is the plan some of the disciples will believe and some will not. And there is even, he says, one who will betray him. Meaning, of course, Judas Iscariot, there are some who do not believe, and this is no surprise.
Christ's words in this chapter were hard words for many of those who had been following him. And so let's now turn to the final section and see also the ways in which these “hard words” were “heard words”
Verses 66 through 69. Again, like verse 60 this section begins with an action by the disciples. Verse 66, “After this, many of his disciples turned back and no longer walked with him.”
So we see that the belief of these so-called disciples was short-lived. They followed him when the unusual was new and exciting. And so it's also possible that even their turning away was short lived. In other words, we aren't told whether they turned away and stayed away permanently.
We do see a further whittling down of the initial crowds which were following him at the beginning of the chapter, we went from crowds to Jews to disciples, and now some of these disciples are walking away.
One commentator notices that “those who wanted a temporal king who would give them food for the body turned their backs on the king's son when he promised a banquet truly royal for the soul.” So increasingly, there is an emergence of a faithful group from the masses of interested, but non dedicated followers.
So next, secondly, we have again, a question from Jesus. In response to these actions, many of the disciples turn away, so Jesus asks another question, only this time it is directed to a new group of people. Verse 67, “So Jesus said to the 12, do you want to go away as well?”
The answer to this question is not one that Jesus is ignorant of either. He knows the answer, but he is calling on the 12 for a response of faith.
In verse 62 Jesus’ question to the disciples was, “Do you take offense at this?” And now here in verse 67 he asks the 12, “Do you want to go away as well?” As if to say, what will it be? Does all of this offend you as well? Does it offend you like it offended all those others? Do you believe or No? Has the excitement and the fervor worn off for you as well?
My message is not one which is just a bunch of unusual. Events, a bunch of out of the ordinary, magic tricks. It requires belief. It requires faith. It requires trust. It requires you to eat my flesh, to rely on my sacrifice. Has the excitement worn off? Are you still with me? Are these hard words for you as well?
The section's restatement of the truth comes then from the mouth of Peter. Verses 62 and 63 had Jesus stating the truth about himself, but now it's Peter who acknowledges it and repackages it in his own words. I love his answer.
Verses 68 and 69, “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.”
I love this answer because it seems both strong and fragile at the same time. It wraps up the human experience of faith. We know from Hebrews chapter 11 that faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. It is both certain and yet not fully realized. And Peter seems to be riding that very same line.
He makes three separate assertions in his answer. First, where else would we go? There's nowhere else to go. But his statement, even though it's an assertion, is also a step of faith. It seems as if maybe he's considered, are there other ways? Are there other places for us to go? And he's concluded that no, there are no other options.
It's a scary consideration, humanly speaking. Peter has counted the cost and realized the import of Christ's words throughout this chapter. It's believing what seems to be unbelievable. It's leaving aside the desire for bread and fish, which he can see and touch, and working for the food which is but which is the body and the blood of Jesus Christ, which he doesn't fully understand yet. It's leaving the perishable food that he can see and working for the food which will not perish, but which is still somewhat yet unknown. It's believing that what seems finite can attain life eternal. It's believing that though his body dies, it can be raised again on the last day.
How that is exactly all going to play out, he has no clue, but he knows that there is no one else with the same offer. Though there are others promising happiness or pleasure or success, there is no one else who is promising life. “Lord, to whom shall we go?” “Yes, I'm with you.”
Second assertion, “you have the words of eternal life.” Peter has been listening. Jesus has used some form of this phrase relating to eternal life, something like 18 times throughout chapter 6, Peter has heard and has absorbed the words that Jesus has spoken.
Which leads to the third assertion “We have believed, and we have come to know that you are the Holy One of God.” Back in verse 45 Jesus had said, Everyone who has heard and learned from the father comes to me, and here it is lived out. Peter acknowledges that he has heard what Jesus said, and he has heard it truly, not just outwardly, but he has heard Christ's teaching in such a way that he now describes his hearing as leading to belief and to knowledge of who Jesus is.
Jesus is the Holy One of God, which is to say that Jesus is the Lord. Jesus Christ is God. Holiness is a property that is only properly applicable to God himself. And so Peter here is acknowledging that the eternal holiness, the holiness which God always has been and always will be, because it is him, is here in the person of Christ.
That holiness, that perfection of being, which is incomprehensible to us, is nonetheless comprehended in the person of Jesus Christ, and his words, though hard, have become heard by those whom he had been given.
It's hard to miss the similarity of this and the account in Matthew 16, where Peter says, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God,” and Jesus answered him, “Blessed are you, Simon bar Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father, who is in heaven.”
This acknowledgment is not possible through mere human reasoning, “For we know that it is the Spirit who gives life, and the flesh is of no help at all.”
This, of course, is the same working of God by which Peter was later able to stand before the Jewish Council in Jerusalem in Acts 4, and to say boldly to them, “There is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.”
Here in our passage, his response is, “Lord, to whom shall we go?” But later, after he sees the Son of Man ascending to where he was before, his response becomes “There is no other name.”
May we likewise grow in this faith, may our certainty grow from the faltering but hopeful statement of “Where else can we go?” to the fully sure statement of “There is nowhere else to go.”
