Read John
2.22,23...4.39-42...6.13,14, and compare 6.41..."the Jews then
murmured at Him...", and v.52..."the Jews therefore strove
among themselves...".
Human nature is the same
wherever it is found; that's why Jesus so quickly went from the
status of a pop star, to a blasphemer, at least in the eyes of the
elders of the Capernaum synagogue. Up to now, Jesus had spent His
ministry back and forth between Judea and Gallilee, and these last
vss. of Ch. 6 describe for us His final days of ministry in His
native region, at least as represented to us in the Gospel of John.
Essentially, it marks the beginning of the decline in Jesus'
popularity, which will be perfectly obvious to us from what we will
see in the sacred text. So to start with, let's take a look at ch.
6.60...
1. "This is a
hard saying, and who can hear it?" 6.60(b)
Are you willing to hear
the hard sayings of the Word of God? And if you're not, where does
that place you at the roll call of the faithful? Where will that
place you at that great wedding supper of the Lamb? Or for that
matter, where will it place you when you appear before either King
Jesus or the Great White Throne, for judgement?! The hard sayings of
the Word of God cannot be lightly shrugged-off. It can never be a
matter of pick and choose when it comes to the teachings of Christ,
especially-so when they are presented along with an invitation to
receive eternal life, as we saw back in v. 58. This had not only
been an opportunity, but a revelation to the Capernaum synagogue; an
eye-opening and a mind-bending and a heart-changing invitation to
spend the rest of eternity in the very kingdom of God!
You know, it's pathetic to
find that there in Gallilee, Jesus met with little better that He had
in Judea, where He had begun His ministry in Jerusalem, following the
wedding miracle of ch. 2. Remember that the crowds had followed, and
seemed anxious to be His disciples, but had only been motivated by
their material and carnal desires. You see, what Jesus wants to
establish in our hearts is basically, two things...evidence of the
recognition of our spiritual need, as well as evidence of our
receiving the heavenly gift...but human nature does not change,
regardless of the time or of the place. The people that we read
about here had had their emotions stirred, but their hearts were as
cold and as hard as ice! And now that He had revealed to them their
spiritual need, they felt threatened; first, a "murmuring",
as we read in v. 41, and then a "striving", as we read in
v. 52, and now, an outright rejection of the life-giving Word of
grace, the very, living Word of God!
Now keep in mind that this
exchange takes place in the synagogue, the very place where hungry
souls were expected to be found. What better place for the Lord to
reveal the eternal purposes of God, than right there, in the midst of
His faithful worshippers? But what a response from His many
disciples; not the twelve, who are spoken-of in v. 67, but rather,
the many others who had joined the Jesus-movement along the way; I
guess you could call them "the Jesus people", who were
hoping for a political rally, rather than a spiritual revival! And
when He had started talking about flesh and blood, in the previous
verses, they started thinking about persecution and death...their
own!
I'm going to ask a pretty
pointed question of my own; what is it that attracts us to Jesus (if
at all)? And how great an impression has He made on our lives? You
see, when Jesus presented Himself to those Jews as the true Bread of
God, rather than just another Wunder Bread; when He spoke of giving
His very flesh for the salvation of this old world, and of men
drinking His blood, they weren't just offended, they were terrified!
The last thing they needed was a king who was going to lead them
sheep to the slaughter. They were right; this was a hard
saying, and Jesus knew who would, and who would not,
hear it.
Next, we find another
question there in vss. 61-66...
2. "Does this
offend you?"
Just like Jesus , to
answer a question with a question!
Do you really realize that
it's impossible to hide from the Lord? Sooner or later, just like
those disciples mentioned in v. 60, our tongues are going to slip,
and as James tells us, set a whole forest on fire, revealing what may
have been safely (so we had hoped) hidden away deep within our
hearts. These men could not deceive Jesus; they had certainly walked
with Him for a time, and to all outward appearances, seemed to have
been His disciples; and they might have taken their places in the
synagogue and they might have listened attentively and reverently
while He taught them, but He knew their hearts! You can try to hide
your thoughts there, in its deepest recesses, but He knows all the
whys and the wherefores; He was not misled by the religiosity of His
day, nor is He today. As we read in 2 Timothy 3.5, "a form of
godliness" is not godly enough for God!
You know, in 6.14, Jesus
had been correctly identified by the crowds as a prophet, but little
did they know...He is greater than the prophets! And then, in
v. 31 they had contrasted Him with Moses in the wilderness; but
little did the people know...He is greater than Moses! He
knew their heart's condition (v. 64). And then, as we read in v. 62,
Jesus comments on His own question...if the congregation was offended
before, they must have been positively blown away with that
declaration; not only was He to die, but He was to bodily ascend into
the clouds and the heavens beyond! What a prophecy!
Those Jews were probably
thinking..."This man deserves to die for preaching blasphemy
like that!" But then every man, woman and child has a problem,
as Jesus explained in v. 63. Spiritual truths require spiritual
minds to understand them. This was not hocus-pocus; it was and is,
the Word of eternal life..."It is the Spirit that
quickeneth...". The human mind simply cannot fathom the depths
of spiritual truth. There must have been a new birth before one can
conceive of the Words of Life!
You know, this is a very
pressing matter; one that has been neglected in these days of the
modern church, and I've pressed the issue before..."the flesh
profits nothing" (v. 63). It's not the preacher or the teacher
or the choir, but "the Spirit that quickeneth"! All the
best efforts of man must be brought into question; and I really
believe we are an offence to God, in the same way He was an offence
to those Jews. We need a faithful and a true interpretation of the
Word of God, with the saints clinging-to Him if we expect to
find the lost grasping-for Him! Yes, "the flesh
propheteth nothing"; we must turn to God through Christ, and
believe me, it's not the will of our flesh to do that, either, as we
read back in ch. 1.13. In fact, it's distasteful to our hearts and
minds to even think about it, but it is God's Truth, whether a man is
offended or not.
Now closely examine
6.66...what can I say?! "Many are called but few are chosen".
Now there's a scripture that will offend some, but the fact
of the matter is, not all those who start out on the path of life
will finish up on the path of life, because there are too many other
paths along the way to stray onto. And I want to tell you today,
human nature has not changed one iota since the time of "this
writing". When the Lord makes His eternal truths known,
people...apparent believers and unbelievers alike...wll be offended,
and yes...many of His disciples have gone, and will
"go back and walk no more with Him". You see, we all think
that we have the scriptures by the proverbial tail, but we need to
remember, although God knows the mind of a man, man does not know the
mind of God! And there will be many surprises in store for us, when
the Light that is Jesus reveals for us the Face of God, and what was
dark and impenetrable before, will become as clear as day...an "what
a day that will be!"
Finally, in v. 67
of our scripture, we have the third question, and it could just as
easily be directed to any one of us...
3. "Will you also
go away?"
Yes, the Lord knows the
answer to that question too. Oh, we would like to think we
are safe and sound for this earthly night; safely tucked into our
comfy church blankets, til we're awakened by the sound of angel's
trumpets, when dawn breaks in eternity future! But this question is
a real thought-provoker, isn't it? And when we think of some who
have "...also gone away", it's a real heart-breaker, but it
was a question that had to be asked, not for Jesus' own sake, but for
the sake of His disciples. You see, Jesus doesn't want any unwilling
followers. If we would prefer to be found in the world when He
comes, then that's where we will be found. If we love
pleasure more than our commitment to Him, then He will be the One to
take us to task for it. If we don't have the fortitude to stand and
withstand, then may He have mercy on us!
However, you may be like
Peter, in vss. 68, 69, with a simple question in response to a
question. For some, the miracles had attracted, but as we have seen,
the "Truth" had offended, but it was much different for His
true disciples. For them, when Jesus had said in v. 63, "...the
words that I speak unto you...", Peter and the others took that
literally, to mean..."thou hast the words..."; but what of
Judas (v. 70)? There has always been a lot of speculation about his
possible salvation, but vss. 70, 71 seem to cast little doubt on that
matter.
The awfulness of sin is no
match for the eternal and supernal grace of God, and here we have a
gospel commentary on the Gospel of Grace, right here at the very end
of one of the most powerful chapters in the entire Word of God! And
it provides a very solemn warning to all who would profess to
believe. If "cleanliness is next to godliness", then
out-and-out hypocrisy must be the worst kind of dirt there is; but
the saving power of Jesus is stronger than dirt! There simply is no
way to enter into God's glorious presence, stained by the
awfulness of sin.
These surely are "hard
sayings", but we need not only to hear, but to practice, the
Truth that is Jesus!
Next time, we start ch. 7,
and more of the eternal truths of our eternal Lord.
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