The Choice and the Chosen
John 6:60-71
Introduction: Some people have made the prediction that Christianity
would fade into irrelevance. The 20th Century English philosopher from
Liverpool, John Lennon [!} once said: “Christianity will go. It will vanish and
shrink. I needn’t argue about that: I am right and I will be proved right.
We’re more popular than Jesus now…” Was he right? John Piper made the
observation that this chapter starts with 5,000 followers of Jesus, and it ends
with 11 (plus one counterfeit still hanging on!). One recent commentator,
Andreas Koestenburger, says the chapter ends with “a note of failure.” I don’t know Dr. Kostenburger personally, but
I’ve read enough of what he was written to say that if you were to ask him, he
would agree that he meant “this chapter ends with a note of apparent
failure.” Though it may appear to be failure on a purely superficial
level, the success of God’s plan does not depend on numbers. In fact, the
context makes it clear that Jesus knows the hearts of men, and the plan of God
is right on track. Jesus is building His church, and the gates of hell will not
prevail against it! All that the Father has given Him will come.
The truth is, many are called, but few are chosen. Remember that the
crowds wanted to make Jesus King at the beginning of this chapter after He fed
the 5,000. But Jesus knew their hearts, and He left them. He wasn’t seeking the
approval of men, He came to carry out the divine plan, determined in eternity
past. He didn’t come primarily to give bread. He came to be Bread,
the Bread of Life.
The Big Idea: Authentic discipleship won’t be easy. It is
a call to trust Jesus, the Son of God, for Eternal Life, and a radical
commitment to follow Him. We’ll look at that from three perspectives, 1) The Context:
Jesus’ sermon, He is the true Bread from Heaven, the Bread of Life; 2) The Choice:
The invitation goes to all, those given by the Father will come; and 3) The Chosen
believe who He is and follow Him.
I. The Context: Jesus’ teaching, the
True Bread from Heaven is Jesus (6:26 ff.).
There are some who will balk at the hard
teachings of the truth that seem difficult to reconcile with their core beliefs.
Exactly that happens here. They will say in 6:60, “This is a hard
saying, who can listen to it?” What was it that Jesus said that was so
difficult or so offensive, that is caused so much confusion, and eventually led
most of his “followers” to pack up and go home? At least two things stand out:
First, Jesus has repeated in this chapter the truth that He came from Heaven:
He is the living Bread that came down from Heaven (6:58; cf. vv.33-35,41,42,51).
Some key verses for review...
John 6:33-35, 33
For the bread of God is he who comes down from heaven and gives life to
the world." 34 They said
to him, "Sir, give us this bread always." 35 Jesus said to them, "I
am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever
believes in me shall never thirst.
John 6:41-42, 41
So the Jews grumbled about him, because he said, "I am the bread that
came down from heaven." 42
They said, "Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother
we know? How does he now say, 'I have come down from heaven'?"
John 6:51,58, 51
I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this
bread, he will live forever… 58
This is the bread that came down from heaven, not as the fathers ate and died. Whoever
feeds on this bread will live forever."
Jesus was affirming publicly His pre-existence, saying that just as the Father sent manna in the Wilderness to
preserve life, He was sent from Heaven to give eternal life. This
shocked the crowd. Who in the world was he claiming to be? Most were not ready
to receive that truth, despite the miracles that He did. This was one idea that
this Galilean group couldn’t grasp. Jesus was from Nazareth they thought.
Wasn’t Joseph the Carpenter his father? Of course, as readers of the Gospel, we
know that His repeated “I AM” statements are saying much more, but most didn’t “hear”
(and understand) what He was claiming. Bread from Heaven? The words were heard,
but not received.
Then secondly, to make matters worse, Jesus began to use the highly
offensive language of eating his flesh and drinking his blood. For a Jew
this was an unspeakably offensive image. Blood was prohibited in any form, even
clean animals, when they were slaughtered, had to have the blood drained from
the meat. But with a crassly literal reading of Jesus’ words, it sounds like
cannibalism! Even so, in the context His
meaning should have been clear. He had miraculously fed the multitude, much to
their delight. They wanted to make Him King in response. When they couldn’t
find Him, they went to Capernaum searching. After all, Moses gave our Father’s
manna, what sign will you do for us? They wanted more! Jesus’ teaching used
their concern for bread as a segue to address their deepest need. Look again at
verse 40 and verse 54—
John 6:40, 40 "And this is the will of
Him who sent Me, that everyone who sees the Son and believes in Him may
have eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day."
John 6:54, 54 "Whoever eats My flesh
and drinks My blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last
day.
The context clarifies what Jesus is saying: eating his flesh and drinking his blood is to
come to him, to receive him, to believe in him. His “flesh” is His flesh and blood human
nature, including His body that He was given in the incarnation. From that
perspective, the flesh that Jesus would give, and the blood that would be
poured out as the Lamb of God, would provide the only and final basis for our
salvation. Cf. Heb 10:5-6,
5 Consequently, when Christ came
into the world, he said, "Sacrifices and offerings you have not desired,
but a body have you prepared for me; 6
in burnt offerings and sin offerings you have taken no pleasure.
To come to the Son in faith, and believe in
Him as your Savior, is the sense of what Jesus is saying. As Augustine said,
“Believe and you have eaten.”
The language is hard, but to those
given by the Father, those drawn by Him, have eyes to see and ears to hear. But
we’ll see in today’s passage, we are called to make a choice, and those given
by the Father will come. The Big Idea is that *Authentic discipleship is a call
to trust Jesus, the Son of God, for Eternal Life, and a radical commitment to
follow Him.
II. The Choice:
The invitation is to believe, those drawn by the Father will come (60-67). The
reaction of the false disciples shouldn’t surprise us, and it didn’t surprise
God!
Jesus knows the true believers who have been drawn
by the Father, read 6:61-62...
61 But Jesus, knowing in himself that his
disciples were grumbling about this, said to them, "Do you take offense at
this? 62 Then what if you
were to see the Son of Man ascending to where he was before?
Like the Jews in the wilderness, these followers
were grumbling. They heard His words, but couldn’t receive what He was saying. The
message of John focuses on Jesus, and is a call to the reader of the gospel to
faith: Many other signs did Jesus in the presence of his disciples which are
not written in this book, but these were written that you might believe that
Jesus is the Christ the Son of God, and that believing you might have life in
his name. “Grumbling” against the truth exposes their unbelief.
“What if you were to see the Son of Man
ascending…” (6:62) He has been saying that He is the Bread that came from
heaven, would that be enough to convince them?
“It is the Spirit the gives life… the
words that I speak…” (6:63-64a). Paul says that faith comes through
hearing, and hearing by the Word of Christ. The Spirit of God works through the
Word of God. Their unbelief reveals that spiritually, they are yet dead.
63 It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh is
of no avail. The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life. 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.)
“For Jesus knew…” (6:64b). The idea
that Jesus knows our hearts has been repeated throughout this gospel. He knows
who believes, and He knows who will believe. Here it is stated that still
a year in the future, he knew the one who would betray him. You have to wonder
what the 12 thought when they heard that. Did any of them suspect Judas? Did
they doubt themselves? Did Judas himself even think he would go so far as to
betray the Master? Jesus knew their hearts, He knows those given Him by the
Father…
65 And he said, "This is why I told you
that no one can come to me unless it is granted him by the Father." 66 After this many of his
disciples turned back and no longer walked with him. 67 So Jesus
said to the Twelve, "Do you want to go away as well?"
In
6:65, He again affirms what he has taught repeatedly in this discourse, those
given by the father will come. He expressed the same idea earlier…
John 6:37, 37 "All that the
Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will by no means
cast out.
John 6:44-45, 44 "No one can
come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up at
the last day. 45 "It is
written in the prophets, 'And they shall all be taught by God. Therefore
everyone who has heard and learned from the Father comes to Me.
He’ll make a similar point later in John 10:26-28…
26 "But you do not
believe, because you are not of My sheep, as I said to you. 27 "My sheep hear My voice,
and I know them, and they follow Me. 28
"And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall
anyone snatch them out of My hand.
In
our context, we see the choice… “After this many of his disciples turned
back and no longer walked with him.” (6:66). Later in this Gospel Jesus
will make the very exclusive statement: “I am the Way, the Truth, and the
Life, no one comes to the Father but by Me.” That statement is highly offensive to many in
the world in this age of “tolerance” and “inclusion.” It may be difficult to
receive, you may be offended, but it is truth. The call to believe in Jesus is
extended to all of humanity. Yet most resist that call. In that case the Calvinist
doctrine of irresistible grace can be confusing. Most people do in fact
resist the call to believe, “the grace of God that brings salvation which
has appeared to all men.” At the same time, Jesus has just said that “all
that the Father has given me will come…” (6:37). They are effectually drawn
by the Father to faith.
We see in Jesus’ question to the twelve that we are responsible to choose
to follow Him (67). We’ve seen ample evidence that Jesus knows hearts, he knows
his disciples and He knows what they think and believe. He is not nervously
waiting to see their response. He asks them this question because He is
giving them an opportunity to express their faith. God created us with a
will, He gives us a choice, and He enables us to believe. Remember Paul’s word
to the Romans, “…that if you confess
with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised
Him from the dead, you will be saved. 10
For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth
confession is made unto salvation.” (Romans
10:9-10). “Confessing” Him with your mouth is linked to genuine faith.
It is an expression of faith. False
disciples who identify with Jesus and the church with wrong motives, will
eventually fall away when they find the truth offensive (66). The word
“disciple” is used here of “followers,” not of genuine believers. In the Jewish
context, a student follows a Rabbi, and is identified as his disciple. The word
itself means “learner” and was used in this sense for those who would attach
themselves to a rabbi to hear his teaching.
There are those who will attach themselves outwardly to the church, and
then “pick and choose” what they want to accept in its teaching. God’s Word
is true, whether we like it or not. Paul
warns us in 2 Timothy 4:3-4, that we’ll see more falling away as the time draws
near:
“For the time
will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own
desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves
teachers; 4 and they will
turn their ears away from the truth, and be turned aside to fables.”
Jesus
is the Son of God. His Word is Truth.
Our response to His word reveals the condition of our heart. Authentic
discipleship won’t be easy. *It is a call to trust Jesus, the Son of God, for
Eternal Life, and a radical commitment to follow Him.
III. The
Chosen will Believe who He is and follow Him (68-71). Only He is the Way, the Truth and the Life.
67 So Jesus said to the Twelve, "Do you
want to go away as well?" 68
Simon Peter answered him, "Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the
words of eternal life, 69 and
we have believed, and have come to know, that you are the Holy One of God." 70 Jesus answered them, "Did
I not choose you, the Twelve? And yet one of you is a devil." 71 He spoke of Judas the son of
Simon Iscariot, for he, one of the Twelve, was going to betray him.
Along
with Nathanael’s confession of faith in 1:49, and that of Thomas in 20:28, this
is a great statement of faith by the disciples. True believers recognize who He
is and see Him as their only hope, in so doing they reveal that they are among
those given to Him by the Father, the Chosen (68-69). Look at Peter’s response,
“Simon Peter answered him,
"Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life, 69 and we have believed, and have
come to know, that you are the Holy One of God." (Jn 6:68-69).
Peter affirms that only Jesus has the
words of life. “Lord, to whom shall we go?” There is nowhere else to
go, nothing else to consider. There is no other name under heaven given
among men by which we must be saved. In Christ alone our hope is found! Their
confession in John 6:69 is very close to the language John uses in 20:31, look
at the verses together…
6:68b-69, “You have the words of eternal life 69 and we have believed, and
have come to know, that you are the Holy One of God.”
20:31,
“…but these are written so that you may
believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may
have life in his name.”
It may be that Peter does not yet have a full
understanding of who Jesus is and what he needed to do, but he is certainly on
the way. He is saying “I have decided to follow Jesus, there is no
turning back.” It won’t be easy, and yes, he will struggle, but he
is in the grip of His Grace. Jesus knows who He has chosen (70-71). He knew the
hearts of these men.
70 Jesus answered them, "Did I not choose
you, the Twelve? And yet one of you is a devil." 71 He spoke of Judas the son of
Simon Iscariot, for he, one of the Twelve, was going to betray him.
Jesus affirms that He had chosen them… and yet
He knows that one of them would betray him. John, the writer and narrator,
steps back for a minute in case we have any doubt about what Jesus meant and
tells us: He spoke of Judas… Remember the beginning of this chapter, in John
6:4, Passover was near. But there will be another Passover (Jn 12:1) still
a year away, when the final test would come, and Christ, our Passover, would be
sacrificed for us. At this point, had Judas made up his mind already? Did the
disciples wonder if they would stay true? Jesus knew how the story would
unfold, He was in control, carrying out the Father’s plan. After all…
What is God
saying to me in this passage?
Jesus is the Son of God. Our response
to His word reveals the condition of our heart. *Authentic discipleship is a
call to trust Him implicitly for Life, and a radical commitment to follow Him,
no matter what.
What would
God have me to do in response to this passage?
1) Confession: Already in this Gospel,
for those who have ears to hear, Jesus is affirming that He came from Heaven to
give His life for the world. But only those that believe will be saved. Have
you heard the voice of the Master? He said on the Cross, It is finished, the
debt is paid. He did that for us. Faith has been called “the hand of a beggar
reaching out to receive the gift of a King.” We can’t earn it, we can only
receive it. If you feel that tug in your heart, receive the gift, call on the
name of the Lord and be saved!
2) Commitment: This is our mission, to
hold forth the Word of Life, to point our neighbors and friends, the people God
has put around us to Jesus. Eternity is at stake!
3) Communion: The Bread of Life
discourse looks ahead to the Cross. Communion invites us to look back and
remember, He came from heaven to save us. It shows us the Gospel in symbols.
Let’s participate with thanksgiving.
AMEN.
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