The Gospel of John - part 18
preached Mar. 10, 2019
A Hard Act to Follow : John 6:60-71
60-65 : Confronted with a hard teaching
When many of his disciples heard it, they said, “This is a hard saying; who can listen to it?” But Jesus, knowing in himself that his disciples were grumbling about this, said to them, “Do you take offense at this? 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 no help at all. 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.) And he said, “This is why I told you that no one can come to me unless it is granted him by the Father.”
John 6:60-65
The disciples react naturally to a hard teaching. Remember, Jesus is taking the disciples into a new religious territory. The Pharisees and Sadducees had created a Jewish system based on works and rituals for God who has not revealed a prophet for 400 years. They are many generations into the traditions of the Messiah coming to rule the earth as an Israeli King. Now, they know the Messiah has come, because they have seen the signs and miracles, but Jesus is teaching them about an eternal kingdom not of this earth. He is teaching them to have a closer communion with the Father than ever conceived. And, rather than seeking death for their enemies, He is telling them to seek the eternal life.
Look again at verse 62--Jesus asks what if they saw the Son of Man return to where he came? If you look ahead in the story of Acts, the disciples see just that. The dramatic shift in the thinking of the disciples is just one of many proofs for the resurrection of Jesus. Before they see Jesus raised to life, they are doubtful, grumbling questioners. After the resurrection, they become bold, decisive apostles willing to go to their deaths for the sake of the Gospel of Christ. These types of transformations do not 'just happen'.
God uses hard teachings to mold us into the Christian we need to be.
Just as physical trials bring about physical strength, mental trials help train our brains. The worst way to grow old is sitting in front of the tv. That's a medical fact. It does way too much harm to the brain. Physical training builds physical muscles. Mental training builds mental muscle. And just the same, spiritual training helps build spiritual muscles. Confronting hard teachings head on, praying for wisdom, and having faith that God is telling us the truth--even when it doesn't make sense just yet--helps to build us into stronger Christians. It's all a part of that 'discipline' word no one seems to like these days.
Likewise, we must remember that Jesus’ teachings will always be difficult for the wider world. Christianity is a faith that does not hold to the conventions of common beliefs. Jesus warned us we would have trials and people would scoff. He even warned there would be those who called themselves ‘Christian’ but taught wrong doctrine. This is why Jesus says in verse 65, “no one can come to me unless it is granted him by the Father”. It takes an act of the Father to draw people to salvation, and even then, as we see in this passage, it can still be very difficult for people to continue to follow.
The Church will always be a group of oddballs in the world.
This truth isn’t a license to persist in ineffective strategies or ostrich-thinking isolationism, but it is a reminder that striking a balance between right doctrine and easy access to the Gospel will always be difficult. Do we want thousands of people walking into churches every Sunday to hear the Good News of Christ? Absolutely! But will we placate their fears and sin by watering down the Gospel to a simple feel-good message? God forbid it!
The balance between right teaching and seeking the lost comes with a transformed life.
As Christians live their lives transformed by the power of Christ, forgiving and loving those around them, honoring their family bonds, administering their duties to the glory of God, and simply living free from the burden of sin, people will respond. Not everyone will be able to handle the hard teachings of Jesus, but everyone will know the people of God by their love for one another.
Though we want people to remain with us and be saved, we must also be ready to say, “Go in peace.”
As verse 63 tells us, “the Spirit gives life; the flesh is no help at all”. Allow the Holy Spirit to transform your life, then He will transform this church. That is the life we need. Whether our church looks good to our human thinking is immaterial—it must be what God designs.
66-69 : Where else can we go?
After this many of his disciples turned back and no longer walked with him. So Jesus said to the twelve, “Do you want to go away as well?” 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.”
John 6:66-69
But not all Jesus’ disciples are able to handle the pressure of the hard teaching. At verse 66, John records that many of Jesus’ disciples turned back. This does beg the question of who these disciples are, because we know the 12 remain with Jesus. It is helpful to remember some vocabulary.
First, ‘disciple’ is a generic term used throughout the Mediterranean to denote someone who follows their teacher.
Whether a Jewish rabbi or a Greek philosopher, if someone wanted to be educated by a teacher, they would literally follow them around all day. In the cases of the Greeks, the disciple would pay their teacher after a series of lessons. This system remained throughout Rome’s history, and that’s how many theologians made a living if they were not serving in a church. In the case of Jewish rabbis, many times they would not accept payment, but the disciple would provide services for living, such as preparing meals or maintaining a home. So, as you look at this passage, note the ‘disciples’ were those who had identified Jesus as a rabbi and wanted to learn from him. However, at this difficult teaching, they decided to drop the class.
Second, ‘the Twelve’ is shorthand for Jesus’ disciples who would become Apostles.
After the resurrection, the main twelve become the Apostles who are the main evangelists in Christianity—except of course for Judas, who is replaced by Matthias who is then numbered in the ’12’. That process described in Acts 1 tells us there were more than just the Twelve following Jesus even from this point and to the Resurrection, but as verse 70 states, Jesus chose these twelve specifically for his mission. Though other disciples would leave, the Twelve remained.
In verse 67, Jesus offers the Twelve an out. “Do you want to leave also?” Peter’s declaration of Jesus as the Holy One of God parallels the similar declaration in the Synoptics. John uses Peter’s declaration as a reminder to the reader:
Jesus’ words are the words of eternal life—there is no one else who gives eternal life.
Church growth strategies, and all the handbooks out there are fine and good in so far as they honor Christ, but our hope and our life comes from Christ. Whether Chilhowee Baptist grows in size and maturity is completely contingent on her faithfulness and abiding in Christ. God is certainly not done with us—there is still too much to do, and we’re still here. But the effectiveness of our church is measured in our faithfulness to Jesus.
70-71: A devil in the midst
Jesus answered them, “Did I not choose you, the twelve? And yet one of you is a devil.” He spoke of Judas the son of Simon Iscariot, for he, one of the twelve, was going to betray him.
John 6:70-71
The last two verses in our passage today remind us there will always be a devil in the midst. However, God uses those who do not follow him faithfully just as he uses trials and difficult truths. Consider Judas’ role in our salvation.
It was Judas who kept the money for the disciples, a necessary practical task. But more importantly, his desire for money brought about his betrayal. For thirty pieces of silver, Judas provided the opportunity for the Temple guards to take Jesus into custody. And though it was a brazen sinful act, we must remember Jesus knew it was coming and willingly allowed it to happen. Why? Because through Judas’ betrayal, Jesus went to the cross to pay for the sins of humanity.
God uses the betrayers and sinners of the world to fulfill His purposes.
The Bible has several examples:
Joseph’s brothers sell him into slavery so that he can preserve the family.
The people rebelling against Samuel in asking for a king paves the way for the Davidic line.
Babylon and Assyria conquer Israel as punishment for their sins, but they are also used to bring about Messianic prophecies.
After the resurrection, the Church is continued to be plagued by betrayers and deceivers. The first few centuries of Church History are marked for the number of heretics who were members and leaders of the Church who began teaching false doctrine.
Each heresy helped the Church solidify true doctrine.
The Church as a whole has become stronger over the generations because of its fight against false teachings and Christians seeking safety in entities other than Christ. Before the fifth century, the Church was embattled with false teachings which led to a stronger doctrine. By the 16th century, the Church once again had to deal with false doctrine, but also with its marriage to national governments. Many historians have noted the Reformation was characterized not just by the Reformers questioning the doctrine of the Roman Catholic Church, but it was also characterized by its national fervor. What do I mean? Consider how each nation took a side in the Reformation. Germany became Lutheran, Italy and Spain remained highly Catholic, and other European nations took on their own flavor of Protestantism if they were not Catholic. The Church had become married to the State, and her integrity was compromised by nationalism. The centuries following the Reformation have been marked by the ramifications of this Church & State marriage. We tend to forget in our 21st century world just how unique America’s freedom of religion is in history.
I say all that to point out that in our modern times of general religious decline in society, the Church is going to be just fine—in fact stronger than before. We will continue to see many who call themselves Christians walk away because they cannot handle the difficult teachings of Jesus, but that will only make the remaining disciples stronger.
Each time the Church is pruned of false disciples, it grows stronger.
She grew stronger amidst false teachers of the Patristic Era.
She grew stronger during the Reformation.
And, she will be stronger as societal demands continue to encroach in our places of worship.
Too many Christians are wailing at the signs of the time. I absolutely agree—we are seeing a fundamental shift occur in the U.S. It ain’t pretty. But, we are also seeing Christians who followed Jesus in the crowds have to make a decision. Will they leave the Church bowing to the demands of a dying generation, or will they accept the hard teachings of Jesus and experience eternal life?
Now, I do not mean that some who are saved will lose their salvation. What I mean is that in every generation of the Church, there are those who sit in the pew each Sunday, but have never actually believed in the name of Jesus. They like the idea of Jesus, or the idea of the Church. They enjoy the benefits of being in a church or the morality the church teaches children, but they have not repented of their sins and surrendered to the Lordship of Christ. As verse 64 says, Jesus knew from the beginning who those were who did not believe.
Church, do not put your hope in a membership role or a sense of morality.
Jesus alone has the words of eternal life. He is the Holy One of God.
Place your faith in Him.