⁶⁰ On hearing it, many of his disciples said, “This is a hard teaching. Who can accept it?”
⁶¹ Aware that his disciples were grumbling about this, Jesus said to them, “Does this offend you? ⁶² Then what if you see the Son of Man ascend to where he was before! ⁶³ The Spirit gives life; the flesh counts for nothing. The words I have spoken to you—they are full of the Spirit and life. ⁶⁴ Yet there are some of you who do not believe.” For Jesus had known from the beginning which of them did not believe and who would betray him. ⁶⁵ He went on to say, “This is why I told you that no one can come to me unless the Father has enabled them.”
⁶⁶ From this time many of his disciples turned back and no longer followed him.
⁶⁷ “You do not want to leave too, do you?” Jesus asked the Twelve.
⁶⁸ Simon Peter answered him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. ⁶⁹ We have come to believe and to know that you are the Holy One of God.”
⁷⁰ Then Jesus replied, “Have I not chosen you, the Twelve? Yet one of you is a devil!” ⁷¹ (He meant Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot, who, though one of the Twelve, was later to betray him.).
I will be with you; I will never leave you nor forsake you
— Joshua 1:5 Thoughts
- Hard to Hear for the Hard of Heart (60-65). The followers grumbled about eating Jesus’ flesh and drinking his blood; it’s hard (σκληρός / sklēros) to hear, not because it’s complicated—but because it’s costly. And, it sounds pagan: Lev 17:10,11 “If any one… eats any blood, I will set my face against that person who eats blood and will cut him off from among his people. For the life of the flesh is in the blood, and I have given it for you on the altar to make atonement for your souls, for it is the blood that makes atonement by the life. ➤ But see, that’s the exact thing Christ came to do for us! Heb 9:12;14 [Christ] entered once for all into the holy places, not by means of the blood of goats and calves but by means of his own blood, thus securing an eternal redemption… how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish to God, purify our conscience from dead works to serve the living God. Jesus says the quiet part out loud, and makes things even harder. He: 1) speaks of his ascension & preexistence (His divinity), 2) contrasts flesh (human effort) to God’s spirit , and 3) declares that it’s God’s doing alone: no one can come… unless the Father has enabled them. δεδομένον/dedomenon perfect passive participle: a completed, ongoing gift from the Father \= an irresistible and divine. ➤ Grace doesn’t augment our efforts to get to God—it’s the only* reason anyone ever truly comes to Christ. When Jesus says “eat my flesh” he’s saying: “your good morals, your cowboy self-sufficiency, your fitting in with the pack won’t save you—only my bloody death will.”
- To Whom Shall We Go? (66-69). 66 lit., many went back to the things behind—when the cost gets real, the followers stop following. But Jesus doesn’t chase them, because not trying “to put up numbers”—he’s the Good Shepherd of his given flock.. Joh 10:27 My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. (A lot more on that in chapter 10). Jesus’ question “You do not want to leave too, do you?” is, as Sam says, rhetorical. He’s laying bare their own hearts. Peter’s answer Lord, to whom shall we go?* is devastatingly honest, the voice of desperate, weary, tested faith. ➤ Bedazzled by endless self-help options—therapy, success, relationships—nothing else brings eternal life. The gospel offends us, but it also grips us—because every alternative eventually disappoints. When everything fails, clinging to Jesus is our only hope in life and death.
- He Freely Chose Them All (70-71). Judas wasn’t “a bad pick,” he was known and chosen (ἐξελεξάμην / exelexamēn / sovereign, personal choice) by Jesus. Like Exodus, unbelief and rebellion persists. Ps 41:9 Even my close friend in whom I trusted, who ate my bread, has lifted his heel against me*. Jesus chose freely, yet one chosen outwardly remains inwardly opposed. ➤ Don’t presume: church attendance ≠ heart change. Here is comfort: if you’re clinging to Christ, you’re not there by accident. His drawing is sure for those truly his.
Reflection
- Where in your life is there “nowhere else to go” but Jesus?
GoJ 7-8
