Bible Study Series: Peter the Apostle
Do you also want to go away? John 6:15-17
by Fraser Gordon
Good morning saints. Continuing on in our studies into the life of the disciples and predominantly Peter, we come to John Chapter 6. We're going to look at the Lord Jesus Christ’s teaching about the bread of heaven and the disciples' response to it.
John 6.66 From that time many of His disciples went back and walked with Him no more. 67 Then Jesus said to the twelve, "Do you also want to go away?" 68 But Simon Peter answered Him, "Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. 69 Also we have come to believe and know that You are the Christ, the Son of the living God."
Two groups of people
Jesus asked His disciples, “Do you also want to go away?”. The context for this question is given earlier in John 6 where there is a crisis in the ministry of Jesus. People followed Him with mixed motives but Jesus would not have any part of it. From verse 15 we read about the first group.
John 6:15 Therefore when Jesus perceived that they were about to come and take Him by force to make Him king, He departed again to the mountain by Himself alone.
The first group of people following the Lord Jesus Christ was a political group. They wanted to use Christ as a political force to free them from Rome. They wanted a Messiah, yes, but they wanted a Messiah that would rule and reign and free them from Roman rule. This would have been a train wreck to His mission and the will of the Father. He was the King of kings but at His first coming He came to die for the sins of the world. It is at His second coming that He will rule and reign. Jesus wasn’t going to let Himself be used for their political agendas or ideas. He had to take decisive action. There are plenty of people in the church today that do the same thing. They have political ideas and Christ becomes an add-on to their agendas.
John 6:25-27 And when they found Him on the other side of the sea, they said to Him, "Rabbi, when did You come here?" 26 Jesus answered them and said, "Most assuredly, I say to you, you seek Me, not because you saw the signs, but because you ate of the loaves and were filled. 27 Do not labor for the food which perishes, but for the food which endures to everlasting life, which the Son of Man will give you, because God the Father has set His seal on Him."
The second group of people were there to put food in their bellies. They weren’t interested in the signs and miracles that pointed to Jesus as the Messiah, the Son of David. They were there because He could produce miracles that filled their bellies. They were self-centered people only concerned with being blessed. There was no conviction of sin and they were not interested in salvation or following Christ as the Son of God. Jesus had to purge His followers and sift the wheat from the chaff. He did not want a big group of people following Him with mixed motives. In John Chapter 6 He started a set of teachings because He wanted to sift them. He was not content with mixed followers and a mixed message. He sought to reduce His followers and make it plain that He was the Messiah and if they wanted to follow Him there was a cost involved. In John 6.59 it says that Jesus taught these things in the synagogue in Capernaum and what He taught them was that He was the bread of heaven.
Four reactions
John 6:32-35 Then Jesus said to them, "Most assuredly, I say to you, Moses did not give you the bread from heaven, but My Father gives you the true bread from heaven. 33 For the bread of God is He who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world." 34 Then they said to Him, "Lord, give us this bread always." 35 And Jesus said to them, "I am the bread of life. He who comes to Me shall never hunger, and he who believes in Me shall never thirst.
Jesus began teaching about the real purpose of His first coming and about who He was. This caused a reaction among the people in the synagogue. We see the first one in verse 41.
John 6:41-42 The Jews then complained about Him, because He said, "I am the bread which came down from heaven." 42 And they said, "Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How is it then that He says, 'I have come down from heaven'?"
Jesus carried on teaching and from verse 51 he said;
John 6:51 I am the living bread which came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever; and the bread that I shall give is My flesh, which I shall give for the life of the world.".
Then comes the second reaction.
John 6:52 The Jews therefore quarreled among themselves, saying, "How can this Man give us His flesh to eat?"
So first the Jews complained then they quarreled among themselves about Jesus' teaching. Jesus continued:
John 6:53-59 Then Jesus said to them, "Most assuredly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in you. 54 Whoever eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day. 55 For My flesh is food indeed, and My blood is drink indeed. 56 He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood abides in Me, and I in him. 57 As the living Father sent Me, and I live because of the Father, so he who feeds on Me will live because of Me. 58 This is the bread which came down from heaven--not as your fathers ate the manna, and are dead. He who eats this bread will live forever." 59 These things He said in the synagogue as He taught in Capernaum.
Jesus went into further depth in this passage but it wasn’t about physically eating His flesh or drinking His blood. It was about becoming a partaker of the Lord Jesus Christ spiritually, in His life, His death, His burial, and in His resurrection. It was a spiritual truth that Jesus taught. Then there is the third reaction from His disciples.
John 6:60-64 Therefore many of His disciples, when they heard this, said, "This is a hard saying; who can understand it?" 61 When Jesus knew in Himself that His disciples complained about this, He said to them, "Does this offend you? 62 What then if you should see the Son of Man ascend where He was before? 63 It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing. The words that I speak to you are spirit, and they are life. 64 But there are some of you who do not believe." For Jesus knew from the beginning who they were who did not believe, and who would betray Him.
Then the fourth reaction:
John 6:66 From that time many of His disciples went back and walked with Him no more.
The sifting
There was a mixed group of people following Jesus and He was not going to have any part of it. He had no interest in being popular, which amazes me about Jesus. He actually reduced His followers! Jesus was not interested in being the centre of attention or in being a Messiah that could be manipulated and used. So He sifted them and they started to leave in ones and twos. The political groups left then those who wanted food or material blessing. Those that thought His teaching was too hard and those who were just going along for the ride also started to leave. The people who had no true commitment to Jesus left. He sifted them. This would have been really hard for His disciples because they were part of an exciting growing movement. People were being added to their numbers and now the Lord Jesus was actively wrecking it.
Sifting has to happen and you see it in persecution. Only true believers who are committed to the Lord Jesus Christ remain. When persecution comes and comes hard, there is a cost that many can’t bear. When Jesus' teaching got hard many walked away.
John 6:67 Then Jesus said to the twelve, "Do you also want to go away?"
Jesus never made anyone follow or believe in Him and He never forced them. He always gave men free will to either choose or reject Him. He would have let the twelve disciples go as well because He never imposes Himself on the will of man. The message of the cross actually means death. Can you imagine if pastors started preaching the full message of the cost of following Christ? Each believer must take up his cross and follow Christ. In Jesus’ day to take up your cross meant that you walked down the road carrying a cross to your death. It was a cutting off of everything in your life and you weren't coming back, that was it. This is the meaning of taking up your cross daily. Things have to be different. It is a cutting off of all that you did before. These days it is all very self centred. Jesus is our friend, our buddy, someone who is there for us only when things get hard. You can do your own thing and carry on living the way you want. Jesus is on the sideline and only there to get you into heaven. Jesus was followed by people who were self-centred with no true commitment. He had to do this teaching to sift them.
What kind of believers do we have in our churches? Jesus was never concerned about numbers as many of our churches are today. Many people think that growth means God’s blessing. Jesus reduced His numbers because He was more interested in what kind of followers He had. Jesus wants disciples. We are not called to make converts, we are called to make disciples and a disciple is someone who lays aside his own life to follow the Messiah.
Peter’s confession
John 6:68 But Simon Peter answered Him, "Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.
Peter is the main spokesman and he speaks up for the group. Peter knew all about religious men. He knew the Pharisees and the Sadducees teaching which gave no hope for his soul. The wisdom of the Greeks did not appeal to Peter either. He had come to a conclusion and his soul had been awakened to spiritual food. His eyes had seen all the miracles that only the Messiah could do and his ears had heard the word of God preached to hungry hearts. “To whom shall we go?” He said.
There are many alternatives to Christ. Some people seek wisdom, but wisdom never offers rest. Does Buddha or Confucius? Does the New Age? Does the government? “To whom shall we go?” Peter said. Then he said, “you have the words of eternal life”. At best everyone can only offer some instruction, but this Man, Jesus, He offers eternal life. This is the bread that comes down from heaven. He who eats, partakes and becomes one will live forever. This is our desire, life, eternal life. Peter knew that Jesus’ words were true, met his needs, and gave hope. His words explain the questions that we have. His words are life itself, the words of eternal life.
John 6:69 Also we have come to believe and know that You are the Christ, the Son of the living God."
This is more than a mental belief. Peter had watched this Rabbi, he had observed His character and listened to His words. He'd watched His actions and seen His miracles. He had seen His holy life and sinless character. Peter believed and knew that He was the Christ. The Word become flesh.
John 1:14 And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.
Where else could the disciples go? They had found all that their hearts desired in this Man, Jesus Christ. Isn't this true of all of us saints? Isn't it true of all Christians that have found their salvation in the Lord Jesus Christ? Having been born again we've experienced our sins being forgiven. We have a clean conscience, joy like never before, and rest. Where else could we go? We cannot quit. There is life and only eternal life found in none other but Jesus. He alone has paid the price for our redemption. He said, "He who comes to Me shall never hunger, and he who believes in Me shall never thirst”. We can't go back to our old lives after meeting the Lord Jesus Christ. The sifting that Jesus does produces disciples that understand their spiritual condition and the hope that is only found in Christ.
There is no wisdom or truth except in Jesus. There is no forgiveness of sins or rest for our souls except through Him. He and He alone has the words of eternal life. Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth and the life”. It's Jesus plus nothing. All Christians must come to the realisation that this world and men offer nothing, but all is found in the Lord Jesus Christ the author and finisher of our faith.
Just as Peter said, “we have come to believe and know that You are the Christ, the Son of the Living God”, we also should be able to say the same. Peter looked at the life of Jesus, His character, His love, His compassion, courage, devotion to His Father, and His holiness and said, “We have come to believe and know”. This is more than mental belief, it's believing and knowing that Jesus is the Holy One. If we know this, we can't turn back. We can't leave any more than the disciples could. The whole room had left apart from them. All of us should be able to say the very same thing, “You have the words of eternal life, Lord Jesus, and we have come to believe and know and experience that You are the Christ, the Son of the Living God”.
A devil amongst the twelve
After these great words of confession by Peter, Jesus answered:
John 6:70 Jesus answered them, "Did I not choose you, the twelve, and one of you is a devil?"
Jesus doesn't respond to Peter’s great words of confession like I thought He would. Instead He responds by saying that He had chosen the twelve, but that one of them had not come to the same conclusion as Peter. One of them did not believe and know that Christ was who He said He was. Jesus said, “one of you is a devil”. Some versions say a demon. What a contrast to Peter's confession! Right at the start Jesus had perceived that there was a mixed group following Him and here at the end, when the mixed group had all gone, He perceives that even amongst the twelve one was a devil.
John 6:71 He spoke of Judas Iscariot, the son of Simon, for it was he who would betray Him, being one of the twelve.
In his heart Judas had already made up his mind and Jesus perceived right at the beginning of His ministry that one would betray Him. In this passage there are three groups of disciples. One group left because the call to follow Christ was too hard. The second group, the remaining disciples, believe and cannot leave, and the third is the man Judas Iscariot, who doesn't believe and won't leave. It's our prayer that our churches will not be filled with people like him.
Conclusion
The teaching today has been focused on the great confession of Peter. When confronted with the hard reality of following the Lord Jesus Christ we have these great words, “To whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life”. Also we have come to believe and know that you are the Christ, the Son of the Living God”.
I've loved this passage and I loved how the Lord Jesus Christ dealt with His followers. He wasn't interested in having a great following. He sifted them because He wanted disciples and He wants the same for us saints - to follow Him because of who He is, the King of kings and the Lord of lords. He offers eternal life, an eternal salvation to those that become His disciples.
Father, we thank you for this teaching in John 6 and we ask that you apply it to our hearts, make it real in our experience. Lord may we offer you the same confession as Peter did, “To whom shall we go? There's no one that has the words of eternal life apart from you and we have come to believe and know that you are the Christ”. Father, we thank you for the work of salvation that you've given to us. We thank you that you're alive in our hearts and Father, we can't leave, We can't quit or go back because no one else has life and life eternal. Lord, make all these things real in our experience we pray. In Jesus name. Amen.