John 6:66-71
Notes
Transcript
Here we are…at the end of John chapter 6. It only took us 3 months to get through this chapter. Most get through the whole book of John in 3 months…but we move slow around here.
Last week we ended with John 6:65 so to get a good understanding of this section lets start there and read through verse 71 this morning:
And he said, “This is why I told you that no one can come to me unless it is granted him by the Father.”
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.” 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.
Prayer:
As a pastor, as a preacher of God’s Word…I can only preach God’s Word. My opinion doesn’t matter. How I feel about a particular Scripture, a passage of Scripture, or a chapter does not matter. All that matters is what God says.
Many people try to apply logic and worldly wisdom and philosophy to try to make sense of some hard teachings in God’s Word but this is not the way to handle Scripture.
For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. For it is written,
“I will destroy the wisdom of the wise,
and the discernment of the discerning I will thwart.”
Where is the one who is wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? For since, in the wisdom of God, the world did not know God through wisdom, it pleased God through the folly of what we preach to save those who believe. For Jews demand signs and Greeks seek wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles, but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. For the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men.
Wisdom: any accumulation of knowledge derived without respect to (and usually opposed to) divine revelation; perhaps denoting wisdom of a manipulative character.
You will never know God through philosophy and human wisdom.
Rome says: We can reason ourselves to God
Jerusalem says: God has spoken!
What Jesus spoke about all through this chapter is the Doctrine of Election.
many people want to deny it, because they just refuse to believe it.
But again, without going over all the verses in this one chapter that deals with Election…have you ever seen anyone get upset by telling them they have the free will to choose Christ or not.
Have you ever seen anyone get upset when you told them that “it is completely up to you and your own free will”?
Me neither!
Many people who know this doctrine and believe this doctrine refuse to preach on it. They say that it will upset people.
My answer to that is: Yes it will.
Christ taught this…and it is our job to teach it as well.
But what if it makes a lot of people run away from the Church?
Jesus ran away over 5,000 in the Synagogue in this chapter by teaching it.
I doubt any of us are going to runaway 5,000.
But If you wouldn’t teach it…then your church would be so much bigger…you would have so many more people!
Christ was more concerned with those who truly believed His Words, true disciples, not those who professed but did not truly believe His Word.
Let me just say this for the record: I know this is not popular TODAY. I know many people don’t like it. I’m not preaching this because I like to upset people. I preach this because it is God’s Word.
This Doctrine does the same thing today as it did here in this Chapter when Jesus preached it.
It will drive you away from Christ or...
It will drive you closer to 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.”
After this many of his disciples turned back and no longer walked with him.
After THIS…it drove them away.
Again, DO NOT be shocked when you preach the Sovereignty of God that many will walk away from you too.
So Jesus said to the twelve, “Do you want to go away as well?”
The question many of you have faced is the same Jesus asked the disciples here.
“Do you want to go away as well?”
Do you want to stay with the large group?
Or do you want Christ because his words are Spirit and Life?
The question is
are you willing to follow Christ if no one else did?
Do you believe Him that much?
IF everyone else left Him…would you stay? Seriously think about that…is Christ enough?
When Christ asked his disciples this question, Peter answered:
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.”
Lets look at verse 68 first:
Peter speaks up, as usual. And he speaks up presumably for all 12 of the disciples.
He says, “Lord, to whom shall WE go?”
Outside of Christ there is NOWHERE to go for eternal life.
Let me remind all of us Peter’s famous confession. Now, before I read his confession to you think of all that Christ has said up to this point in John 6
All the Father gives me WILL come to me
No one can come to me UNLESS the Father draws him and I will raise him up on the last day
Everyone who has heard and learned from the Father comes to me
NO ONE CAN come to me unless it is granted him by the Father
Now, look at his confession in Matthew 16:16-17
Simon Peter replied, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” And Jesus answered him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven.
So how did Peter come to know that Jesus was the Christ?
the Father REVEALED IT TO HIM.
Let me read you one more section of Scripture before we look at the next verse in John 6...
Is everyone familiar with this verse? Matthew 11:28-30???
Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”
Most people are familiar with these verses...
but are you familiar with the verses above this section of Scripture? Im guessing most are not.
Let’s look at it together....Matt 11:25-30
At that time Jesus declared, “I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that you have hidden these things from the wise and understanding and revealed them to little children; yes, Father, for such was your gracious will. All things have been handed over to me by my Father, and no one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal him. Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”
Now, I think if we can be honest with the text of God’s Word…this is pretty shocking if we have never seen this or have never been shown this...
It is hard to believe and understand it at first. It was for me…and it was for many of you.
For many the Doctrine of Election is still just SO HARD TO UNDERSTAND...
Now…look at verse 68 and 69 again…and we are going to focus on verse 69
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.”
So the question is…do you WANT to understand this Doctrine that Christ is laying out all through this chapter?
Do you WANT to understand or...
Do you WANT to walk away?
If you truly want to understand then you must first BELIEVE.
Believe THE WORD!
Believe the WORD of God first and then understanding and knowing will follow.
This is not the way the world works though is it?
Our world tells us we must first KNOW.
We must FIRST KNOW…and then, just maybe I will believe.
PROVE TO ME GOD IS REAL…and then I’ll believe.
But that is not how SAVING FAITH WORKS.
Saving Faith always begins with believing and then knowledge and understanding will follow.
Peter says, “we have BELIEVED, and have come to KNOW that you are the Holy One of God”...
Abraham BELIEVED God’s Word against all logic and reasoning...
That is why it depends on faith, in order that the promise may rest on grace and be guaranteed to all his offspring—not only to the adherent of the law but also to the one who shares the faith of Abraham, who is the father of us all, as it is written, “I have made you the father of many nations”—in the presence of the God in whom he believed, who gives life to the dead and calls into existence the things that do not exist. In hope he believed against hope, that he should become the father of many nations, as he had been told, “So shall your offspring be.” He did not weaken in faith when he considered his own body, which was as good as dead (since he was about a hundred years old), or when he considered the barrenness of Sarah’s womb. No unbelief made him waver concerning the promise of God, but he grew strong in his faith as he gave glory to God, fully convinced that God was able to do what he had promised. That is why his faith was “counted to him as righteousness.”
Abraham BELIEVED THE WORD...
Christ says,
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.
Do you believe His Word?
Peter believed His Word…and because he BELIEVED…he came to KNOW…that Christ was the HOLY ONE OF GOD.
Who exactly is this Holy One of God?
I promise you that I can confidently tell you…HE IS NOT A BEGGAR!
Give me a few minutes and I’ll clear up who He is exactly. I don’t want anyone leaving here this morning having the Holy One of God confused with anything else… but first lets look at verse 70
Jesus answered them, “Did I not choose you, the twelve? And yet one of you is a devil.”
This response to Peter could be to remind him that he is not there because of his own choice, his own will, and efforts.
Like Peter, we could become prideful in thinking that “WE” have come to some understanding while “OTHERS” have walked away.
If there was any pride in Peter’s answer, Christ shut it down right here.
If someone walks away from Christ because of hard teachings of Christ…we CAN NOT become PRIDEFUL but we must become PRAYERFUL.
It is God who opens hearts and eyes.
It is God who calls.
We should know that if it wasn’t for God opening our heart and eyes to his Grace toward us we wouldn’t be here either.
We can never forget this.
Another point Christ could be making here is...
it is good that you didn’t go with the crowd and this little group remains…BUT this small group is going to get even smaller.
He spoke of Judas the son of Simon Iscariot, for he, one of the twelve, was going to betray him.
Now when this was said, obviously John didn’t know it was Judas who was going to betray him. He didn’t know at the time Jesus said this that Judas was a devil. This is him writing hind sight.
But what can we learn from this verse? A Couple of things.
ONE: Who knew right?
Who knew Judas was a devil and that he was going to betray Christ?
Imagine standing there with the 12 and Jesus said this…no one flinched.
No one made a move! Who was it? Judas didn’t show any sign whatsoever.
So who knew? TWO PEOPLE KNEW
Jesus
and JUDAS
The hypocrite of all hypocrites right?
But a hypocrite like this doesn’t feel remorse. Hypocrites like this feel nothing really. Hypocrites like this…think they are so much better than everyone else that nothing can faze them.
And he, one of the 12, betrays Jesus.
But just like Jesus knew that not everyone would come to Him, he also KNEW THAT JUDAS WOULD BETRAY HIM FROM THE BEGINNING.
This was the plan from the beginning.
While I was with them, I kept them in your name, which you have given me. I have guarded them, and not one of them has been lost except the son of destruction, that the Scripture might be fulfilled.
What Scripture?
Even my close friend in whom I trusted,
who ate my bread, has lifted his heel against me.
If you are listening to me this morning please hear me:
We all have a bit of Judas in us. We all betray Christ every time we choose to sin. We are sinful people. But let us hold fast to the confession of our faith. We are saved by GRACE THROUGH FAITH AND THIS IS NOT OUR OWN DOING…IT IS A GIFT OF GOD SO THAT NONE OF US CAN BOAST.
We all struggle with pride in our hearts but let us be honest with ourselves and confess our sins to one another and to God and He will forgive us.
We can’t look down on those who walk away from Christ’s hard teachings and we can not give up on them either. Prayer is what we need. Pray for those who reject God’s Word. If it were not for God opening our hearts and eyes to his Gracious Truths we wouldn’t see it either.
Pray to the Holy One of God...
Let me end with a description of this Holy One who by his grace works wonders...
The grass withers, the flower fades,
but the word of our God will stand forever.
Go on up to a high mountain,
O Zion, herald of good news;
lift up your voice with strength,
O Jerusalem, herald of good news;
lift it up, fear not;
say to the cities of Judah,
“Behold your God!”
Behold, the Lord God comes with might,
and his arm rules for him;
behold, his reward is with him,
and his recompense before him.
He will tend his flock like a shepherd;
he will gather the lambs in his arms;
he will carry them in his bosom,
and gently lead those that are with young.
Who has measured the waters in the hollow of his hand
and marked off the heavens with a span,
enclosed the dust of the earth in a measure
and weighed the mountains in scales
and the hills in a balance?
Who has measured the Spirit of the Lord,
or what man shows him his counsel?
Whom did he consult,
and who made him understand?
Who taught him the path of justice,
and taught him knowledge,
and showed him the way of understanding?
Behold, the nations are like a drop from a bucket,
and are accounted as the dust on the scales;
behold, he takes up the coastlands like fine dust.
Lebanon would not suffice for fuel,
nor are its beasts enough for a burnt offering.
All the nations are as nothing before him,
they are accounted by him as less than nothing and emptiness.
To whom then will you liken God,
or what likeness compare with him?
An idol! A craftsman casts it,
and a goldsmith overlays it with gold
and casts for it silver chains.
He who is too impoverished for an offering
chooses wood that will not rot;
he seeks out a skillful craftsman
to set up an idol that will not move.
Do you not know? Do you not hear?
Has it not been told you from the beginning?
Have you not understood from the foundations of the earth?
It is he who sits above the circle of the earth,
and its inhabitants are like grasshoppers;
who stretches out the heavens like a curtain,
and spreads them like a tent to dwell in;
who brings princes to nothing,
and makes the rulers of the earth as emptiness.
Scarcely are they planted, scarcely sown,
scarcely has their stem taken root in the earth,
when he blows on them, and they wither,
and the tempest carries them off like stubble.
To whom then will you compare me,
that I should be like him? says the Holy One.
Lift up your eyes on high and see:
who created these?
He who brings out their host by number,
calling them all by name;
by the greatness of his might
and because he is strong in power,
not one is missing.
Why do you say, O Jacob,
and speak, O Israel,
“My way is hidden from the Lord,
and my right is disregarded by my God”?
Have you not known? Have you not heard?
The Lord is the everlasting God,
the Creator of the ends of the earth.
He does not faint or grow weary;
his understanding is unsearchable.
He gives power to the faint,
and to him who has no might he increases strength.
Even youths shall faint and be weary,
and young men shall fall exhausted;
but they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength;
they shall mount up with wings like eagles;
they shall run and not be weary;
they shall walk and not faint.
Prayer.