To Whom Shall We Go?

John 6:60-71

This is a hard saying

The gospel is not easy

It is simple, but do not confuse simple with easy

There is no harder thing in the world

Matthew 7:13-14- Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few.

Matthew 19:23-26- And Jesus said to his disciples, “Truly, I say to you, only with difficulty will a rich person enter the kingdom of heaven. Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God.” When the disciples heard this, they were greatly astonished, saying, “Who then can be saved?” But Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”

He asks “what if you see the Son of Man ascend to where He was before

The rhetorical answer is a resounding “you still wouldn’t believe”

Think of it… Jesus ascending before thousands of bread loaf lovers and they stand there unaffected by belief

And He will ascend into heaven, but just not here in front of these people because some work has to be done first

How will He get there?

He will be crucified on a criminal’s cross

If they don’t believe in Him now, how much more will they reject Him when they see Him hanging there?

1 Corinthians 1:18- 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.

1 Corinthians 1:22-24- 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.

The reason that so many Christians think that it is easy is because we have been given eyes to see and believe

We so often take God’s sight-giving work for granted

As we call sinners to repentance, remember that they are unable to see the truth and that God is exceedingly able to give them eyes to see and believe

Many of His disciples turned back

Their grumbling led them to action- abandoning their pursuit of Jesus

The benefit of getting what they wanted out of Jesus is suddenly eclipsed by the disdain for Jesus’ perceived foolishness

The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone

Acts 4:8-12- Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, “Rulers of the people and elders, if we are being examined today concerning a good deed done to a crippled man, by what means this man has been healed, let it be known to all of you and to all the people of Israel that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead—by him this man is standing before you well. This Jesus is the stone that was rejected by you, the builders, which has become the cornerstone. And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.”

Do not be surprised when many turn away because they cease getting what they want from Jesus

The hemorrhaging of members from churches across America and the Western world is not mainly the loss of the Christianness of the West, but rather the revealing of the spiritual realities of the world

To whom shall we go?

What other options are there?

Pharisees/Saducees?

Zealots?

Romans?

Annas, Ciaphas, and the priests?

Retreat to our families and pretend like thats all we need?

You have the Words of eternal life

Peter recognizes that truth and salvation can be found nowhere else

We believe you are the Holy One of God

Peter’s confession is just like his great confession in the other Gospels

Matthew 16:15-17- He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” 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.

He is declaring that Jesus is the Christ

The disciples certainly do not understand all of what this means yet, but they understand enough to know that Jesus is more than a prophet, more than a good teacher, more than a good moral example, more than a man who can perform miracles

He is the the One who they have been waiting for all these years

One of you is the Devil

Your translation almost certainly will read “one of you is a devil”

This is the way that the text reads because there is an indefinite article before “devil”, but there is a rule in Greek that negates the indefinite article

The same exact rule is employed in John 1:1

Jesus is calling Judas the Devil

This is the same language that He uses toward Peter

Matthew 16:21-23- From that time Jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised. And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him, saying, “Far be it from you, Lord! This shall never happen to you.” But he turned and said to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a hindrance to me. For you are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of man.”

Yet He is the One who chose Judas

The question that you have to be asking is did He make a mistake?

If He made a mistake choosing Judas, then how can we have confidence in Him as a powerful Savior who will come through on all of His promises?

He knew when He chose Judas what he would do

He didn’t make a mistake. He knew from the beginning

The beginning of what?

Either His ministry or from all eternity

This means that it was an intentional part of the plan

Jesus even gave Judas charge of the moneybag, knowing that he was a greedy thief

Judas shows himself to love money and not Jesus

Judas answered the question “to whom shall we go?” loud and clear. He ran to money

To whom will you go?

Examine yourself

Is your heart like that of the many disciples who went after whatever would give them what they wanted for themselves?

Are you playing the part like Judas, but actually your true desire is for something other than Jesus?

If this is you, will you cast yourself on Him in faith and go to no other?

Are you walking headlong in the truth and faith that Jesus truly is He who has the words of eternal life and is the Son of God sent to die for sinners?

This week, do not lose sight of the centrality of Christ in all things and thank Him unashamedly for His inexpressible grace toward you