John: The Holy One

After a short diversion last week, we’re back in John! We’re working our way through John, section by section seeing the unfolding picture of Jesus Christ. The author, who was the Apostle John, wrote down this curated selection of what Jesus said & taught so that we can believe in Jesus and have eternal life!

We’re at the tail end of John 6 today. John 6 is all one unit, revolving around the miracle of feeding over 5000 people with 5 loaves and 2 fish in the wilderness. The people who were there rightly recognized that Jesus was a great prophet in the style of Moses, but they were very narrow minded about what they wanted from Him.

Jesus ducked away from them before they could kidnap him and make him king. Then he and the disciples went to the other side of the lake. The crowds tracked Jesus down and started asking for more miraculous bread.

What happened next is that Jesus explained to the crowd that he himself was the real heavenly bread. The miracle was nice, but it was meant to reveal who Jesus was - the Son of Man & Son of God. Jesus said that he was the bread of life, and that if they want eternal life, they had to eat him. It was the only way:

John 6:53–54 NIV

Jesus said to them, “Very truly I tell you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise them up at the last day.

The Jews there were having a hard time hearing what Jesus was saying, not least because they were caught up in the literal meaning. They were confused and didn’t understand what Jesus was getting at. They were probably hearing Jesus promote cannibalism!

Jesus was actually talking about feeding on him by faith, but, only those who God the Father had chosen and drawn would be able to feed on Jesus by Faith.

Now, it’s worth remembering: who’s been listening to Jesus teaching? The Jews, a subset of which are Jesus disciples, a subset of which are “the 12”.

So, of all the Jewish people there, there are those who are there because of the signs and intrigue, there are those who just happened came to synagogue that day, there are those who follow Jesus seriously as disciples, and there are the 12 closest Disciples, set apart for a special purpose. Later on they are called the 12 Apostles.

So, many of Jesus disciples have been sitting around hearing all this stuff about bread and eating and flesh, and they’re struggling with it:

John 6:60 NIV

On hearing it, many of his disciples said, “This is a hard teaching. Who can accept it?”

Which part of the teaching specifically was the hardest? We don’t know, but there are a bunch of things that are hard to take...

The idea that they had to eat flash and drink blood to gain eternal life...

Jesus will only give eternal life to those the Father has drawn to himself...

That Jesus was from God and more than a mere man...

All of it together was a hard pill to swallow.

We’re going to see two reactions to this hard teaching. Two options appear open to Jesus disciples, some chose to call it quits and walk away from Jesus. Some will stay, not because the teaching is any easier, but because there’s no other source of Life to go to!

I’ve broken the text into 4 portions that we will look at in turn as we see these two different responses to Jesus unfold.

Jesus’ Glory Sets the Record Straight (v61-62)

Jesus essentially asks a rhetorical question to probe their failing faith, lets have a look:

John 6:61–62 NIV

Aware that his disciples were grumbling about this, Jesus said to them, “Does this offend you? Then what if you see the Son of Man ascend to where he was before!

Jesus asks, does this hard teaching offend you? Another sense of this word translated offend is “entrap”, or “ensnare”. Jesus is asking, does this teaching trip you up? Does it cause you to fall into sin?

If they were to be offended, they would be sinning, they would be putting themselves in opposition to the Word of God! In opposition to the one who will Judge the world!

Jesus follows up with “What if you saw me lifted up, how would that offend you? Or would it set the record straight?”

Jesus was already alluded to the fact that he is the Son of Man mentioned in the Book of Daniel. This Son of Man is god-like, with great authority and power and glory.

Jesus had put aside this glory and honor so that he could roam the streets of earth as an ordinary man. But, one day soon he would go back to where he was before, at the right hand of God the Father!

Would that be enough to make those disciples believe he was legitimate? Would that be enough proof that what he said was true?

Yet before Jesus is lifted up to take once more his rightful place in glory, he must be lifted up on an inglorious cross. He must be lifted up, like the bronze snake in the wilderness so that all who look and believe on Him would be saved from death.

Jesus, the Son of God and Son of Man would be crucified. He would be tortured and executed. That is where is body was broken. His blood was poured out. That is

Let us for a moment consider if we take up the same prideful spirit as these disciples. Are you ever offended by God’s word?

There is some hard teaching in here! Is there parts of God’s word that you shy away from?

There are parts in here that I don’t want to teach on because of the difficulty it will cause you. People inevitably kick up a fuss and leave churches when they start hearing stuff they don’t like from the Bible. But you know what is more important than not offending people?

Seeing the real Jesus. Preaching a full and faithful Gospel.

It is much more important that you meet Jesus as he is, than to try and placate everybody and leave the hard teaching alone.

Aslan is not a tame lion.

We don’t get to construct a nice soft easy-going Jesus in our mind to suit our own desires. G.k. Chesterton talks about what he found when he looked for Jesus in the NT: “There I found an account, not in the least of a person with his hair parted in the middle or his hands clasped in appeal, but of an extraordinary being with lips of thunder and acts of lurid decision, flinging down tables, casting out devils, passing with the wild secrecy of the wind from mountain isolation to a sort of dreadful demagogy; a being who often acted like an angry god— and always like a god.”

When you say “I can’t believe in a god who...” you are pridefully setting yourself up as someone who is offended by God’s word and character. It is not up to you or I to set the conditions of who God is. He is who he is, the one who says “I am who I am”

We must die to self and get on his programme. We must change to suit Him, not the other way around. Our beliefs must change to suit what God says about himself.

If you find yourself saying “I can’t believe in a God who...” then stop yourself and search the scripture to see who God is. What has he said about Himself? What must I believe? What must I receive?

He has disclosed himself to us, so that we may know something of who He is.

The Life, death, resurrection and Ascension of Christ has made it pretty clear that Jesus is who he says he is, and that we really must come to him for eternal life. Yet, there are still a great many people, even those who call themselves Christians, who are offended, ashamed and ensnared by what he says. One day Jesus glory will be fully revealed and there will be no more doubts left as to the authenticity of his claims!

Nevertheless, back to our story before the ascension. Next we see:

The Words of Jesus bring Spirit and Life (v63-66)

Jesus has basically said this troubling teaching would be no issue if you saw me in my glory. But now he doubles down on the hard teaching and returns to a theme that he was speaking about earlier: their inability to receive His words despite the fact they are life giving.

These disciples won’t believe because the Father has not enabled them.

John 6:63–66 NIV

The Spirit gives life; the flesh counts for nothing. The words I have spoken to you—they are full of the Spirit and life. 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. He went on to say, “This is why I told you that no one can come to me unless the Father has enabled them.” From this time many of his disciples turned back and no longer followed him.

Jesus has been talking earlier about how his flesh is the bread of Life, but here he reverts to the more common way the bible talks about flesh, as something worldly. We are made to inhabit flesh, but this flesh is corrupted and now represents a life apart from God.

Jesus says that the flesh is useless in trying to receive and believe in Him. Our bodies and minds in this world are so messed up, we cannot understand what Jesus is saying.

And that's the case here, these folks here are offended at what Jesus has to say despite the fact that he is speaking to them a message imbued with the Holy Spirit that brings eternal life! They are coming from a place of flesh, and the need an outside force to bring them to God. They would need to be reborn by the Spirit!

Jesus has spoken about the already in the chapter, and he reiterates it here: “no one can come to me unless the Father has enabled them" Jn 6:65. When the father enables them, then the words of Jesus can have the effect of bringing life by the Spirit.

This is a hard truth that some of us try to explain away, but it is plain here.

What about those who are not drawn? Jesus is not unfair: those other disciples are in their flesh, offended by God’s word. They are being idolatrous. Jesus owes them nothing. They are prideful and arrogant. Stubborn.

God owes us nothing. He is not beholden to us to give us eternal life. We have not earned it. We don’t deserve it.

Yet,

God graciously does draw some to Jesus, so that they can receive eternal life.

This is the only way someone can come to Jesus.

Yes, it happens as we make our decisions and learn and grow in faith, but this is because God is working in us to make us alive in Jesus Christ.

D.A. Carson puts it this way: “However much men and women are commanded to believe, and are held accountable for their unbelief, genuine coming to faith is never finally a matter of autonomous human decision.” D.A. Carson

(PNTC The Gospel According to John, 1991, p302)

This raises many questions about the nature of culpability, judgement and sin and if there is any such thing as free will, and I’m not getting into all of those implications here, Romans deals with a lot of them in the first 12 chapters. But we do need to carefully search the scriptures and see what God says on these topics, without importing our own ideas. I would be happy to sit down and walk though this hard teaching of Jesus with you!

At times it may seem hard, but it is actually a teaching that brings great comfort to God’s people.

Some people read this passage an so they say: Well if people can only come to Jesus when the father draws them, and the spirit rebirths them, why bother evangelizing? What the point?

This does not change our job! We are still to go into all the world making disciples, and we still fervently pray for the salvation of souls! We are the instruments that God uses to make his disciples across the world!

Like the Apostles before us, we take these Words of Life out into the world where God is at work drawing his people in. They are drawn in because of the work we do.

It is like our prayers. God’s plan is not changed by our prayers, but incorporates them. He knows what we will ask for, and he will give it when we ask for it not before. Yet we did not alter what God had in store!

People becoming Christians is the work of God in their hearts, and God incorporates our role of going into all the world and proclaiming the Gospel as part of the way that he achieves that good purpose.

Back to our disciples.

This was enough to turn away a whole bunch of disciples. They couldn’t accept it! They stopped following Jesus and went back to whatever they were doing. They were fair-whether disciples, following while it meant comforting sayings, healing and miraculous bread, but not when it came to Jesus divinity, feeding on him by faith, and the way that God draws his people in.

There is no other Source of Life (v67-69)

Such a great number of disciples turned away, that it seems the 12 disciples might go too. But They know that, hard as the teaching is, there is no other option for eternal life!

John 6:67–69 NIV

“You do not want to leave too, do you?” Jesus asked the Twelve. Simon Peter answered him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. We have come to believe and to know that you are the Holy One of God.”

There is nowhere else!

Jesus has The words of Spirit & Life - where else can they get eternal life?

An amazing confession!

Holy One of God - a somewhat strange title, yet entirely appropriate. God is often described as the Holy on of Israel. The holy one belonging to them, like Jesus is of the Father. Also messianic, some textual variations include “the Christ”.

Believe and Know - Note: No dichotomy between head or heart knowledge.

Some are afraid of propositional knowledge.

Need to know propositional knowledge - like here. No place for anti-intelectualism. If you need to learn words like monergistic and eschatological to help you grow in your faith, then get on it! Resisting propositional truth because it is dangerous on it’s own is like rejecting kitchen knives. Yes they cam be used badly, but when used well, they feed us and sustain us instead of causing destruction!

The disciples would stick to Jesus despite the hard things he had to say, because there is not alternative!

Jesus’ Betrayal was no Surprise (v70-71)

Jesus comforts his 12 disciples, saying that Jesus has chosen them especially. The others aren’t enabled to receive but at least the 12 are safe, right? Not quite!

John 6:70–71 NIV

Then Jesus replied, “Have I not chosen you, the Twelve? Yet one of you is a devil!” (He meant Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot, who, though one of the Twelve, was later to betray him.)

There is comfort in being one of the 12 - chosen by Jesus

diablos - slanderer/false accuser

Could almost say that he was devil himself (like Peter)

Way to give away the ending! We normally hold the twist to the climax! Be here we are shown that Jesus knew what was going on, and was intentionally working toward the Cross.

There was not surprise. Jesus was preparing them.

So What?

We must not be offended by what God says, let him reveal himself.

In order to receive and believe in Jesus, the Father needs to draw us to himself. The flesh is useless, but when the father draws us, the spirit comes to rebirth us, and then we can receive the Word of God Jesus Christ and receive eternal life.

There is no other name under heaven by which we may be saved! Jesus doesn’t make the teaching easier, he is who he is, we must accept him on his terms, and see him as the Holy One of God. The Sent one. The Messiah.

Jesus was delivered under the definite plan and foreknowledge of God.

Jesus is the Holy One of God, His words are full of the Spirit and Life.

References:

Carson’s Pillar Commentary on John.

Hutcheson’s commentary on John

Hendrickson’s commentary on John

Sermons by Richard D. Philips,

Sproul, R. C., ed. The Reformation Study Bible: English Standard Version. Orlando, FL; Lake Mary, FL: Ligonier Ministries, 2005.

Phillips, Richard D. John. Edited by Richard D. Phillips, Philip Graham Ryken, and Daniel M. Doriani. 1st ed. Vol. 1 & 2 of Reformed Expository Commentary. Phillipsburg, NJ: P&R Publishing, 2014.

Sproul, R. C. John. St. Andrew’s Expositional Commentary. Lake Mary, FL: Reformation Trust Publishing, 2009.

Hamilton, James M., Jr., and Brian J. Vickers. John–Acts. Edited by Iain M. Duguid, James M. Hamilton Jr., and Jay Sklar. Vol. IX of ESV Expository Commentary. Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2019.

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