John 6:60,66
“When many of his disciples heard it, they said, ‘This is a hard saying; who can listen to it?’ After this, many of his disciples turned back and no longer walked with him.”
Imagine being in a crowd of thousands as Jesus taught. Everyone wanted to hear him and see this preacher and prophet who turned water into wine, multiplied loaves of bread and fish, healed the sick, and gave sight to the blind.
Was it Jesus’ goal to draw crowds? What Jesus does in John 6:60-66 thinned the crowd. Why? What was Jesus looking for?
As you read this section in context, wrestle with what Jesus is saying. Where would you stand in this crowd? Notice that in John 6:35-41, Jesus alludes to His deity.
If Jesus is God and He asks you to partake of Him, what does that mean? Is Jesus worthy of worship and obedience? That is the question, and many in the crowd chose to leave.
Read and meditate on John 6:66-69:
“66 After this, many of his disciples turned back and no longer walked with him. 67 So Jesus said to the twelve, ‘Do you want to go away as well?’ 68 Simon Peter answered him, ‘Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life, 69 and we have believed and have come to know that you are the Holy One of God.'”
Why didn’t these disciples leave as well?
Jesus was not in a popularity contest; His goal was to save those whom the Father had given Him (John 17:24). The church mirrors the mixed bag of crowds that followed Jesus. It’s only when Jesus calls us to sacrifice and obey that we discover who follows Him because they recognize Him as the Holy One of God, and who leaves because they enjoyed the speech, the crowds, or the positive atmosphere.
Jesus is not merely about providing promises for us to hold on to; He is about transforming us into His image, which often involves hard truths that cut to the core of who we think we are (Romans 12:2).
Here’s a hard truth: If we are not hearing challenging words from God calling for our change, we may not truly be His children.
Reflect on Proverbs 3:11-12 and Hebrews 12:5-6.
Is there something in your life that has taken precedence over Christ? Is the Spirit speaking something difficult to you right now—something He wants to dethrone to place Jesus in His rightful position in your life?
You know it is God because He cuts straight to the heart; there is no guessing game (Hebrews 4:12).
Here’s an example of God’s loving correction getting to the heart of the matter: the “hard saying” from Matthew 19:16-30 regarding the rich young ruler.
The rich young ruler appeared to be doing everything right—he gave to the poor, attended “church,” and followed the rules. But Jesus, knowing the heart of man, was very direct: “Sell everything you have and follow me.” This man wanted eternal life but struggled to let go because he trusted his possessions more than he trusted Jesus. Did he see Jesus as God? Was this a hard saying for the young ruler? Yes, because it confronted the very thing that occupied his heart. Jesus wants our hearts.
Sometimes God calls us to let go of things that are extremely difficult to surrender (Matthew 19:22)—factors such as attitudes, the desire for recognition, pornography, power, prestige, position, comfort, hurt, hatred, deceitfulness, and more.
God will shine His light on the areas He wants us to deny and put to death (Psalm 119:105). Pray that God will reveal the sins He wants you to address (1 John 1:5-10).
Here is what to expect as we move forward: Expect God to spotlight areas in your life that He is calling you to deny and put to death. Will it be hard? Yes, it will be. My prayer for you—and for myself—is that we will stand steadfast like His disciples and declare, “Where else can we go? You have the words of life.”
Try to memorize all the verses sent to you at night for meditation.
inspired by David Nasser a call to die
The writer makes a good point, if the crowd believed that Jesus was God, then why did they not choose to follow him? I have to admit that I have done the same thing multiple times in my life. God has asked me to do something, or stop doing something, and I try to bargain with him.
I’m so grateful that He continues to chase me down and press me harder to follow him with all of my heart. I know I have a long way to go, but I know that he will never give up on me.
Psalm 119:34-37 – Give me understanding that I may keep your law and observe it with my whole heart. Lead me in the path of your Commandments, for I delight in it. Incline my heart to your testimonies and not to selfish gain. Turn my eyes from looking at worthless things and give me life in your ways.
Imagine being physically in the presence of Jesus and still not deciding to follow Him. Throughout my life I have chased after leadership roles and loved to be around people who could help me advance in my career. Jesus offered so much wisdom and set the best example but most people found that follow Him would require death to their earthly desires. I’m honored to be in a church family that supports our growth and encourages us to follow Jesus – even if we must leave something behind to do it.
John 6:60,66
When many of His disciples heard it, they said, “This is a hard saying; who can listen to it?” But Jesus, knowing in Himself that His disciples were grumbling about this, said to them, “Do you take offense at this? Then what if you were to see the Sone of Man ascending to where He was before? It is the Spirit that gives life; the flesh is no help at all. The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life. But there are some of you who do not believe.” (For Jesus knew from the beginning who those were who did not believe, and who it was who would betray 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. (John 6:60-66)
What is being said that they heard and said “this is a hard saying”? To get to this we must look back to verse 22 and read forward. What Jesus says in these passages is that He is the “bread of life”. He states in verse 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”. This is a rich statement because it places the focus on man resting in the position of caring about his own flesh but rather on the spiritual sustenance that comes from feeding on the word of God.
In Matthew 4:4 when Jesus was tempted by Satan, Jesus overcomes by saying “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.’”. Here, we see that Jesus starts off with the clause “It is written”, so where is this written and why? This harkens back to Deuteronomy 8:3 where Moses talks to the Israelites and reviews the ten commandments (ch 5, 6) and talks about the benefits and purpose of obedience of the commandments and loyalty towards God (ch 6, 7). Chapter 8 starts off with a promise that careful observance to the commandments will lead to a sustained life, many descendants, and the ability to possess the land. He reminds them of how they wandered through the wilderness to “humble you and test you, to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep His commandments or not.” (v2) Moses then goes on to talk about the manna which was given from heaven, the same manna Jesus talks about in John 6:49, and states the purpose of the hunger and the feeding of the manna was so God “might make you know that man shall not live by bread alone; but man lives by every word that proceeds from the mouth of the Lord.” God wanted the Israelites to know they needed to depend on Him so that they might live, and the words God had just given them were the commandments they must obey in order to live, multiply, and possess the land.
Back to our text in John 6, verse 35 Jesus says “I am the bread of life.” Tying “every word that proceeds from the mouth of God” from Deuteronomy to John 1:14 where John says “the Word became flesh and dwelt among us.” Therefore, Jesus tells the disciples that He is the Word of God, the manna, this bread of life which proceeds from the mouth of God. In verse 38, Jesus says
“I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me.” Because Jesus is the Word become Flesh, and Deuteronomy says “man shall live by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God,” it is clear to me that Jesus is the manner in which we come to eternal life and life abundantly. It also is starting to shape new understanding in my mind and my heart just how insignificant the physical world is and how rich and complex (according to my human mind) the spiritual world is and how we need not worry about what takes place in the physical realm.
Beyond this, verse 44 states that “no one can come to Jesus unless the Father draws them”, which makes clear the verse “no one comes to the father except through me” (John 14:6) God the Father draws to God the Son through God the Spirit by the words of God and the movement of the Spirit. It is done for our good and His glory.
If we continue on Jesus starts talking about eating the flesh of the Son and drinking His blood. (v53) This is a lot to take in for the disciples and leaves them to the statement in v60 “This is a hard saying; who can understand it?” Because of this, Jesus lays the claim that it is the Spirit that gives life, and the words Jesus is speaking are Spirit and are life (v63), and then calls out the unbelievers again (v36, v64) and finishes up with the statement in v65 “Therefore I have said to you that no one can come to Me unless it has been granted to him by My Father.”
There was a hard line drawn between a believer and an unbeliever. It was clear that even if you desired to be near Christ, if you are not called by the Father you will not believe in Jesus even as He stands in front of you. It certainly is a difficult statement Jesus was making, especially back then. There was the understanding of the Tanakh, but the one in front of them is making it clear that He is the way to eternal life and it takes believing in Him, His words, and His Father and their purpose together as the Triune God.
John 1:14, the Word became Flesh. Jesus says “eat my flesh”, as in “fill your bellies with every word that comes from God.”
Leviticus 17:11, life of the flesh is in the blood… for it is the blood that makes atonement for the soul. Matthew 26:28, for this is my blood of the covenant, which is shed for many for the remission of sins.
The new covenant was that of the flesh and the blood being broken and poured out for the eternal life and the atonement of the soul. A price only Jesus, the Word made flesh, the manna from heaven, was able to pay as a gift from God the Father to all who would believe and place their trust.