Devotional - John 6:60-71 - It Is The Spirit Who Gives Life...

Passage To Study:

John 6:60-71

[60] 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. [65] And He said, “Therefore I have said to you that no one can come to Me unless it has been granted to him by My Father.” [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.” [70] Jesus answered them, “Did I not choose you, the twelve, and one of you is a devil?” [71] He spoke of Judas Iscariot, the son of Simon, for it was he who would betray Him, being one of the twelve.

What are the facts of the passage?:

(Verse 60) Jesus' own disciples have great difficulty understanding what He has just said.
(Verse 61) Jesus asks them if His words offended them.
(Verse 62-63) Jesus asks them what if they saw the ultimate sign? He then says plainly it is the Spirit Who gives life. The flesh profits nothing.
(Verse 64) We are told that Jesus knew from the beginning who would not believe and who would betray Him.
(Verse 65) He tells them that because of what He said in verse 62-63 He had said to them that no one can come to the Father unless it has been granted to him by the Father to come.
(Verse 66-68) Many disciples leave; Jesus questions His disciples, Peter confesses Christ as having the words of life.
(Verse 69) Peter further confesses that they have come to believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the Living God.
(Verse 70-71) Jesus speaks of the choice of the 12 including Judas who betrayed Him.

What do those facts mean?:

(Verse 60) If even the disciples had difficulty getting through what Christ had said, what chance did the others have? We need also to ask what was it about what Jesus had said that was particularly difficult to grasp? This underscores the extreme importance of believing that it must be God Who instructs and teaches. These things are not humanly "grasp-able" and we need to acknowledge that.

(Verse 61) We need also to recognize that what Jesus said is, indeed offensive to the unredeemed. The sooner we realize this the better off we'll be! What is offensive about them? The next two verses give us a clue.

(Verse 62-63) The crowd had seen some spectacular signs. Jesus asks them a rhetorical question. What if they saw Him go to heaven with their own eyes? This would be categorical proof of Who He was. Would this remove the offense? The implied answer is: No, it would not. Why? Because it is the Spirit Who gives life and the flesh profits nothing. The words Jesus had said to them are that which bring life.

(Verse 64) Jesus tells us the He knew that some would not (did not) believe and even who it was. The question that needs to be asked here is why say this now? My inclination is to understand this in terms of the control of God over all things. Christ knew that Judas would betray Him even before anything of the kind entered Judas' mind. In light of the statements of no one comes unless God grants it; this takes on a grave and serious note.

(Verse 65) Having just said that Judas would not believe and betray Him; this statement is astounding in its impact! Judas will not believe; but he won't come because the Father hasn't granted him to come. What other conclusion is there to come to?

(Verse 66-68) With the tough doctrine that was just put forth and clarified, it is little wonder that many of His disciples ceased to follow Him. What is truly remarkable is that the 12 remained!

(Verse 69) Peter is wonderful! All else aside, we have come to believe and know that you are the Messiah! How glorious! What a stark contrast to both the multitude, to the disciples that left; and to Judas Iscariot!

How do those facts apply to my life?:

I must be filled with wonder at the truth God granted me to believe!

What should I do in response?:

I need to expose myself to the magnificence of God and allow it to amaze me!

Day

It Is The Spirit Who Gives Life...