Introduction

Some of the most life-giving words Jesus speaks are also the ones that make us swallow hard. You’ve felt that, haven’t you? You’re reading the Bible in the early hush of morning, coffee cooling by your chair, and a sentence seems to stand up from the page. It has weight. It has heat. It asks something of you—maybe forgiveness that feels costly, obedience that feels scary, trust that feels thin. In those moments we learn the difference between liking Jesus and following Jesus. And here’s the quiet grace: He meets us in the tension, steadies us in the questions, and stays with us when our knees wobble.

The crowd in John 6 loved the bread—warm, abundant, easy to receive. Then Jesus began speaking about true bread, His flesh and blood, eternal life, and the work of the Spirit. The room cooled. The murmurs rose. Some eyebrows arched. Some hearts ached. A few feet shuffled toward the door. It wasn’t that His words were unclear. His words were clear, and they were costly. They invited faith that is more than feelings and deeper than convenience.

Have you ever had a moment when Jesus’ teaching presses right where your pride sits, or touches the habits you protect, or calls you to a courage you’ve delayed? Where you feel exposed, yet somehow seen? Where do we go then? We can try to smooth out the edges of His words, or we can let His words smooth the rough edges of our hearts.

Tim Keller put it well: “If your God never disagrees with you, you might just be worshiping an idealized version of yourself.” — Tim Keller

That brings us to this scene. Jesus doesn’t lower the bar to keep the crowd. He lifts our eyes to real life—the life the Spirit gives. In a moment, we’ll listen to the passage that shapes our time today. As we hear it, consider this: hard sayings are not harsh. They are holy. They peel away our flimsy props and point us to the only One who holds us steady. Some will step back. Others will step closer. And grace will hold every step toward Him.

Let’s hear the Word of God.

John 6:60-70 (ESV) 60 When many of his disciples heard it, they said, “This is a hard saying; who can listen to it?” 61 But Jesus, knowing in himself that his disciples were grumbling about this, said to them, “Do you take offense at this? 62 Then what if you were to see the Son of Man ascending to where he was before? 63 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. 64 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.) 65 And he said, “This is why I told you that no one can come to me unless it is granted him by the Father.” 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.” 70 Jesus answered them, “Did I not choose you, the Twelve? And yet one of you is a devil.”

Opening Prayer: Father, we come with honest hearts—some of us weary, some worried, some wondering. We confess that Your words are life, and we ask for grace to receive them with humility and hope. Holy Spirit, open our ears to hear, open our eyes to see Jesus, and open our wills to obey. Where we are fearful, grant courage. Where we are stubborn, grant softness. Where we are hungry, feed us with the living Word. Lord Jesus, be our bread, be our breath, be our bright morning mercy. Keep us near You when Your sayings are hard and keep us faithful when the crowd thins. We say with Peter, “To whom shall we go?” You have the words of eternal life. Amen.

Hard sayings expose pretenders

When Jesus speaks in this passage, the room changes. People who had been eager begin to hesitate. They say the words feel heavy. They wonder who can keep listening. That moment tells the truth. Ease can hide a thin heart. Pressure tends to show what is real. When the words of Christ ask for surrender, the soul shows its hand. Some want gifts without trust. Some want signs without a cross. The teaching pulls back the cover and shows the love beneath our love.

Listen to the shape of the scene. They grumble. They feel offended. They measure His words by their measure. When the teaching rubs against desire, a choice rises. Either bend the will to His voice, or bend His voice to the will. Grumbling is not small here. It is a verdict. It says, “I will stand as judge.” Jesus answers with calm strength. He asks, “Does this trip you up?” He lifts their eyes to His place with the Father. He points to a lift that is higher than their logic. He makes clear who He is. That claim presses the heart. If He is who He says He is, then His words hold weight. If His words hold weight, then my preferences do not sit in the center. This is where many drift away. The teaching did not change. Their posture did.

The crowd thins because desire meets authority. Many liked the idea of help. Fewer wanted a King. People can agree with Jesus as long as He echoes their own voice. Then He asserts His rule, and the soul must decide. Will I follow a Lord, or keep a mascot? Harsh? No. Honest. The claim to ascend, to stand where He stood before, tells us this is more than a wise teacher speaking. This is the Son speaking. His rank confronts our rank. That exposure stings. It also heals. It shows whose throne we cherish.

Hard words also sort motives. Some came for gain. Some came for God. Both groups can sing and smile. Both groups can stand close. Then Jesus names cost. He speaks of eating His flesh and drinking His blood earlier in the chapter. He speaks of eternal life and the Spirit’s work. He speaks with final authority. At that point, appetite is revealed. Do I want comfort, or do I want Christ? Again, this is not a trick. This is grace. It is mercy to face your own mixed loves while there is time to turn.

Jesus then says something that feels like a key in a lock. “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.” That line clears the fog. Life does not come from our grit. Life comes from God. We can gather facts and miss the pulse. We can train the will and still carry death inside. The Spirit gives breath to dead lungs. The Spirit makes the heart soft to receive what Jesus says.

His words carry that breath. They are not cold data. They carry life. When He speaks, the Spirit moves. That is why some hear and live, while others hear and harden. Two ears can catch the same sentence. One ear finds rest. The other ear finds a rock. The difference is not raw IQ. The difference is the Spirit making room in the soul. So when a saying feels hard, the wise prayer is simple. “Holy Spirit, make me alive to this. Make me willing.” That prayer stands on this verse. That prayer is the doorway to change.

Then He adds another line that humbles us. “No one can come to me unless it is granted him by the Father.” This is a gift word. It takes aim at pride. We cannot work our way into faith. We cannot talk our way into life. We are drawn. We are given to the Son. This is not a wall. It is a promise. The Father is active. The Father is kind. The Father gives people to Jesus, and Jesus keeps them. This keeps us from swagger. It also keeps us from despair. If coming is granted, then we can ask. We can ask for people we love. We can ask for our own cold heart. We can ask, and keep asking, because the Father loves to give.

When people walk away in verse 66, it is not because Jesus failed at tone. It is because His words blew away props. The flesh could not carry the load. Some leave when the Spirit is absent. Others stay when the Spirit has moved. The same sun that melts wax hardens clay. The same sermon brings some to tears and others to anger. That is not a cue to soften truth. It is a cue to pray for breath and to speak with care.

Now look at the Twelve. Jesus asks if they also want to leave. It is a tender question. He gives them space to be honest. Peter answers for the group, and his words are plain. He says there is nowhere else to turn. He says the words of Jesus carry life that lasts. He says they have trusted and learned who Jesus is. This is a different kind of hearing. It is personal. It is needy. It is all-in. Peter does not claim to grasp every line. He clings to the Speaker. That is what real faith does when the teaching presses. It holds on. It does not need a new leader. It needs more of the Lord it has.

Notice the order. First, Peter points to the words. Then, he points to the Person. The words give life. The Person is the Holy One of God. This shows how deep faith runs. It listens. It trusts. It worships. It can carry questions without bailing. It can carry pain without hiding. It can carry commands that sting and keep walking. Grace has made the heart alive. The Father has granted the coming. The Spirit has opened the ear. So the hard saying becomes a doorway to deeper love.

But Jesus gives one more sobering line. “Did I not choose you, the Twelve? And yet one of you is a devil.” He speaks of Judas. That sentence turns on the light in a dark corner. You can be near. You can serve. You can see wonders. You can hold the money bag. You can kiss the Teacher on the cheek. Nearness does not equal newness. Proximity does not equal purity. Judas is a warning and a mercy. A warning, because position can hide a hard heart. A mercy, because Jesus names it before it blossoms. He wants us to check the soul, not just the badge.

This also guards the rest of the group. When betrayal comes later, they will remember that Jesus said this. He was not surprised. Their faith does not need to collapse when a leader falls. The word prepared them. The word steadies them. The word explains the split between outward role and inward trust. The sifting has begun here, long before the kiss in the garden. Hard words built a fence around their hearts.

Judas stands beside Peter in this scene. That pairing is a mirror for the church. In any circle, there are people who cling when the saying is hard. There are also people who nod and plan their exit. The same sermon flows over both. The same communion bread touches both tongues. One is held by grace. One holds a mask. This should make us humble. This should make us ask for mercy. This should make us slow to assume and quick to seek the Lord.

So we ask honest questions. Do I only enjoy Jesus when His words confirm me? Do I pray for ears when His words confront me? Do I lay down my offense and ask for life? Do I treat His claims as the claims of the Son who will ascend, or as opinions in a marketplace of ideas? These questions do work inside. They help us trade polish for truth. They move us from grumbling to prayer.

And here is hope for tender hearts. If you feel the sting of a hard text, that may be a sign of life. A dead heart feels little. A living heart can ache and still obey. Ask the Spirit to make the words sweet over time. Ask the Father to grant deeper coming. Hold fast to the Son who chose you. When others leave, whisper the words Peter found. “Where else would we go?” You know He has the words that never end, even when they cut. Cutting can clean a wound. His words carry both edge and balm.

This passage invites patient faith. Stay near. Keep listening. Keep asking. Bring your offense into the light. Let the claim of Jesus stand over you. Tell Him where it hurts. Tell Him where you fear. Tell Him where you are tempted to leave. Then open the Book tomorrow and the next day. Keep tasting the words that are spirit and life. Over time, the heart grows soft. Over time, the feet grow steady. Over time, the mask loses its grip.

The scene also calls for wise care in the church. Leaders should not panic when people walk away. Jesus preached this sermon. People left. Our task is to say what He said and trust the same Spirit. We can be gentle. We can be plain. We can refuse to twist the text to keep a crowd. We can stay low and pray big. The Lord knows who are His. He will grant coming. He will keep those He calls. He will sort the field in His time.

And we take comfort in this. Jesus did not chase the crowd down the road with a softer line. He turned to the Twelve and pastored them. He asked a question. He drew out their faith. He named the danger in their midst. He guarded their souls. He will do the same for all who cling to Him now. Hard words in His mouth are still the words of a Friend. They wound to heal. They expose to save. They sift to make a people who will stand when the wind rises.

The Spirit gives life; the flesh profits nothing

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