A Study of the Book of John
“That You May Believe”
Sermon # 22
“Will You Turn Away?”
John 6:60-71
It is amazing to consider that chapter six of John’s gospel began with the amazing reception to the teaching of Jesus. In verse two we read, “Then a great multitude followed Him, because they saw His signs which He performed…” And yet in verse sixty-six of that same chapter we read, “From that time many of His disciples went back and walked with Him no more.” What a difference. The problem was that there were those who wanted the blessing of following Jesus without the problems associated with making a real commitment. As long as it was convenient, as long as the blessings kept flowing, as long as everyday was a mountain top experience, as long as no real work was required, as long as no deep commitment was expected, these people are with you. But when a walk with Jesus requires more … then that is a different story.
Now a time of testing begins. Jesus tells them that it is now time to for them to begin thinking about spiritual things. In verse sixty we read, “Therefore many of His disciples, when they heard this, said, “This is a hard saying; who can understand it?”
This verse tells us that many of the disciples found what Jesus had been saying in the previous verses about His being “the bread of life” a hard saying. The Greek word (skleros) translated “hard” means not hard to understand but hard to accept. The problem was not that they did not understand, the problem is that they did understand and because they did they came to a very important decision.
It has been proven down through the centuries that it is not intellectual difficulty that keeps people from believing as much as it is accepting the moral demands of Christ. Many refuse to follow Christ not because they are intellectually puzzled but because of its challenges their way of living.
In fact Jesus does want people to decide. With they follow Him or not! Will they commit themselves to Him without reservation or not. There is no such thing as half way committed.
Jesus was making demands that the crowd were not willing to grant. They had come to Jesus to get something from Him but when it came to suffering for Him or giving to Him they quit. They were unwilling to join the company of the committed! In verse sixty-one Jesus asks, “Does this offend you?” or literally “Does this cause you to stumble (skandalizo)?” It would seem that some stumbled over the whole issue that he was God incarnate. In the earlier presentation of Himself as the true bread that came down from heaven (vv. 33,38,51) He had certainly implied if not declared outright that He had existed before his physical birth. They were not ready to accept that He was God come in the flesh.
Also offensive to them was the idea that Jesus Christ had to earn salvation for them. Jesus was to go to the cross to pay for salvation and they would have to receive salvation as a free gift from Him or not receive it at all. They found it very objection-able that there was nothing they could do to earn salvation on their on merit.
Today from the text beginning in verse sixty-six I want you to see Three Amazing Attitudes towards Jesus.
First, There Is An Amazing Defection (vv. 66-67)
“From that time many of His disciples went back and walked with Him no more.”
The verse tells us “from that time” or “arising from this,” ”because of this” the number of those who followed Christ diminished.
•Jesus asks a Question (v. 67)
It no doubt shook the disciples to have so many turn from following Christ. And so in verse sixty-seven Jesus quietly turns to his disciples and asks them this question, “Do you also want to go away.” I like the way it is rendered in the King James Version, “Will you also go away?” When the Lord asks His question the “You” is emphatic and can be understood to say, “No matter whatever the case will be with others, you will not go away, will you?”
It is a simple question, but it is one that must have cut deeply into the hearts and minds of the disciples; for it was directed at all of them. Once again we need to under-stand that Jesus did not ask this question because he did not know the answer, he asked the question because the disciples needed to grapple with the answer.
Not Only Is There Is An Amazing Defection but…
Secondly, There Is An Amazing Declaration - Peter’s Answer (Peter’s Confession of Faith) (vv. 68-69)
Although the question is directed to all the disciples it is Peter acting as their unofficial spokesman who answers with a question of his own. In verse sixty-eight he says, “…Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.”
In his question he makes an affirmation.
•He speaks of Belief - He Acknowledged That Jesus Alone Has The Words Of Eternal Life. (v. 68b)
Notice again what he says, “…Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.”
At least a part of this question expresses the thought of going back. Peter is expressing the idea that having come to Jesus going back is unthinkable. Would you consider going back? Maybe you are discour-aged this morning and you are saying at least to yourself, “Right now I think I might!” If so you need to ask yourself, “What would you go back to?” Is there anything in your past that can compare to what you have in Jesus? Would you really go back to the way your life use to be? As Dr. Phil says, “How was that working for you?”
Peter accurately speaks for all believers when expresses that there is no other source of life. For as Paul states in Acts 4:12,
“Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is not other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.”
•He speaks of Certainty - He Confessed That They Believed Him To Be The Christ, The Son Of The Living God.(v. 69)
“Also we have come to believe and know that You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”
Peter answers with his own emphatic pronoun, an emphatic “we.” He says, “No matter what the case of others, “we’ have believed.” In fact both of the verbs “believe” and “know” are perfect tense meaning, something beginning in the past and continuing in the present, so that the result remains. Peter says then, “We have believed and believe now; we have known and we know now.” They had come to a place of belief and they remain in it and they had come to a state of knowledge and they remain in it. Peter is stating that he and his fellow disciples have a certainty of faith and knowledge.
The disciples represented by Peter, have taken a very important step into commit-ment. They have not only seen the truth and intellectually seized onto it, they have literally staked their lives on it and have burned their bridges behind them.
When Hernando Cortez landed in Mexico in 1518 to begin the conquest of the New World one of his first orders to his men was to burn the ships. Cortez was committed to his mission and did not want to allow himself or his men the option of going back to Spain. By removing this option, forever sealed their opportunity to turn back.
The mark of the true believer is that they cannot quit. (1 John 2:19) “They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would have continued with us; but they went out that they might be made manifest, that none of them were of us.”
Pastor Ray Stedman states in his commentary on this passage states that this passage reveals three kinds of disciples; “There are 1) Those who will not stay, 2) Those who cannot leave and 3) Those who never really come but who will not leave.” [Ray Stedman. “To Whom Shall We Go” John 6:60-71. www.pbc.org/library ]
This brings us to the final section
Not Only Is There Is An Amazing Declaration but …
Third, There Is An Amazing Deception (Judas’ Betrayal) (vv. 70-71)
“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.”
We know that what Peter said was true and Matthew tells us in his account of that Jesus responded by saying (Matt 16:17) “Blessed are you Simon Bar-jonah for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in Heaven.” But not everyone in the group felt as Peter did. Judas was not wholeheartedly committed to Jesus even though he was numbered among the twelve. Even though he had been sent forth with the other disciples and had also participated in healings.
It is horrible to think that anyone could betray Jesus, but to think that someone from this intimate group could do so is almost inconceivable.
Conclusion
Let me ask you, “Can you be counted among the “Company of the Committed?” Will you or have you forsaken Him? As I close this morning let me mention just a few ways in which we can be guilty of forsaking the Lord.
•We can forsake Him in our prayer life.
It may be that once in our lives commun-ication with God was immensely important, but then we got too occupied with the things of this world. But how can we exist without a fresh word from the Father. Prayer is of such crucial importance that we will begin a new Sunday night series on the subject as soon as we complete our series on vision.
•We can forsake God’s house and His work.
Many people began with a wholehearted commitment to the Lord’s house. But more pressing concerns crept in. Some no long come at all. Others come on Sunday mornings but they never come back at any other time. It is easy to allow other things to have precedence over being in the services.
• We can forsake Him in the matter of gratefulness.
If we are not careful we get to the point that we never stop to thank the Lord for all he has done for us. “We are like the man who had been married for forty-five years to a faithful wife. She died suddenly and at the graveside the man was heard to say, “You know, I loved that woman with all my heart and there were several times in our marriage when I almost told her so.”
•We can forsake Him in the matter of giving.
Perhaps we once were tithers but then a personal need arose and we stopped. Or we know we should be tithing but we are still waiting for the right moment to start. We tell the Lord that He has first place in our lives but that is not the story our pocketbook tells.
[Closing application drawn from W. Hershel Ford. Sermons You Can Preach On John. (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1958.] pp. 18-169]
William Barclay in his devotional guide to John’s Gospel says, “In he final analysis, Christianity is not a philosophy which we accept, nor a theory to which we give allegiance. It is a personal response to Jesus Christ.” [William Barclay. The Gospel of John. Vol 1. The Daily Study Bible Series p. 230]
“Will You Turn Away?”
John 6:60-71
First, There Is An Amazing ______________
(vv. 66-67)
Secondly, There Is An Amazing __________
(Peter’s Confession of Faith) (vv. 68-69)
•He speaks of __________
He Acknowledged That Jesus Alone Has The Words Of _________. (v. 68b)
(Acts 4:12)
•He speaks of ___________
He Confessed That They Believed Him To Be The _________, The Son Of The Living God. (v. 69)
Third, There Is An Amazing _________________
(Judas’ Betrayal) (vv. 70-71)
Application
Ways in which we can be guilty of forsaking the Lord!
•Forsake Him in the matter of ___________.
•Forsake Him in His ____________.
•Forsake His __________ and His _________.
•Forsake Him in the matter of ____________.
•Forsake Him in matter of _____________.
