John 6:66-69

(66) From that time many of His disciples went back, and walked no more with Him. (67) Then said Jesus unto the twelve, Will ye also go away? (68) Then Simon Peter answered Him, Lord, to whom shall we go? Thou hast the words of eternal life. (69) And we believe and are sure that Thou art that Christ, the Son of the living God.

Introduction

We must remember that Jesus had just fed several thousand people with two minnows and five barley muffins – a two-piece fish dinner. They were so impressed by what He had done and could do for them that they wanted to make Him king. Then He slipped away from them into a secret hiding place, and the people scattered for the night. However, they did not forget how Jesus had fed them, and they wanted more of the same. So, they came looking for Him the next morning. They were puzzled when they could not find Him. They knew that the disciples had gone across the sea and had left Him behind, but where was He now? They did not know that during the night, He had walked on the water, stilled the storm, had gotten in the boat with the disciples, and gone over to the other side to Capernaum.

After searching unsuccessfully for Jesus, the crowd finally realized that He was not there. Accordingly, the crowd entered several small boats from Tiberias, which served as ferries, to go to the other side, perhaps to ask the disciples where Jesus was.

Upon the crowd’s arrival in Capernaum, to their surprise, Jesus was already there. They asked Him when had He arrived. To that question, Jesus simply did not reply. He turned the conversation to more important things. He said they were following Him for the wrong reason. They just wanted more free physical food and had ignored the need for spiritual food. Jesus then told them He is the bread of life. Moses gave your ancestors bread from heaven, but He, Himself, is the real bread from heaven. Jesus pushed the verbal envelope even further and said you must eat My flesh and drink My blood. Of course, the statement was figurative. This saying was hard to understand and even harder to obey. Jews would eat the Passover lamb’s flesh but would not drink the lamb’s blood. During the first Passover, the blood was sprinkled on the door posts. Drinking the blood was prohibited. (See Leviticus 7:26 and Leviticus17:12.) “To eat” in a spiritual context was to symbolically internalize an idea. “To eat” was to turn an idea into action. “To eat” implies total commitment. Ezekiel, Jeremiah, and John were commanded to eat scrolls. (See Ezekiel 3:3; Jeremiah 15:16; Revelation 10:9-10.) True discipleship implies sacrifice and suffering. True discipleship demands complete commitment to the cause and teachings of our Savior.

When they learned that Jesus was not going to set up a political kingdom, that He was not going to continue to give them free food, and that He expected full commitment on their part, they stopped following him. Isn’t it amazing how people will abandon you when they can no longer get what they want from you? When you stop giving them the freebies? When they can no longer control you?

When this happened, the real disciples of Jesus Christ faced one of the greatest tests of their lives. It had been much easier to be a follower of Christ when many were following also. It is always easy to follow the crowd. Now when others were refusing to follow, discipleship took on a new meaning. In this context, Jesus asked the twelve, “Will ye also go away?” Impetuous Peter hit the nail on the head, and said, “I ain’t going nowhere!” Let’s extract a few relevant thoughts from this Scripture.

Exposition

1. At Some Point In All Endeavors, There Will Be A Call To Commitment.

(Some Will Accept The Call - Some Will Refuse The Call.)

(The Title Will Demand Toil At Some Point.)

2. Jesus Alone Provides Eternal Security.

(Everything Should Be Evaluated In The Light Of Eternity.)

(John 10:27-29.)

3. Jesus Is The Best There Is.

(Can’t Nobody Do Me Like Jesus.)

(With Jesus You Can Only Trade Down.)

(You Cannot Trade Up.)

4. Peter’s Answer Should Be Every Christian’s Answer.

(Every True Christian Is At The Point Of No Return.)

(We Are On Our Way To Heaven And Can’t Turn Around.)

(Once Saved, Always Saved.)

Closing Thoughts

Some people drop in and then drop out. I will not be a drop out! I can’t be a drop out because God has been too good to me. We don’t have to look any further; Jesus is all we need. We may look for a better athletic coach, a better mentor, or a better piano teacher, but there is no better Savior. In fact, Jesus is the only savior. Give God Glory! Give God All The Glory!

Related Scripture

John 6:1-71.

End Note

1. Most theologians believe, and it is pretty obvious, that Jesus’ command to eat His flesh and drink His blood pointed to our Communion Ritual, which He instituted during the Last Supper.

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