Episode 49 - Jesus alone has the words of eternal life - John 6:66-71

John 6:66   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.” 71 He spoke of Judas the son of Simon Iscariot, for he, one of the twelve, was going to betray him.

“Many of his disciples turned back and no longer walked with him.” How tragic! What was it that they were looking for in Jesus? How could they let their own confusion and emotions overrule what they had seen Jesus do and what they had heard him teach? Maybe it has to do with what our author recorded back in John 3:19 “The Light has come into the world. But men loved darkness rather than light because their deeds were evil.” These so-called disciples are turning away from the true light and the true food and drink which gives eternal life.

So . . .God what about the twelve disciples who’ve been named in this book as well as the other gospel accounts? Weren’t they confused and even offended by what Jesus was saying about eating his flesh and drinking his blood? That’s what Jesus is getting to when he asks, “Do you want to go away as well?” (v67) They had no reason to not be as offended as the many who left except for one thing; a trusting acceptance of Jesus’ words regardless of whether they understood it or whether it appealed or repulsed them. Peter’s words give us some of the best and most succinct theology in all of Scripture. “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life, and we have believed and have come to know, that you are the Holy One of God.” (vv. 68-69) Peter is saying, Jesus, we don’t understand everything. But, we know who you are and we know that there is none greater in whom to place our hope. (My paraphrase)

Jesus’ response to them is interesting and challenging to people to this day. He said, “Did I not choose you, the twelve? And yet one of you is a devil.” John then adds that Jesus already understood that Judas would betray him. There are at least two issues in this statement. The first is the idea of Jesus’ choosing and the concept of predestination or election. Secondly, the question of why would he knowingly choose someone who he knew would betray him. People have been debating these questions for ages and I’m certainly not going to be the authoritative source to end the debate. However, I believe what is important that is essentially revealed here is that God knows what is going to happen and God is in control. The problem some people have with this idea is reflected in the question, “If God knows what’s going to happen and is in control, why does God allow bad things to happen?” Again, that’s not a question that I can authoritatively answer. But, as we look at the whole of Scripture, we discover that God created people with the ability to choose to follow Him or not. Despite God’s warning of doing the latter, the first people chose to disobey and it brought chaos into the world. So, bad things happen because of our rebellion against God. Those problems, while being under the ultimate control of God, are due to mankind’s fault and not God’s fault.  Perhaps God allows these things to remind us that we need to turn to God and trust HIm whether we understand these things or not. Otherwise, we may be like the many who turned away and stopped following Jesus?