11.19.17 ~ John 6:56-71, “Where Did Everybody Go?”

Read John 6:56-59... Jesus was speaking to a mostly unbelieving audience; so He used some very poignant and offensive metaphors to confront those who only wanted to see miracles and to receive earthly benefits from Jesus, continuing to reject Him as Messiah.
Read John 6:60-66... Notice their response to Jesus (verse 60), “This is a hard teaching [difficult statement]. Who can accept [listen to] it?” As we studied last week, Jesus is basically telling them that they must make a decision to commit to Him; for apart from believing in Him, there is no forgiveness, no salvation, no one will be made acceptable to God.
Jesus challenges their comfort zone, i.e., if what He has already said offends them (verse 58), that He came down from heaven; what He is telling them now is really going to upset them, (verse 61) that He will go back into heaven to be with the Father, where He was before He came down to earth.
These people are already upset with the metaphors He has been using (eating bread that came down from heaven, eating His flesh, drinking His blood), and now (verse 63) He tells them these are only symbols, that the priority is the spiritual meaning of the words He has spoken, not literal bread, flesh and blood.
The priority work of God (verse 64), is and has always been to believe in the One who came from the Father full of grace and truth, Jesus, God’s Son.
Numerous times in John’s gospel, already, we have noted the people’s inability or unwillingness to grasp spiritual truth (see 2:13-22; 3:1-8; 4:7-15).
In chapter 6 Jesus uses difficult and hard metaphors: His flesh, His blood, and Himself as the bread that came down from heaven. Jesus does this to separate those who genuinely believe in Him from those who do not!
Verse 65 makes it clear that genuine saving faith is the work of the Father Who draws true believers to Christ.
For a person to be in the crowd among those who witnessed miraculous healings or were fed a supernatural meal, does not equate to saving faith, e.g., going to church, having a Bible, or teaching a kid’s Sunday school class, by itself, is not evidence of salvation.
Look again at verse 66... Many of those who had been “following” Jesus, turned away and no longer walked with Him, i.e., they never really believed in Him.
1John 2:19, “They went out from us, but they did not really belong to us. For if they had belonged to us, they would have remained with us; but their going showed that none of them belonged to us.”
What appears to be irreconcilable tension between God’s sovereignty and human responsibility is found throughout the Scriptures; God’s desire is (cf. 1Timothy 2:3-4; 2Peter 3:9) for all people to be saved and for none to perish; but (cf. John 3:36; Acts 2:21) whoever rejects God’s Son will be eternally condemned, while everyone who calls on Him for forgiveness, believing in Him, will be saved.

Read John 6:67-69... This is the first time John uses the designation of “the Twelve” to speak of the disciples. It would seem that the majority of those following Christ leave Him at this time, and so Jesus asks the Twelve if they also want to leave Him.
Peter responds, “where would we go Lord,” “to whom could we possibly go?” “You alone are the means of eternal life, for You are the Holy One of God.”
You can sense Peter pondering something like, “Your words speak to our hearts as well as our minds. No one does miracles like You, and no one speaks with authority about the things of earth and the things of heaven, about the present and the future, the way you do.”
Notice, in verse 69, Peter says “we” believe and have come to know that You are the Son of God.
Read John 6:70-71... Jesus sovereignly chose the Twelve, knowing that Judas Iscariot, would betray Him.
Jesus knew the enemy of God, the devil, would use one of those who was close to Him, one who had been taught by God’s Son, one who witnessed the same miracles and enjoyed the same small group fellowship with Christ that the other eleven experienced; and yet, this one, right in their midst, was “a devil!”
Note: When we get to John 13 we will study much more about Judas and his betrayal of Jesus, along with the prophecies that predicted his treachery
God chose Judas, knowing that he would betray Christ, and that he would aid bringing about Christ’s death, by which we receive forgiveness for our sins.
Jesus had twelve core disciples, Judas was one of that small number who were very close to Christ; and yet, although Judas posed as a believer and follower of Jesus, he never really embraced Christ as Lord, let alone as Savior.
As far as the biblical record goes, none of the other eleven disciples ever suspected him; he was a skilled imposter who fooled everyone except Jesus, who of course knew his heart.
We should take note that whenever God’s work is being done, there will most likely be imposters, hypocrites, like Judas, among the flock of God. Satan often disguises his servants (sons and daughters of disobedience), so that they (2Corinthians 11:15), “masquerade as servants of righteousness.
1Peter 5:8, “Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.”
1Peter 4:7-11, “The end of all things is near. Therefore be clear minded and self- controlled so that you can pray. Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins. Offer hospitality to one another without grumbling. Each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others, faithfully administering God's grace in its various forms. If anyone speaks, he should do it as one speaking the very words of God. If anyone serves, he should do it with the strength God provides, so that in all things God may be praised through Jesus Christ. To him be the glory and the power for ever and ever. Amen.”

Pastor Mike <‘(((><