Text: John 6: 60-71
Focus: John 6: 68
The crowd that followed Jesus to see Him perform miracles, have come to a crossroad. They found Jesus teaching, that you must eat his body and drink his blood to be saved, outrageous (also see John 6:53). They were unwilling to heed what He said, and the result was that they turned around and walked away.
After that, only the twelve remained.
John distinguishes between two types of disciples: The true and the false. For the false disciples, religion is about all the wonderful things they hear and see. Their “faith” is fuelled by one miracle after another. However, when the miracles stop, there is nothing left for them and so they decide to leave (vs. 66).
This is not surprising at all. We often see believers drawn by large numbers and impressive events. They expect large crowds to come to faith and go to church and are then put off if there are only a handful of people there.
The reality is that if you go to church to get something for yourself, you will one day realise that it may not be for you anymore. The music may not be inspiring enough, your favourite pastor accepts a job elsewhere, or your friends from church move away. Suddenly we are also confronted with the question, “Don’t you want to leave too?”
Only a handful of faithful disciples will remain. The true disciple realises that there is nothing to go to if they do not have Jesus. He is their everything. Only Him, not the miracles.
Here are three things in particular that convince the true disciple to stay with Jesus. Three things that make him ask, “Lord, to whom shall we go?”
1. There is no alternative
The true disciple knows that it is only through the grace of God that he can be saved. Our sins prevent us from going to God. Therefore, if He does not save us through grace, we will be lost forever. So, there is no alternative but for us to hold on to Jesus’ salvation (his body and blood).
2. Life can only be found in Jesus
This path through Jesus leads us to life – a life that we will only fully experience in the life hereafter. But as believers we are already experiencing something of the glory of that eternal life: We experience it in the peace and hope we already receive.
3. He is the Holy One of God
The true disciple also realises that Jesus is someone special. He is the One chosen by God to come and save the world. He is the Messiah and there is no one else who can save us but Him.
Be a true disciple who realises that there is no alternative but to believe in our Lord Jesus. He gives life and is the Holy One of God!
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