John • The passed-over passages 7 • Jesus confronts His disciples

Steve Schott
6 hours ago
9 min read

► Previously in John we looked at the 7 signs recorded, and referenced in John 20:30-31, where it says

30 Therefore many other signs Jesus also performed in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; 31 but these have been written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing you may have life in His name.

► We also explored the 7 "I AM" statements that do not always correspond to the signs, but also add definition to the nature and purposes of Jesus.

► Links to all of these posts can be found at the end of this posting

► Now I'm going to turn my attention to what I call the "passed-over" passages, Those passages from chapter 1 to chapter 12 which I haven't previously dealt with.

► After that we'll deal with chapters 13 to 19, which I call "the end of it all". These chapters deal with a single 24-hour period, that starts with the last supper in the upper room, and takes us all the way to the cross and the tomb.

► And then we'll end with chapters 20 and 21 that I call "the new beginning".

► Chapter 6 of the gospel of John is busy...

1st → Jesus fed 5,000 MEN, the assumption being that there were women and children there also, so let's speculate that there could have been upwards of 20,000+ people in attendance on that hillside. He started with a kids sack lunch, and when they were done there were 12 baskets of leftovers. I think the 12 baskets are significant as there would have been one for each disciple. This event, I believe, was as much for them as it was for the people.

2nd → Jesus understood that the people might try to forcibly make Him the king, which was not in His game plan (at least not in this way, and not at this time), so He somehow evaded all of those people so He could spend time by Himself on the mountain.

3rd → Later that evening, after the disciples had taken a boat to cross the sea of Galilee, and then been overcome by a violent storm, Jesus comes along, walking on the water (like it's no big deal to do so), and saves them.

4th → After landing the boat, the crowds, apparently the SAME crowd that got the free lunch yesterday, are confronted by Jesus as just wanting more food. Jesus tells them to find the "true bread out of heaven (John 6:32)". It is here where Jesus says "I am the bread of life... (John 6:35)", the first of His "I Am" statements. They are all listed below...

5th → Now the "Jews" (considered in this context to be a term of derision), at first desirous of making this provider of food the next king, are now grumbling, and criticizing Jesus' humble origin, and also are intentionally (my speculation) misunderstanding His words. Now they are trying to say that Jesus was literally saying to physically eat His flesh and drink His blood.

• While I believe that Jesus was speaking of doing so metaphorically and/or spiritually, in Roman Catholic tradition, they believe that when taking communion, the wafer and the wine become the physical body and blood of Jesus upon consumption. They call this "transubstantiation".

► So now we come to the part, where He begins to deal with His disciples in regards to this matter.

Jesus confronts His disciples → John 6:59-71

Words to the disciples

John 6:59-65 → ⁵⁹ These things He said in the synagogue as He taught in Capernaum.

⁶⁰ Therefore many of His disciples, when they heard this said, “This is a difficult statement; who can listen to it?” ⁶¹ But Jesus, conscious that His disciples grumbled at this, said to them, “Does this cause you to stumble? ⁶² What then if you see the Son of Man ascending to where He was before? ⁶³ It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing; the words that I have spoken to you are spirit and are life. ⁶⁴ But there are some of you who do not believe.” For Jesus knew from the beginning who they were who did not believe, and who it was that would betray Him. ⁶⁵ And He was saying, “For this reason I have said to you, that no one can come to Me unless it has been granted him from the Father.”

► "These things He said in the synagogue as He taught in Capernaum." These words indicate that between the time that Jesus and the disciples landed the boat and were confronted by the people looking for more food, that somewhere in this dialogue they've changed locations. It doesn't say exactly where/when this transition occurred, but based on the change in the conversation, I would guess it would have been between verses 40 and 41. It hardly matters exactly where or when, but this is just to add clarity that this particular part of the conversation is in a different location from where they got off the boat.

► "Therefore many of His disciples, when they heard this said, "This is a difficult statement; who can listen to it?"". So first off, this section is dealing with Jesus' "disciples". Not just the "12", but all of the tag-alongs that are now following Jesus. We have no idea at this point how many there are. This also indicates that this section is secluded from the rest of the "Jews" whom Jesus dealt with earlier in the chapter. They too are wondering about the "eating my flesh and drinking my blood" statements. "What does this mean, and how are we to respond to it?"

► Jesus, seeing a teaching moment, queries them "does this cause you to stumble?" He sees an opportunity to both enlighten those who believe, but also to winnow out those who don't, or won't.

► Jesus then ponders "What then if you see the Son of Man ascending to where He was before?" "Ascending to where?" "Before" what?

• This seems somewhat prophetic of Acts 1:9-11 where it says "⁹ And after He had said these things, He was lifted up while they were looking on, and a cloud received Him out of their sight. ¹⁰ And as they were gazing intently into the sky while He was going, behold, two men in white clothing stood beside them. ¹¹ They also said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into the sky? This Jesus, who has been taken up from you into heaven, will come in just the same way as you have watched Him go into heaven.”

► Then Jesus gets to the meat of this issue... "It is the Spirit who give life;..." and "the words that I have spoken to you are spirit and are life." Jesus is saying (in my opinion) that what He is asking us to ingest are His words. To take them in and let them infuse our bodies, and our very souls, with the "life" that comes from the "Spirit".

► Jesus also already knew that there were some, and specifically one, that did not believe. We will see Jesus mention that "one" later in this passage, but He specifically says here that his person would "betray Him."

► Some would use the expression "no one can come to Me unless it has been granted him from the Father" to try to suggest that God chooses some for salvation, but not all. And that only those chosen/elect can, or will, ever be saved. They call this "predestination" and suggest that only some are predestined, but not everyone.

• I don't and can't subscribe to this interpretation. By believing this, it suggests that God randomly chose some to be saved and others to be condemned.

• I don't see that fitting in with God's attribute of love.

• I DO agree though, that in the process of coming to God, it is only possible when we listen and heed the Spirit gently drawing us to God. I don't believe that any of us can just randomly choose God on our own. I think our very nature is bent against this. This is the way it happened for me. I had no inclination or desire to be involved with God at all. I wasn't antagonistic toward God; I just never thought about Him. I wasn't interested and saw no need for Him in my life at all. But circumstances in my life were all drawing me to ask myself about my destiny. About my purpose in the grand scheme of the cosmic play. "Why am I here?"

• You can read more about me, and how I came to where I am today here... https://steve9637.wixsite.com/moreaboutme.

Peter's confession of faith

John 6:66-71 → ⁶⁶ As a result of this many of His disciples withdrew and were not walking with Him anymore. ⁶⁷ So Jesus said to the twelve, “You do not want to go away also, do you?” ⁶⁸ Simon Peter answered Him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have words of eternal life. ⁶⁹ We have believed and have come to know that You are the Holy One of God.” ⁷⁰ Jesus answered them, “Did I Myself not choose you, the twelve, and yet one of you is a devil?” ⁷¹ Now He meant Judas the son of Simon Iscariot, for he, one of the twelve, was going to betray Him.

► The statement "As a result of this...", referring to the ongoing dialogue about eating Jesus' body and drinking His blood, has now caused "many of His disciples" to abandon Jesus. Whether they just chose to not understand, or were conflicted/afraid of the potential danger of hanging around Jesus, they willfully selected to leave.

► Then, in what appears to be a more private audience, Jesus addresses "the twelve". "You do not want to go away also, do you?" They are still there, for now, but Jesus is pushing the point.

► Peter's bold declaration shows both the understanding AND the commitment at least he has... "Lord, to whom shall we go? You have words of eternal life. We have believed and have come to know that You are the Holy One of God."

• Peter may not understand all the plays in the playbook, but he definitely knows who the coach is. And the captain, and the manager, and the owner.

► Jesus doesn't necessarily respond to Peter's confession of faith, but does mention that "one of you is a devil", referring to Judas Iscariot, who will soon betray Jesus.

So what?

► So the question I have for you is this... "Are you going to believe in Jesus?"

► His words at times are hard to understand, and even harder at other times to accept.

► But each of us must deal with those words at some point.

► My prayer for each of us is that we will respond to Jesus like Peter did - "where else could I go? From you and you only can I receive eternal life! You are the Holy One of God!"

The Signs

► Sign 1, Water to Wine, Jesus is the master of the ELEMENTS → John 2:1-12

► Sign 2, Nobleman's Son, Jesus is the master over DISTANCE → John 4:46-54

► Sign 3, Lame Man at Bethesda, Jesus is the master over TIME → John 5:1-18

► Sign 4, Feeding of 5,000+, Jesus is the master over DIMENSION → John 6:1-15

► Sign 5, Jesus walks on water, Jesus is the master over NATURE → John 6:15-21

► Sign 6, The Man Born Blind, Jesus is the master over HISTORY → John 9:1-41

► Sign 7, The Raising of Lazarus, Jesus is the master over DEATH → John 11:1-46

The "I AM" Statements

► I AM #1 • I AM the Bread of Life - Jesus ELIMINATES HUNGER → John 6:26-58

► I AM #2 • I AM the Light of the World - Jesus ELIMINATES DARKNESS → John 8:12-9:5

► I AM #3 • I AM the Door of the Sheep - Jesus ELIMINATES DEATH & DESTRUCTION → John 10:1-10