05.04.09 John 6:60-71 (NASB)
Audio Sermon File: John 6:60-71
Going Deeper: Study Guide
The Reality Of Defection
This is what has been said about a person and event that took place about 64 years ago here in Canada - "What happened was an urgent wake-up call and warning to the western countries;" "He was a great Canadian who put his life on the line;" "It was absolutely explosive, probably the single most important event in counterintelligence…" The event that I am speaking about is one of the greatest defections in Canadian History. The person I am speaking about is Igor Gouzenko. Most of us would not know his face, but perhaps would recognize the images of a man wearing a hood to conceal his identity as he was being interviewed. Gouzenko was a Soviet clerk who walked out of the Russian Embassy in Ottawa with 109 secret documents. His daring move blew the lid off a Soviet spy ring by revealing direct evidence of Soviet espionage in Canada, the US, and many other international countries. Gouzenko has been named as " the genesis of the Cold War…." And what he did eventually ended up with the fall of the Soviet Union.
(ww w.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/1054765154488_12)
The bottom line is that Gouzenko was a defector. And depending on what side of the fence you were on - Gouzenko was to be loved or to be hated. The fallout of his actions had major impact upon not only upon his life but many others.
Today we will be looking at the topic of DEFECTION, and the lessons learned can also have a major impact on where our life is headed. Up to this point in the Gospel and in light of what Jesus revealed about Himself in chapter 6 - the hard claims that Jesus makes and the call to commitment divide the followers. The disciples become divided because it gets to a point where one cannot follow and hang around Jesus with out any serious and deep reflection. It becomes impossible to stick around without making a commitment - so the reality of DEFECTION was a clear and present danger. The people we have met in this chapter would say if asked - that they were disciples of Christ - but now their profession was about to be tested. The challenge was - you talk the talk but can you walk the walk?
Please turn to the longest chapter of the Gospel of John, chapter 6 -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." 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.
As we journey through life, we inevitably will face choices in our lives. There are choices that pertain to relationships, finances, careers. There are choices that we make relating to circumstances caused by another person, the lack of personal ability, illness, and the prospects of our future - school, marriage, retirement. Yet ultimately of all these…there is one choice that we can’t make on our own, that will affect us now and forever and guides the course of each our lives. That choice deals with what we do with Jesus.
The key question for us is - So how do you deal with Jesus? Are we for Him or are we against Him? Are we uncommitted or are we fully committed? We can answer our key question by examining the topic of DEFECTION. Our passage today can be divided into two parts:
The first is from verses 60-66 which reveals THE CHARACTER OF DEFECTORS.
And the second part is THE CHARACTER OF TRUE DISCIPLES - verses 67-71.
THE CHARACTER OF DEFECTORS - THEY REJECT THE TRUTH (v.60-66)
v.60 As we begin in verse 60 the word disciples is used. I think most of us would immediately think of the 12 disciples of Jesus, but the term disciple simply means ‘learner.’ In the context of today’s passage, Jesus addresses both believing disciples and unbelieving disciples. These disciples had just heard Jesus speak and their response was - This is a difficult statement; who can listen to it? What was hard to accept was the call by Jesus to the Jews in the preceding section, that they were to eat His flesh and drink His blood. The Jews were confused and even outraged at the suggestion. Some thought Jesus was suggesting some form of cannibalism. When Jesus said this He was using a metaphor - for the people it was a difficult to understand one. The metaphors used spoke of something spiritually greater and more significant. So the concept of eating of Jesus’ flesh and drinking His blood - is associated to belief. What Jesus means when He says - He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood abides in Me, and I in him (v.56), is that one must continue in understanding, accepting, and believing in the fullness of Jesus’ sinless person, character, ministry, purpose of life, His death to take away our sin upon the cross.
Jesus, the Bread of Life offers our sin weary souls - spiritual nourishment and rich satisfaction, because of His death - but to appropriate this into our life ….Jesus calls us to comprehensively believe and receive Him through faith and appropriate this into the outworking of our life.
v.61 All this talk by Jesus caused not only the Jews to grumble, but now the disciples grumbled at this. So Jesus asks a question that He already knew the answer to - Does this cause you to stumble? Once again we get a glimpse of Jesus’ Deity - for Jesus was conscious of their hearts - and the thing which was causing the people to stumble - what was blocking them from Jesus was the issue of faith and obedience. These disciples attached themselves to Jesus more for the perks that they received. Isn’t that like many people today? There are people today come to church for the perks - they look to soothe their conscience, they seek personal health and wealth, they look for business contacts, they come to look for a date, a free meal, some companionship from loneliness….the list goes on…everything except answering that key question - So how do you deal with Jesus?
In some sense I’m like that when it comes to get free stuff - but not in terms of my faith . I would sign up for just about anything if there was a no strings attached deal where I could get something for free. I have signed up for an auto parts card for free auto service, I have gotten free life insurance, free magazines, signed on for a credit card to get a free Toronto Raptors cap, I wanted to get some free Corning Ware, but actually I think my wife stopped me on that one… and I have even gotten free money - $50 bucks US! My only caution in doing this is - read the fine print. When it came to these disciples they wanted all the freebies - they took whatever they could get - but when it came to the fine print - a commitment to Jesus - that was too much for them to accept.
v.62 Jesus continues to address the spiritual murkiness of the disciples in verse 62 with these words - ["What] then if you see the Son of Man ascending to where He was before? Jesus once again makes a reference to where He was before - His place of origin - His eternal pre-existence in heaven. What Jesus had said about His origin was already a hot ember flaring into a fire, but imagine what will happen when He speaks about His death, resurrection, and ascension? It would be like pouring gasoline into the flames, and things would erupt into a raging inferno of open hostility (we are going to see that in the next couple of chapters of John).
Jesus already knew the condition of hearts and the thoughts of their minds… these so called disciples ….so Jesus indicated that, even if they saw the Son of Man ascending into heaven they would not be able to fathom the significance, in light of their spiritual condition - their eyes were crusted over with sin and self - therefore they REJECT THE TRUTH.
v.63 Their spiritual condition could only be changed by the Holy Spirit. It is the Spirit of God that imparts life to a persons flesh which is spiritually dead - not some kind of physical meal of Jesus’ flesh and blood - which they had tried to humanly reason. The Spirit who gives life - that was Jesus’ whole point in the verses that came before our passage today. Without the Spirit of God illuminating a person’s mind - Jesus’ words would not be comprehended. They would be REJECTED as powerless words that were of human origin. But if Jesus’ words were RECEIVED as of His Deity - then there would be no way of stopping the outcome….an outcome that would communicate spiritual life and culminate in eternal life.
It is the very words of Jesus that are spirit and are life because they are fully reflective of the truth of God and His will. Jesus’ words that He spoke in this discourse pointed people to God’s divine purpose of the cross. Jesus’ words still stand today and are efficacious for salvation unto eternal life - yet they are defectors that REJECT THE TRUTH.
These so called disciples go on and….THEY RESIST THE FATHER (v.64-65)
v.64 Many people claim to be Christians, yet not only do they reject Jesus - they also REJECT THE FATHER and have no life - But there are some of you who do not believe - as it says in verse 64. Some of those who followed Jesus don’t accept what He is saying and /or Jesus Himself. A failure to believe Jesus words, kills the power and life contained in His words which leads to eternal life. The words that bring life - have to be appropriated by faith and not through human wisdom. God has to be the Sovereign initiator of spiritual understanding and faith. Jesus knew from the beginning that in His chosen 12 disciples that one of them would betray Him - that being Judas - who did not believe. Once again we catch a glimpse that Jesus is GOD the Son - as He had foreknowledge of the one who would betray Him. Jesus even knew the very disciples of the crowd that would not believe. There in the crowd were individuals that outwardly claimed belief, but inwardly RESISTED THE FATHER by writing Jesus off - they paid mere lip service to Jesus instead of possessing real trust.
v.65 Jesus once again supports the reality that God is the initiator of belief - last time we found in 6:44 these words - No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him. And now Jesus says in v.65 - no one can come to Me unless it has been granted him from the Father. The reason Jesus repeats this truth is that He wants to clear up any confusion about the reason why some do not believe. Unbelief is really a part of each of us. If left on our own…. apart from God’s grace….you know what we would do? The sinner would choose to sin. Our fallen nature is bent on self - and not on God, and the love of sin pulls us away from commitment to GOD in Christ.
Jesus’ aim was not to get people to DEFECT, but He simply told the truth in His teachings. But the people were divided into those who were there for the freebies and had no intention or desire to follow Christ - or they simply didn’t like what they heard so….. THEY CHOOSE DEFECTION OVER DISCIPLESHIP (v.66)
v.66 The break point comes in verse 66. This is one of the saddest statements in the Scriptures - As a result of this many of His disciples withdrew and were not walking with Him anymore. After having Jesus right their before them - teaching them and even performing miracles, those who paid lip service to Jesus - withdrew. Jesus gave them the invitation to believe in Him…to partake of an intimate fellowship with Him…and therefore enter into a life everlasting relationship…but they turned their backs on Jesus and eternal life - they we in bondage to sin. They distanced themselves and no longer made claims of discipleship. And this was not just a few members of the crowd, but it was on mass…it was many. Many people that day revealed a true picture of their hearts and were not walking with (not following) Jesus. The wording not walking with - speaks of a final and decisive act - they had claimed themselves to be disciples up to this point, but now it is certain that they were and never were true disciples.
Think of this as we look back at the overall text of chapter 6 - Jesus starts off with at least 5000 people at the start of chapter 6 and now he is left with only 12 people - His chosen - the 12 Disciples. From the beginning of the Gospel of John to this point we see a clear build up of who Jesus is. It moves from misconception to prominent perception. The people had the misconceived notion that Jesus was the one who was going to deliver Israel from the yoke of foreign oppression. Others had the idea that Jesus was the miracle maker that could give them whatever they wanted - but Jesus gave them only what they needed. And because of these misconceptions - people flocked to Jesus. But they soon realized what Jesus really stood for and frankly didn’t like it at all. Jesus called people to forsake their love of sin and self and be submitted to a life of righteousness and holiness in Him. The Good News of Jesus Christ therefore became a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles (cf - 1Cor. 1:23). Many walked away, but now the big test came as Jesus turns to the Twelve disciples and He challenges them on their response….
THE CHARACTER OF TRUE DISCIPLES (v.67-71)
We in our lives can practice and develop the character of being a true disciple in many ways. In our passage we can extract three actions that can help us in dealing with defection - you can MAINTAIN YOUR COMMITMENT, CLING TO YOUR CONVICTIONS, and GUARD YOURSELF AGAINST DEFECTION.
MAINTAIN YOUR COMMITMENT - in v.67 Jesus questions His disciples and brings to bear upon them this challenge - "You do not want to go away also, do you? The Twelve disciples were a part of the feeding of the five thousand. They witnessed Jesus’ power in walking on water and calming the raging sea. They witnessed and heard the words of Jesus as He preached. They witness the rejection by the Jews. The Twelve even now saw the multitudes abandon ship. So Jesus in effect says to them - So what are you going to do? - Are you going to abandon ship too?
Imagine what must have been going on in the disciples minds. It is one of those questions that give you an uneasiness in answering - even if you know what the answer is. The disciples must have felt a restlessness in their minds, an uneasiness in their gut. The way that Jesus posed the question in the original text tells us that He was expecting a ‘no’ answer - meaning that the disciples would say that they were going to stick it out with Jesus. What Jesus is driving at in His question is a commitment to faithfulness - loyalty.
What would you say if Jesus asked you this same question? You can rise up to the challenge by being bold and uncompromising about your COMMITMENT to Christ - this will help dealing with leanings towards DEFECTION. Proverbs 29:25 says ‘The fear of man brings a snare.’ If the disciples had let the crowds influence them, let the mass DEFECTION discourage them…then they too could have probably answered - yes, that they were going to leave too. But they rose to this challenging question and maintained their belief in Jesus even if the departing crowds intimidated them.
The disciples were under a lot of pressure and they were not ashamed…and they in their answer exhalted Christ - learn to exhalt Christ in all things. Philippians 1:27-28 encourages us in this way - "Whatever happens, conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ….stand firm in one spirit, contending as one man for the faith of the gospel 28 without being frightened in any way by those who oppose you." So we can DEAL WITH DEFECTION by being bold and uncompromising about our commitment to Christ - join together in a fellowship group with other faithful believers in doing the same - how many disciples were there? One? No there were twelve - they encouraged one another. Christians who isolate themselves are most likely to alienate themselves from Christ.
You can also MAINTAIN YOUR COMMITMENT by living a life without compromise. Set your sights upon an uncommon spiritual excellence in your life. Don’t settle for what the rest settle for - set your sights on Biblical excellence and seek the Lord to help you to rise to that excellence. Don’t settle for second best, don’t be happy with the status quo - don’t look around in the crowd to see what everyone else is doing. The disciples could have gone back to their old professions, to their old ways of life just like the masses, but instead Peter was prepared to answer Jesus with a firm YES.
The next CHARACTER OF A TRUE DISCIPLES calls you to….. CLING TO YOUR CONVICTIONS (v.68). In v.68 even though the question is directed at all the Twelve disciples, it is Peter who speaks up. Peter throughout the Gospels is seen as the spokesman for the 12. Peter answers the Lord in his usual fashion - that with an edge of boldness - and those of you who are familiar with Peter, you know that he can stick his foot in his mouth and at other times he can hit the bulls eye with his statements. Peter says to Jesus - Lord, to whom shall we go? This means that they had no one else to turn to except to Jesus. Peter used the word Lord to address Jesus and in the context of this verse it had strong implications of his view of who Jesus really is. Peter confesses that Jesus indeed has the words of eternal life. Given this statement Peter was saying that there is no way that they would forsake Jesus, even in light of the masses falling away. It showed that Peter was convicted by Jesus’ teaching as He said back in v. 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. Peter had accepted Jesus as the Bread of Life and his commitment was to Christ. In encountering Jesus’ words of life and tasting of eternal life, there would be no way to abandon such truth. A well know Bible scholar wrote this - ‘When a man once knows Jesus, none else can satisfy’ (Leon Morris).
As believers in Christ - we all struggle with unbelief at some point of our lives. Some of us struggle with it more than others. We can recognize this and call upon the transforming work of the Holy Spirit to change us. It is like the man whose son was demon possessed - he cried out to Jesus ‘I believe; help my unbelief’ (Mk. 9:24). And that is what we need to do when we are caught up in doubt related to our faith. Our UNBELIEF can be replaced by BELIEF, if we come before the Lord confessing our imperfect faith, and asking the Holy Spirit to give us the greater faith that Jesus reveals through His Word.
v.69 This is what we can learn from Peter - he continues - and Peter makes this emphatic statement - We have believed and have come to know that You are the Holy One of God. Wow what an amazing admission of faith in Christ. Peter’s confession was one of two that he made of this magnitude - the other was at Caesarea Philippi. What Peter was saying in his specific choice of words here, is this - we have come to a place in our faith, where we have believed and have come to know who You are, and we continue in the truth. Peter’s belief came through personal relationship and experience with Jesus. It was a first hand encounter with the Holy One of God. The title ascribed to Jesus - the Holy One of God - is the only second such use in the NT. The title is linked to and reminds us of the OT title of God - the Holy One of Israel. The use therefore places Jesus in His rightful place with the Father as set apart, righteous, and pure.
Belief is a work of grace that God initiates and sustains. How can we debilitate doubt? How can we find belief in the midst of unbelief? We can maintain integrity through developing a confident faith. Realize that God’s Word is true. Understand that God never changes. Exalt Jesus to His rightful place as set apart, righteous, and pure. When we are tossed about by unbelief we can reach for the anchor of truth and hold fast to it - that is what I mean when I say - CLING TO YOUR CONVICTIONS. It could be arguably said that some people lose their belief in Jesus….it is not really that they lose it, but it was probably never really there in the first place - the reality of Jesus was a passing fashion and not a heart piercing spiritual regeneration. That anchor of a confident faith is God’s Word. The doubtful mind is always juggling truth and untruth. The clouded mind can be emotionally unstrung - therefore our minds of unbelief need to move from what is subjective to what is objective. God’s Word is the only source of objective truth. God’s Word says so….and that is what I choose to believe and CLING on to. Have and develop a mind that is settled and firm on the truths that Scripture contains. Study the things which are unclear to you - even if you have to wrestle with them. Don’t let the crowds influence you but as it states in Colossians 3:16 - ‘Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly..."
Finally THE CHARACTER OF A TRUE DISCIPLES warns you to….GUARD YOURSELF AGAINST DEFECTION (v.70-71). If you have been a Christian for a long time you would probably have seen many DEFECTIONS. I have certainly have seen many in my life. Growing up there were many people who were close to the church - people who even did ministry together with. I can think of one person, and this is back in the 70’s and 80’s - a church friend of mine Ann, who after resisting the ministry of the church for a long time - she then really got serious about her faith….so it seemed….because after some time….she became more and more distant…and then she fell away all together. The last time I was in Toronto, I met her mother and I asked her about Ann…she still was not going to church. Out of all of my friends who were in our fellowship group - in one way or another have DEFECTED - only a few remain faithful. What I experienced we see in the last 2 verses of our passage. Jesus knew that there is always someone that would be prone to defection.
v.70 What Peter had stated in verse 69, was true about who Jesus is - yet Jesus also knew, that as Peter spoke on behalf of the twelve, that it was sincere, yet overstated. Jesus was the One who chose the twelve - and therefore He knew that one of them was a devil. There was among the Twelve, one who was going to fall away like the mass of disciples had just done. There was one who would be used by Satan to oppose Jesus.
v.71 For our benefit the Apostle John adds a note - that the one who was a devil - this person was none other than Judas [the son] of Simon Iscariot. John gives us a positive ID of Judas through naming his father and his birthplace - Iscariot meaning ‘men of Kerioth.’ It is an interesting side note that all of the disciples came from Galilee, except for Judas. The magnitude of Judas’ betrayal and DEFECTION was heightened by the reality that Judas was one of the twelve. The question lingers….how can one be so close yet be the mortal enemy. The issue with Judas was integrity - there was a lack of integrity of character.
Are there challenging things that Jesus teaches us which lessen our commitment to Him? Are there things that we desire that replace what Jesus desires for us? Are there unchecked sins or habits that cloud our judgment about Him? Do we find ourselves like Judas who was doing ministry among the Twelve and yet rebels against God? Are we open to hearing and receiving the Words of Jesus or do we walk away spurning them, or even worse, outright rejecting Him in DEFECTION? You can GUARD YOURSELF AGAINST DEFECTION by being unhindered in your perseverance.
Do not let things distract you from God’s will. Clear the path of obstacles in your life which will hinder you from carrying out God’s will. Don’t give up at the first signs of resistance - I can tell you from experience that this is a real temptation that most of us face. Forget about entertaining anything which will lead us to rationalize DEFECTION. Something like Judas’ defection can be devastating, but we can see from the balance of the NT that the rest of the disciples continued with the unhindered perseverance of true disciples. Consider what Hebrews 12:1-3 says….
…let us also lay aside every encumbrance, and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. For consider Him who has endured such hostility by sinners against Himself, so that you may not grow weary and lose heart.
Let us like Peter guard against the enemy, and declare Jesus as Lord and live in that light - in faith we shall say - 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." (v.68-69).
God honours this kind faith, for He is a faithful God.
