John 6:60-65 - Grumbling and Disbelief

John 6:60-65

60 Many therefore 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 should behold the Son of Man ascending 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." 

Message: Grumbling and Disbelief

Time: John most likely wrote between A.D. 85 and 90. John's purpose in writing was, "that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing you may have life in His name (John 20:31)."

What the Lord is Saying: Jesus has met with the multitudes and the Jews in the synagogue, declaring that He is the bread of life, sent by the Father and people are to receive Him, like they receive and eat bread. They are to eat of Him, taking Him in, believing in Him and they will receive eternal life. We are to be a people that believes, but also receive and abide in Him and make Christ number one in our lives always. 

Some disciples who had been following him came to him also and mentioned that the words Jesus has been saying are hard words. Now these do not seem to be the same 12 disciples, for in verse 67 Jesus will refer to the 12 after these disciples had left. I remember studying John 2 at the end of the chapter and those that believed in His name and yet Jesus was not entrusting Himself to them, for He knew them and knew was in them. They were paying lip service possibly to God and not really believing in Him. That passage is a rather haunting one. It is just not clear what sort of disciples these are as they are called "His disciples" also referenced in John 2:2 at the wedding in Galilee. Either way, at this moment Jesus knew that the disciples were grumbling or realizing that what Jesus was saying was difficult. Maybe these are a people that believe in Jesus but when it comes to following Him have different ideas. 

I think of people I encounter in my work life and even when we would talk to people at the mall, sharing the gospel and at times discovered people that believed Jesus and believed in Him and knew that he had lived, died and rose again. They understand the meaning of Christmas and Easter, but honestly, as I stare at their lives, their habits, what comes out of their mouths, and their lifestyles, I do not see a people that seems to follow the Lord and yet they see in me someone who does or tries. They mention this. They call me a religious person. 

Jesus recognizes this perhaps as well in the disciples here. They are grumbling at what He is saying about eating and taking in Christ as we do our daily bread, making Him not simply a belief but part of our life, abiding in Him -- and they struggle with this and Jesus counters that if they struggle with those words they perhaps the Father has not truly called them. 

Back in verse 44 Jesus said, "No one can come to Me, unless the Father who sent Me draws him." And now Jesus further expands on this by first remarking that these are people that won't be able to understand higher things like Jesus ascending to Heaven (after His resurrection) - "What then if you should behold the Son of Man ascending where He was before?" And then He further speaks of the reason they are not understanding: Verse 63, "It is the Spirit who gives life." Going back to John 3 and his reference to being born again and in verse 5 and 6 remarks that one must be "born of water and the Spirit to enter the kingdom of God." And verse 6 and verse 8 mention being "born of the Spirit." What an alarming statement that Man must be rescued and called by the Spirit of God. 

And in verse 63 He says, "The words I have spoke to you are spirit and are life, but there are some of you who do not believe." Again, Jesus is using the word believe as He has used it before, but as Jesus continues to communicate and we see that there is more to His words than we initially see. It seems here this is heard again. Jesus is saying that if you are listening and can't understand and your belief is not simply one time belief but transformation belief, abiding in Him belief, then you are not really believers of Him. And verse 66 will show this as "many of His disciples withdrew and were not walking with Him anymore." Whoa. They left. They heard the message. They realized they were not willing to go the extra mile and be the complete believer in Christ and they left. It is like instead of having an altar call in church, we turn to people and say, "Do you need to leave?" Are you really a believer in Christ that wants to follow Him will all of your life, in all of your ways? Are you that kind of believer? Or are you the kind that likes the simple message, the fancy show, but in actuality you do not want to follow Him with your entire life? What kind of believer are we really? A true believer hopefully. One who accepts what Jesus says always. And eats, taking Him in as we take bread into our mouth and stomach so we can live. 

Verse 66 - "His disciples withdrew." Christians left church. 

Summary: True followers of Christ are true believers, that have been drawn by the Father, the Spirit gives them life, and they understand all that Jesus is saying to them. 

Promise: True believers stand on every word that God says, made alive in Christ. 

Prayer: Lord, we are to be true believers. I am to be a true believer and stand on every word that you say. 

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