John 6:60-65 – True believers demarcated

This passage began to wind down the Lord’s ministry in Galilee with a not so happy ending. All that Christ had said and done were seen not only by the crowds that followed Him, but also by the Jews within the synagogue. Looking at the miracles He had done and the wonderful teaching He had taught, then to see the way the people reacted to Him here is all the more puzzling. Remember it was here in Galilee that He turned water into wine. And here the nobleman’s son was healed without Him even being present with the nearly dead boy. It was here that He had fed 5,000 with a lad’s five loaves and two fish. Each of the miracles alone would be sufficient to prove that He is who He claimed to be and clearly showed His mission. Hence not to believe in Him is without excuse. However, it is sad to note that despite all that He had done, the response to Christ in Galilee was no better than the people in Judea.

This passage tells us that among those who followed Jesus, many were wishy-washy disciples too. His discourse on the bread of life was particularly disturbing to the people for they had misinterpreted Him to be introducing cannibalism. It is easy to follow Christ when there’s no demand, but when the bar of expectation is raised we see the true colour of followers. They followed Him because He met their carnal desires. The situation was very different when He gave them hard truths that did not appeal to their flesh. Many turned away and no longer followed Him. This shows us the nature of man and their tendency. It reminds us that if we don’t take the time to understand Him and be deeply entrenched in Him, we can respond the same way too. In our days, where there is an emphasis on the comfort of easy belief, the hard sayings of Jesus are difficult to stomach. Let’s not pander to the flesh, be seduced by the soft culture, and follow the fad of hedonism presented in our days!

Notice that nothing escapes the knowledge of Jesus. He could and still can discern human heart’s accurately. So here we see how Jesus saw through the thoughts of His disciples. They were stumbled by His teachings and were murmuring among themselves. The Lord then asked a very probing question to get them to see beyond His impending Calvary experience to His resurrection and ascension. He wanted them to know that He would return to the highest glory that originally belonged to Him. He reiterated the fact that to know Him and His divine program was not an act of the human flesh. It takes the quickening of the Holy Spirit. He reemphasized that knowing Him is an initiative of God through His spirit. So He said, “It is the Spirit who gives life….” The Holy Spirit regenerates and opens our spiritual perception. One cannot come to a realization of who Christ is through human means. It takes divine initiative. Verse 63 affirms that spiritual truths are spiritually discerned. People are not won by man’s enticing words no matter how cleverly a message is designed. They are drawn by the Spirit of God. It is important to speak the truth and to speak it well, but we must never exclude the work of the Holy Spirit if we desire effectiveness. This necessitates that we put in much thought and prayer before we speak for God. The Word of Jesus is spirit and life. For true life to happen we need both the Spirit and the Word. The Spirit is the divine agent and His Word the divine instrument.

It is one thing to hear and know the truth, it is another to take responsibility and respond positively. Apparently among the disciples of Jesus, there were those who heard His Word, but did not take responsibility to act on it. By not acting on what Christ had revealed, many lost out and the truth did not benefit them. Spirit growth is not dependent on how much we know but how much we would act on what we know. These verses also tell us that Christ knows precisely those who would wholly follow Him. Jesus again reiterates how much we need the Father. How much we need His divine power to work in us. Without the release of His power, there is no hope of knowing Christ, much less knowing Him intimately. After knowing Him, what then should we do? Obey and act on His Word!