There are just some things you don’t say to certain people in certain places, aren’t there? I know this is true because my mom reminded me of this often as I was getting passed my shy stage of life and starting into my “speaking before you think” stage of life (I am currently still fighting to get passed this one). When I was in kindergarten, I told my pregnant teacher she was fat. When I would visit my grandparents, I told them that they looked old. I have been saying the wrong things to the wrong people at the wrong times for years now.
However, when I read our text this morning, I don’t think I am in bad company in this area of life. In fact, in just reading through the gospels, you will often find the disciples questioning why Jesus says certain things. His choice of words is not selected on the basis that he might appease the greatest number of people. Instead, he seems to say the very thing that is going to offend people most. We see a few of them in this passage.
First of all, he reminds the Jews who tell stories of God providing bread from the sky for their hero Moses, that he is the bread of life and that Moses is not the one they should be marveling at. Then he tells the Jews of Galilee (the ones who would have watched him grow up) that he has come from heaven. Finally, he tells the crowds who are following him that in order to be his disciples, that they must “eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood,” for “He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life” (6:53-54). Therefore, John tells us that “many of His disciples withdrew, and were not walking with Him anymore” (6:66).
Needless to say, Jesus wasn’t the best at keeping large crowds for long periods of time. This is not the only occasion that we will read that people quit following him or that the crowd slimmed down. But I don’t think that Jesus was interested in teaching something to the great crowd that day (mainly). Rather, I think that he orchestrated all of these events to teach eleven of his followers how privileged they were to understand and believe what they did.
“What was it?” you ask. Well, it is something that I hope many (if not all) of us understand and believe today. Yet it is probably something that we believe without realizing how privileged we are. Therefore, I want to point that out to us this morning. But instead of simply saying it, I want us to arrive at this understanding in the same manner that Jesus revealed it to his disciples.
Jesus started by sharing with the crowd that they had to believe in him to have eternal life. They had to believe that he was sent from heaven to earth by the Father to give eternal life to all who came to him for such.
That is still the stipulation for eternal life today. Songs about merely being good so that one can get to heaven do not paint an adequate picture, for it takes one believing that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, sent from the Father, placing your faith in his atoning death on the cross and his resurrection from the dead.
But if it can be harder for one group to believe than another, it was for this one. Jesus tells them that he is “the bread of God” which “comes down out of heaven, and gives life to the world” and that “everyone who beholds the Son and believes in Him may have eternal life” (6:33, 40). And they struggle to believe this.
They do not, however, focus on the claim that he is the bread of God or able to give eternal life, but that he came down from heaven. They struggle with this because they knew his parents and grew up in the same region as Jesus. Therefore, how could he claim that he came down out of heaven? They struggled to believe. They couldn’t believe. Yet if they did not believe, they could not have eternal life.
Therefore, they grumble among themselves until Jesus stops them in verse 43.
Now, put yourself in their shoes, how hard would it be for you to believe the claim that Jesus was making that day? For me, I think it would be very hard. I have a friend across town who pastors a Spanish congregation at Poplar Heights Baptist Church. His name is Brad. If Brad were to come to me and claim that he had come down out of heaven and God was his Father, I would probably say that he thought of Russ (his dad) too highly. I would make a joke, thinking he was doing the same, because I pretty much grew up with this guy.
And to make it an easier circumstance: if someone were claiming to come from heaven who I didn’t grow up with and yet many of you grew up with him, then I would have to trust you to disbelieve him. But I’m sure I probably would, for which is more likely?
Therefore, if someone were going to believe that Jesus came from heaven, he would have to overcome one of the two circumstances explained. He would have to believe despite growing up with Jesus himself or believe despite many testifying that they grew up with Jesus. In other words, it would take a miracle for someone to be able to believe that Jesus’ words (his words of eternal life) were true.
Yet, unless they believe in Jesus as the Christ, then they cannot have eternal life. So is anyone able to believe? Is anyone going to have eternal life? And if so, who?
Jesus answers this question in verse 37. He says, “All that the Father gives Me shall come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will certainly not cast out.”
Jesus identifies the “miracle” that would need to happen for someone to believe. The miracle is that God “gives” certain ones to Jesus and they “come” (practically synonymous with “believe” in the gospel of John) to Jesus for eternal life. There is a group who believe on Jesus Christ and receive eternal life. And this group that God gives to Jesus all come to him. It is a miracle that results in eternal life for the people one hundred percent of the time.
This is exciting isn’t it?
However, if we understand this correctly, then we should probably draw a negative implication from it as well, shouldn’t we? For if it is true that God must grant this miracle to individuals of bringing them to the Son to have eternal life, then it should also be true that unless God draws an individual to Christ, then he or she cannot believe on him and cannot have eternal life.
Jesus confirms that line of thinking in verse 44. In fact, that is how he silences the Jews from their grumbling. He tells them (in essence) not to waste their time arguing about how unbelievable his claims were because none of them could come to him (i.e. believe in/on him) “unless the Father who sent [Jesus] draws him.”
People cannot believe on Christ for eternal life unless God draws them. We are not saved at our own whim. We are only saved as God draws us to Jesus Christ.
Now, let’s push our reasoning a bit further. If it is true that all men come to (believe on) Christ as the Father gives them Jesus (37), and it is true that men cannot come to Jesus Christ unless the Father draws them to Jesus (44), then could I not conclude that the reason men do not believe is because God has not drawn them and that they cannot come unless he does?
To this, our natural tendency is not to want to say, “Amen” but instead, “Get away from your reasoning and get back to the Bible.” So, I will do that, but I think we are only going to find our reasoning affirmed.
For what we find in the verses following his statement in verse 44 is that he tells them that the one who believes has eternal life (47) and that they must eat his flesh and drink his blood (take all of him and follow him wholeheartedly) if they are going to have eternal life (49-51). He simply goes on to press the issues that are unpleasant to his crowd a little deeper.
So it is a fitting question to ask in verse 61 when he says, “Does this [what I say] cause you to stumble [be offended]? Of course it did! But Jesus assures them again that they are unable to have eternal life from their flesh, the Spirit has to be the one to give eternal life (63).
And finally, Jesus affirms our latest conclusion with a statement that I have struggled with. It is a statement that I have struggled with not because I don’t believe it. I simply cannot believe he said it to this crowd. It is the kind of thing that would have made my mom spit out what she was drinking out of disbelief if I had said it growing up.
He starts his unbelievable statement in verse 64 by saying, “There are some of you who do not believe.” Now, that is not all bad. Sure, it means that he is telling some of the people in the crowd that they would go to hell if they died, for only by believing does one attain eternal life. And, sure, that is offensive, but I do that from this pulpit all the time. What is astounding is the continuation of his statement.
Let’s hear it as a whole, starting in verse 64 and ending in verse 65. Jesus says, “But there are some of you who do not believe … for this reason I have said to you, that no one can come to Me, unless it has been granted him from the Father.”
Do you realize what he is saying there? If I might paraphrase, inserting the implications, he is saying, “There are some of you who do not believe. And this should not come as a surprise because you cannot unless my Father draws you. Therefore, the reason you are not believing is because my Father is not drawing you.”
Can you believe he is saying that? It is one thing to believe this and talk about it among other believers, but we would never say to a lost person, “You do not believe, that is why I have said to you that you cannot believe unless the Father draws you—just in case you were wondering why.” Talk about saying the wrong thing to the wrong person at the wrong time. But Jesus said it, didn’t he? I know of no other way of interpreting verses 64-65 of John 6. I have sat and thought, but I believe that what I have said is exactly what Jesus is saying.
In the words of D.A. Carson, (that I might have a supporter of my interpretation who is more highly regarded than myself) commenting on verse 65, writes, “However much men and women are commanded to believe, and are held accountable for their unbelief, genuine coming to [saving] faith is never finally a matter of autonomous human decision” (see note 1).
Jesus’ words in John 6:64-65 are definitely not among the most referred to passages in modern-day evangelistic meetings. I am sure that because of the teaching of men over recent years, it would be a shock for some men who are lost and yet have heard the gospel countless times to believe that they are helplessly dependent on the mercy of God even to have the opportunity to believe on him unto eternal life.
Yet it is no less true. A man cannot be saved whenever he wants. It is an impossibility, made possible only by God drawing him to Jesus Christ.
Therefore, do you realize, if you have believed on Christ and placed genuine saving faith in his perfect life, atoning death, and resurrection for eternal life that you have tasted of the mercy of God? If he had never drawn you, you would have gone through life without believing on him, for you could not have believed unless he drew you to Jesus. Do we realize today, how privileged we are to believe on Jesus Christ? For I think this message is the goal of this entire passage.
For look how Jesus ends this section. He turns to the twelve in verse 67 and asks, “You do not want to go away also, do you?” Peter responds to this saying, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have words of eternal life. And we have believed and he come to know that You are the Holy One of God” (68). I don’t know if Peter realizes it at the time, but what I think he was supposed to see as he made that statement was how gracious God had been to them in allowing him to believe the statement he just made. In fact, just in case he missed it, Jesus directs him to the sovereignty of God in verse 69, reminding him that they had been chosen.
Therefore, I ask that you would not miss it today.
If you are saved, do not think that you merely believed on Christ and found the strength to do the impossible. No, rather, recognize that you were helpless and unless God intervened you would have gone to hell. Then recognize that God, while not under any constraint at all, chose to open your eyes to be able to believe and have eternal life.
Read your bible tomorrow morning and pray to God, believing in Jesus, and obeying him as your Lord because you can. Repent in tears if you have sinned, confessing your sins to Jesus who died for you, believing that he is interceding before your Father in heaven because you can. And the only reason you can is because God has mercifully opened your eyes. There is no reason why your heart should not be hard and repentance impossible. There is no reason why your mind should not be given over to your lustful desires to the point that you cannot even see the glory of God, let alone adore it.
Realize this today. And live with this reality. I think this is the idea of a child of God living with a righteous fear of the Maker of the universe.
Finally, if you are not saved, then let me tell you something that Jesus tells you in John 6:44 and 64-65. You cannot be saved unless God draws you, opening your eyes to Jesus Christ that you might believe that he is the Son of God who came to earth, lived a perfect life, died on the cross, took the just punishment for your sins, and was raised to earth. You cannot be saved unless he turns your heart to repent of your sins and obey him as your Lord. Your salvation is not in your power. You are utterly at the mercy of God to create in you a new heart that will follow and obey him. Therefore, let me urge you to throw yourself on God’s mercy and beg him to open your heart and change you until you know that he has and you know that you have eternal life. If he is doing that in these moments, then you are blessed among men. By his grace, repent and believe on him as we close.
O God, thank you for opening our eyes today to our blessed privilege of believing on you. Amen.