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Well, please turn with me in 
your Bibles to John's Gospel. We're in John Chapter 6. John six is the bread of life 
discourse. Our Lord Jesus at the beginning 
of the chapter engages in a miracle. He multiplies loaves and fish 
and feeds the multitudes. And on the heels of that, he 
teaches them concerning his origin from the father and the fact 
that he is in fact the bread of life. So I want to read beginning 
in chapter six at verse 41 to the end of the chapter. And then 
our focus will be on verses 60 to 71. So verse 41 in John 6, 
the Jews then complained about him because he said, I am the 
bread which came down from heaven. And they said, is not this Jesus, 
the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How is it 
then that he says, I have come down from heaven? Jesus therefore 
answered and said to them, Do not murmur among yourselves. 
No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws 
him, and I will raise him up at the last day. It is written 
in the prophets, and they shall all be taught by God. Therefore, 
everyone who has heard and learned from the Father comes to me. 
Not that anyone has seen the Father except he who is from 
God. He has seen the Father. Most assuredly, I say to you, 
he who believes in me has everlasting life. I am the bread of life. Your fathers ate the manna in 
the wilderness and are dead. This is the bread which comes 
down from heaven, that one may eat of it and not die. I am the 
living bread which came down from heaven. If anyone eats of 
this bread, he will live forever. And the bread that I shall give 
is my flesh, which I shall give for the life of the world. The 
Jews therefore quarreled among themselves, saying, How can this 
man give us his flesh to eat? Then Jesus said to them, Most 
assuredly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son 
of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. Whoever 
eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will 
raise him up at the last day. For my flesh is food indeed, 
and my blood is drink indeed. He who eats my flesh and drinks 
my blood abides in me and I in him. As the living Father sent 
me, and I live because of the Father, so he who feeds on me 
will live because of me. This is the bread which came 
down from heaven. Not as your fathers ate the manna 
and are dead, he who eats this bread will live forever. These 
things he said in the synagogue as he taught in Capernaum. Therefore, 
many of his disciples, when they heard this, said, This is a hard 
saying. Who can understand it? When Jesus 
knew in himself that his disciples complained about this, he said 
to them, Does this offend you? What then, if you should see 
the Son of Man ascend where he was before? It is the Spirit 
who gives life, the flesh profits nothing. The words that I speak 
to you are Spirit and they are life. 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 would betray Him. And 
He said, therefore I have said to you that no one can come to 
Me unless it has been granted to him by My Father. From that 
time many of His disciples went back and walked with Him no more. 
And Jesus said to the 12, do you also want to go away? But 
Simon Peter answered him, Lord, to whom shall we go? You have 
the words of eternal life. Also, we have come to believe 
and know that you are the Christ, the son of the living God. Jesus 
answered them, did I not choose you, the 12, and one of you is 
a devil? He spoke of Judas Iscariot, the 
son of Simon, for it was he who would betray him, being one of 
the 12. Amen. Well, let us pray. Our 
gracious God and Holy Father, we thank you for your word. We 
thank you that you have not left us alone in the world, but you've 
given us this written record full of glorious truth. We thank 
you for the ministry of the Holy Spirit who takes these things 
and makes them alive and applicable in the minds of Your people. 
We pray that He would guide us and illumine us even now. Father, 
we ask that You would forgive us for all of our sin and our 
transgression, those things that darken our understanding and 
our minds, and we pray that You would be glorified as we focus 
upon Your truth. May it affect us for good. And 
again, Father, may You open the eyes and the hearts of those 
dead in their trespasses and sins. And may they see that Jesus 
Christ is the one in whom there is salvation. There is forgiveness 
to be had, a righteousness to be had through faith in that 
blessed Savior for sinners. And we ask this in his wonderful 
name. Amen. Well, as we've looked at 
this particular passage, we've seen that the Lord Jesus has 
constantly emphasized sovereignty. He's constantly emphasized depravity 
in terms of the people, and He has emphasized the fact that 
He alone is able to save to the uttermost all who draw nigh unto 
God through Him. And along the way, we have seen 
their objections. We have seen their resistance, 
their rebellion against the truth. And that comes to a head here 
in verses 60 to 71. You have the reaction to the 
bread of life discourse. First, you have the departure 
of the Jews. And secondly, you have the devotion 
of the apostles. That last and concluding section 
when Jesus asks the apostles if they want to leave as well. 
And Simon Peter makes that statement, Lord, To whom shall we go? You 
have the words of eternal life. That is a wonderful attestation 
to who Jesus is and to what he does in the lives of his people. But we'll look first at the departure 
of the Jews in verses 60 to 66. And there's three things to consider 
here. First, the question posed by the Jews in verse 61. Secondly, the response by our 
Lord Jesus in verses 60 2 to 65, and then finally the actual 
departure of the Jews in verse 66. But notice in the first place 
at verse 60, therefore many of his disciples, and then again 
drop down into verse 66, from that time many of his disciples 
went back and walked with him no more. It's curious because 
we often think of the doctrine of the perseverance of the saints, 
preservation by God, those whom the Lord saves, he will not lose. 
Well, in this instance, disciple is used in its most broadest 
and general sense. It's the follower of a teacher. 
This doesn't necessarily mean they were saved and then they 
lost it, which cannot be. But they, at least for a time, 
had an interest in the Savior. Some call this temporary faith. 
Some call this historic faith. But this is exactly what it was. 
They didn't have genuine life. They were not in Christ. They 
had not believed on Him. And you can see that distinction 
by their departure and by the affirmation of the apostles. to whom shall we go? You have 
the words of eternal life. There is no other place that 
our guilty, vile, helpless souls can find life, can find rest, 
can find peace, can find safety. They speak as believers in the 
Lord Jesus Christ, and we need to appreciate that. Ones whom 
God calls out of darkness into marvelous light, He never fumbles 
them. He never loses them. The apostle 
in Philippians 1 says, I'm confident in this very thing. He who began 
a good work in you shall complete it unto the day of Christ. And 
in Romans 8, the apostle says, there is nothing that shall separate 
us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. 
So in verse 60 and in verse 66, again, disciples is used in its 
most general and broad sense. Those who at least for a time 
followed Jesus because they were at least for a time interested 
in what he had to teach. But notice in verse 60, therefore 
many of his disciples when they heard this said, this is a hard 
saying, who can understand it? Now most likely the hard saying 
refers to verses 53 to 58, where the Lord Jesus says, you need 
to eat my flesh and you need to drink my blood. As I've explained 
on several instances as we worked our way through this passage, 
Jesus is not endorsing cannibalism. He is not overthrowing the book 
of Leviticus and its prohibition against ingesting blood. He is 
speaking metaphorically. When we look in the passage, 
to eat the flesh of the Son of Man, to drink His blood means 
to receive Him, to rest upon Him, to come to Him, to believe 
in Him. But with reference to verses 
53 to 58, you could see where this would appear to be. A hard 
saying. But I think it extends even beyond 
that, because they have resisted along the way. And throughout 
the Bread of Life discourse, the Lord Jesus has emphasized 
that He is the Bread of Life. They rejected that. They resisted 
that. And yet He says it. Verses 27, 
33, 35. 48, 50, and 51, and then again, 53 to 
58. But another thing that they took opposition to, they rejected, 
was his insistence that he had come from the Father. His origin 
wasn't from Nazareth. His origin is from everlasting. He is God the Word, God the Son. In the beginning was the Word. 
The Word was with God, and the Word was God. The Word became 
flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory 
as of the only begotten Son, who is full of grace and truth." 
So, they opposed this. They thought that He was a fellow. They thought that He was on the 
same footing as them. They rejected and denied His 
origin from the Father. So, as far as they are concerned, 
this is a hard saying. Basically, it includes the entirety 
of the Brattle Life discourse. They oppose the idea of eating 
his flesh and drinking his blood. They oppose the idea that he 
himself was the bread of life. They oppose the idea that he 
himself had been sent by the Father on this mission of redemption 
wherein God the Son takes on our humanity with all the essential 
properties and the common infirmities thereof, and yet without sin. 
So basically, they denied Him at every step of the way. But 
then look at how they say it, how they frame it. This is a 
hard saying. Who can understand it? They answer 
the question based on, or rather the context answers the question. If they simply would have listened 
to Jesus, they wouldn't have to ask who can understand it. 
According to verse 37, all that the Father gives me will come 
to me. And guess what? They'll understand 
it. All that the Father gives me 
will come to me. Guess what? they'll believe on 
the Son, they'll receive the Son, they'll eat the flesh of 
the Son and drink the blood of the Son, again, metaphorically, 
and they'll understand it. For those who have ears to hear, 
these are not hard sayings. For those who have ears to hear, 
these are blessed sayings. For those who have ears to hear, 
these are the most wonderful of sayings, that we have life 
eternal in and through Jesus Christ the Lord, the One who 
came to save His people from their sins. as well the emphasis 
on belief and then knowledge. Look at what it says. This is 
a hard saying. Who can understand it? Well, 
if you don't believe the gospel, you're not going to understand 
it. Look at Peter's confession on behalf of the apostles in 
verse 69. Also, we have come to believe 
and know. That's the order, brethren. Believe 
and know. There is mystery in the Christian 
religion. And by mystery, I don't mean 
blood rights. I don't mean secret societies. 
I mean that the infinite is trying to comprehend to some degree, 
or the finite is trying to comprehend in some degree the infinite. 
So there's going to be hard things. There's gonna be mystery. There's 
gonna be difficulty. How do we reconcile that? We 
believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. When our heart is right, we receive 
the implanted word. When there is regeneration by 
the power of the spirit, when he takes out the old stony heart 
and puts in a new fleshly heart, then there is this belief and 
then knowledge, this belief and then understanding. The apostle 
highlights the same thing in Hebrews 11. By faith we understand 
that the worlds were made by God. There are many people today 
that say, well, unless I can fully exhaust every jot and diddle 
in the Bible, I'm not gonna believe. I'm gonna be this arrogant scientific 
commitment person and say that if I don't have every answer 
satisfactorily or every question satisfactorily answered, I am 
not gonna believe. See, that's not the process. 
We come to the Lord Jesus Christ, we believe on Him, and then spiritual 
things make sense. See, with reference to spiritual 
things and unspiritual men, it's like trying to describe color 
to a blind man. They just don't get it. If you 
had a blind man and you said, the green is so powerful today, 
the blue of the sky, the white of the clouds, the beauty of 
the world around us. I mean, they might be able to 
process it to some degree and formulate a picture in their 
mind, but they don't understand. They've never beheld color. It's 
the same with unspiritual people. Have you ever tried to present 
the gospel? You've talked to them about who God is and the 
mercy of Christ and that sort of thing. It's almost like throwing 
a dog a carrot. I'm not suggesting they're dogs, 
but dogs don't eat carrots. It hits them on the mouth and 
falls out. Perhaps you've seen that dog on Twitter, the guy, 
everything he throws to his dog, whether it's a carrot or meat, 
it bounces off his face and falls on the ground. It's hilarious. 
I can watch that dog. It's strange what you are given 
to. But when it comes to dogs, they 
eat meat. They don't eat vegetables. So 
when you throw vegetables at them, it just glances right off 
of them. It's the same with the carnal 
man. It's the same with the unsaved man. It's the same with the person 
that is an unbeliever. These things don't make sense. 
They say stuff like this. This is a hard saying. Who can 
understand it? Well, by God's grace, we can. 
By God's grace, we have ingested the son by faith. By God's grace, 
we confess that he is the only begotten son of the father who 
came into this world sinners to save. By grace, we understand. Because by grace we have believed 
the gospel. And before we move on, we should 
note the parallel between the people here and the people at 
the time of the wilderness wanderings. Remember when God sent manna? God blessed them with that provision. And in Numbers 11, 5 and 6, guess 
what they did? They complained, they whined, they said, oh, it 
was great to be back in Egypt. We had garlic and we had leeks 
and we had melons and we had all kinds of fair, sumptuous 
good things. Now we're basically ingesting 
this manna and we're sick and tired of it. Not a lot changed 
between that wilderness generation and their grumbling unbelief 
to what we find at the time of Messiah when he comes to his 
own and his own receive him not. So they grumble just like the 
fathers in the wilderness had grumbled. Now notice the response 
by our Lord Jesus in verses 61 to 65. There's four things that 
Christ says here that I think are a bit somewhat puzzling. 
We need to Get our minds wrapped around. First, the inability 
to understand the ascension of the Son of Man. Second, the ignorance 
of the life-giving Spirit. Third, the identification of 
their real problem. And then finally, the inescapability 
of a sovereign God. So look back at verse 60. This 
is a hard saying. Who can understand it? Verses 
61 and following. When Jesus knew in himself that 
his disciples complained about this, he knew in himself, According 
to His divinity, go back to chapter 2 verse 25, John tips us and 
John tells us that Jesus knew all men. John 2 verse 24, but 
Jesus did not commit Himself to them because He knew all men, 
and had no need that anyone should testify of man, for He knew what 
was in man. And then that's exemplified in 
the following sections. Notice in John 3, Nicodemus comes 
to him by night and Jesus gets right to the point. Unless a 
man is born again, he shall not enter the kingdom of heaven. 
He meets that woman at the well in Samaria. What does he tell 
her? Go call your husband and come here. She says, Lord, I 
don't have a husband. He says, you're right. You've 
had five and the one you're presently with isn't your husband. He knew 
what was in man. Because again, in the beginning 
was the Word. The Word was with God. The Word was God. And that 
Word became flesh and dwelt among us. He never got rid of divinity. He never emptied himself of divine 
prerogative. He never ever sacrificed or relinquished 
what he'd always been. That would be an impossibility. 
So Christ knows what's in man. So here in John 6, at verse 61, 
Jesus knew in himself that his disciples complained about them. 
So it's very intriguing how he responds. How does he answer? 
Does he say, no, it's not really that hard, you're just thick-headed. 
No, it's not really that hard, you're just unspiritual. That's 
essentially what he does say in the emphasis here. Notice 
the inability to understand the ascension of the Son of Man. 
He knows what's happening, and then he questions them. The end 
of verse 61, does this offend you? This would be symptomatic 
of the Jewish or unbelieving Jewish response to Jesus as the 
Messiah. 1 Corinthians 1, verse 23, Paul 
says that the Jews seek after a sign, Greeks seek after wisdom, 
but we preach Christ and Him crucified. To the Jews, what? 
A stumbling block. a scandal. That's the precise 
language that Jesus utilizes here in verse 61. Does this offend 
you? Is this a stumbling block? Does 
this scandalize you? Again, carnal men, unregenerate 
by the Spirit, as far as they're concerned, an emphasis on eating 
his flesh, drinking his blood, the emphasis on his divine origin, 
the emphasis on his ability or identity as the bread of life, 
that would offend them, that would scandalize them, that would 
upset them. So notice he challenges them 
in verse 62. What then if you should see the 
Son of Man ascend where He was before? Some apply this to the 
cross. He's going to ascend to the cross. 
That wouldn't really challenge them, though, because they would 
be all for that. As far as they were concerned, 
and this opposition is increasing in John's gospel, they're gonna 
be part of the rabble that say, away with him, away with him, 
crucify him. Likely, he's speaking about the 
ascension. After he dies, he's raised again, 
he appears to the disciples and others for a period of time, 
and then he ascends on high. He does so from Galilee. They're 
presently in Capernaum. Capernaum is in Galilee. So likely 
they, these people, some of them at least, would see him ascend 
back into heaven. Now in terms of this reference 
that he gives us, what then if you should see the son of man 
ascend where he was before? John Gil makes this statement. He existed before his incarnation. We know that. John 1.1, John 
1.14. And He was in heaven before, 
not in His human nature, but as the Word and Son of God. And 
He intimates that when He had done His work and the will of 
His Father, for which He came down from heaven, by the assumption 
of the human nature, He should ascend up tither again, and which 
would be seen as it was by His apostles, and which would prove 
that He came down from heaven as He had asserted. So in verse 
62, instead of backing down, he doubles down. They've got 
a problem with his assertion that he's come from the Father. 
And he reasserts that he's going back to the Father. After the 
ascension, after the accomplishment of redemption, after the salvation 
of his people, he will ascend on high, he will leave captivity 
captive, and he will give gifts to men. So again, brethren, you 
need to process the way that the Lord responds to the accusation 
that there are hard sayings. See, today outside of the church, 
you find that as well. Oh, it's hard sayings that the 
commandments of God condemn abortion. It's hard sayings that the commandments 
of God condemn euthanasia. It's a hard saying that the commandments 
of God condemn sexual perversion and theft on a massive scale. It is a hard saying. So what 
does the church do? The church capitulates. The church 
softens. The church redefines. The church 
says, oh, well, we want to be winsome and we don't want to 
offend you, so we're going to tailor our message to a God-hating 
generation. Brethren, let us imitate our 
blessed Savior, who, when challenged at the level of giving hard sayings, 
continues with the hard sayings. continues to emphasize biblical 
truth? Why? Because ultimately that's 
what sinners need. They may think they want soft 
sayings. They may think they want redefinition 
of the commandments. They may think that, but they're 
wrong. God made man in His image to 
worship and to glorify Him. God made man in His image in 
such a way that the knowledge of God is written on his heart, 
at least to some degree. Those laws are written on his 
heart to some degree. What is good for man today is 
not capitulation. It is rather doubling down with 
the truth of God's holy word, law, and gospel in the manner 
in which the Savior does so with these people. The Son of Man 
would return to heaven. Basically, he says, if you struggled 
with what you've seen thus far, you ain't seen nothing yet. He's 
gonna die, but he's gonna rise, and then he's gonna ascend back 
up into heaven. Notice secondly, the ignorance 
of the life-giving spirit. Verse 63, he says, it is the 
spirit who gives life, the flesh profits nothing. The words that 
I speak to you are spirit and they are life. So the spirit 
gives life as we've seen in John 3. Unless a man is born again, 
he shall not enter the kingdom of God. The doctrine of appropriations 
applied to the Holy Spirit as the one who brings the regeneration 
to bear. Specifically in chapter 3, verses 
6 to 8, we see this emphasis on the Holy Spirit, likened and 
paralleled with the wind. Same Greek word to show the sovereign 
spirit in the salvation of sinners. And so Jesus makes that point 
here. It is the spirit who gives life, 
the flesh profits nothing. So there's this contrast between 
the Holy Spirit and what the flesh can produce. But brethren, 
it may go further into our specific context where Christ is clarifying 
that he's not talking in verses 53 to 58 about actually eating 
him. He is clarifying that it's the 
Spirit who gives life, the flesh profits nothing. Now, the human 
flesh of our Lord Jesus was blessed, it was glorious, but again, I 
turn to John Gill. He says, the human nature of 
Christ, though profitable as in union with the Son of God, 
to be given for the life of his people and to be an offering 
and a sacrifice for their sins, yet not as alone or as abstracted 
from the divine nature. Nor would His flesh and blood, 
corporeally eaten, could or should it be done, be of any avail to 
eternal life. Nor is any other flesh, literally 
understood, profitable of itself for life." This could be a clarifying 
statement. It's the Spirit who gives life. 
The flesh profits nothing. Again, this is not a denigration 
of the flesh of our blessed Savior. But if it were the case that 
one of them should take a bite out of Jesus physically and ingest 
some of his blood, that would not have communicated the benefits 
of redemption. The metaphorical use of belief 
throughout the Bread of Life discourse is conspicuous. It's 
obvious. We come to the Savior. We receive 
the Savior. We eat His flesh. We drink His 
blood. All of that is biblical shorthand 
or metaphorical speaking for belief in Him. If you are a sinner 
today, undone before a holy God, the way of salvation is not to 
bite Jesus. The way of salvation is to believe 
on Jesus, to receive Him. Look back at verse 40 in the 
discourse. Verse 40, and this is the will 
of Him who sent me, that everyone who sees the Son and believes 
in Him may have everlasting life, and I will raise Him up at the 
last day. So back to 6.63, it is the Spirit 
who gives life, the flesh profits nothing. And then he goes on 
to say, the words that I speak to you are spirit and they are 
life. Again, the emphasis in the context 
is not on the physical eating of the body and blood, it is 
on belief, it is on It is on faith, it is on looking and living. The same sort of an idea was 
in John 3, when Jesus says, just as Moses lifted up the serpent 
in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up. Well, 
how were those bitten Israelites cured of their malady when Moses 
lifted up that brazen serpent? They didn't drag themselves over. 
They didn't suck the venom out of their wound. They didn't say 
some incantation or hocus-pocus. They looked at that brazen serpent 
and they lived. The same emphasis. Look to the 
Lord Jesus in faith and you will live. It is the spirit who gives 
life. The flash prophet's nothing. 
The words that I speak to you are spirit and they are life. 
Again, brethren, you see his answer. He's not capitulating. He's not kowtowing. He's not 
saying, oh, you poor pathetic sinner. I know I've made it a 
bit difficult. I know I've said some things 
that you interpret as hard saying. He doesn't do that. He doesn't 
shrink back. He doesn't relax. He doesn't 
say, well, you know, I'm just going to cater to my audience 
where they're at. That, again, is a misuse of strategy. When Paul in 1 Corinthians 9 
says we need to become all things to all men so that we might win 
some, that doesn't mean cater to them in their rebellion against 
God. It doesn't mean cater to them 
in their gross sexual perversion. It doesn't mean cater to them 
in their abortion and euthanasia or in their godless lifestyle 
on a daily basis. It means befriend them to be 
sure, but tell them the truth. What does a sinner most desperately 
need to hear? The truth as it is in Jesus. 
James 1.18, of his own will, he brought us forth by the word 
of truth. If we don't have that word of 
truth, we're going to perish in our sins forever. Kids and 
young people, when you come to church, one of the ideas behind 
this is that you listen to the word of truth, so that by God's 
grace, you lay hold of Jesus, you believe on him when you're 
young, and hopefully you'll be spared some of the heartache 
and the misery that many of us underwent prior to our conversion 
to the great king. The Lord most high has the words 
of eternal life, and that's what he is stressing to them. Notice 
the identification of their real problem in verse 64. There are 
some of you who do not believe. That was the issue. That's why 
they're hard sayings. That's why they stumble. That's 
why they are scandalized because they don't believe. And John 
gives us commentary. For Jesus knew from the beginning 
who they were who did not believe and who would betray him. introducing 
the betrayal of Judas Iscariot. It's amplified in verses 70 and 
71. It will come to full force in 
John 13 in the Upper Room Discourse when the betrayer is identified. 
At this point, we understand that the betrayer and the betrayal 
was a means by which the Son of Man would give his flesh for 
the life of the world. He would be instrumental in handing 
over the Son of God for basically chump change so that they could 
execute him because they hated him so much. So the betrayer 
is announced already here in John chapter 6, and I think it's 
appropriate in this passage. For Jesus knew from the beginning 
who they were who did not believe and who would betray Him. Christ 
is not taken unawares. Christ is not surprised in his 
earthly ministry. Christ is not shocked when it's 
Judas who is betraying him. Remember, Christ cannot divest 
himself of divinity. He cannot separate the hypostatic 
union. What is true of divinity is applicable 
to the person of our blessed Savior. And then notice finally, 
the inescapability of the sovereignty of God. This is where I think 
a lot of people today, well, you don't like Reformed theology? You don't like the emphasis on 
total depravity? You don't like the emphasis on 
unconditional election? What's the emphasis they really 
balk at is the third point, right? The limited atonement or particular 
redemption. That drives people nuts. They 
go bananas. They can't stand it. They say 
things like, this is a hard saying. Who can understand it? So it 
would be at this point where Jesus might want to just release 
the throttle a little bit. Maybe don't shove this down their 
throat again. Maybe don't revisit this particular 
theme again, but he does revisit this particular theme again. 
He does press it down their throats, and I'm speaking metaphorically, 
again. He reiterates what he's already 
said in verse 65 at verse 44. So verse 65, therefore, I've 
said to you that no one can come to me unless it has been granted 
to him by my father. Look at verse 44. No one can 
come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him, and I 
will raise him up at the last day. Positively stated in verse 
36, But I said to you that you have seen me and do not believe. 
All that the Father gives me will come to me, and the one 
who comes to me I will by no means cast out. So over in verse 
65, to sort of finish or summarize his response to their reaction, 
he does so to explain their unbelief. He does so to show that the problem 
isn't with the hard sayings. The problem is with the receptor. 
The problem is with the sinner. The problem is with the one who 
distorts. Our brother read Psalm 19 at the outset of worship. 
Perhaps you've met the atheist before that has said, well, show 
me some proof for the existence of God. Don't you want to take 
him outside today and just go like this? Isn't that enough 
proof? The heavens declare the glory, 
the righteousness, and the majesty of God Almighty. Paul in Romans 
1 tells us that the perfections of God are clearly seen through 
the created order. When we look at the effect, it 
leads us back to the cause. And the apostle says that's enough 
data or information to damn a man forever and eternally. So the 
idea isn't that there's a lack of evidence. The idea is that 
man's heart is desperately wicked. It is deceitful above all things. 
His receptor is wrong. He doesn't interpret the world 
around him properly. And when handed a Bible, he really 
doesn't get it right. He really stumbles. In fact, 
a lot of real Christians stumble and fumble a lot at the level 
of God's sovereign grace. So Jesus presses them in verse 
65 with the doctrine of God's sovereign grace. It explains 
their unbelief, and it again reaffirms that everything he 
has said is in fact true, and it puts things in the proper 
perspective. No one can come to the Father. 
Why? Or no one can come to the Son. Why? Because of sin. See, they wanna say, oh, these 
are hard sayings. These are difficult. You're talking 
about things that are outside of our wheelhouse. No, that's 
not the problem. Brethren, those in this room 
that are saved, you shouldn't have any problems with this. 
Jesus' bread of life, absolutely, positively, that's great. Jesus' 
origin from the Father as the only begotten Son of the Father, 
absolutely, that's great. The fact that you eat his flesh 
and drink his blood and you understand that metaphorically to mean believe 
on him, that's great. You haven't been to Bible school, 
you don't have a PhD, you haven't written books with a lot of footnotes, 
and yet they're not hard sayings. So this explains why it's a hard 
saying, because they, in their depravity, they're in their rebellion 
against God, they can't make heads or tails out of biblical 
truth. So what is the temptation for 
those today? Change biblical truth. No, we follow Jesus and 
press biblical truth, knowing that God uses biblical truth 
for the salvation of sinners. We're cutting the sinner off 
in the worst possible way by tailoring the message to him. 
How do we not get that? How do we not see that? How do 
we not understand that capitulating to a God-hating world is never 
the right way to try to reach that God-hating world? Now notice 
the departure, verse 66. From that time, many of his disciples 
went back and walked with him no more. Cyril of Alexandria 
says, wisdom is always hard for the unwise. Wisdom is always 
hard for the unwise. Jesus is speaking wisdom to unwise 
people. So what do unwise people do? 
They depart. He goes on to say, and what may 
be thought to bring no small profit, they often view as harmful. As far as they were concerned, 
it was his problem. As far as they were concerned, 
he had the issues. As far as they were concerned, 
they were right in rejecting and resisting this one who claimed 
to be the Messiah. As far as they were concerned, 
he had evidenced himself to be sufficiently out of touch and 
sufficiently out of line. And so they depart at that time. 
Poole explains with reference to disciple. He says, many professors 
and seeming disciples of Christ may draw back and fall from their 
profession, though none that truly receive Christ shall fall 
away, but be by the power of God preserved through faith unto 
salvation. Makes perfect sense. No one can 
come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him. Once he 
draws him, secures him safely in the arms of Jesus, he doesn't 
cut him off, he doesn't leave him on his own, he doesn't leave 
him destitute of all saving grace. And then notice in verse 65, 
the emphasis on that sovereign grace, it has been granted to 
him. It has been given to him. Salvation is not earned. Salvation 
is not achieved. Salvation is not worked for because 
we couldn't achieve it, we couldn't earn it, and we couldn't work 
for it because we're so sinful. If God doesn't give it, there 
is none to be had. That's the emphasis from Genesis 
to Revelation, and these guys didn't like it. Now notice, secondly 
and finally, 67 to 71, the devotion of the apostles. Notice first 
our Lord's searching question. Our Lord's searching question, 
or the examination of the 12. Verse 67, then Jesus said to 
the 12th, do you also want to go away? It's a legit question 
in light of the defection of the others. It's a legit question 
in light of an affirmation of their faith in him. And it's 
a legit question in that it will ultimately bring glory to God 
most high. When they confess what they confess, 
this redounds to the praise and honor of our great God, right? 
Because it's not them that stumbled onto this, it's not them that 
discovered this in contradiction to the rest. They had been given 
by the Father to the Son. They had been granted life in 
the Son. They had received the blessed 
gift of salvation from God Most High. So when Jesus searches 
them, yeah, that affection of others is the occasion, but the 
affirmation of their own faith and the stability of their own 
faith in terms of their commitment to the Savior. It's a legit and 
good question. Now notice the response of Peter. 
Peter oftentimes speaks for the Twelve as a whole. Peter oftentimes 
is the spokesman for the Apostles. He is functioning in that capacity. So verse 68, we have first a 
question, and then we have an answer. Peter says in verse 68, 
Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal 
life. Now notice the question, Lord, to whom shall we go? It seems like he understood and 
trafficked with what Jesus says in verse 63. The words that I 
speak to you are spirit and they are life. So Peter understood, 
along with the 12, that it's not the physical ingestion of 
the flesh and blood of the Son of Man. It is rather faith in 
Him, to believe in Him, is to come to Him, it is to receive 
Him, it is to know the joy of being found in Him. So, Lord, 
to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal 
life. And when he asks that question, Lord, to whom shall we go? He's 
not going to go to the Pharisees. No, no, not even for a little 
time, right? Matthew 23, the Lord Jesus upbraids 
the Pharisees, along with the scribes, because they are men 
that heap upon you burdens that they themselves cannot carry. 
In Matthew 11, Jesus says, come to me, all you who are weary 
and heavy laden. Yes, he's talking about their 
sin, but he's talking about Pharisaic religion. You think you had any 
relief as a heavy laden sinner with a Pharisee as your teacher? 
With a Pharisee as your master? Did you ever get to hear rest 
in the Savior? You're washed in the blood? You've 
been chosen by God and kept by his power? I mean, those are 
soul comforting truths, aren't they? You wouldn't get them from 
the Pharisee at the synagogue. So Lord, to whom shall we go? 
We're not gonna go to the Pharisees. We're not even gonna go to John 
the Baptist. John the Baptist was a great 
man. In fact, Jesus says there was no one greater than John 
the Baptist at the nexus of covenantal history. John the Baptist, an 
old covenant prophet, speaking in terms of glorious things about 
the kingdom of God most high. But he affirmed and he did not 
deny that he wasn't the Christ. So Peter and the apostles aren't 
gonna go to the Baptist. They're not even gonna go to 
Moses. They'll go to Moses for the law. They'll go to Moses 
for the good things that Moses gives. They'll go to Moses for 
the typology and the prophecies concerning the coming of the 
son of man. But those men don't have the words of eternal life. 
Lord, to whom shall we go? And then notice the blessed response. He asks the question and then 
he answers the question. You have the words of eternal 
life. The all-sufficiency of Jesus 
is something that the Twelve had come to see. The Twelve had 
appreciated, by God's grace, they had believed the Gospel, 
they knew the Son of God, they had come to Him in faith, and 
now they enjoyed all of those benefits. You've heard me quote 
John Gill twice in this message. I like John Gill. He's one of 
my favorite commentators and theologians in the history of 
the Christian Church. He's a very faithful, safe guide 
in terms of biblical interpretation and commentary. He's one of the 
few men, maybe the only man, that wrote commentary on every 
verse of the Bible. And then when he happened to 
finish that, he wrote a systematic theology. Not many people on 
God's earth can say, now that I have finished my commentary 
on the whole Bible, I'm going to write a systematic theology. 
Again, that is not paralleled in the history of Christianity. 
For the most part, Gil takes you by the hand and leads you 
through the text. Here's what this means. Here's what he means 
here. Here's what he says. But every now and then, Gil has 
this authorial flight of blessedness, and he does so in his comment 
here. Lord, to whom shall we go? You 
have the words of eternal life. Gil says, there is no other savior 
but Christ to look to. No other mediator between God 
and man to make use of. No other physician of value for 
diseased and sin-sick souls to apply unto. No other fountain 
but His blood for polluted souls to wash in and be cleansed. No 
other city of refuge or stronghold for souls sensible of danger 
to flee unto and be safe. No other to come to as the bread 
of life, where hungry souls may be fed. No other place of rest 
for those that are weary and heavy laden. Nor is there any 
other where there is plenty of all grace and security from every 
enemy as in him. And therefore, to whom can they 
have recourse but unto him. Amen. Lord, to whom shall we 
go? You have the words of eternal 
life. In other words, there's no other 
option. And praise God, there's no other 
option because this is the option of options. This is the best 
of the best. This is the champion, this is 
the victor, this is the redeemer, this is the king and conqueror 
who has come into this world, who has taken on our humanity, 
who has lived for us, who has died for us, who has been raised 
for us, who reigns for us, who will come back in glory to judge 
the living and the dead and take us up into that heavenly Jerusalem. There is no other that has the 
words of eternal life. Now notice, after this, the confession 
of verse 69. Also, we have come to believe 
and know. Again, notice the emphasis. We believe and we know. Now, 
what we believe in the Christian faith is not absurdity. It is 
not falsehood. It is simply spiritually apprised. It is spiritually discerned. 
We need the aid of the Spirit. So when I say belief then knowledge, 
I don't mean some existential leap of faith out into the abyss 
and then everything will just make sense. That's not it at 
all. Or the Mormons who say, you know, 
pray for the burning in the bosom and you'll get it. That's not 
what I'm suggesting. I am telling you that when by 
grace we believe the gospel, things make sense that used to 
not. Things make sense that didn't 
before. Things make sense in a way that 
we would have never gotten had the Spirit not opened our eyes 
and hearts to the truth as it is in Jesus. So also we have 
come to believe and know that you are the Christ, the Son of 
the living God. No accident that they confess 
this. No accident that they profess 
this. This is what sinners confess 
who have been given by the Father to the Son, who have come to 
the Son in faith, who have received Him, who have believed Him, who 
have eaten His flesh and drank His blood, in a metaphorical 
sense, for belief in Him. This is the legitimate confession 
of faith in the Son of God who loved us and who gave himself 
for us. This is how John ends his gospel. Truly Jesus did many 
other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not 
written in this book, but these are written that you may believe 
that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing 
you may have life in his name. So Peter asks the question, Peter 
answers the question, and then Peter, on behalf of the Twelve, 
expresses the confession of faith, a declaration concerning the 
identity of the Savior and His power and ability to save them. And then that brings us to confirmation 
by our Lord. In verse 70, Jesus answered them, 
did I not choose you, the 12, and one of you is a devil. Before 
we get into the, and one of you is a devil, Jesus does the same 
thing. How does he explain the unbelief 
of the Jews? Well, he does it in verse 65. 
I have said to you that no one can come to me unless it has 
been granted to him by my father. He explains the unbelief of the 
Jews by highlighting God's sovereignty. How does he explain the belief 
of his disciples, but by the same way, highlighting God's 
sovereignty? Christ chose them to discipleship, 
Matthew 4. Christ chose them to apostleship, 
Matthew 10. Christ chose them as far as he 
is God most high unto salvation vis-a-vis Ephesians 1, 4, and 
5. So he explains their belief, he explains their confession, 
not by, you know, applauding them, not by, good on you, you're 
wiser, smarter, and brighter than the average bear. You're 
much better than the rest of these, you know, this rabble, 
the hoi polloi. Just like in Matthew chapter 
16, when Jesus says, who do men say that I the son of man am? 
Well, they say, well, some say this, some say this, some say 
this, but then he hones in on his disciples. But who do you 
say that I am? So Simon Peter says, you are the Christ, the 
son of the living God. So what does Jesus do? Does he 
applaud Peter? No, he pronounces him blessed. 
Blessed are you, Simon Barjona, for flesh and blood did not reveal 
this to you, but my father who is in heaven. So as Christ explains 
the unbelief of the Jews with the sovereignty of God, he explains 
the belief of the 12 with the sovereignty of God. But in that 
explanation, he identifies or he tells us, but one of you is 
a devil. One of you is a detractor. One 
of you is a defector. And again, he does this to show 
that he is not caught unawares. He is not caught off guard. He's 
never caught by surprise, but he does what the father sent 
him to do, fully conscious of the mission that lay before him. 
He knows that there's going to be a betrayal, and he announces 
that. Did I not choose you, the 12, and one of you is a devil? 
He spoke of Judas Iscariot, the son of Simon, for it was he who 
would betray him, being one of the 12. Well, brethren, in conclusion, 
just a few thoughts, and then we'll go. First, the scandal 
of biblical truth. I've already dealt with this. 
I want to press it once more. We're not to back down from telling 
the truth. That's just non-negotiable, right? I mean, why do we have 
to even emphasize this anymore? Because we live in a godless 
culture that has made inroads into the church. And unfortunately, 
the church has adopted woke-ism. The church has adopted the language 
of the marketplace in such a way as to sacrifice the edge of biblical 
truth. Brethren, when persons gave you 
the gospel, haven't you ever rehearsed in your thoughts how 
beautiful their feet were? I mean, that's what the Book 
of Romans tells us. How beautiful are the feet of 
those who bring the glad tidings of the gospel of peace. You don't 
want somebody to tear off the edges. You don't want somebody 
to make it palatable. You don't want somebody to tailor 
it so that you can continue in your rebellion against God. Of 
course not. Anybody conquered by sovereign 
grace, anybody who has seen the truth as it is in Jesus rejoices 
in the truth. Jesus in John 14 will say, I 
am the way, the truth, and the life. Brethren, we don't reach 
a lost and dying world by compromising the truth. We press the truth. If they say these are hard sayings, 
we don't reformulate them, we don't make them softer, we don't 
massage them to make them a little bit more palatable to the God-hater. 
No, we press them. We don't back down. We have Martin 
Luther moments where we say, here I stand, I can do no other. Unless my conscience can be shown 
by the Word of God to be in error, then here I stand, I can do no 
other. We are living in a day and age 
where there is gross rebellion. We are living in a day and age 
where the very civilization itself is sliding into misery and destruction. And if we are not conscious of 
this, and if we are not prepared for this, we are going to be 
bested every step of the way. We speak the words of truth and 
reason, and by God's grace, we press them on a godless generation. Secondly, in the passage we see 
the depravity of sinful man. The doctrine of depravity is 
coupled with inability. No one can come unless the Father 
who sent me draws him. You see that inability in 37. 
You see it in 44. You see it in 65. But you see 
depravity. Look at how they're treating 
the Son of God. Look at how they're treating 
the One who was sent from heaven as the Bread of Life to give 
life to the world. They have no desire for Him whatsoever. Again, Cyril of Alexandria says, 
these words are not hard as they claim, but they raise us up to 
the most exceptional thing of all, an unending eternal life 
that is free from all decay. They don't get it. They don't 
see it. Why? Because they're sinners. Because 
they are in Adam. And that's why, brothers and 
sisters, on a Sunday morning, I encourage you to pray that 
the Holy Spirit comes. That the Spirit comes on the 
preaching of the Word, not just preacher, but hearer, so that 
the receptor is able to receive that Word and to believe on the 
Lord Jesus Christ. We don't stand up here and appeal 
to your free will. Oh, come on up, sign the card, 
bow the head, raise the hand, make your decision, pray the 
prayer. There's a reason we don't do 
that. And John six is one of the reasons we don't do that. 
No one can come to me unless the father who sent me draws 
him. That's the emphasis and the people 
of God pray for the spirit of God to come. As well, we see 
the necessity of a sovereign God. If verses 37, 44, and 65 
weren't in this passage, we could all be very miserable. But God 
does give. God does draw. God is good. God is gracious. See, brethren, 
we often focus on the what of the gospel, and we should, life, 
death, resurrection of Jesus. We need to look at the why of 
the gospel from time to time. God so loved the world that he 
gave his only begotten Son. 2 Corinthians 5, God is in Christ, 
reconciling the world to himself. The father of the prodigal, when 
the boy was a long way off, runs to him, not to drive him from 
the property and chasten him for his waywardness, but to fall 
on him, to kiss him, to put a ring on his finger, to put a robe 
on his back, to slay the fatted calf. Why? Because this son who 
was dead is now alive. This son who was lost is now 
found. Yes, we have the what of the 
gospel. Life, death, and resurrection. 
Let us never forget the why of the gospel. Because God so loved 
the world that he gave his only begotten son. And finally, the 
glory of the Savior. He is the one who comes from 
heaven. He is the one, John 1, 1 and John 1, 14, who became 
flesh and dwelt among us. The eternal son of God does that 
for sinners. He is the bread of life who gives 
life to the world. He is the one in whom there is 
all sufficiency. Lord, to whom shall we go? You 
have the words of eternal life. One more passage, Song of Solomon, 
chapter five. Song of Solomon, chapter 5. While 
you're turning there, I'd like to remind you what the Song of 
Solomon is all about. It's not about your marriage. 
It's about God's. God to old covenant Israel, Christ 
to the church. Owen says, the whole book of 
Canticles is designed to no other purpose, but variously to shadow 
forth, to insinuate and represent the mutual love of Christ and 
the church. Blessed is he who understands 
the sayings of that book and hath the experience of them in 
his heart. Look at Song 5, verse 9. Daughters of Jerusalem ask the 
Shulamite about her beloved. What is your beloved more than 
another beloved, O fairest among women? What is your beloved more 
than another beloved that you so charge us? The Shulamite responds, 
my beloved is white and ruddy, chief among 10,000. His head 
is like the finest gold, his locks are wavy and black as a 
raven. His eyes are like doves by the 
rivers of waters, washed with milk and fitly set. His cheeks 
are like a bed of spices, banks of scented herbs. His lips are 
lilies dripping liquid myrrh. His hands are rods of gold set 
with beryl. His body is carved ivory inlaid 
with sapphires. His legs are pillars of marble 
set on bases of fine gold. His countenance is like Lebanon, 
excellent as the cedars. His mouth is most sweet. Yes, 
he is altogether lovely. This is my beloved. This is my 
friend. Oh, daughters of Jerusalem." 
So Peter says, isn't it, Lord, to whom shall we go? You have 
the words of eternal life. And brethren, do not be caught 
on a where, do not be surprised if we so describe the Savior 
in that manner that it evokes the response that we find in 
6.1. Where has your beloved gone, 
O fairest among women? Where has your beloved turned 
aside that we may seek him with you? In other words, brethren, 
when we set forth the beauty, the glory, the majesty, the all-sufficiency 
and excellence of Jesus Christ, that's what this lost and dying 
world needs to hear. And we trust in God to send the 
Spirit to open the heart so that the persons to whom we describe 
the altogether lovely and chief among 10,000 will say this, where 
is he? That we may seek him too. Let us pray. Our Father in heaven, 
we thank you for your word, we thank you for the response of 
our Lord Jesus Christ to the Jews who departed, to the apostles 
who were devoted. And God help us to properly and 
rightly see the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ, who came down 
from heaven, sinners to save. And may we rejoice in your sovereignty, 
may we rejoice in Father, Son, and Spirit, in that glorious 
work of salvation that you have made us partakers of. God open 
eyes and hearts here, for any that are dead in their trespasses 
and sins, show them that sin and show them the Christ that 
is able to save them from their sins. And we pray in his most 
blessed name, amen. Well, let us sing the hymn number 
568, a doxology of praise to our God, and we'll stand together 
while we do so, 568. ♪ Praise God our hope, all blessings 
flow ♪ ♪ Praise Him, all creatures in the earth ♪ ♪ This our new song adieu ♪ Grace of the Lord Jesus Christ 
and the love of God and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you 
all. Amen. Father, we bless you for this 
beautiful day. We bless you for your sovereign 
providence and for redemption by grace through faith in our 
Savior. We praise you for the recent birth of Jacob Paul. We 
ask God that you bless this little one, bless Andrew and Sonia as 
they bring up their children in the training and admonition 
of the Lord. Certainly, we witness your good 
gifts to us as creatures. We witness your good gifts to 
us as redeemed creatures. And may we, by grace, sanctify 
the day, call it a delight, and may we find great joy in the 
presence of our blessed God. And we ask these things through 
Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen. Well, please be seated 
for a brief time of meditation.