To Whom Shall We Go?

All right, well, as we get into the Word of God this morning, we are going back into the Gospel of John.

If you have your Bible with you, you can open it up to John chapter 6, and we're going to be starting about verse 60.

John 6 · chapter mention

We're coming close to the end of this long conversation that Jesus has been having with the crowd.

And you'll remember that some of the people there were at the feeding of the 5,000,

and Jesus has been declaring to them that He is the bread that has come down from heaven.

He's been telling them that He is the bread of life.

He's been offering to them eternal life and inviting them to come to Him and believe in Him.

And the crowd there has had some pretty telling questions and responses to Jesus.

They've demanded that He do a sign before believing.

They've been grumbling about what He is saying.

And Jesus has kind of told them straight up,

you guys have seen, and yet you still do not believe.

Two weeks ago, we saw how all of this came to a head as Jesus said some things that were pretty shocking.

In verse 54, He said,

Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life.

And we talked about these words two weeks ago.

We talked about what Jesus meant by them.

Of course, He was not talking about actually eating His flesh and drinking His blood,

but about how people need to partake in the deepest way possible of what His death will accomplish

in order to have eternal life and to be saved from death.

But it got the crowd arguing sharply about whether Jesus was speaking in metaphor or not.

How can this man give us His flesh to eat?

Some of them said.

And all of this, John tells us, was said while He was teaching in the synagogue in Capernaum.

So this morning, we want to look at what happened after this conversation.

Let's read it starting in verse 60.

On hearing it, many of His disciples said,

This is a hard teaching.

Who can accept it?

Aware that His disciples were grumbling about this,

Jesus said to them,

Does this offend you?

Then what if you see the Son of Man ascend to where He was before?

The Spirit gives life.

The flesh counts for nothing.

The words I have spoken to you.

They are full of the Spirit and life.

Yet there are some of you who do not believe.

For Jesus had known from the beginning which of them did not believe,

and who would betray Him.

He went on to say,

This is why I told you that no one can come to me unless the Father has enabled them.

So not only did the crowd grumble that day at what Jesus said,

but even Jesus' disciples grumbled that day.

This is a hard teaching, they said.

Who can accept it?

And I love how Jesus handles this.

There's no beating around the bush.

He just goes straight to it and asks them,

Does this offend you?

Do my words offend you?

And then Jesus goes on to help them with this teaching.

We're not going to have time to look at everything He said here,

but one thing I will point out is what He says in verse 64.

He says,

There are some of you who do not believe.

For Jesus had known from the beginning which of them did not believe,

and who would betray Him.

And so again in the Gospel of John here,

we see that Jesus knows what's going on in the hearts of His followers.

Even as He looks them in the eye right now,

He knows which of them believes,

and which of them does not.

In fact, John tells us that all along,

He has known which of them believes,

and which of them does not.

And this is not only referring to Judas,

notice it says,

Which of them, plural,

and it's especially clear in the original language,

which of them, plural, did not believe,

and who, singular,

would betray Him.

It's as though Jesus sees right through them.

He sees what's going on in their thoughts,

in their hearts,

and this reality that some of them do not believe,

really leads into what we read next in verse 66.

From this time on,

many of His disciples turned back,

and no longer followed Him.

Let's stop and think about those words for a moment.

Many of His disciples turned back,

and no longer followed Him.

So there were a lot of people following Jesus.

And you can imagine that some of them just kind of came out for the day,

or maybe two days,

you know,

just to see what He's saying and doing,

to check Him out.

But then there was a good number of people who were His disciples.

They followed Him from place to place.

The twelve disciples were among them.

There were also a number of women that we know about from the other Gospels,

and there were probably even more.

This was probably a group that was a few times larger than the twelve disciples

that we're all familiar with.

And yet,

John tells us that many of them turned back

and no longer followed Him after this conversation.

Let's think of this from the perspective of the twelve disciples.

They were likely in the minority of people who stayed with Jesus

and continued to follow Him after that day.

Evidently, there was a large group of His followers who did not believe,

just as Jesus said.

And this whole conversation in the synagogue about,

eat my flesh and drink my blood,

it was like the spark that lit the fire.

It was like the straw that broke the camel's back.

They stumbled over what Jesus said that day in the synagogue.

And the result was this mass exodus of many of His followers.

You can almost imagine maybe what they're thinking.

Like, man, eat my flesh and drink my blood?

Like, that's too much for me.

No way.

That's over the top.

I'm done.

I'm going home.

I imagine it a little bit like that moment

where probably most of you have experienced,

where you're at somebody's house for a gathering,

and it's already getting late,

and a number of people are thinking about going home.

The conversation's kind of petering out,

but it's still going.

And then finally someone stands up and says,

all right, well, I'm headed out.

I'm going home.

And then all of a sudden,

everybody else kind of sees that opportunity.

Yep, I was thinking the same thing.

It's time for me to get going.

And all of a sudden,

there's just this mass exodus towards the door,

and the party is over.

Something like that,

only here,

not as friendly.

There has been arguing,

grumbling,

and murmuring.

And this is not just about going home tonight.

It's about going home to stay.

Like, we're done

with following this Jesus guy around

like we've been doing.

All of a sudden,

everybody, it seems,

just stands up

and walks out the door.

And the picture that we have here

is that there are relatively few

left with Jesus.

And Jesus turns to the 12 themselves.

And he says,

you do not want to leave too,

do you?

Jesus asked the 12.

There's the door.

If you've been thinking about it,

if you've been thinking

you might not want to follow me anymore,

or you want to leave,

you've seen the majority walk away from me

all at once here,

do any of you wish to join them?

And it's here that Peter speaks.

Lord,

to whom shall we go?

You have the words of eternal life.

We have come to believe

and to know

that you are the Holy One of God.

These are precious words.

What is Peter saying here?

Well, first there's the question,

Lord,

to whom shall we go?

And what we notice is that

it's not so much a question

as a statement.

Master,

there are no other alternatives here

when it comes to the faith of our fathers,

when it comes to the scriptures,

when it comes to the fulfillment

of all that we have longed and hoped for.

To whom shall we go for those answers?

To whom shall we look for that hope

to be fulfilled?

John the baptizer,

he was a great guy,

but he pointed us to you.

We certainly aren't seeing our longings

and hopes fulfilled in the other rabbis

or the people on the Jewish council.

Nicodemus didn't seem to have the answers.

The chief priests don't seem to have

a real love for God as you do.

They were all too happy to make a buck

through the sellers and the exchangers

at the temple.

The teachers of the law

don't seem to truly love people

like you do.

They're trying to get you

in jail

for healing a man on the Sabbath.

Lord,

to whom shall we go?

There's no one else

that we see as being from God

the way that you are.

And it's not just that you're

the best of the worst.

It's not just that you're

the best that we've got

in our day.

If this question,

to whom shall we go,

was all Peter said,

then we might be tempted

to think that Peter

is just desperately

settling for Jesus.

But he's not.

There's more.

He has some things

to affirm about Jesus.

He goes on.

He says,

you have

the words

of eternal life.

we have come

to believe

and to know

that you

are the Holy One

of God.

What a statement

of faith.

For years,

I've looked at these words

of Peter,

and I'm not sure

that I quite heard

what Peter was saying.

I think I was bringing

a lot of my own perspective

to these words,

and I thought Peter

was saying something like,

well,

what's the alternative?

Nobody else,

no other religion,

no other faith

offers eternal life

the way that you do,

so I guess we'll take

our chances with you

because there might

just be the real possibility

that you could give us

eternal life.

We've got nothing

better to do.

We've got no one

better to follow.

Yet the more I listen

to what Peter said

that day

and really reflect

on all of it,

the more I hear

something different,

the more I hear

that this is not

just a desperate gamble

kind of a statement.

It's not as though

Peter's saying,

we're going to keep

following you

simply because

we've got nothing

better to do,

no one better

to listen to.

Rather,

I'm seeing in these words

an affirmation

of faith.

This is Peter

saying out loud

what he truly

believes

about Jesus.

words

of eternal

life

you

have.

And we

have believed

and not just

believed,

we have come

to know

that you

are

the Holy

One of God.

We're not going

to go out the door.

We don't want

to leave.

You have the words

of eternal life

and we know

that you

are the

Holy One

of God.

Why would we

leave?

Where would we

go?

There is no

other.

It's as if

Peter is saying,

you are the

one.

We believe

it.

We know

it.

None of the

other religious

people around

us here

have these

words.

We believe

you have the

words that

lead to

eternal life.

We believe

you are the

one he has

sent,

the Holy

One of God.

And not just

believe,

we know it.

Jesus said

some hard

things that

day.

Eat my

flesh and

drink my

blood.

Yet Peter

doesn't stumble

too much

over these

words of

Jesus,

like many

did that

day.

He probably

found these

words difficult.

He was

probably

initially a

little red

in the face

as Jesus

said them,

and maybe

even upset

as people

started walking

out the door

on Jesus.

But I

think when we

read these

words,

when we

hear what

he says,

we have

come to

know that

you are

the Holy

One of

God.

There

wasn't a

chance that

Peter was

going to be

walking out

that door.

What Peter

saw,

somehow he

saw and

knew about

Jesus what

many did

not see and

did not know

about him.

What Peter

saw and

believed and

knew about

Jesus was

enough to

keep him

following Jesus,

even when

Jesus said

some things

that were

difficult or

shocking or

hard to

understand.

What he saw

and believed

and knew about

Jesus was

enough to

keep him

following Jesus

even when

the majority

left and

mocked and

balked and

turned away.

I don't

know about

you, but

these words

have a

special place

in my

heart.

These words

of Peter

over the

years since

I first

believed,

they have

been words

of deep

comfort and

assurance.

In fact,

I would even

say that

these words

have held

me and

kept me

as a

follower of

Jesus.

in those

moments where

I've wrestled

with doubt

and unbelief

in my own

soul.

And I have

wrestled with

doubt and

unbelief over

my years of

being a

Christian.

It's been

less and

less as I've

grown in the

Lord,

less often

and less

deeply,

deeply.

But I

still remember

times in

which these

words of

Peter became

my own

words in

moments where

I was feeling

confused and

doubtful and

desperate.

I remember

when I first

discovered when

I was younger

that the

Bible wasn't

written in

English.

And I began

to wonder and

doubt whether

we even have

the very words

which God

spoke.

I started

looking at the

big differences

in some of

these translations

and reading the

footnotes in

the Psalms on

some of them

where it says

that the meaning

of this Hebrew

word or phrase

is uncertain.

And doubts

began to rise

in my mind.

What if it's

all lost in

translation?

What kind of

foundation is my

faith built on?

And in the

confusion of

those moments,

these words

became my

words as I

wrestled

words?

And I

thought,

eventually I

came to that

question.

Lord, to whom

shall I go?

Where else

will I look?

There are no

other words

except your

words which

make sense of

this world,

this life,

and everything

in it.

I have come

to know that

you are the

Holy One.

I remember

the first time

I read some

of those

passages in

the Bible

that I would

be honest and

say I don't

like or I

didn't like.

Reading how

God decreed

the execution

of children

in Canaan

or how God

struck one of

the Levites

dead for

reaching out

his hand to

steady the

Ark of the

Covenant so

that it didn't

fall off the

ox cart.

I remember

the first time

I read in

some of the

prophets the

writings there

of God's

severe wrath

and anger

towards the

children of

Israel.

And even

passages like

this one where

Jesus says

some things

that initially

I think,

why did you

have to say

it that way?

Eat my flesh

and drink my

blood.

And here

again,

Peter's words

over the years

have become my

words.

in the

wrestling of

those moments

I come to

the question,

Lord,

to whom

shall we

go?

Nobody

else has a

better explanation

of what's

going on in

our world.

Nobody

else has a

better answer

about where

evil and

suffering come

from.

I remember

several moments

in which I

began to

entertain the

thoughts of

the alternatives.

thoughts like

maybe there is

no God.

Maybe we

are all

just part

of just

the product

of a big

explosion

that happened

long ago

and suffering

and evil

and death

are just

part of the

normal stuff

of our

natural world.

Aside from

the fact that

that view

is totally

hopeless

and depressing

and takes

all the

beauty and

purpose out

of life,

nobody who

believes that

has been able

to answer

the question

at least for

me of how

we got

there,

how we

got here.

How did

we as human

beings actually

get here in

all our

wonderful

complexity?

They will

say it's a

long,

long time

plus chance

but I look

at my hand

I think about

who I am

in all my

wonderful

complexity.

complexity

and I

just know

there's not

a chance

that it was

just chance

and time.

God,

you have

the words

which brought

life long

ago and

you have

the words

which will

bring eternal

life and

hope beyond

the grave.

I remember

a few moments

when I was

working as a

courier and

I'd be doing

my rounds at

the mall in

Edmonton

and a few

days I

thought to

myself,

what are

the chances

that the

majority of

our world

has got it

wrong and

doesn't see

the truth of

Jesus and

the truth of

what's really

happening in

our world?

How can it

be that only

a relative

few see the

truth and

know the

truth?

Why is it

that so many

think that

what I believe

is foolish

and a waste

of time?

Why can't

God just show

up in power

and glory

and convince

everyone?

I don't

like this

feeling of

being in

the mocked

minority.

Maybe I

should throw

in the towel

and be done

with it.

And here

again,

Peter's words

became my

words.

Well,

to whom

will I go?

What other

belief or view

of the world

will I adopt?

there are no

other alternatives.

Deep down

inside,

I believe

that what

Jesus says

is the

truth.

I see

something about

him that

others do

not see.

And I

would say

I know

that he

is the

Holy One

of God.

Somehow

by God's

spirit at

work within

his people,

these words

of Peter

are our

words

when we

consider

whether or

not we

should walk

out the

door on

Jesus and

just go

our own

way.

I've

come to

learn that

we,

like Peter,

I think,

realizes in

this moment,

we don't

have to

have every

answer.

We don't

have to

have every

last word

of Hebrew

poetry

translated

with

certainty

into our

own

language.

we don't

have to

like

everything

that God

decides to

do in

his own

freedom and

justice.

We just

need to

believe and

know by

the grace

of God

that Jesus

is the

Holy One

of God.

That was

enough to

keep Peter

there with

Jesus that

day.

That's enough

to keep me

here with

Jesus,

even if

everybody

else walks

away.

I believe

he does

have the

words that

lead to

eternal

life.

Do you?

Let's

imagine

ourselves in

that moment

with the

other

disciples.

Jesus

says,

there's the

door.

door.

Do you

want to

leave too?

I know

my answer.

What's your

answer?

door.

Let's

pray.

Father in

heaven, we

thank you for

sending your

son.

And we

confess, we

do believe that

he is the

Holy One.

We also

admit that we

have doubts.

At times, we

wrestle with

things.

And we

thank you that

you are patient

with us and

gracious to

us.

Thank you

that you

bring us

around.

You convince

us.

You lead us

back to this

place where we

come to

assurance and

faith.

Help us to

grow in our

faith, Lord.

We do have

unbelief, but

help us in

it.

Guide us and

keep us.

We ask this in

Jesus' name.

Amen.