John 6, part II

Part I available here.

So, what took so long to get this part up? Well, one answer is I'm a little lazy, another answer can be found in verse 60, which we'll get to shortly.

Picking up where we left off, Jesus was just beginning what has come to be known as the Bread of Life Discourse. Verse 36 indicates that the crowd still just isn't getting it.

But I said to you that you have seen Me, and yet do not believe. 

How is this even possible? How could anyone have been in the physical presence of Jesus, seen His miracles, and not believed? He expands further on His mission in verses 38 and 39:

For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent me. This is the will of Him who sent me, that of all that He has given Me I lose nothing, but raise it up on the last day.

This brings us to the difficult part of the chapter, where one of the longest-lasting controversies of Christianity still rages. Call it election, predestination, or just the dreaded U in Calvinism's TULIP. There are thousands of pages for and against, Augustinian vs. prescient view, enough to make your head spin if you let it. If you're at all familiar with the debate you've most likely already chosen a side. But verse 44 seems to come down in Calvin's favor: "No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent me draws him" - note that it's can, not may or will or shall. It's a matter of ability, not permission. If God didn't choose you out of death and into life before time began (cf. Eph. 1:4) you will be unable to draw yourself out. Salvation truly is of the Lord.

A very touchy subject and I haven't even scratched the surface of the centuries-old debate. Or, you'll notice, explained any opposing viewpoints. My blog, my rules.

Jesus continues with the bread of life theme through verse 59, and people continued to take Him literally when  He said in verse 51 "The bread also which I will give for the life of the world is My flesh." So He has to explain again. And again. The thickheadedness and willful ignorance of these people continues to astonish me. But they did capture the sentiment perfectly in verse 60, and I think the NKJV translation totally nails it: "This is a hard saying, who can understand it?" I hope you now understand a little of the difficulty I'm having with this post.

And indeed, by verse 66 the difficulty was sinking in with a lot of people:

As a result of this many of His disciples withdrew and were not walking with Him anymore.

To the point it may have been down to just the twelve that Jesus chose as His inside group. And Peter, who always fluctuates between knucklehead and genius, thankfully brought his A game in verses 67-69:

So Jesus said to the twelve, "You do not want to go away also, do you?" Simon Peter answered Him, "Lord, to whom shall we go? You have words of eternal life. We have believed and have come to know that You are the Holy One of God."

Wow. No need to ask if that's his final answer, is there?