Sermon notes - John 6:60-71 - Some walked away - Littleby Baptist Church - March 12, 2023

1.     Last week we looked at some hard truths that Jesus taught while in a synagogue.

a.      His words came across as if He expected people to drink His blood and eat His flesh.

b.     Many could not understand what He was talking about.

c.      They could not hear the truth in His words.

d.     He tried comparing the gift He was offering to that of Manna, but it did not help.

e.      He had just told them that they are to work for the food that brings eternal life.

f.      That the work they needed to do was to believe in the one the Father sent.

g.     When you stack all of this together, the words were to hard for many to hear.

h.     If we were in their shoes, we would not have understood either.

2.     The thing is, Jesus was calling people to Him.

a.      He was saying that He was the way to salvation.

b.     That He was offering Himself to them.

c.      Many did not Love God, but found comfort in the rituals they followed.

d.     All that He had told them, all that they had witnessed, had not been enough.

3.     John 6:60

a.      When the people heard Jesus’ words it turned them away.

b.     Not just people in general, but some of His disciples.

c.      Those that were following Jesus, heard these words and walked away.

d.     They could not accept what He had to say.

e.      Jesus did a lot of amazing things, but this was to too hard for them to accept.

f.      We see some of this today.

g.     The Bible is the Truth… some cannot accept that.

h.     There is only one way to eternity… people do not want to believe it.

i.       That morals are not relative, that they do not change on a whim, is impossible for many to accept as it would conflict with their lives.

j.       Truth can be hard to accept.

4.     John 6:61

a.      Knowing their thoughts… Jesus questioned His disciples.

b.     Without seeing the big picture of what Jesus was doing on earth, without letting God open your eyes… His teaching would have been hard to accept.

c.      1 Corinthains 1:23

d.      Jesus’ words were a stumbling block and foolishness to those who did not see the truth.

e.      They were looking to be set free from Roman oppression, this other stuff that he was talking about was not what they were looking for.

f.      It was not what they expected.

g.     It was not what they were prepared to hear.

5.     John 6:62

a.      What about Jesus’ ascension into Heaven?

b.     If Jesus were to start talking about how He would ascend into Heaven, how would that be taken?

c.      Probably about the same.

d.     It would not have been understood.

e.      Likely cause some people to walk away.

6.     John 6:63

a.      Our flesh, our sinful self, our focus on the things of the world are all hindrances when it comes to following Jesus.  

b.     It is only through the work of the Holy Spirit that we can see the truth.

c.      It is only through the work of the Holy Spirit that our eyes can be opened.

d.     The Jews listening to Jesus on this day thought the truth was hard, because they were not listening to God.

e.      As Jesus had said to some of the crowds before, they did not understand because they did not love God.

f.      If they understood what was really being said, they would see that those hard words were words of Spirit and Life.

g.     They were the truth they needed to hear.

h.     1 Corinthians 2:14-16

i.       Without the Spirit of God opening our eyes to the Lord’s truth we are lost.

j.       It is the Holy Spirit that helps us to see the truth that we need Jesus.

k.     It is the Holy Spirit that leads us to accept Jesus’ gift for us.

7.     John 6:64

a.      Jesus knows what is in our hearts.

b.     He knows if we believe in Him.

c.      Here is the sad part.

d.     Jesus is offering the gift to every person who has or will ever live.

e.      Knowing that some will reject His offer.

f.      But to receive that gift, one must believe.

g.     Ephesians 2:8

h.     Saved by Faith.

i.       We must believe to receive the gift.

j.       Jesus is offering the gift to all, even those that He knows will reject Him.

k.     Jesus offered His gift to Judas who betrayed Him.

8.     John 6:65

a.      No one can make it to Jesus without the Father.

b.     Thankfully God makes it possible for all of us to accept Jesus and the gift He is offering.

c.      John 12:32

d.     All people are drawn to Jesus by God, but not all will believe.

e.      Some will accept the Truth, many will not.

f.      Many will not be saved.

9.     John 6:66

a.      Jesus has called on each person to have faith in Him.

b.     A personal faith.

c.      A faith that requires people to accept some things that may be hard to believe.

d.     A faith that means we trust that Jesus is the path to Salvation.

e.      A faith that many of His disciples have turned from.

f.      That was true on this day in Scripture, and is true today.

g.     There are many who state they are Christians except when it pushes them to believe something that might be hard to accept.

h.     In those days, they left because they could not trust in Jesus’ teaching.

i.       Today, because Scripture calls us to live lives that are different than what society calls normal, people leave the faith.

j.       Apostasy, a falling away from belief.

10.    Scripture does not tell us that life will be a bed of roses.

a.      It actually tells us the opposite.

b.     Life will be hard.

c.      2 Timothy 3:12

d.     We will be persecuted.

e.      John 16:31-33

f.      We will face suffering.

g.     Thankfully with our Lord it does not end there.

h.     Matthew 11:28-30

i.       As we remain in, connected to our Jesus.

j.       We do not have to do it all on our own.

k.     Jesus will be with us.

l.       He will give us rest.

11.  John 6:67

a.      Seeing many leave, Jesus turns to the twelve.

b.     Knowing that they did not understand any more than the next guys.

c.      They did not yet know that Jesus had to die to give Himself up for them.

d.     Jesus asked the question to get them to think, to help them understand.

e.      He was trying to strengthen their faith.

12.  John 6:68-69

a.      Peter gets picked on a fair amount, but here he shows faith.

b.     He is confirming that life will be a challenge.

c.      The path may very well be difficult.

d.     But there was no doubt in their minds that Jesus is truly the Son of God.

e.      He is the Holy One of God.

f.      The Messiah.

g.     They would not understand what all of it meant until after the Lord’s resurrection.

h.     But they believed that Jesus was God.

i.       Life eternal would only come from faith in Him.

13.  John 6:70-71

a.      While Judas betraying Jesus is roughly a year down the road, Jesus knew what was going to happen.

b.     He knew it was part of how the events needed to play out so that He would become our atoning sacrifice.

c.      Jesus knew that it was all needed so that He could pay for our sins.

14.  We have looked at Five Signs, so far, that point to Jesus being God.

15.  Jesus has shared that He is offering something greater than has come before.

16.  He has shared some hard-to-understand words.

17.  But truth none the less.

18.  In verse 68, Peter responds to Jesus with a question. “Lord, to whom will we go?”

19.  That is a question that all of us must answer.

20.  Are we going to follow Jesus who as Peter stated has the words of eternal life, the gift of salvation for each of us.

21.  Are we going to follow politicians and their agenda?

22.  Are we going to follow our favorite sports figure or movie star?

23.  Are we going to follow some man-made religion?

24.  We all have to choose to whom will we go!

25.  Choose to follow the world or to follow Jesus!

26.  There is only one path to eternal life with the Father.

27.  There is only one choice that results in salvation.

28.  That choice is Jesus.

29.  Whom are you going to choose?

30.  If you have already chosen Jesus, I encourage you to seek Him daily to avoid being led astray.

31.  If you have yet to choose, I would love to talk with you about Jesus and what He is offering.