“Therefore many of His disciples, when they heard this, said, ‘This is a hard saying; who can understand it?’ ” John 6:60
A young man from the city was visiting a dude ranch and wanted to appear as if he was used to the surroundings. So he went out walking with one of the hired hands. Walking through the barnyard, the visitor tried starting a conversation, “Say, look at that big bunch of buffaloes.” The hired hand replied, “Not ‘bunch’ but ‘herd’.” Visitor: “Heard what?” Hired Hand: “Herd of buffaloes.” Visitor: “Sure, I’ve heard of buffaloes. There’s a big bunch of ‘em right over there.” Have you ever had trouble getting your point across like that hired hand?
Jesus Christ did when He was speaking to a multitude of people in John 6. Christ had just concluded His great message on the bread of life in the synagogue at Capernaum on a very offensive note, talking about “eating His flesh” and “drinking His blood” (John 6:46-59). Many were disturbed by His words, and John records their reaction.
We now come to that point in John’s gospel where many of Jesus’s disciples drew back and no longer followed Him. This is a turning point in our Lord’s ministry where He confronts the twelve with the question, “Do you also want to go away?” (John 6:67). We are going to discover why some followers of Christ abandon the Lord whereas others remain devoted to Him. In John 6:60-66, we see that the majority of disciples in this multitude stop following Christ. Why does this happen? Why do some disciples desert or abandon Jesus? That is, why do some followers of Jesus drop out of sight never to be seen again? Let’s see.
BECAUSE JESUS’S TEACHING IS DIFFICULT TO UNDERSTAND (John 6:60). The apostle John writes, “Therefore many of His disciples, when they heard this, said, ‘This is a hard saying; who can understand it?’ ” (John 6:60). “His disciples” refers to the whole multitude, not just the Twelve. The word “disciple”(mathētḗs)means a learner, a pupil, a student, that is, someone who is under the instruction of Jesus. This crowd contained saved and unsaved disciples.
These were people who had been miraculously fed by the Lord the day before and had followed Jesus over to Capernaum (John 6:1-14, 22-25). Jesus had just spoken to them about being the Bread of life who had come down from heaven to give eternal life to those who will believe in Him (John 6:26-59). In John 6:38, 51, 54, 58, Jesus claimed to be God when He said He had come down from heaven (Christmas) to offer eternal life to those who believe in Him. Hence, Christ is the Bread of Life and we are the beggars. Because of our sin, we are starving for eternal life (relationship with God). Christ compared saving faith to eating His flesh and drinking His blood to demonstrate that it is voluntary.
For example, just as you must choose to eat a slice of bread or drink a cup of water, so you must choose to believe in Christ. And as food goes into your body and is digested and becomes a part of the body, so we must appropriate Christ, that is, we must personally trust in Him alone for the free gift of eternal life in order to receive His life. When the Bible says, “this is a hard saying”(John 6:60), the hardness was in their hearts, not in Jesus’ words.
This crowd was not going to pay any attention to what Jesus taught; they did not want to be troubled with difficult teaching. They wanted a leader who would do things for them like Jesus had just done when He multiplied the bread and fish. Instead He required them to believe that He had come down from heaven and to come to Him in faith. He even had the audacity to claim to be greater than Moses! Those who drop out of discipleship are often bothered when difficult teachings are taught. They want touchy feely experiences, not truth! They want entertainment, not expectations.
What about us? When we experience difficulty understanding God’s Word, do we quickly give up and do something else? Or do we turn to the Holy Spirit and ask for His help to understand what is meant in God’s Word? God has given us the Holy Spirit to enable us to understand and apply what is written in the Scriptures (cf. John 14:26; 15:26-27; 16:13-14; I John 2:20, 27). The Bible does not make sense to an unbeliever because he or she does not have the Holy Spirit to help him or her understand it (cf. I Corinthians 2:9-14). But a Christian has the Holy Spirit indwelling him or her to understand and apply God’s Word to their lives (cf. John 14:26; 15:26-27; 16:13-14; I Corinthians 2:12-16; 6:19-20; I John 2:20, 26).
Take time to get to know God the Holy Spirit. He is not some impersonal force or power. He is just as much a Person as God the Father and God the Son. The Holy Spirit can speak (cf. Acts 8:29; 11:12; 13:2). He does not speak audibly, but He speaks to us through God’s Word giving us insight and promptings.
A real person has the attributes of personality, which include mind, will, and emotions. The Holy Spirit has a mindsince He “searches all things, yes, the deep things of God. For what man knows the things of a man except the spirit of the man which is in him? Even so no one knows the things of God except the Spirit of God.” (I Corinthians 2:10-11).
The Holy Spirit also has a will. First Corinthians 12:11 says, “But one and the same Spirit works all these things, distributing to each one individually as He wills.” We also see that the Holy Spirit has emotions. “And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.” (Ephesians 4:30). Christians can grieve the Holy Spirit when we communicate with one another in hurtful ways. Because the Holy Spirit has a mind, will, and emotions, we know that He is a Person.
A real Person also has the capacity to have relationships with others. That’s the primary reason we have mind, will, and emotions. According to Philippians 2:1, the Spirit is able to have fellowship with us. According to 2 Corinthians 13:14, the Holy Spirit can have communion with us. Someone who is able to commune and to have fellowship is capable of personal relationships. Therefore, the Holy Spirit is a Person.
Prayer: Lord Jesus, before I believed in You for everlasting life, the Bible did not make much sense to me. But the moment I received Your gift of everlasting life, You took up residence in my body through Your Spirit. Then the Bible came alive to me as Your Holy Spirit helped me understand and apply the Scriptures to my life. But I must be honest and admit that sometimes I am tempted to stop reading the Bible because it is not always easy to understand. It requires diligent study and reliance on the Holy Spirit to understand and apply Your intended meaning. Thank You that following You is not dependent on my resources and abilities, but on Your enabling grace through the Holy Spirit. It is my responsibility to look to You for guidance, insight, power, and understanding. It is Your responsibility to provide them. Thank You my Lord and my God. In Your name. Amen.