“It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing. The words that I speak to you are spirit, and they are life.” John 6:63
We have come to that point in John’s gospel where the majority of Jesus’s disciples drew back and no longer followed Him (John 6:66). We saw that one reason Christ’s disciples abandon Him is because His teaching is difficult to understand (John 6:60). Today we will discover another reason why some disciples abandon Jesus. It is because HIS TEACHING IS DISTURBING (John 6:61-63).
“61 When Jesus knew in Himself that His disciples complained about this, He said to them, ‘Does this offend you? 62 What then if you should see the Son of Man ascend where He was before?’” (John 6:61-62). “Does this disturb you?” Jesus asks. “Are you disturbed by My claim to have descended from heaven? Would you still be offended if you saw Me ascend to where I was before?”
Christ then says, “It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing.” (John 6:63a). The word “flesh” (sarx) is key to understanding these verses. Earlier Jesus said, “Whoever eats My flesh … has eternal life.” (John 6:54a). Yet here Jesus says, “the flesh profits nothing” in contrast to “the Spirit who gives life.” A literal eating of Christ’s flesh would not give life. Jesus is using the word “eating” to picture faith. We use figures of speech like this all the time. When we hear a message that is meaningful to us, we say, “I’m really eating that up or drinking that up.” Without the Holy Spirit, a person cannot understand Jesus’s claims and teaching. They cannot understand nor accept that Jesus is God who came down from heaven to give eternal life freely to all who believe in Him.
Jesus continues by saying, “The words that I speak to you are spirit, and they are life.” (John 6:63b). The person who believes Christ’s words gains eternal life because God’s Spirit gives it to them at the moment of faith (cf. John 7:38-39; Ephesians 1:13-14; Titus 3:5). When Christ says, “the flesh profits nothing” (John 6:63a), He may be referring to the fact that our own human efforts can never earn eternal life. This was very offensive to those who thought that their own works could gain them entrance into heaven.
In my years of ministry, I have seen “disciples” drop off. They have stopped placing themselves under the teaching of God’s Word on Sunday mornings, in small groups or discipleship. Why? Perhaps the teaching was too difficult or too disturbing to them. After all, we teach what Jesus taught – that eternal life is an absolutely free gift that is received by believing in Jesus, and some people are offended by that. They want to add to what Jesus has done by teaching that you must do more than believe in Christ for eternal life. So they leave to find a church that teaches a works-salvation rather than a faith alone-salvation.
Are we tempted to abandon Christ when His teaching is too convicting to our way of thinking or living? Are we offended by His grace which offers eternal life freely to all who believe in Him regardless of their past? Are we demanding that we live life on our own terms instead of the Lord Jesus’s terms? We cannot follow Christ as His disciples if we demand to be lord of our own lives instead of Him.
Prayer: Lord Jesus, I am often blind to my attempts to be lord of my own life instead of giving You that rightful place in my life. I can so easily justify being in charge of my own life with lies such as – “everyone else is doing it” or “I deserve this in light of how hard I have worked.” Please forgive me for being so arrogant and demanding. My pride is often triggered when I encounter Scriptures that expose my faulty thinking regarding Your grace toward others. Just because the Bible exposes my sinful thought patterns does not make it less valid or true. I need Your Word to expose the blind spots in my life. I need Your Word to analyze my thoughts, words, and actions. So often I analyze Your Word instead of letting it analyze me. Yes, it can be uncomfortable when I place myself under the scrutiny of Your Word, but it is also very necessary. Left to myself, I would be on a path of self-destruction. I need You to challenge me to yield to Your terms for living instead of my own. Thank You for loving me enough to do this. In Your name. Amen.