In this sermon, Pastor Dave Capoccia examines John 6:60-71 and the depressing aftermath of Jesus’ Bread of Life discourse. Many of Jesus’ so-called disciples leave him over his unacceptable words, but, in these verses, John shows you the life-giving nature of Jesus’ words so that you will believe, rely on, and devote yourself to Jesus’ words as his true disciple.
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Lord Jesus you have the words of eternal life your words are spirit and are life we want those words this morning the flesh profits nothing so Jesus give us your word and father son Spirit work in our hearts to believe it in Jesus name amen did you ever encounter a great looking situation where a wonderful result seems totally assured and then you blow it you say something you do something that totally ruins everything maybe as a kid you one time were making a request of your parents and you were very respectful you laid out careful arguments you’re pretty sure that wasn’t a bad thing you’re asking for your parents seem close to accepting but then you add one more reason that you thought would be helpful and poof you blow it whom did you say would be there oh well no question you can’t go and you’re like man why did I think saying that last thing would be helpful or maybe you’ve prepared a romantic evening with your significant other you’ve had a great day together a wonderful dinner you feel closer than you felt in a long time and then your spouse says something to you or significant other that seems that tiny bit critical and you think to yourself I didn’t really like that should I say something about it you decide that you will and you immediately regret your choice because when you respond with your counter criticism your significant other takes offense and argument ensues and the whole evening is ruined and you think to yourself afterwards why couldn’t I just just kept my mouth shut probably one of the main places that we feel like we blow it is evangelism an opportunity appears to talk about Jesus and your tongue just seems glued to the roof of your mouth or someone asks you a spiritually related question it’s like Evangelistic opportunity on a silver platter and you’re so happy but you can’t think of what to say you don’t know how to answer your mind goes blank all the verses you memorize just seem to evaporate from your mind s out some kind of disjointed pitiful response and it goes nowhere the worst though is when someone seems so interested in the gospel they’re very receptive to what you have to say they’re eager to hear more about Jesus in Salvation they seem so close to the kingdom but when you share that one extra to truth maybe you tell them one more thing about what it means to believe in Jesus suddenly the enthusiasm evaporates or it turns to anger that person is not interested in talking to you about Jesus anymore or even talking to you at all actually they’d like to talk to your boss and you think to yourself where did I go wrong how did I blow it so badly I mention these situations to you because in our next section of the Gospel of John it sure looks like the Lord Jesus blew it he had accumulated a massive crowd of followers who were so excited about him and so sure that he was the promised prophet and Messiah that they were ready to Proclaim him King and March him straight to Jerusalem right then and there but then with just one speech Jesus makes this whole excited group abandon him Jesus what went wrong how did you bungle that message so completely but the truth truth is nothing went wrong with jesus’ speech he Faithfully declared his father’s word trusting that the father would use it exactly as the father will which was to draw some to Jesus and to push others away Jesus words you see are no ordinary words they are words of the spirit are words of Life thus the response to Jesus words shows more about the one responding than Jesus for all those who ignore or reject Jesus words they show that nothing could ever draw them to God but for those who receive Jesus words and come to him and stay with him and follow him they show that they had already been chosen in love by the Lord to receive his life forever which one of these groups are you that is the central question in our next text this morning if you haven’t already please take your Bibles and turn to John 660 as we look at words of eternal life John 660 going to verse 71 that’s our passage today if you’re using the few Bibles it’s a page 1,67 we’ve been working our way through the Gospel of John recall the context of our next section just one day before the event we’re looking at Jesus miraculously fed 20 20,000 or so people with just Five Loaves and two fish and then just the night before Jesus manifested his Divine person and Power by walking on water in the midst of wind and waves and then right before our text which is what we looked at last time we were in John Jesus has this conversation with a crowd of Jews even his Jewish disciples at a synagogue in capernium on the northwest side of the Sea of Galilee these persons come looking for Jesus so that they might get more miraculous bread from him or maybe see an even greater sign Miracle but Jesus tells them that they should be looking for the true and Lasting bread from Heaven Jesus himself John 6:35 Jesus says I am the bread of life he who comes to me will not hunger and he who believes in me will never thirst when the Jews Grumble about this answer from Jesus Jesus plainly tells them that they cannot come to him or believe in him unless the father has first chosen to draw them moreover Jesus insists that he will succeed in his life-giving mission to give up his own flesh as bread for the life of the world and when the Jews argue about this statement from Jesus Jesus clarifies that only those who eat jesus’ flesh and drink his blood have eternal life which is a figurative way of saying that only those who wholeheartedly accept and Trust in the intercessory life and the sacrificial death of the Son of God on their behalf can be saved it’s only by his death that he can offer his people life and it is only by faith that or it is only by faith in Jesus that that life enters a person like food and sustains him forever I told you last time it is by Union with Christ he in us us in him that we receive eternal life and all the blessings of God and salvation this is what comes right before our passage we heard Jesus end his speech but we didn’t see the crowd’s final reaction but now we will let’s read John 66-71 therefore many of his disciples when they heard this said this is a difficult statement who can listen to it but Jesus conscious that his disciples grumbled at this said to them does this cause you to stumble what then if you see the son of man ascending to where he was before it is the spirit who gives life the flesh profits nothing the words that I have spoken to you our spirit and our life but there are some of you who do not believe for Jesus knew from the beginning who they were who did not believe and who it was that would betray him and he was saying for this reason I have said to you that no one can come to me unless it has been granted him from the father as a result of this many of his disciples withdrew and were not walking with him anymore so Jesus said to the twel you do not want to go away also do you Simon Peter answered himl 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 Jesus answered them did I myself not Choose You the twel and yet one of you is a devil now he meant Judas the son of Simon a scariot for he one of the 12 was going to betray him you can see their reaction to Jesus wondrous bread of life discourse is a sad one mostly the vast majority of Jesus disciples leave only a few stay yet looking at the passage as a whole do you notice why most leave and some stay it’s the same reason in both cases it’s because of Jesus words most of Jesus ex disciples say I can’t stand these words anymore I got to leave meanwhile Jesus true disciples say it’s because of these words I know I can’t go anywhere else John our author is showing us something important about Jesus words here’s the main idea here in John 66 to 71 John shows you the lifegiving nature of Jesus words so that you will believe you will rely on and you will devote yourself to Jesus words as his true disciple I’ll say that again John shows you the life-giving nature of Jesus words so that you will believe rely on and devote yourself to Jesus words as his true disciple the passage divides into two basic sections each Focus on one reaction to Jesus words so let’s take a closer look at the first reaction to Jesus words starting in verses or covering verses 60 to 66 where we see number one false disciples reject words of eternal life false disciples reject words of eternal life and we’ll start with just verse 16 therefore many of his disciples when they heard this said this is a difficult state who can listen to it now without reading the preceding context you may not have noticed that there’s a shift starting in verse 60 up to this point in the chapter those who had been having difficulty with Jesus teaching were labeled the Jews which is what we see in verse 41 and verse 52 but that’s not what we see here now we read many of his disciples now no doubt these disciples were Jewish probably Galilean Jews but with the change in label John wants us to see that the ones who are about to make a despairing comment about Jesus are not angry opponents disinterested observers no these are people who have believed and have decided to follow Jesus because that’s what disciple means it means a follower or a learner but now Jesus had said something he has said something that has given these enthusiastic disciples second thoughts what did Jesus say well verse 58 is a good summary and it’s spoken as if Jesus were pointing as him pointing at himself as he says it verse 58 this is the bread which came down out of Heaven not as the fathers ate and died he who eats this bread will live forever in response to that Jesus own disciples say this is a difficult statement who can listen to it more literally this is a hard word who is able to hear it now could it be simply that these disciples don’t understand Jesus Jesus your teaching is too cryptic we don’t get what you’re saying what’s all this about eating your flesh and drinking your blood that’s weird it’s too hard to figure out we’re leaving is that the issue we might think so but Jesus is going to reveal in the next fews vers is that lack of clarity in Jesus word is not the problem it’s actually Jesus Clarity that is the problem these disciples do understand to a sufficient extent what Jesus is saying and they don’t like it you see these disciples have certain ideas about who Jesus is what he comes to do what he requires but then in Jesus speech Jesus revealed that he’s not the Jesus they thought he was he didn’t come to meet all their fleshly desires and fulfill all their dreams it didn’t come to affirm their self-righteous efforts to get into God’s kingdom by keeping Rules by going through rituals instead Jesus shows these disciples that the only way to eternal life is to set aside all efforts to earn God’s favor by good works and in said believe in Jesus identifying with Jesus in his coming sacrificial death on their behalves on their behalf to deliver them from the wrath of God which is justly coming upon them for their own sin Jesus has made this message sufficiently clear but it’s not the message and it’s not the mission that these Jewish disciples are looking for from their Messiah now they know what Jesus is really about they’re ready to leave him oh but Jesus maybe if you uh pull off some spectacular Miracle now you can get them to stay is that true look at verses 61 and 62 but Jesus conscious that his disciples grumbled at this said to them does this cause you to stumble what then if you see the son of man ascending to where he was before at the beginning of verse 61 we see once again Jesus Supernatural knowledge put on display you see the word conscious there in The New American Standard translation more literally we could translate it as the ESV has it knowing in himself therefore or but Jesus knowing in himself that his disciples grumbled Jesus doesn’t have to overhear people grumbling to know that they are in fact many of these grumblings might not even be said out loud or in an audible way but what have we already seen in John John 2:24 Jesus knows all men he knows their misgivings about him without having to hear it yeah Jesus is not panicked actually he uses this moment of grumbling to expose further the true problem in his so-called disciples notice Jesus asks his disciples two questions does this cause you to stumble that is does what I said cause you offense what then if you see the son of man me ascending to where he was before now what’s Jesus getting at in this second statement some say that Jesus is alluding to his coming scandalous work on the cross the idea would be if you think what I just said is offensive wait till you see how offensive to your way of thinking is my actually dying on the cross for the sake of Sinners even supposedly religious God-fearing people like you who will crucify me yourselves far from a defeat however this will be how the father glorifies me and eventually brings me back Victorious to his side in heaven after Resurrection that’s not a bad interpretation of Jesus words but this view does ask a lot to be contained in that one word ascending nowhere else in the scriptures is the word ascending or Ascend used as a specific reference to Christ’s crosswork therefore I’d say that Jesus is communicating something more basic here saying essentially did my words offend you what if I now gave you what you originally asked of me a spectacular sign greater than what God did with Moses and Israel in the wilderness I told you that I and the bread come down from heaven what if you saw me ascending back to heaven with your own eyes would you believe me then what’s the expect an answer to that question no we wouldn’t why not because we don’t like your words your signs can’t make up for your words exactly Jesus would say because that is essentially what he says next in verse 63 it is the spirit who gives life the flesh profits nothing the words that I have spoken to you our spirit and our life see the disciple who are following Jesus were really just seeking the flesh that is they were seeking that which is external which feels good that which is passing away and unable to give life they were seeking physical bread they were seeking The Works of the law they were seeking miraculous signs and Jesus clarifies here like he did with Nicodemus back in John 3 that only the spirit of God can give life no amount of physical bread will give you eternal life no amount of Good Works will satisfy God’s holiness and Justice no amount of miraculous signs will give you a new and cleansed heart you need the washing and regeneration of the Holy Spirit you must be born again you must be begotten from above in the end whatever the flesh seeks or is able to achieve gives no profit it gives zero lasting benefit well if everyone needs Life by the spirit how does the spirit give life Jesus provides the answer he says the words the words that I have spoken to you are spirit and our life that is to say my words yes even the revelation of who I am what salvation is who you are these are what the spirit uses to impart the very life of God to you don’t look for signs don’t trust in Works don’t devote yourself to that which is passing away devote yourself to my words because these are the words of the life-giving spirit the flesh profits nothing but the spirit gives Eternal profit and the spirit Jesus says is in my words thus eternal life is in my words we might ask well if Jesus words are life and spirit if Jesus words are the very treasure that people desperately need then how can it be that Jesus words are the exact problem to which his disciples object as I said earlier it’s not a problem with the words it’s not a problem with the speaker of the words or of the spirit in the words where’s the problem it’s in the hearers of the words and what’s the problem it’s unbelief verse 64 but there are some of you who do not believe for Jesus knew from the beginning who they were who did not believe and who it was that would betray him Jesus knows why his life-giving words do not have a life-giving effect on most of his disciples he even tells his grumbling hearers the problem is not my hard words the problem is your hard unbelieving Hearts yet even their unbelief though surely painful to the Lord is no shock to him for we’re told not notice that Jesus knew from the beginning that phrase surely goes back to the beginning of his ministry and perhaps earlier Jesus knew from the the beginning which persons did not believe and which person would ultimately hand over Jesus to be killed no false believer deceives Jesus surprises Jesus Jesus knows it from the beginning he has known it from eternity we are surprised when a supposedly faithful brother or sister suddenly Falls away away from Jesus but he is not he knew it all along he knows it all along why do Christians fall away from Jesus why do some who are so close to believing suddenly turn back it’s not really because some Christian blew it said said the wrong thing did the wrong thing it’s not really because that Falling Away person lacked some sign of God’s goodness or truth in the circumstances of that person’s life it’s because that person does not believe does not hold fast to the lifegiving Spirit-filled words of Jesus it all comes down to the words if someone does not believe the word [Music] words nothing else will help it’s like we talked about previously Jesus words are the greatest proof of the truth of Jesus words they are spirit and life God himself is testifying through the words of Jesus if that doesn’t cause someone to believe or to persevere in belief nothing else will oh but how can we then get people to believe and hold fast to Jesus words and be saved well ultimately there’s nothing we can do to force that to happen God must do it yes in obedience we are to follow the Lord’s pattern here we are called to speak Jesus words ourselves we are called to declare his gospel speak his scripture we are called to to explain it persuade on that be on that basis and to back up what we say with a holy life and a loving testimony that is God’s ordained role for us but as Jesus says it is the spirit who gives life and though God does work through Christ’s words unless God chooses to make that work effective for particular person that person will never believe is this like what we read in other places in the Bible Romans 10:17 faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of Christ if they don’t come to Faith on the basis of Jesus words they will not come to Faith and thereby to Salvation and what about the passage we read earlier in the service 1 Corinthians 1 going into chapter 2 God was pleased through the foolishness of the message preached to save we preach Christ crucified to the Jews a stumbling block to the Gentiles foolishness but to the called to those chosen of God we preach Christ the power of God and Christ the wisdom of God if that one is called and chosen that message and only that message will be the thing that is effective to bring him to believe Jesus affirms this reality himself even further in verse 65 of our passage and he was saying for this reason I have said to you that no one can come to me unless it has been granted him from the father sounds like what he already said earlier in the passage doesn’t it what is the this reason to which Jesus refers at the beginning of the verse it’s what he had just said in verse 64 before that little parenthetical explanation he says there are some among you disciples who do not believe so what does Jesus say and notice the verb tense he was saying that’s imperfect which means it was likely happening more than once what does Jesus keep on saying when confronted by the unbelief of his hearers that God is completely Sovereign in Salvation and ultimately God will God has chosen and will draw effectively according to his own plan those he’s chosen to believe notice verse 65 says that no one can come to Jesus that is to say no one can believe in Jesus unless that belief has first been granted to that person by God the Father himself anyone granted such belief obviously will believe but anyone not granted that belief Jesus makes clear they will never believe not even with the greatest miraculous signs you could think of not even with the Son of God himself being in their presence not even with the words of eternal life being spoken to them God must grant their belief now to be sure knowing this truth does not mean that we should become apathetic about unbelief or become callous about the situation of the Lost no they are image bearers of God like we are we ought to tremble for the Lost we ought to have great sorrow for them even as we are in awe of the Holiness and sovereignty of God he’s the Potter we are the clay he has the right to do with his vessels as he wishes but like Jesus at the very least we should not be fundamentally destabilized when we see even professing disciples Christians followers of Jesus turn back because they no longer want Jesus life-giving words if it happened with the Son of God in their presence don’t be surprised if it happens now this of course is exactly what happens in verse as a result of this many of his disciples withdrew and were not walking with him anymore because of Jesus words many previously enthusiastic disciples totally and permanently abandon Jesus they turn back they’re no longer willing to go around wherever Jesus goes their miracles weren’t enough when those Miracles were paired with Jesus offensive message declaring himself to breath the bread of life the true treasure even as he has given over in death so that all those who might believe in him would have eternal life poly however not all of Jesus disciples leave we move now to the second section of this passage verses 67 to 71 where we see the opposite reaction to Jesus words and a reaction that shows us how the author hopes and prays we will react to Jesus words by the grace of God number two true disciples receive words of eternal life false disciples reject true disciples receive words of eternal life look at verse 67 so Jesus said to the twel you do not want to go away also do you this is actually the first time and one of only a few times that we see the term the twel in this gospel our author John never explains who the twel are he just assumes his readers are already familiar 12 of course are the 12 close Disciples of Jesus chosen by Jesus himself called by Jesus himself we know many of their names amid the Exodus of hundreds and perhaps thousands of others disciples from Jesus Jesus asks the 12 the twel closest if they also want to leave now there are different ways to ask questions in Greek that indicate the kind of expected answer and the question here expects a negative answer surely the 12 don’t want to leave right well look at the beginning of the 12’s response in verse 68 Simon Peter answered him Lord to whom shall we go you have words of eternal life you know considering how talkative Peter is in the other gospels it’s kind of amazing that we haven’t heard Peter speak in this gospel since chapter one when Jesus first called Peter but here we see Peter doing his thing characteristically speaking up for the entire group when Jesus asks a question and what is Peter’s answer the answer of the 12 Lord to whom shall we go Jesus there’s no one else who’s like you there’s no one else who has a better claim to truth than you do then Peter or Peter clarifies what makes Jesus unique when he adds you have words of eternal life see Peter was listening to what Jesus said in verse 63 when Jesus claimed that Jesus words are spirit and life Peter speaking on behalf of the twel so they all agree in this they affirm this to be true Jesus you have indeed the words of spirit and life you have words of eternal life now to be sure the disciples do not understand everything that Jesus says and sometimes even when they do understand they are slow to believe but not withstanding their incomplete understanding the TW recognize that Jesus does not speak ordinary words he speaks the very words of God his word are life and spirit and realizing this why would you ever want to take yourself away from those words why would you take yourself away from life-giving words even words that embody and bring about eternal life sure sometimes Jesus words seem hard sometimes others turn back from following these words from receiving these words but these words and the one who speaks them are such treasure you dare not let them go in fact notice the next part of Peter’s answer in verse 69 we have believed and have come to know that you are the Holy One Of God here the contrast between the 12 and the other abandoning disciples becomes even sharper the others left because they despise Jesus words the TW stay because they treasure Jesus words the others left ultimately because they would not believe the twel stay because they do believe but what kind of belief do the TW have is it that kind of shoddy belief that we saw in John 2:25 the kind that Jesus himself would not believe in well notice Peter here he doesn’t just say we have believed that is we began to believe in the past and still do but also we have come to know there’s a sh to Peter’s and the tw’s faith in Jesus this is not an anti-intellectual Faith this is not a mere feeling based Faith this is a conscience this is a fully informed this is a fully convinced trust and belief in Jesus and you can notice the perfect tense again have come to know or more literally have known the 12 came to this knowledge in the past and they have continued in it to the present what is it exactly that the TW have come to believe and know about Jesus that you Jesus are the Holy One Of God now that is a rare description of Jesus in the Bible we might have expected Peter to say instead we’ve come to know that you are the Christ or that you are the Son of God as Peter does say Elsewhere on another occasion yet the Holy One Of God is a profoundly appropriate title for Jesus holy means special or set apart especially from that which is common or sinful and though the term is sometimes used in the Old Testament for an angel or even the davidic seed Holy One Holy One most often appears in the Old Testament as a title for God himself the Holy One of Israel after all who who is more special who is more high and lifted up who is more set apart from all that is imperfect and sinful and common than God himself so then for Peter and the disciples to confess Jesus as the Holy One of God or from God that is not only to confess Jesus as special but even that though a man Jesus Jesus is as pure and set apart as God is that is quite the confession for a first century Jew good job Peter good job 12 and if you are a true disciple of Jesus you should be able to make this same confession from your own heart Jesus you are the Holy One Of God even God himself but how did the 12 reach this conclusion when most others didn’t what caused the disciples to believe and know and not turn back from following Jesus well Jesus has already told us hasn’t he back in verse 65 andless the disciples become full of themselves Jesus again emphasizes the true origin of their faith at the beginning of verse 70 Jesus answered them did I myself not Choose You the twel why did the TW choose Jesus because Jesus chose them first not merely as close disciples not merely as workers in his Earthly Ministry but as recipients of saving faith and thus as Heirs of Salvation the salvation of God through Jesus Christ and make sure you catch the order here sometimes people trying to understand God’s sovereignty and salvation will say well God chose People based on whom he fora would choose him yet here in the response to Peter’s confession of the disciples own choice and belief in Jesus Jesus insists that he himself first chose the disciples he himself chose for himself the 12 in short we choose Jesus because he first chose us not the other way around so Brethren if you are in Jesus this morning be in awe of this truth rejoice in this truth give thanks to God for this truth your confession your faith your life in Jesus is nothing short of a miracle how on Earth did that happen how did you become a true father follow of Jesus in an air of God in Christ well God had mercy on you and he chose you he caused the word of Christ to be preached to you he opened your heart to hear the life-giving word of the spirit and he gave you the faith to believe and believe you did willingly happily fully why should God have done that for you when he has not done it for everyone you don’t know and I don’t know but all we can say is thank you gracious God for saving a wretched sinner like me thank you Jesus thank you for your words of eternal life thank you for being my bread of life and not simply letting me perish like you would have been so just to do and if you’re listening today and you are not yet in Jesus Christ well maybe God is drawing you right now no one can see the secret and Sovereign workings of the spirit all we can know or all that you should know is your responsibility Jesus has words of eternal life will you believe them will you thereby confess Jesus as the Holy One Of God which is who he truly is is remember as Jesus said the flesh profits nothing you do not need more evidence to believe God has given you enough in the words of Jesus furthermore external acts like good works rituals Church attendance these cannot save you your sinful heart pollutes all the supposedly good acts that you do so how can you be saved you must believe you must repent of of your sin and believe in Jesus Christ you are to put off you are to turn from you are to give up your old way your sin your efforts to earn God’s righteousness the world’s treasures and you would to take with both hands with all of you the Lord Jesus as your savior and Lord trusting his righteous life to be accounted as your righteous life and trusting his sacrificial death to count as the payment for what your sin deserved and you know that payment is accepted because of Jesus resurrection Jesus makes those who believe in him right with God once and for all apart from Works only by repentance and faith in him he calls you to do that will you do that well you respond as you ought to words of eternal life now there’s a little bit more to the passage and what remains is startling for Jesus did not only respond to Peter in verse 70 with did I myself not Choose You the 12 but he adds the second part of verse and yet one of you is a devil uh wow that’s kind of a surprising way to respond to someone’s profound confession of Faith indeed it is the Greek word for devil diabos can be translated slanderer or adversary often times in the New Testament though the term is referred is used to refer to that great enemy of God Fallen Angel Satan in fact some commentators believe that the most proper translation here is and yet one of you is the devil one of you one of my chosen 12 is the very vessel and embodiment of Satan that would have been a shock to the original 12 I think and probably a shock to the first-time readers of John’s gospel Jesus does not go on to explain further to his disciples here but John does add an explanation for the reader in verse 71 now he meant Jesus meant Judas the son of Simon scariot for he one of the 12 was going to betray him Jesus knows every man and woman he knows from the beginning those who did not believe and who it was who would betray him he even knows in the very moment that a group of his 12 closest disciples stand together and say whatever Others May do we have believed and have known that you are the Holy One Of God Jesus knows in that moment that one of the ones making that confession does not believe and will soon betray Jesus this is the first time Judas SC scariot is mentioned in John’s gospel but as is the case case in the other gospels as soon as Judas is introduced he is identified as Jesus betrayer now is Judas sincere here does he really think he does believe in Jesus does he actually put his heart behind what Peter is saying to Jesus in verses 68 to 69 or is he already walking hypocritically is he already planning how he can use Jesus to further judas’s own fleshly ends we don’t know but Jesus does and verses 70 to 71 remind us of Jesus Supernatural knowledge as well again of God’s complete sovereignty it was no accident that Judas the betrayer was part of the 12 he too was chosen by Jesus Jesus Jesus chose Judas before Judas chose Jesus but Judas was not chosen for salvation he was chosen to experience the words of eternal life to enjoy the sweet fellowship with the Holy One of God and then to betray all those privileges in the most heinous way notice the repetition of the word the 12 between verses 70 and 71 Judas one of the 12 was going to betray him could there have been a greater crime a greater ingratitude for love and generosity yet God ordained that it would happen yet in such a way that God did not make Judas sin nor forced Judas to do something that Jesus Judas did not already want to do Judas did exactly what he wanted and yet it was all according to the plan of God we might ask from a human perspective though where did Judas go wrong how did Judas blow it and he was so close he was literally so close to the savior there’s many ways we could answer that question accurately I believe but one answer that’s very relevant to our passage is Judas like the crowd at some point began to despise the words of eternal life rather than treasure them and that’s instructive for us friends and brethren what about you do you believe do you believe Jesus do you believe in his words to the point of being devoted to them are you devoted do you rely on do you treasure words of eternal life one sobering application of this passage is that and we’ve already seen this throughout the Betrayal and turning back of even longtime zealous productive followers of Christ is a sorrow for which every Church in every age must prepare it makes me very sad to think about but it’s true for this church too some of the people that you love and look up to you learn from you serve with some of them will turn back from following Jesus how can you say that Pastor Dave it’s just because I know a church is not unique I don’t know that for any of you I just know what the scripture says it is always a grief it is always a shock it’s always terribly discouraging who will it be when will it be how will it be we don’t know we can’t know we cannot see into each other’s Hearts only the Lord can but he says in his word that he will reveal what is secret into the open at the appropriate time but what are we to do in the meantime we are to be sober and we are to obey the exhortations of the scripture one scripture that we’ve heard recently and I think is worth repeating to again as we end our examination of the scripture this morning is Hebrews to13 Hebrews 3:12 to13 the Lord himself speaks through the writer of Hebrews when he says take care Brethren that there not be in any of you an evil unbelieving heart that falls away from the Living God but encourage one another day after day as long it is still called today so that none of you will be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin it is inevitable that some will turn back but our calling is to encourage one another to protect one another to warn one another to keep striving together after the Lord Jesus Christ after him as our prize and after his words so let us renew our commitment to that this morning let’s close in prayer Jesus to follow you sometimes is very hard when our flesh is so incited by sin when we are suffering long and deeply trying to be obedient to you trying to stand up for you as your disciple and we are tempted in that moment to say is this really worth it maybe I should give up being a Christian maybe I should give up following Jesus Oh Lord your passage exhorts and warns us not to do that where else to whom else shall we go there is no other hope there is no other truth in the world we can bury our heads in the sand and maybe enjoy the pleasures of sin for a while but we cannot Escape we cannot escape the fact that everything you declare in this word is true Lord to whom else shall we go only you have words of eternal life it’d be foolish for us to hide from the truth not only because destruction awaits that path but also because we would be denying oursel true life and joy Jesus you did not give us your word so that you can can make us all miserable for the rest of our lives no you came so that we would have life that we would be satisfied in a way that no other satisfaction of the world even approaches you are the bread of life he who eats you will never hunger and he who drinks you will never thirst and calling us to come after you to believe and yes even to suffer for your sake you were saying and this is how you will discover and experience the greatest joy you will experience eternal life even now as you wait for the fullness of eternal life to come so God I pray for this people this assembly the brothers and sisters here Lord that we would not fall away that we would persevere and help one another to persevere to treasure your words to rely on your words the flesh profits nothing it is your word that saves it is your word that sanctifies help us to be devoted to your word help us not to neglect it or to think that some worldly wisdom is better than it your word is so precious God because it’s what shows us you I pray that everyone in this church would come to know Jesus in a saving way but also come to know Jesus more and enjoy knowing and walking with him Lord please do that for this assembly for your own glory in Jesus name amen