Jesus: The Holy One of God: John 6:64-71
I love preaching through books of the Bible because I always know where I will be preaching next week…and so will you! John 6 is a very powerful chapter and we have seen Jesus feed 5,000 men and their families with two fish and five small barley loves. As the sun was going down, Jesus send His disciples out in a boat to cross the Sea of Galilee to Capernaum: He caught up with them later as He defied the creative order of gravity as well as principles of water as He walked out upon the sea. He then gave His discourse on “the Bread of Life”, referring to Himself as the True Manna from Heaven which alone would give life. We saw that many of the crowd including disciples left him because His teaching was too difficult to understand and accept, namely, that there is only life in THE Bread of Life, the Lord Jesus sent from God’s Heaven to die for sinners.
Look at John 6:64 "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. 65 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."
66 As a result of this many of His disciples withdrew and were not walking with Him anymore. 67 So Jesus said to the twelve, "You do not want to go away also, do you?" 68 Simon Peter answered Him, "Lord, to whom shall we go? You have words of eternal life. 69 "We have believed and have come to know that You are the Holy One of God." 70 Jesus answered them, "Did I Myself not choose you, the twelve, and yet one of you is a devil?" 71 Now He meant Judas the son of Simon Iscariot, for he, one of the twelve, was going to betray Him.
Jesus Reinforces His Teachings
Did you ever notice how many times its teachings are repeated in the Bible. Here Jesus repeats and reinforces several key Biblical DOCTRINES that have been witnessed and taught before. At the end of chapter 5 we had learned that Jesus discerns the heart of man. Nothing comes as a surprise to Him concerning human nature. Jesus knew the history of the woman at the well. Jesus created all things and was the initiator of all things from the beginning. He knows the thoughts and words of a person before they are uttered. He knew who would believe in Him and follow Him, and He even knew the particular individual who would betray Him.
How could a mere human being know the things that only God could know? Because Jesus is God; He shares in the characteristics and very nature of God, namely that He knows ALL THINGS, both secret and revealed, and has known from the beginning; just like God, Jesus is omniscient because He IS GOD.
Jesus repeats the doctrine of Divine Election by saying in verse 65: "For this reason I have said to you, that no one can come to Me unless it has been granted him from the Father."
Salvation is initiated by the Father as He draws people to the truth of Jesus Christ. Salvation is from above; we are forgiven and saved by God’s Grace, not “by man’s choice.” Man does make a choice, but only after God in His mercy has given life to a person who has known only spiritual death and blindness as a result of being born “dead in sin” from the beginning of life, which is at conception.
The Father draws those who will come to Jesus and BELIEVE and HE GRANTS the gift of life to them. (“it has been GRANTED him from the Father”: “Granted”(didomi) means “of one's own accord to give one something, to his advantage, to bestow a gift, to supply, furnish.” God GIVES SPIRITUAL LIFE AS A GIFT; that is what Jesus meant in John 3 when He spoke to Nicodemus about being born from above.) Here is what we MUST understand: Apart from God’s initiative, salvation is impossible-coming to Jesus is not a matter of free human decision; Judas betrayed Jesus in the worst way possible.
Why Disciples “withdraw” from Jesus
Why do disciples “withdraw” from Jesus? Why do they quit walking with Jesus? (John 6:66-67) Verse 66 says:” As a result of this many of His disciples withdrew and were not walking with Him anymore.” The literal translation is like this: “Many of the disciples of Him went away into the things they had left behind.” The NKJV states it this way: “From that time many of His disciples went back and walked with Him no more.”
Many went back to their occupations or whatever they had a greater desire to do, and they were not a part of the life of Jesus any longer. They decisively were conducting their lives on a continual basis apart from Jesus. He was no longer center-stage.
Let me quickly read the passages that came to mind concerning those who “withdrew. Matt. 6:33: "But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.” This means that the Kingdom of God and His righteousness must be your one and only first choice in your life. God’s sovereign rule in our lives IS having a right relationship with Him. It is the believer’s highest priority.
Matthew 8:21-22: “Another of the disciples said to Him, "Lord, permit me first to go and bury my father." 22 But Jesus said to him, "Follow Me, and allow the dead to bury their own dead." Let me “bury my father” was a figure of speech which meant “let me wait for my inheritance.” It didn’t mean that his father was dead and waiting for him to bury him. Jesus meant by the second part, (“allow the dead to bury their own dead”), “let the spiritual dead take care of the mundane and non-spiritual matters. The spiritually alive would not withdraw with a handful of excuses, but they would know the cost of discipleship in following the Savior.
Matthew 10:37-39: "He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me; and he who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me. 38 "And he who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me. 39 "He who has found his life will lose it, and he who has lost his life for My sake will find it.” Jesus is not telling His disciples to hate their parents but He is demanding a total commitment, even unto death if necessary: Full surrender is part of the cost in order to proclaim the Gospel as a disciple. Denying oneself is part of the program for true followers.
This is reinforced in Matthew 16:24-25 and Mark 8:34-35: Then Jesus said to His disciples, "If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me. 25 "For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it; but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it.” (Luke 14:26-27 states a similar message.)
John 12:25 says: "He who loves his life loses it, and he who hates his life in this world will keep it to life eternal.” This isn’t saying that we walk around, like a lot of people, saying, “I hate my life.” This is an understanding that the Spirit gives life, and the flesh profits nothing, so I want to know more of Christ and continue to be faithful in following Him.
Following Jesus takes personal surrender; You must have more than a salad bar mentality and spirituality. Following the Savior is definitely NOT “user-friendly”, “seeker sensitive”, or about customer satisfaction: Customers are NOT king. The “consumer” is not king; CHRIST IS KING and we are following Him. He did not come to be served but to serve and to give His life as a ransom for many. We HAVE TO have the same mindset if we are truly His disciples.
“Grumbling” about difficult teachings which are hard to understand and “withdrawing”, which is nothing short of SPIRITUAL DULLNESS, are results of NOT having been DRAWN to Jesus BY THE FATHER! It may certainly mean that you have not been granted the gift of eternal life, but that does NOT MEAN that you merely drop out of the race. He is calling you to exam yourself and if you find yourself lacking and trusting in yourself, your things, your own abilities or your own idealisms or idols, the solution is the Grace and Mercy of the Lord Jesus Christ. He will never refuse anyone who comes in sincerity and humility because He is a God who delights in mercy.
Following Jesus, the Holy One of God
So we look at 67-69: “So Jesus said to the twelve, "You do not want to go away also, do you?" (Jesus is challenging the Twelve if they would also want to leave in response to His teachings, with an expectation to the answer, “NO!”) 68 Simon Peter answered Him, "Lord, to whom shall we go? You have words of eternal life. 69 "We have believed and have come to know that You are the Holy One of God."
Peter makes a remarkable declaration of the Deity and Divinity of Jesus Christ in John 6:68-69. When he says, “Where else can I go?” he is declaring that there is only salvation in the Lord Jesus Christ. We know from the rest of Jesus’ ministry, and Peter’s behavior specifically, their faith is not as “rock-solid” as it could be, but Peter recognizes THE TRUTH of Jesus and His Words from verse 63: "It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing; the words that I have spoken to you are spirit and are life.”
Peter states a life-giving, grace-based confession: “We have believed and have come to know that You are the Holy One of God.” (In its very essence, Peter is saying: “Jesus, You are God!”) The title, “The Holy one of the Lord' is used only once in the O.T. in Ps. 106:16; It is spoken concerning Aaron, in whom holiness, as far as it could then be revealed, had found its most complete embodiment. The title waited for its fulfilment in Christ, who alone, in His own person, could perfectly show forth the holiness of God on earth -- Jesus the Son of the Father. In Him we see holiness, as Divine, as human, as our very own.” (“Holy in Christ”, day 14, Andrew Murray”)
Look at Mark 1:21-24 where “the Holy One of God” is used: “They went into Capernaum; and immediately on the Sabbath He entered the synagogue and began to teach. 22 They were amazed at His teaching; for He was teaching them as one having authority, and not as the scribes. 23 Just then there was a man in their synagogue with an unclean spirit; and he cried out, 24 saying, "What business do we have with each other, Jesus of Nazareth? Have You come to destroy us? I know who You are-the Holy One of God!"
Here an unclean spirit realizes who Jesus is, namely, The Holy One of God. Whenever the Word of God confronts human dead religion, whenever and wherever the Gospel of Jesus Christ is preached, Satan and those who are NOT being drawn (seized) by the Father nor granted life FROM the Father, these will be provoked and aroused. Wherever the light of truth and the divine holiness of God is presented in spirit and truth, there will be those who scream out against the light lest the darkness of their own hearts be revealed. Many enjoy ritual, rules and religion with no regeneration from above and they love their own sinfulness and think it is sainthood. Evil deceives humankind into believing that the Gospel accuses instead of saves, that believing would cause them to lose instead of gain.
“The Holy One of Israel” (YHWH) is mentioned many times in the Old Testament, and the ‘Holy One of God’ (Jesus in the New Testament) both display the HOLY character of Jesus which only the God of the Old Testament possessed. Jesus possesses the Holy character and nature of the Everlasting God. He has continually been with the Father, and He and the Father are one from all eternity. The ‘Holy One of Israel’ (YHWH) IS the ‘Holy One of God’, the LORD Jesus. Isaiah 43:3 says: "For I am the LORD your God, The Holy One of Israel, your Savior.” The ‘Holy One of Israel’ obviously means the one whom Israel worshiped as Holy Jehovah God alone.
Peter’s declaration included “Knowing” and “Believing”; Both are necessary and parallel in a believer’s relationship to God through the Lord Jesus Christ. John 17:3&8 says: “This is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent…for the words which You gave Me I have given to them; and they received them and truly understood that I came forth from You, and they believed that You sent Me.” We are called into a relationship with the Living God through Jesus who was sent from Heaven. The Gospel message brought by this HOLY ONE OF GOD has been received as a gift, understood by those who have truly understood and believed in the Lord Jesus AS GOD.
In knowing, receiving and believing, you we receive a New Identity in Christ: Revelation 20:6 says: ”Blessed and holy is the one who has a part in the first resurrection; over these the second death has no power, but they will be priests of God and of Christ and will reign with Him for a thousand years.” Christ’s righteousness and holiness are imputed to us, put on our account and they become ours! We are called to live Holy lives because we have been made RIGHT with God in Christ.
But for believers and followers of the Holy One of God, faith in the Lord Jesus is fleshed out in a gracious and compassion life, producing love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Why? Because the Holy One of God has gifted you with a new Heart from Heaven and lives in you with His Holy Spirit.
This marks a dividing point in Jesus’ ministry and marks the difference between “true believers” and those who have not been drawn by God the Father through the Spirit and the Word. Feelings and performance are flimsy standards of saving faith. Feelings are fallible and performance is never perfect or permanent. In John 6, people, including many close followers (disciples) who were entertained and amused with Jesus as a provider of food and fancies had gone back to their homes, occupations and their empty religious practices, to an existence without Jesus.
OUTLINE
I. Jesus reinforces several key Biblical DOCTRINES. (John 6:64-65:)
A. Jesus knows the secret things of God from the beginning: Jesus is omniscient.
B. Salvation is initiated, not “by choice”, but by God’s Grace:
The Father draws (and GRANTS LIFE to) those who will come to Jesus and BELIEVE.
II. Why do disciples “withdraw” from Jesus? (quit walking with Jesus) (John 6:66-67)
A. Literally: “They went away into the things they left behind.” (Matt. 6:33, 8:21-22, 10:37-39, 16:24-25 [Mark 8:34-35], Luke 14:26-27, John 12:25)
B. Following Jesus takes more than a salad bar spirituality. Following the Savior is not “user-friendly”, “seeker sensitive”, or about customer satisfaction: Customers are NOT king.
C. “Grumbling” about difficult teachings and “withdrawing” (SPIRITUAL DULLNESS) are results of NOT having been DRAWN BY THE FATHER!
III. Peter states a declaration of the Deity and Divinity of Jesus Christ. (John 6:68-69)
A. There is only salvation in Jesus Christ: “Where else can I go?”
B. Peter recognizes THE TRUTH of Jesus and His Words from verse 63: "It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing; the words that I have spoken to you are spirit and are life.
C. Peter states a life-giving, grace-based confession: “We have believed and have come to know that You are the Holy One of God.” (“Jesus, You are God.”)(Mark 1:21-24, Matt. 16:16, Isaiah 43:3)
D. “Knowing” and “Believing” are necessary and parallel in a believer’s relationship to God through the Lord Jesus Christ. (John 17:3&8)
E. ‘The Holy One of Israel’ (YHWH) and the ‘Holy One of God’ (Jesus): Displays the HOLY character of Jesus which only God possesses.
F. This marks a dividing point in Jesus’ ministry and marks the difference between “true believers” and those who have not been drawn by God the Father through the Spirit and the Word. (A New Identity: Revelation 20:6)
