WHERE DO YOU GO FROM HERE?
John 6:66-69 NKJV
66 From that time many of His disciples went back and walked with Him no more. 67 Then Jesus said to the twelve, "Do you also want to go away?"
68 But Simon Peter answered Him, "Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. 69 Also we have come to believe and know that You are the Christ, the Son of the living God."
The sixth chapter of John contains the famous message from Jesus that caused many of His disciples to walk away. His message was to eat His flesh and drink His blood. Jesus said in verse 53, "Most assuredly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in you." At face value, you may be thinking, whoa, Jesus, that's hard to swallow, pun intended. When Jesus heard His disciples complaining about what He had said, He responded in verse 63, "It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing. The words that I speak to you are spirit, and they are life."
And there we have it! Jesus obviously was not speaking of cannibalism. His words were spiritual words. And He was referring to the time that He would give His body and shed His blood for mankind. But Jesus did not stop to explain everything. He simply left it as is, a spiritual truth. The amazing thing is that many of Jesus' disciples walked away from Him. They didn't understand, and so instead of pressing in to ask more, they walked. They could have passed it off to their lack of understanding, considering all the amazing things that Jesus did. After all, He had just fed over five thousand people with a few loaves and fish. Just because they did not understand exactly what Jesus was talking about was not a good enough reason to abandon Him.
Jesus did not run after those who misunderstood. He even turned to His top guys, the twelve disciples, and asked if they wanted to go also. And Peter, not always known for saying the right thing, this time had an amazing insight. "Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life." You gotta love Peter. He could do some impulsive things, but he also could come up with some real wisdom. These words were full of wisdom. And Peter's next sentence was also an important word. "Also we have come to believe and know that You are the Christ, the Son of the living God." Bravo Peter! He was not walking away from Jesus because He believed Jesus was the Messiah, the Son of God. Peter was not walking away from Jesus because it was Jesus who had the words of life. Peter may have not understood everything, but he was hanging in there with Jesus. Because Peter believed the right things about Jesus, he wouldn't walk away from Jesus over words he didn't understand.
APPLICATION
Peter's wisdom still applies to us today. There are things in the Bible that I do not understand. There are things that have taken place and have happened that I do not understand. But here is what I do understand. I believe Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life, and no one comes to God except by Him. I believe His words are spirit and life and have made a major difference in my life. I believe God is real and greater and better than anything or anybody. So where am I going to go? No other religion offers what Jesus offers. No other god can come close to the living God. I believe God is real and lives in me by His Holy Spirit. Where would I go from here?
One of my favorite scriptures is Psalm 34:8, "Oh, taste and see that the LORD is good; Blessed is the man who trusts in Him!" I believe the Lord is good. And I trust Him when I understand and when I don't. I am with Peter. Where are we going to go? Jesus is the way and has the words of life!
PRAYER
Thank You, Lord, that I don't have to understand everything to believe in You. Thank You for your goodness and patience with me. I am with You until that day that I see You face to face and understand things on a higher level. Thank You for your Spirit and Your words of life!