John 6: 66-69
” From this time many of his disciples turned back and no longer followed him.
‘You do not want to leave too, do you?’ Jesus asked the Twelve.
Simon Peter answered him, ‘Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. We have come to believe and to know that you are the Holy One of God.’”
Each time I have opportunity to sit down and write a post for this blog, I find myself looking at words I have read many times over and finding something new. One of the things that has jumped out at me during this study is how often Jesus repeats himself. He is very clear about his mission and his message both in word and deed.
In today’s verse Jesus is confronted by rejection from those who were considered his disciples. After listening to him go on and on about eating his flesh and drinking his blood, they finally just left, except for the twelve. Jesus then turns his attention from the crowds to his core group of disciples and challenges them. ‘Are you leaving, too…?’ is the challenge behind his words.
To their credit, they do not leave. More than that, Peter affirms the core truth about Jesus in his response: “You have the words of eternal life.” It is as if he is saying, “No matter what, whether I understand what you say or not, I know that you are God.”
Q: If you had been there with the twelve, and Jesus had asked you if you wanted to leave, how might you have responded to him?
Since I believe and follow him without having seen him or his miracles, I think I would have believed him then.
I guess I have the option of turning from Him right now in this moment. The answer is ‘No”, I’m not turning back.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts! If I had been raised as a Jew I can see being totally put off by what he said. However, I am sure of this: if I had turned away, I still would have been thinking about what he said and wondering what he meant. I think that those thoughts would have prepared me to believe when the news came that he had been raised from the dead and ascended into heaven.