Then Jesus said to the twelve, ‘ Do you also want to go away?’ But Simon Peter answered Him, ‘Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.’ John 6:67-68
Every day, many people set out to follow the Christ, and every day many people decide to cease following the Christ. From the time of His earthly ministry, this has been the case. The level of dedication among those who become His disciples varies for many different reasons. Sometimes it is simply a matter of what brought them to follow Jesus in the first place. If one’s understanding of discipleship is deficient when the seed of the kingdom sprouted, then one’s spiritual roots will likely be shallow. In such cases, the pressures of persecution (Mt. 13:20) and the allurement of earthly pleasures (Matthew 13:22) are much more likely to cause the disciple’s spiritual life to wilt and become unfruitful.
In our text today, it was neither persecution nor pleasure that caused many disciples to defect, but Jesus’ words about eating His flesh and drinking His blood proved to be too difficult for them to embrace (John 6:60-66). Though Jesus was speaking metaphorically, the idea of fully internalizing Christ and His teachings was more than they bargained for when they began following Him. This text is describing the complete buy-in that Jesus demands of His followers. We are to fill ourselves with Christ throughout our lives.
Sadly, many people want to consume some of Jesus and some of the world. In other words, many want to feel the connection to Jesus without relinquishing the connection to the world. You see this in pop culture when stars make the claim to Christianity while continuing to entertain the world with foul language, sexually explicit material, distortions of truth, and any number of other ungodly activities. Before we point our fingers at these stars for professing to belong to Christ while entertaining in such a way, let us be sure we are not professing to belong to Christ while consuming the ungodly entertainment they produce. We must not think we can consume Jesus and the world simultaneously and be spiritually healthy. The old saying “You are what you eat” is equally applicable in the spiritual realm as it is in the physical realm.
As was the case in John 6:60ff, some will surely think this is too difficult and balk at the call to fill themselves with Christ and follow Him throughout life. It truly is difficult (Matthew 10:34-39; Acts 14:22; 2 Timothy 3:12), but nothing is impossible with God (Matthew 19:26). For this reason, it is imperative that every disciple count the cost of following Jesus if we are to finish what we have started (Luke 14:25-33).
Upon seeing the defectors, Jesus asked the twelve if they wanted to go away as well (John 6:67). This was a call to do some soul searching in view of the difficult saying they had just heard. In response to this query, Peter revealed what is necessary to overcome the challenges of following Jesus. Like so many other choices in life, we must do a risk/reward analysis to see that the benefits of following Jesus outweigh the cost. Paul validated this truth in 1 Corinthians 15:19 regarding the resurrection. If our hope does not transcend this earthly life, we are the most pitiful lot of all.
Peter made a simple but profound statement in John 6:68-69. Though following Jesus carries inherent difficulties, difficulties are part of the fallen order of the world (cf. Genesis 3:14-19). Peter recognized that Christ alone had the solution to our struggles. He rightly reasoned that only Jesus delivered the words of eternal life, thereby extending an eternal solution to our temporary struggles. To leave Him turns those temporary struggles into an eternal nightmare. Surely, we all can see that is a bad trade on our part. Therefore, may we run towards the Christ, the Son of God rather than away from Him.