The Hard Teachings Of Jesus

They were offended by His teaching. When Jesus pressed the meaning of feeding on Him, "many of His disciples, when they heard this, said, 'This is a hard saying; who can understand it?'" (John 6:60, NKJV). Verse 66 records the result: they "went back and walked with Him no more." Their departure exposed that they had followed for bread and signs, not for Christ Himself.

It is Jesus' claim that He is the bread come down from heaven and that life is found only by feeding on Him. The hardness was not that the words were unclear, but that they were humbling. They stripped away human merit and confronted the crowd with their need of a Savior given by the Father. Hard sayings offend pride before they save sinners.

"It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing. The words that I speak to you are spirit, and they are life" (John 6:63, NKJV). Jesus directs them away from a fleshly, literal eating toward the spiritual reality His words convey. Human ability, apart from the work of the Holy Spirit, cannot grasp or receive Him. Life comes by the Spirit through the Word.

Jesus said, "Therefore I have said to you that no one can come to Me unless it has been granted to him by My Father" (John 6:65, NKJV). Coming to Christ is not a natural ability but a gift. This is the doctrine of effectual calling. The Westminster Confession (10.1) teaches that God effectually draws those He has chosen, taking away the heart of stone and giving a heart of flesh.

It grounds salvation in God's sovereign initiative. Earlier Jesus said, "No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him" (John 6:44, NKJV), and here He repeats it. The crowd's departure and the disciples' faith both trace back to whether the Father had granted them to come. Grace, not free will, distinguishes those who stay from those who fall away.

"Then Jesus said to the twelve, 'Do you also want to go away?'" (John 6:67, NKJV). He does not chase the departing crowd or dilute His message. The question presses the twelve to confess where they stand. Christ is willing to be left by many rather than to win followers by lowering the truth. He seeks worshipers in spirit and truth, not a flattered majority.

It locates salvation in Christ alone. "Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. Also we have come to believe and know that You are the Christ, the Son of the living God" (John 6:68-69, NKJV). Peter saw there was no alternative. This confession of Christ's exclusive sufficiency echoes the First Sola: salvation in Christ alone, by the words He alone speaks.

No. Those who left were never true believers. The Apostle John later explains, "They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would have continued with us" (1 John 2:19, NKJV). The Westminster Confession (17.1) affirms the perseverance of the saints: those truly called and sanctified can never finally fall away, but endure to the end.

"Did I not choose you, the twelve, and one of you is a devil?" (John 6:70, NKJV). Jesus chose Judas to the apostolic office, not to saving grace. Judas heard every sermon and saw every sign yet remained unconverted, a sober warning that outward nearness to Christ is not the same as belonging to Him. Privilege without a new heart hardens rather than saves.

It teaches that faithfulness is measured by fidelity to Christ's word, not by crowd size. Jesus let the multitude leave rather than trim His message. Expository preaching follows His pattern: declaring the whole counsel of God, trusting the Spirit to gather those the Father has given. The Confession (1.10) makes Scripture, not popularity, the supreme judge in matters of faith.