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Therefore many of His disciples, when they heard this, said, "This is a hard saying; who can understand it?" When Jesus knew in Himself that His disciples complained about this, He said to them, "Does this offend you? What then if you should see the Son of Man ascend where He was before? It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing. The words that I speak to you are spirit, and they are life. 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 would betray Him. And He said, "Therefore I have said to you that no one can come to Me unless it has been granted to him by My Father."
From that time many of His disciples went back and walked with Him no more. 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. Also we have come to believe and know that You are the Christ, the Son of the living God." Jesus answered them, "Did I not choose you, the twelve,and one of you is a devil?" He spoke of Judas Iscariot, the son of Simon, for it was he who would betray Him, being one of the twelve.
- John 6:60-71
As a prologue to today's reading, we need to understand the events of the verses earlier in this chapter of John's Gospel. First we begin with the feeding in the wilderness (in this case, on the mountaintop) of five thousand men -- and more women and children -- in the reading of this past Friday. After being fed by Jesus, the crowd wanted to make Him king, but He eluded them. When they finally caught up with Him, He taught: "Do not labor for the food which perishes, but for the food which endures to everlasting life, which the Son of Man will give you, because God the Father has set His seal on Him." When He was asked, "What shall we do, that we may work the works of God?" Jesus answered and said to them, "This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He sent." In Tuesday's reading, Jesus taught, "I am the bread of life" which is the heart of chapter 6. He continued, "Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, and are dead. This is the bread which comes down from heaven, that one may eat of it and not die. I am the living bread which came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever; and the bread that I shall give is My flesh, which I shall give for the life of the world." Yesterday, we read that the Jews therefore quarreled among themselves, saying, "How can this Man give us His flesh to eat?" Then Jesus said to them, "Most assuredly, I say to you, unless you eat of the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in you. Whoever eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day. For My flesh is food indeed, and My blood is drink indeed. He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood abides in Me, and I in him. As the living Father sent Me, and I live because of the Father, so he who feeds on Me will live because of Me. This is the bread which came down from heaven -- not as your fathers ate the manna, and are dead. He who eats this bread will live forever." These things He said in the synagogue as He taught in Capernaum.
Therefore many of His disciples, when they heard this, said, "This is a hard saying; who can understand it?" As we noted in yesterday's commentary, we can just imagine the impact of Jesus' words on the crowds, and particularly the Jewish religious leadership. Here, my study bible points out that even His disciples took Christ's teaching on His body and Blood as a hard saying, and many of them departed from Him (see verse 66). It notes, "The Lord Jesus is aware of the thoughts of men."
When Jesus knew in Himself that His disciples complained about this, He said to them, "Does this offend you? What then if you should see the Son of Man ascend where He was before? It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing. The words that I speak to you are spirit, and they are life. But there are some of you who do not believe." I think it's important that Jesus turns here to the work of the Spirit, and tells them (and us) that His words are spirit and life. He's making it clear what His teaching is about, its mystical significance -- and that this is the root of life, the life He is speaking of.
For Jesus knew from the beginning who they were who did not believe, and who would betray Him. And He said, "Therefore I have said to you that no one can come to Me unless it has been granted to him by My Father." This is, in a sense, another revelation of Trinity, because we have come full circle, again, in Jesus' teaching. It is the Spirit who gives life; the words He speaks are spirit. And yet, it is the Father who brings those who will have faith to Jesus. Father, Son and Spirit, at work with human beings, make this a full circle in Jesus' teaching. The Spirit gives life, and His words are spirit; but ultimately, Jesus says, faith is granted by the Father at work in us as well.
From that time many of His disciples went back and walked with Him no more. 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. Also we have come to believe and know that You are the Christ, the Son of the living God." Jesus answered them, "Did I not choose you, the twelve,and one of you is a devil?" He spoke of Judas Iscariot, the son of Simon, for it was he who would betray Him, being one of the twelve. My study bible suggests that to reject Jesus' teaching on the sacramental eating of His Body and drinking of His Blood is to walk with Him no more. Peter's confession, it notes, is a pivotal moment in the life of Peter and the disciples on behalf of whom Peter is speaking here. But for the first time, a note of betrayal signs itself here among those chosen by Christ -- and also the teaching that Jesus already knows this.
For the first time, we get a sense of disciples falling away, of those who cannot accept Christ's teachings. First, we get a sense that not everyone will follow Jesus in the ways Jesus desires because the crowd that was fed cannot accept this sign as it was given. That is, they want to make Him king, and He is not in the world to become king, a political messiah. Here, His teachings are "too hard" for some of His followers. They cannot receive the words given in spirit, these teachings about the root of life itself, the life given to us in abundance. And finally, Jesus openly declares that one of the chosen Twelve "is a devil." The Greek word for "devil" here comes from a word that is used to mean to backbite or slander, to accuse with malicious intent. We are reminded of the words from Revelation: "Blessed are those who do His commandments, that they may have the right to the tree of life, and may enter through the gates into the city. But outside are dogs and sorcerers and sexually immoral and murderers and idolaters, and whoever loves and practices a lie" (22:14-15). There are some interesting comments by Church Fathers about Jesus' words here. St. John Chrysostom writes, "See the wisdom of Christ. He neither exposes the traitor nor allows him to remain hidden. In this way, [Judas] is not so publicly humiliated that he becomes more contentious, but Christ also does not embolden him by allowing him to think that his wicked deeds are proceeding undetected" (Homilies on the Gospel of John 47.4.41). Cyril of Alexandria suggests that by this statement Jesus rouses all the disciples to vigilance and more steadfast faith... "without saying whom, Jesus brought them all to the contest. And so, with each one dreading the loss of his own soul, Jesus invites them to more careful circumspection" (Commentary on the Gospel of John 4.4.42). Finally, St. Augustine tells us that those who are evil will use even good things for evil purposes, while the good will use anything -- even evil things -- for good purposes. "Yet our Lord made a good use of [Judas'] wickedness, allowing himself to be betrayed so that he might redeem us.… If God employs the evil works of the devil himself for good, whatever the evil person does by making bad use of God’s good gifts only hurts himself. It in no way contradicts the goodness of God" (Tractates on the Gospel of John 27.10.44). As Jesus has been introducing us to the mysteries of life, to the life He offers us with love, we are also reminded that we don't live in a perfect world. Each one of us, I daresay, has things to contend with that are difficult, and perhaps seemingly insurmountable. But the Fathers I've cited above give us a better understanding of just how this life works; there is more to the story. And so, even the way things will unfold is also a part of that life in abundance, that more that Jesus is offering us. A life of faith isn't necessarily easy, nor is it simple. It takes into account the things that are of this world. But it offers us a way to go forward in that life, a deeper life of faith ahead, and perhaps like the disciples, more vigilance. Let us consider all the things the fullness of Christ's life opens to us, and His words that are spirit and life.
