John 6:66-71

THE TWELVE THEIR FINEST HOUR

Text 6:66-71

66

Upon this many of his disciples went back, and walked no more with him.

67

Jesus said therefore unto the twelve, Would ye also go away?

68

Simon Peter answered him, Lord, to whom shall we go? thou has the words of eternal life.

69

And we have believed and know that thou art the Holy One of God.

70

Jesus answered them, Did not I choose you the twelve, and one of you is a devil?

71

Now he spake of Judas the son of Simon Iscariot, for he it was that should betray him, being one of the twelve.

Queries

a.

Why did Jesus question the twelve?

b.

What is the significance of Peter's answer?

c.

Why does Jesus mention the betrayer?

Paraphrase

On account of this, many of His disciples left Him and returned to their former way of living and thinking. Then Jesus said to the twelve, You do not also wish to leave Me, do you? But Simon Peter, answering for the group, said, Lord, to whom shall we go? You alone have the words which lead unto eternal life. And we have learned to believe and have come to know that You are the Holy One of God. And Jesus answered them, Did I not expressly choose you as the Twelve? And yet, I know that one of you is a minister of the devil. He was speaking of Judas, son of Simon Iscariot, for this Judas was about to betray Him, even though he was one of the Twelve.

Summary

This is the moment of truth for the Twelve. The superficial disciples have been tried, and have judged themselves unfit for His kingdom. However, for the Twelve (excluding Judas), this is their finest hour.

Comment

Most of the scholars agree that the phrase After this introducing John 6:66, is a phrase which shows result as well as passage of time. The preceding discourse was not easily tolerated by the multitudes, and a further result of the sermon on the Bread of Life was the defection of many of His Galilean disciples. These many disciples were both fair-weather friends, and disciples of Jesus. They followed Him as long as they thought He was going to give them bread on their tables. But at the first intimation of the spiritual and moral food the cross and self-surrender on their part they turned their backs on Jesus. The inference of the original language here helps us to interpret their actions even more fully. They not only ceased following Jesus, but they gave up what they had gained with Him, and. reoccupied their old places. Before, they had called Him Rabbi and Lord (cf. John 6:25; John 6:34), but now they disclaimed Him even as unfit to listen to. They had attached themselves to His bandwagon they had put their hands to the plow without first counting the cost. Now, having turned back, they judged themselves unfit for the kingdom of God (cf. Luke 9:62). The very same attitude prevails today. There are far too many today who, having started with Jesus, have failed to count the cost and are now inactive church-members. (cf. Luke 14:25-35).

Then the Lord challenges His chosen Twelve in a most direct manner. What a test this must have been for them! Up to this moment Jesus was the Man of the hour in Galilee. To be one of His personally-chosen inner-circle was to enjoy a certain amount of prestige in Galilee. To be one of the Twelve, and to see the great popularity of its leader was to have great expectations, But now the Man of Galilee is losing His following and His prestige at one crucial moment when thousands are turning disgustedly away.

What were the emotions of the Twelve fear, hate, disgust and shame? Were they also on the verge of deserting the Lord? Indeed not! Peter, probably because of his age and personality, speaks for the Twelve a classic confession full of faith and devotion to Jesus, Although undoubtedly puzzled and distressed by the mysterious words of Jesus, Peter is convinced that Jesus alone has the words leading unto eternal life. We quote here Professor R. C. Foster's comments on John 6:68-69 :

When we meet things in Scripture irreconcilable with our reason, what should be our conclusion? Peter has summed up the true attitude of the Christian. God has not promised to satisfy our curiosity or all our intellectual problems, but He rather demands that we walk by faith when we cannot see the way, We should use our reason and all intellectual gifts in endeavoring to understand, but we should not desert Christ because we find difficulties. If we cast aside the Bible just where is the Book of God to be found that will lead us to eternal life?

The perfect tenses of the verbs have believed and have come to know show that Peter's answer was one of an understanding born of a clear perception. through progressive experience. We must know the Lord before we can believe Him. Faith is not born of emotion. We must have knowledge of His life, His claims, and the evidence by which He establishes the validity of His claims. We must then weigh this evidence and make a decision as to whether we shall trust Him or reject Him. This does not mean, however, that we are to reject Jesus and His words when we cannot understand every thing He says. As with the Twelve, we have more than sufficient evidence to prove Jesus-' identity as the Son of God. The confession of Peter as compared with the rejection by the multitude emphasizes further the axiom that rejection of Christ is generally on moral grounds and not intellectual.

Peter's impulsiveness and over-confidence, shown by his instantaneous confession on behalf of the whole company, receives a check by Jesus as it does at other times. The Lord cautions him here, as in Matthew 16:23, John 20:15-22; Mark 14:29-30, not to be too confident, for one of the Twelve did not share his faith and trust.

The question is always raised, in connection with John 6:70-71: If Jesus knew Judas would betray Him, why did He choose him? We can only answer, It was within God's Infinite wisdom, will and plan for the redemption of the world. More than that, we can only speculate. One thing is certain: God did not compel Judas to betray Christ. Jesus tried repeatedly to turn Judas from his evil scheme by warning him that He was aware of his intentions.

Judas is carefully described here as the son of Simon, called Iscariot (a man of Kerioth) probably an area of Judah (cf. Joshua 15:25). This distinguishes him from the other Judas, also one of the Twelve.

Thus this Sixth Chapter has been fitly called The Great Galilean Crisis for here the great multitudes of Galilean disciples come to the moment of truth, and fail the test. On the other hand, for the chosen apostles (except Judas), this is their finest hour. They are also put into the crucible, but come out purified. This is the turning point in Jesus-' public ministry. Henceforth He will (except for occasional emotional outbursts such as at the Triumphal Entry) be unpopular, criticized, and hunted like an animal throughout all Judea.

Quiz

1.

What caused the many disciples to desert Jesus?

2.

Why would this be such a big test for the Twelve?

3.

How should we react to sayings of Jesus which are difficult to understand?

4.

What brought Peter to say, we have come to know?

5.

How was Peter's display of overconfidence checked by Jesus here?

6.

Why is John 6:1-71 entitled, The Great Galilean Crisis?