Backsliding (John 6:56-69)
One of my mentors came to host a gospel meeting, and the Saturday before the meeting started, the congregation door knocked. We met a lady who was very interested—in fact, she was participating in World Bible School courses with a teacher in Tennessee. Connie came that Sunday, and she soon was coming every Sunday. She went to Tennessee one weekend to visit her World Bible School teacher; while she was on that trip, Connie sent a text saying that she had been baptized into Christ. We were so thrilled!
Over the next year, Connie became an important, active member of the church. If you needed help, you could call Connie, and she would be there to support you. However, Connie began to learn some truths that made her uncomfortable. One afternoon, Connie came by the office and said, “I can’t do this anymore. I love this church, but it’s just too difficult,” gave me her church key, and walked out the door. We never saw Connie again.
You could likely tell nearly identical stories about people you’ve known. You’ve likely seen people come to Jesus and people leave Jesus. Look around this morning—how many people can you name right now who used to sit in this assembly but have left Jesus? Is it even the case that you backslid for a while—maybe several years—and you’ve now come back to Jesus.
When Jesus said some hard truths, many disciples deserted him. As we examined last week, Jesus had been speaking about the necessity of eating his flesh and drinking his blood. The people didn’t understand anything about the Lord’s Supper, and they thought Jesus was talking about cannibalism, so they left.
Jesus then turned to the Twelve to see if they were going to leave, too. Simon Peter said, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life” (Jn 6:68). Peter’s refusal to leave Jesus because he alone has the words of eternal life teaches an important lesson: “Turning from Jesus brings death.”
Scripture (John 6:56-69)
verses 56-58:
Since we discussed these verses last Sunday, I’ve included them here only so we can recall the full context.
verses 60-61:
The disciples’ grumbling recalls how the Israelites grumbled against Moses. The word “offense” in the English Standard Version was a common figure of speech which meant “to sin” or “to fall away.” Jesus asked these disciples if they would leave him because of what he had said.
verse 62:
Jesus used a “how much more” argument here. If Jesus’s disciples had trouble understanding eating his flesh and drinking his blood, the resurrection and ascension would blow their minds.
verse 63:
Jesus said he wasn’t speaking literally—he wasn’t talking about cannibalism; he was speaking spiritually—he was talking about the Lord’s Supper.
verses 64-66:
Some people, though, didn’t believe Jesus, and they chose to turn back from following him because he spoke hard truths.
verse 67-69:
Jesus asked the Twelve if they wished to leave, too. Instead of leaving, Peter spoke the to this morning’s vital point. The Twelve couldn’t go anywhere, for Jesus alone has the words of eternal life. Think about the full import of Peter’s words: Leaving Jesus leaves you without the words of eternal life, and eternal death naturally follows losing eternal life.
The Twelve had come to believe and to know that Jesus is the Holy One of God. Both verbs “believe” and “know” are in the perfect tense. The idea is that the Twelve believed in the past that Jesus is the Holy One of God, and they have continued in that belief. They were in a state of believing and knowing Jesus’s true identity.
Application
“Turning from Jesus brings death.” Jesus has the words of eternal life, and if you leave him, you’re without the words of eternal life. “No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God” (Lk 9:62). “My righteous one shall live by faith, and if he shrinks back, my soul has no pleasure in him” (Heb 10:38). “If, after they have escaped the defilements of the world through the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled in them and overcome, the last state has become worse for them than the first” (2 Pet 2:20).
You don’t want to turn back from Jesus; turning back brings hell. How can you stay with Jesus instead of backsliding?
One: Hard
Admit that Jesus said some Hard things. Most of Jesus’s disciples rejected him because they didn’t like what he said. Let’s face it: Throughout the Gospels Jesus announced some Hard truths. What about loving Jesus more than your family? What about loving money? What about marriage, divorce, and remarriage? Not everything Jesus said fits what we wish he had said.
Sit down with the Sermon on the Mount, because Jesus said some Hard truths in that passage. Go through the Sermon and identify what for you personally are Hard truths. What is hard for you to practice? What do you wish Jesus had said differently? What do you wish he hadn’t said at all?
Understand Jesus called you to a life of sacrifice, and he called you to a life of putting his will over your will. Recognize that being a disciple of Jesus is no easy task.
Two: Hear
Recognize that Jesus spoke hard truths, but you must still Hear Jesus. Jesus has the words of eternal life; Peter: “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life” (Jn 6:68). Jesus’s words are life: “The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life” (Jn 6:63). Jesus’s words give eternal life: “Truly, truly, I say to you, if anyone keeps my word, he will never see death” (Jn 8:51).
Go back to the Sermon on the Mount with all its hard truths. Understand those hard truths are words of eternal life. If you need to do so, write beside truths you find difficult: “Words of eternal life.” Obeying those words is the difference between heaven and hell. Hear those words!
Three: Hold
Hold the same truth as the Twelve: “We have believed, and have come to know, that you are the Holy One of God” (Jn 6:69). Peter said the Twelve wouldn’t leave Jesus because of hard truths because they knew who Jesus was. Since Jesus is the Holy One of God, the Twelve didn’t need to understand or like everything he said.
To stay firm in the faith, Hold in your heart and in your soul and in your mind that Jesus Christ is the Holy One of God. Spending time in the Gospels is how you develop that faith: “Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; but these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name” (Jn 20:30-31). Read through the Gospels—see Jesus’s miracles, hear his teaching, witness his death, rejoice over his resurrection, and Hold that he is the “Holy One of God.”
Conclusion
What if people truly understood that “Turning from Jesus brings death?” They would stick with Jesus regardless of how much they disliked what he said. They would commit to hear Jesus since his words bring eternal life. They would spend time in the Scriptures to increase their faith in Jesus as the Holy One of God.
What about you? How is your faith? Are you turning to Jesus for life, or are you turning from him for death?
This sermon was originally preached by Dr. Justin Imel, Sr., at Church of Christ Deer Park in Deer Park, Texas.