November 6, 2024

Rēad to Read …Again

Daily Reading: John 5-6

John 6:68

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

Where indeed? In a day when many are falling away from the lowly Savior the question must be asked. It was asked the first time in today’s verse. The Lord is teaching some deep things, spiritual things, things that can only be received by faith. Therefore, many departed from Him and walked no more with Him. To which Christ turned to the twelve, asking them, Will ye also go away? Then Peter replied with a profound statement: Lord, to whom shall we go? This is the question of questions that every person who is tempted to depart from the simplicity that is in Christ should ask themselves. “To whom shall I go?”

Will they go to humanism? Will they go to intellectualism? Will they go to universalism? Will they go to self-worship thinking only they themselves have all the answers of life and eternity. To whom will they go? As a matter of fact, if a person leaves one thing, they go to another. By leaving a room they arrive somewhere else, perhaps a hallway, outside, another room. They are always somewhere, just not the place they used to be. If a person leaves Jesus, they must be somewhere else, that place will be absent of Jesus. For they left Jesus.

Frankly, few will ever admit to leaving Jesus, but they do. They hear something they do not like, cannot understand, and will not receive. therefore, they leave Him. What did they hear in this chapter that caused them to leave Him?

It all started out well. They ate the bread and fishes that He miraculously provided. He fed at least 5,ooo with five loaves and two small fishes. Evidently the next day they sought for Jesus in Capernaum and found Him. Therein, the Lord confronted them with a truth. They sought Him not because of the miracles but because they wanted to eat again. Then He said the most astounding thing: Labour not for the meat which perisheth, but for that meat which endureth unto everlasting life, which the Son of man shall give unto you: for him hath God the Father sealed. (John 6:27) He is telling them that accompanying everlasting life there is meat that requires labor. Yes, everlasting life is a gift paid for and extended by the Lord God, but the living of everlasting life requires work, just like physical life requires work. Discipleship, service to others, church life, doctrinal studies, and much other work is associated with salvation. The life of a Christian is to be busy about that life. Learning, growing, serving, and worshipping are just a few things a Christian must bestow labor upon. Or should.

Here someone may ask, “What is the work that a child of God should perform?” Jesus answered that in verse 29, This is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath sent. There are many who leave this work when it gets too hard to perform. They leave their belief in Jesus when He doesn’t do for them that which they think He should: like feeding them meals every day, or answering their prayers the way they desire.

The Lord also taught them about the bread from Heaven, meaning Himself, and the blood. This they could not tolerate. They could not believe that which He is saying.  They failed to see the spiritual, they only considered the physical. Therefore, they left Him and walked with Him no more.

But not the twelve. One of them was Judas, proving that even among the most devout group of believers there may be unbelievers. Suffice it to say though, if any person leaves Jesus, where will they go? Peter summed it up perfectly, …to whom shall we go? thou hast the words of eternal life. Seeing that eternity is too long to be wrong, and that only Jesus has the words of eternal life, sticking with Him is the only safe place, eternally safe place to be.

To those who would leave Jesus think on this, where are you going?

Dr. William T. Howe