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 difficult statement; who can listen to it?" But Jesus, conscious that His disciples grumbled at this, said to them, "Does this cause you to stumble? "What then if you see the Son of Man ascending to where He was before? "It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing; the words that I have spoken to you are spirit and 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 it was that would betray Him. And He was saying, "For this reason I have said to you, that no one can come to Me unless it has been granted him from the Father."
As a result of this many of His disciples withdrew and were not walking with Him anymore. So Jesus said to the twelve, "You do not want to go away also, do you?" Simon Peter answered Him, "Lord, to whom shall we go? You have words of eternal life. "We have believed and have come to know that You are the Holy One of God."
My thoughts -
Jesus fed the crowd, and after Jesus fed them they couldn't get enough. They wanted more, so much so that they chased after him. He had to flee. He walked (ran?) over four miles across water to escape them. And they still found him, wanting even more.
So Jesus offers them not what they were looking for, but something better. He just does it in such a way that they can't really tell how much better what he offers is. He tells them that they can eat bread from heaven like their ancestors did, but they will just be hungry again. The only thing that will satisfy them is his flesh and blood. In fact, they have to eat his flesh and blood. If they don't eat his flesh and don't drink his blood then they do not have any life.
In this passage we see how Jesus's disciples respond to this message. You can just image what it would be like for them. You can imagine what they would say in their grumblings.
Lord, that's just gross. Are you actually asking us to cannibalise you? Is that what you want? Really? Who would do that? Who wants to listen to that? Have you lost your mind? This ministry is working. The people love you. They will follow you anywhere. They can't get enough. And you go and say something like this? Lord, you're going to run them all off.
Jesus responds to their grumblings. We mortals are so concerned with the flesh. The people wanted Jesus to feed their bodies. But Jesus is telling them that there is no life without the spirit. Here he is, offering more than just food to feed hungry bellies, but himself to feed starving souls. And what do they want more of? The bread.
Obviously Jesus was concerned for bodies. He fed hungry people. He looked on them with compassion and filled their bodies. But his concern for them was greater than that. He wants them to have true, abundant, and eternal life. He wants that so much that he offers himself, and not just bread. But we get so caught up in the superficial. We get so caught up in the things of this world that we neglect the things that are eternal.
Jesus tells his followers that, when it comes right down to it, the body is nothing. It is temporary. It will perish. Life comes from the spirit. What he is offering is greater than the concerns of the body. And all they have to do is believe in him and they can have this real life.
For those whose concerns were for the things of this world only, this is not good news. If you only want bread what good is it to believe? Many people left. Jesus wasn't offering what they wanted.
So Jesus turns to the twelve and asks if they're going to leave, too. This seems like a fair question. They had just been grumbling that Jesus was running everyone off with his teaching. They had just questioned his teaching, his methods, and even his intentions. They had fallen into the same trap as all of the people who left. They had been thinking worldly things. They had been concerned about superficial things. They had seen a large, growing, vibrant ministry implode and watched thousands of followers leave. Why wouldn't they leave, too?
Peter chimes in. "Lord, where would we go?"
These men had spent the most time with Jesus. They left everything to follow him. They had been given the most instruction. Jesus had revealed the most to them. Peter ended up being the first to identify who Jesus really was. They knew they needed more than just bread. They knew they needed Jesus. They knew that Jesus had more to offer them than everything in this world. Sure, they may have questioned. Sure, they may have doubted. But they knew.
Well, eleven of them did.
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