JOHN LESSON 19


     We will begin this lesson in John 6:60.


     V-60, "Many therefore of his disciples, when they had heard this,
said, This is an hard saying; who can hear it?"

     In the last lesson, we were studying about Jesus' body being the
Bread of life and His blood cleansing from all unrighteousness.  He
had said we must eat of His body and drink of His blood to receive
eternal life. These disciples were looking at this in the natural and
did not fully understand what He was saying.  The disciples which left
were not numbered among the twelve.

     V-61, "When Jesus knew in himself that his disciples murmured at
it, he said unto them, Doth this offend you?"

     Jesus realizes what they are thinking and scolds them for
murmuring.  He asks them if this offends them, all the time He knows
it does.  They were with Him, but did not understand what He was
teaching them.

     V-62, "What and if ye shall see the Son of man ascend up where he
was before?"

     Jesus calls Himself Son of man because they are looking at Jesus
as just a man.  He says, "If you believe I am Joseph's son, then you
won't believe that I came from heaven, or that I will go back to
heaven."  Jesus is saying, "Would you believe, if I ascended into
heaven in front of you?"

     V-63, "It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth
nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they
are life."

     God is a Spirit and those that worship Him must worship Him in
Spirit and truth.  In I Corinthians 15:44, "It is sown a natural body,
it is raised a spiritual body.  There is a natural body, and there is
a spiritual body."  The body that goes to heaven is spiritual.  The
main purpose in these Bible Studies is to get the Word into each of
us, so that we can have a better life here and eternal life in heaven.

     V-64, "But there are some of you that believe not.  For Jesus
knew from the beginning who they were that believed not, and who
should betray him."

     Jesus, even at this time, knew that Judas Iscariot would betray
Him.  Of course, it was not just Judas that would deny Him.  In the
fear of cruel death, even His beloved Peter would deny Him.  When the
authorities came and took Jesus, the disciples f led for fear of like
punishment.  Speaking of the ones who believed not, the scribes,
Pharisees, and rulers of the synagogues did not believe Jesus.  Very
few were truly loyal to the Lord Jesus.  Jesus had just told them a
few verses back, that they only followed Him because of the miracles
and to be fed.

     V-65, "And he said, Therefore said I unto you, that no man can
come unto me, except it were given unto him of my Father."

     The offer of salvation is to whosoever will.  The Holy Spirit
draws us.  Many will be called, but few accept.  God already knows
your heart, and He knows whether you will accept the call.  God
doesn't predestine, but has foreknowledge of what you will do.  God
reveals Himself to those who will accept Him.  "Draw nigh to God, and
he will draw nigh to you..." James 4:8.  The opportunity to be saved
is a free gift from God.  When offered, we must accept it.  The Father
puts the hunger in our hearts.  Jesus Christ our Lord provides the
Bread (Himself).  God will not always strive with man.  He offers
salvation, we must accept it.

     V-66, "From that time many of his disciples went back, and walked
no more with him."

     From what time?  From the time He said they must eat of His flesh
and drink of His blood.  In the natural, this does seem to be like
being a cannibal, but Jesus had already told them that they must
worship in spirit.  This great number of followers o f Jesus who had
just wanted to make Him king and ruler of all Israel, now suddenly
leave Him.  They really did not have the love of God in their hearts.
They wanted a great warrior to lead them against Rome.  They followed
them in His power.  They wanted no part in His weakness.  They were
like people in our churches today, who just look at the words and not
at the meaning of the Word.  It is impossible to follow Jesus in the
flesh.  We must follow Jesus Christ by our spirit.

     V-67, "Then said Jesus unto the twelve, Will ye also go away?"

     When things get really hard to do, many will give up and go home.
This is just what these disciples did who were not of the twelve.  In
the seventh chapter of Judges, we read of a man about to do battle
with the enemy of God.  Thirty-two thousand me n came to take up arms,
but God told Gideon to send all of the fearful and all who were not
prepared for battle home.  Only 300 out of the 32,000 men stayed to do
God's battle.  That is what happened above.  The mass of disciples
left and the twelve remained.  God does not get the glory when it is
possible for us to win a battle on our own.  God gets the glory when
an impossible (in the flesh) job is to be done and God brings the
impossibility into being.  These twelve had seen the multitude fed ,
seen blind eyes opened, seen the lame to walk.  Is all of this not
proof enough that He is Messiah?  Are they like the others, so void of
understanding the spiritual meaning of what He had said?  He had
taught these twelve to look beyond the physical, or literal, and see
the hidden message.  He had taught them how to interpret parables, and
those lessons were a look into the spiritual.  Jesus says to them,
"Can you not trust me?"  This one percent of true followers, seen in
the Gideon lesson, is about the way in most Christians today.  Only
about one in one hundred are willing to face ridicule from their
friends and family to live the kind of separated life Jesus our Lord
requires of us, if we are to truly be His.

     V-68, "Then Simon Peter answered him, Lord, to whom shall we go?
thou has the words of eternal life."

     Simon and the other eleven had opportunity to follow whoever they
desired.  When Jesus called, they came.  They know from all the
miracles who Jesus is.  They also know that if they are to have life
eternal, it is through Jesus and none other.  They have heard the
words of His preaching and have been totally sure that His Words are
true.  There is no one like Him.  Peter says really, "We have made our
decision to follow you.  We will not turn back now.  Thy Word gives us
the promise of eternal life."

     V-69, "And we believe and are sure that thou art that Christ, the
Son of the living God."

     Jesus the Christ, the Son of the living God, is Jesus' full name
for His stay on the earth.  Christ means Messiah or the Anointed One,
Jesus means Jehovah saves or Saviour.  Son of the living God tells us
without a doubt that Jesus' Father is God.  God is not dead, He is the
great I AM.  I AM has absolute existence for all of eternity.

     V-70, "Jesus answered them, Have not I chosen you twelve, and one
of you is a devil?"

     In Matthew 22:14 we read, "For many are called, but few are
chosen." Out of the great number called as Jesus' followers, Jesus had
chosen twelve.  In Luke 6:12-13 we read, "And it came to pass in those
days, that he went out into a mountain to p ray, and continued all
night in prayer to God."  V-13, "And when it was day, he called unto
him his disciples:  and of them he chose twelve, whom also he named
apostles;"  You see, Jesus Christ had many followers He called
disciples (disciplined ones who follow Him), but there were twelve (a
representative number) He set aside to be apostles.  Judas Iscariot
(the betrayer) was among the twelve.  This really is no different than
it is today.  Many proclaim to be Christians, but few really know
Jesus as Saviour and Lord.  Even of those the world thinks to be close
followers of the Lord, there is always a Judas.

     V-71, "He spake of Judas Iscariot the son of Simon:  for he it
was that should betray him, being one of the twelve."

     Many people believe that Judas did not have a choice, because of
this Scripture.  As we have said so many times before, Judas had a
choice, but Jesus could look ahead in time and know what Judas would
do.





                          John 19 Questions


1.  What did many of the disciples say, when they heard the Lord say,
    they must eat His flesh and drink His blood?
2.  When Jesus knew these disciples were murmuring, what did He say to
    them?
3.  What did Jesus call Himself in verse 62?
4.  Why did He call Himself that to them?
5.  What quickeneth?
6.  The Lord said His words were ________________________________ and
    ________________________________.
7.  What kind of body goes to heaven?
8.  In verse 64, Jesus told them He knew what?
9.  Who were some who did not believe?
10. For what two things had most followed the Lord Jesus?
11. In verse 65, Jesus said no man could come to Him except what?
12. Instead of God predestinating what we will do, what does He do?
13. Who puts the hunger in our hearts for the Saviour?
14. What did many of the disciples do when they heard this teaching of
    the Lord?
15. What question did Jesus ask the twelve?
16. Out of the 32,000 with Gideon how many did God keep?
17. Which of the disciples said, "...to whom shall we go...?
18. Who has the Words of eternal life?
19. In verse 69, what did Peter call Jesus?
20. What was Jesus' full name while He was on the earth?
21. What does Christ mean?
22. What does Jesus mean?
23. What does Son of the living God show us?
24. In verse 70, Jesus says one of the twelve is what?
25. In Matthew 22:14, we read what?
26. What was another name for the twelve disciples?
27. Who was He speaking of as the betrayer?

                                 Notes