John 6:62-64

62 What then if you should see the Son of Man ascend where He was before? 

63 It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing. The words that I speak to you are spirit, and they are life. 

64 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 would betray Him

“Words of Spirit and Life”

Jesus is dealing with unbelief, not only from the people He had fed miraculously, but also from people who were supposed to be His disciples. Jesus was expecting more of them than they thought they could give. These “disciples” were having commitment issues. This is why they said that Jesus had said “a hard saying”. (vs. 60) In verse 62, Jesus asks, paraphrasing, “What if you were to see Me ascend back to where I came from? Then would you believe that I came down from heaven? Then would you believe that I am God?” He is speaking of His ascension back to the Father after His crucifixion and resurrection. If they couldn’t accept Jesus as their “bread” of life…..the only “bread” they truly needed, then there is no way they believed that He was actually God in the flesh who created the earth and everything in it. (John 1:3)

In verse 63, Jesus refers back to His discussion with Nicodemus about spirit and flesh in John 3:6-8. He takes this idea a little further when He says, paraphrasing, “It is the Spirit who gives life, the flesh is worthless. My words are spirit-filled. They are the words of eternal life.” Looking back at John 3:6, Jesus says, “Flesh is flesh”, meaning it is weak or frail. We are no more than a sack of bones, muscles, etc. without the Spirit. Remember Ezekial and the dry bones? God said He would give them a “new heart” and put a “new spirit” within them. Their heart of stone would be replaced with a soft heart like flesh……a heart that would follow God. This is a prophecy about the coming of the Messiah. The people who truly become followers of Jesus will have their heart changed from stone to soft pliable flesh, and their dead bones would be filled with life. (Ezekiel 36:26-27) Jesus told Nicodemus in John 3:8 that the wind blows where it wants, but we can’t tell where it is going, because we can’t see it. Nicodemus was like we are when it comes to the wind. He couldn’t see/understand what Jesus was saying about the spirit…..yet. The unbelievers in these verses were in the same boat. Just like we can’t see the wind, they refused to see the spiritual things that Jesus was speaking of. They refused to even try to see it. The world today also refuses to rely on the spiritual things that bring eternal life, and continues to rely on the physical things that only lead to spiritual death. 

In verse 64, Jesus acknowledges the problem. Jesus’ sayings were “hard” sayings to these “disciples”, because they didn’t truly believe in Him. They were false disciples…..pretenders! Maybe they wanted the status of being a follower of Christ, but didn’t want to actually follow what He said. Maybe they wanted to be seen with the “miracle man”, but when He started speaking about spiritual things, and true commitment to Him…..aka. “eating His flesh and drinking His blood”, they were done following Him. Doesn’t this sound familiar within the world today, and even in the church today? “I’ll follow Christ when it is convenient. I’ll follow Christ when it suits my lifestyle. I attend church so that makes me a follower of Christ.” I completely agree we need to be in the assembly every time the doors are open, but there is so much more to being a Christian than just showing up at the building. It certainly took me a while to figure that out. 

The second part of verse 64 says that Jesus knew all along who was going to forsake Him, yet He still allowed them to follow Him as His disciples. He knew who the pretenders were from the start. It also mentioned that He knew who would eventually betray Him. He knew Judas’ heart. Judas obviously didn’t stop following Him on this particular day, but Jesus already knew that His heart was hard. Maybe some of these people who were false disciples at this time, became true disciples later on when the church was established. I hope so. But, we know what happened to Judas. So very sad. It blows my mind that Jesus has always known my heart. He knew back when I was just a pretender, whether I would get my act together and become a true follower or not. He knew the exact moment that my heart would start to soften and change. He sees past everything …..all the way to what I am capable of doing for Him, just like He saw all that Simon would do on the day that He changed his name to Peter. 

God means for everyone to learn what the Bible teaches about how to be saved. It only takes an open heart for Jesus, and a willingness to put away what we’ve been taught in the past, and truly read what God’s Word says for ourselves…..and then accept what it says and obey it. If I can help you in any way, I would love to! Are you walking in the light? Are you in Christ? Are you saved? If you aren’t or you are not sure if you are, I’d love to help you. Are you a member of the Lord’s church, but are struggling spiritually in your walk with Christ? If you are…..believe me, I’ve been there many times, and I’d love to help you. If you have any questions, please reach out. 

I love God’s Word. It challenges me to be better…..to do more in His service. It is interesting and keeps me on the edge of my seat wondering what is going to happen next. It gives me confidence and builds me up, and it brings me to my knees when my soul needs convicting! Thank you Father for the wonderful gift of Your Word!

God’s Plan of Salvation

Below is the plan that God has set forth in His Word, for humankind to receive His grace that leads to salvation and an eternity with God in heaven. This plan is straight from the Bible. 

We have to hear His word. (Romans 10:17) 

Upon hearing the message of Jesus, we believe it. (Mark 16:16) 

Then, we confess Jesus’ name before men. (Matthew 10:32) 

Next, we repent of our sins. (Acts 2:38, Acts 3:19) 

Finally, we are baptized into Christ for the remission of our sins.  (Acts 2:38, Matthew 28:18-20, Mark 16:16, Romans 6:3-4, Acts 22:16, 1 Corinthians 12:13, Galatians 3:26-27) After baptism, God adds us to His church. (Acts 2:47)