Many Disciples Desert Jesus
60On hearing it, many of his disciples said, "This is a hard teaching. Who can accept it?"
61Aware that his disciples were grumbling about this, Jesus said to them, "Does this offend you? 62What if you see the Son of Man ascend to where he was before! 63The Spirit gives life; the flesh counts for nothing. The words I have spoken to you are spirit and they are life. 64Yet there are some of you who do not believe." For Jesus had known from the beginning which of them did not believe and who would betray him. 65He went on to say, "This is why I told you that no one can come to me unless the Father has enabled him."
66From this time many of his disciples turned back and no longer followed him.
67"You do not want to leave too, do you?" Jesus asked the Twelve.
68Simon Peter answered him, "Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. 69We believe and know that you are the Holy One of God."
70Then Jesus replied, "Have I not chosen you, the Twelve? Yet one of you is a devil!" 71(He meant Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot, who, though one of the Twelve, was later to betray him.)
1. Why do you think many of the disciples turned back and no longer followed him?
2. How does Simon Peter's statement, "You have the words of eternal life" vs.68, reflect his belief in Jesus Christ?
3. How have Jesus' words given life to you?
1 comment:
Q1: Some of the disciples no longer followed Jesus at this point because perhaps they didn't fully understand what he was saying and didn't have the desire to understand.
Many of them seemed to have wanted more miraculous evidence that Jesus was actually someone important, with authority, sent by God, and who could even help them "advance"so to speak if they followed Him.
Some of them may also have felt that what He was asking required more of a commitment than they were willing to make. It may have felt too different from what they had already perceived as the "proper" way to serve God (through the keeping of the Law) and they preferred to stick to what they already knew.
Q2:Simon Peter showed that he was willing to follow Jesus and give Him his all, since He "had the words of eternal life." He recognized that all other pursuits apart from Jesus were worthless.
Q3: Jesus' words have given life to me by encouraging me in precisely the way I need to be, at the right times, and by giving me timely, wise direction for my life in both immediate and long term situations. He has helped me avoid decisions that would lead to death and destruction in my life. And He has give me so much life, that He has allowed me to have enough spiritually to share with others ... to become an encouragement to others that are still seeking light and life themselves.
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