True or False?

Genuine disciples come to Jesus because he is the bread. This is why God must do a work in us. Without that work, we would only come to Jesus to get stuff. We’d come to get money, a house, or a better job, but God has shown us the glories of Jesus and drawn us to his Son. Our coming to Jesus is no testimony to our discernment but to his grace.

Here’s a great question to determine whether you’ve come to Jesus for Jesus. If the Father has drawn you to the Son, you will love Jesus, not just his gifts. You will desire him, not just his works. John Piper writes,

The critical question for our generation—and for every generation—is this: If you could have heaven, with no sickness, and with all the friends you ever had on earth, and all the food you ever liked, and all the leisure activities you ever enjoyed, and all the natural beauties you ever saw, all the physical pleasures you ever tasted, and no human conflict or any natural disasters, could you be satisfied with heaven, if Christ was not there? (God Is the Gospel, 15)

False disciples look at Jesus and see a genie in a bottle. He’s there simply to grant their requests. True disciples come to Jesus because he is the prize, not because he dispenses prizes.

On the afternoon described in our text, thousands of false disciples walked away from Jesus. Why did they stop following? They left because it got too difficult (John 6:66). This wasn’t what they signed on for. They signed on for miracles, popularity, and freedom, but not for this. What they heard was too difficult to accept. What part was too difficult, we’re not sure. Maybe they realized Jesus was really claiming to be God, and they said, “Whoa, that’s too much. That’s crazy. I can’t go for that!” Maybe it was because he talked about dying. “Wait, we want you to be king. If you die, how are we going to be fed and taken care of?”

Jesus knew they were grumbling and complaining about what he said: “Does [what I’ve just been saying] offend you?” he asked (v. 61). The word translated “offend” means to “give up believing” or to “fall away.” Eventually, all false disciples will find some reason to fall away, to stop believing. It’s almost as if Jesus were offering them the excuse they were looking for: “I know you guys are looking for a reason to leave; is this it?” Being a disciple is more than saying the right words or being part of a group. Being a disciple of Jesus Christ is making a commitment to follow him with all your life for the rest of your life. Later the apostle John will offer this insight to the local church:

They went out from us, but they did not belong to us; for if they had belonged to us, they would have remained with us. However, they went out so that it might be made clear that none of them belongs to us.(1 John 2:19)

They left. They stopped. They quit. They went out. They fell away. They turned back and no longer walked with Jesus. “Many” of his disciples stopped following him.

After watching these false disciples turn away, Jesus turns to the Twelve and asks them if they want to leave as well. Jesus didn’t ask this question for his sake. He wasn’t alarmed that so many had left. Jesus knew which disciples were his, and he was actively preserving them. This question wasn’t intended to assure Jesus of their commitment to him. It was an opportunity for the disciples to make a confession of faith, which they did (John 6:67-69). Every genuine confession of faith has two parts.

Unless you’ve come to know that Jesus is God, you cannot be his disciple. Simon Peter makes a clear affirmation of Christ’s deity: “We have come to believe and know that you are the Holy One of God” (v. 69). The title the Holy One of God comes from Isaiah, who wrote extensively about the holiness of God. In Isaiah 6 the prophet was transported through a vision into the throne room of God. He’s struck with the awesomeness of God and cries out, “Woe is me for I am ruined!” (v. 5). Circling the throne of God are angels, covering their feet and faces with wings and crying out with voices so loud they shake the foundations of the room. What do they cry? “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of Armies” (v. 3). The impact on Isaiah was so profound that the truth of God’s holiness flowed from his pen. Sixty-two times Isaiah writes about God’s holiness. He can’t get over it. To him the characteristic that defines God is his holiness. He is unlike anyone or anything else. He has an unmatched weightiness and worthiness.

Throughout the book that bears his name, Isaiah refers to God as the “Holy One of Israel.” He does it twenty-five times! So when Peter opens his mouth to confess his faith, he unmistakably declares that Jesus is God: “The Holy One”—a title that could only be used for God. True discipleship can only begin when you know who Jesus is; he is God!

Genuine disciples believe Jesus. They come to him for salvation from their sin and for eternal life. They reject any other way and any other path. Peter’s question in John 6:68, “Lord, to whom will we go?” is stated in such a way that the implied answer is “No one.” We reject anyone else as Savior, Lord, and Master, including ourselves, and we turn to Jesus alone.

Before getting married, many couples draw up a prenuptial agreement. It’s a legal document that details what will happen to the couple’s assets in the case of divorce. Some “experts” in this field suggest videotaping the signing and including in the agreement what will happen to any children in the case of a divorce. After completing this agreement, this couple will at some point in the future stand before a minister or government official and promise, “With this ring I thee wed, and all my worldly goods I thee endow. In sickness and in health, in poverty or in wealth, ’til death do us part.” Shouldn’t they rephrase it this way: “All my worldly goods I thee endow, except for the ones listed in the prenup. ’Til death do us part, or sooner on amicable terms as spelled out in the opening lines of our agreement”? Wouldn’t that be more accurate? Probably not as romantic but definitely more authentic.

We excel at adding the little phrase “but just in case” onto the end of many of our major decisions. The prenuptial agreement is the ultimate “but just in case.” A person stands in front of another person, pledging everything, but with certain things already withheld, just in case. A genuine disciple of Jesus Christ rejects the phrase “but just in case.” A genuine disciple of Jesus Christ depends completely, totally, solely on Jesus for his or her salvation. Like Peter, with clear eyes and resolute will, we proclaim to Jesus, “To whom would we go? You have the words of eternal life.”