(1) Structure
v.64b (For Jesus had already known from the beginning who those were who did not believe, and who it was who would betray him.)
a. who did not believe
b. who would betray him
(2) Who did not believe v.60-65
6:65 So Jesus added, “Because of this I told you that no one can come to me unless the Father has allowed him to come.
Jesus repeated what he had said in v.44 herer to explain why some people did not believe. Basically, God would allow people to come, and people need to respond and come. Now, in the context of v.60-65 we now know that people come because of the words of Jesus, and that was the factor that why some people decided not to believe v.64.
These phrases all pointed out that the center of the argument was the words of Jesus: "a difficult saying" v.60 (causing an adverse reaction because of being hard or harsh, hard, harsh, unpleasant-BDB; demanding-NET), "complaining about," v.61, "cause you to be offended?" v.61 (to shock through word or action, give offense to, anger, shock-BDB), "the words that I have spoken to you are spirit and are life. v.63."
Which part of Jesus' words were unpleasant and caused anger to the people?
To those who would leave, Jesus said,
v.62 Then what if you see the Son of Man ascending where he was before?
From Peter, one of the 12 who remained,
6:68 Simon Peter answered him, “Lord, to whom would we go? You have the words of eternal life. 6:69 We have come to believe and to know that you are the Holy One of God!”
We can deduce that the Words which caused the complaint were those about Jesus as the One coming from Heaven and gives eternal life. One day He would ascend back to where He was before.
(3) who would betray him v.66-71
Immediately after the argument of Jesus' words, many disciples left and only 12 did not go away. They were represented by Peter and confessed that Jesus' words are the words of eternal life. He is the Holy One of God.
(NET) concerns directly the disciples’ personal loyalty to Jesus, in contrast to those other disciples who had deserted him (John 6:66).
However, among this group of loyal followers, 1 of them is the devil v.70. He was Judas, the one going to betray him. Scripture emphasized twice that Judas was, " one of you," v.700 and "one of the 12" v.71.
Reflection: The Father caused people to come, and people need to respond and come. These people come because they hear the words of Jesus. All 3 parties were involved in order for us to have eternal life. Therefore, many left. Even among those left, there was still one who was the devil. How precious for us to be the elected and be saved!
Judas got all the privileges that the rest of the disciples had. He followed Jesus all the time until the last Supper, and he heard all His teachings. From the beginning of John, in 2:24-25, John described some pseudo-believers. Do we waste all the timing hearing the Sunday sermons, coming to church, and reading the Bible, yet we have not believed? Believe means we understand what we hear, we agree that it is true, and finally trust that truth. Have you?
Audrey
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