WEBVTT 00:00:18.960 --> 00:00:22.399 Today is the uh season finale uh of John. 00:00:23.199 --> 00:00:25.519 Uh season one concludes today. 00:00:25.600 --> 00:00:26.960 We'll pick it up in the new year. 00:00:27.039 --> 00:00:34.000 We're going into our Advent series uh uh from next week that will take us up to Christmas time. 00:00:34.159 --> 00:00:46.320 And as we've noted, we've done three sermons in John 6, and we've noted in each of those weeks that actually John 6 starts with this huge crowd and ends with virtually nobody left. 00:00:46.479 --> 00:00:59.039 We go from 20,000 people to 12, that there's a uh a massive decline in the ministry effectiveness of Jesus. 00:00:59.280 --> 00:01:15.599 The resistance to Jesus has mounted, uh, especially through chapter 5 into chapter 6, where we read in chapter 5 that the Pharisees were looking to put him to death, and it looks like, now at the end of chapter 6, like the resistance is willing. 00:01:17.040 --> 00:01:23.280 If you remember John's prologue where it talks about how the light came into the darkness, but the darkness has not overcome it. 00:01:23.439 --> 00:01:27.040 Well, at the end of John 6, it looks like the darkness is winning. 00:01:27.280 --> 00:01:33.359 It looks like the darkness is creeping in because nobody else is there in Jesus' ministry. 00:01:33.519 --> 00:01:34.799 Everybody has left him. 00:01:35.120 --> 00:01:39.200 His earthly ministry at this point lies in tatters. 00:01:43.359 --> 00:01:56.719 It's true, isn't it, that at various points we look around the world and it and it feels like the darkness is winning, like resistance to Jesus is overtaking his people. 00:01:57.439 --> 00:02:03.359 It can seem at various times and in various seasons like God is asleep at the wheel. 00:02:04.159 --> 00:02:13.039 It can seem that through persecutions and injustices and tragedies, that the darkness will win. 00:02:13.439 --> 00:02:21.759 And in our own lives, our own failings or the horrors or tragedies of life, it can feel like the devil has a foothold. 00:02:22.560 --> 00:02:26.080 I use that word because it comes up in our passage. 00:02:26.240 --> 00:02:27.919 One of you is the devil. 00:02:28.240 --> 00:02:55.680 And even in our own souls, if you're a believer in Jesus, uh, one of the things that you realize has happened once you become a believer in Jesus is it's like wars declared in your soul, that there's this constant tension between the spirit and between your flesh, and it can feel at various points like your flesh is winning, that the spirit is being beaten back, that the darkness is creeping back in again. 00:02:56.800 --> 00:03:00.319 Where do we go at those points? 00:03:03.360 --> 00:03:19.120 The answer for us is that we need a very big view, a very robust view, and a very clear view of God's good, sovereign control of the world. 00:03:21.840 --> 00:03:35.280 Understanding that God is sovereign, that is, that He is in control of all things, that a sparrow does not fall to the ground except by the will of uh of my earthly father, Jesus says. 00:03:35.599 --> 00:03:44.240 Understanding that will stabilize you through seasons where it feels like the darkness is creeping in. 00:03:44.479 --> 00:03:48.479 It will be a sanctuary for your soul. 00:03:50.560 --> 00:03:56.719 This theme of the of the sovereignty of God comes up all the way through this passage. 00:03:58.080 --> 00:04:03.919 The sovereignty of God is God's working in all things for his good purposes. 00:04:04.800 --> 00:04:13.840 It's let me draw your attention to four instances where Jesus is reinforcing God's sovereign kingly action. 00:04:15.680 --> 00:04:22.000 Back in verse 43 and verse 44, Jesus answered them, Do not grumble amongst yourselves. 00:04:22.240 --> 00:04:27.759 No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him. 00:04:28.959 --> 00:04:29.920 That's the first one. 00:04:30.079 --> 00:04:34.319 No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him. 00:04:35.199 --> 00:04:48.720 Second, the disciples then begin to grumble in our passage in verse 63, and Jesus says, Uh, it is the spirit who gives life, the flesh is of no help at all. 00:04:48.879 --> 00:04:54.160 It's like your own strength, your own efforts cannot bring you to God. 00:04:54.319 --> 00:04:56.399 The flesh is of no use at all. 00:04:56.560 --> 00:05:01.920 You need the spirit of God to blow into your life. 00:05:02.879 --> 00:05:08.560 You cannot achieve life or create life yourself, it has to be received. 00:05:08.720 --> 00:05:09.839 That's what Jesus is saying. 00:05:10.000 --> 00:05:11.439 Or verse 64. 00:05:12.160 --> 00:05:15.600 People uh don't believe. 00:05:17.040 --> 00:05:29.600 And so Jesus says, uh, there are some of you who don't believe, and verse 65, and he says, This is why I told you that no one can come to me unless it is granted to him by my father. 00:05:30.240 --> 00:05:34.720 And then even after Jesus, or sorry, Peter's profession to Jesus, where else will we go? 00:05:34.800 --> 00:05:39.199 Uh you have the words of eternal life, and we have come to know that you are the holy one of God. 00:05:39.360 --> 00:05:43.279 Jesus, verse 70 answered him, Did I not choose you the twelve? 00:05:43.519 --> 00:05:49.199 He's saying to Peter, don't think that you've come to that realization because you finally realized it. 00:05:49.360 --> 00:05:50.399 It's been revealed to you. 00:05:50.480 --> 00:05:52.720 Did I not choose you the twelve? 00:05:53.279 --> 00:05:55.439 And yet one of you is the devil. 00:05:56.240 --> 00:06:03.199 That the thread of the sovereign action of God runs all the way through this passage. 00:06:03.680 --> 00:06:08.720 And it's very important for us to see, and it's very good for us to realize. 00:06:08.959 --> 00:06:12.879 So let's look at three things about the sovereignty of God in this passage. 00:06:13.040 --> 00:06:17.759 First, the necessity of it, second, the comfort of it, third, the response to it. 00:06:17.920 --> 00:06:20.720 Don't normally do three-point sermons, but this happens to be a three-pointer. 00:06:20.959 --> 00:06:21.920 You're welcome. 00:06:22.399 --> 00:06:25.759 The necessity of the sovereignty of God. 00:06:27.199 --> 00:06:30.399 Why do we need a God who is sovereign? 00:06:31.040 --> 00:06:38.720 Well, because of Jesus' declaration that only the Spirit of God can give life, that the flesh is no help at all. 00:06:38.959 --> 00:06:43.199 That is, he's saying you cannot rationalize your way into the kingdom. 00:06:43.360 --> 00:06:46.319 You cannot reason your way to faith. 00:06:46.399 --> 00:06:56.160 That's not to say that Christianity isn't uh unreasonable or doesn't have reasons behind it, but it's not becoming a Christian is not an intellectual decision, ultimately. 00:06:57.519 --> 00:07:11.279 Jesus is saying, no, no, actually, the opposite is true, that naturally, by your own reason, by your own flesh, what will happen is that you will take offense to Jesus, because that's exactly what we see here. 00:07:11.519 --> 00:07:14.879 People are offended by what Jesus has to say. 00:07:15.040 --> 00:07:26.720 So he says in verse 60, uh, or we read from John in verse 60, when many of the disciples heard it, they said, This is a hard saying, who can listen to it? 00:07:27.279 --> 00:07:33.519 That phrase, this is a hard saying, is not to say that it's intellectually difficult to understand. 00:07:33.680 --> 00:07:37.040 It's not saying that it's hard to get one's head around. 00:07:37.920 --> 00:07:44.240 The people in the ancient world would have understood the metaphor of eating flesh and drinking blood. 00:07:44.560 --> 00:07:51.279 No, when they say it's a hard saying, what they're essentially saying to one another is this is quite harsh of Jesus. 00:07:51.759 --> 00:08:01.680 Jesus is being pretty exclusive, saying that nobody can come to the father, come to the Father unless the Father draws them, that nobody can come to the Father unless they come to me and believe in me. 00:08:01.839 --> 00:08:07.920 Nobody can come to know life until they they feed on me and I'm the bread that came down from heaven. 00:08:08.079 --> 00:08:10.560 They think he's being harsh, they're offended by him. 00:08:10.720 --> 00:08:17.120 It's not that it's intellectually uh hard to understand, it's that it's unpalatable, it's offensive. 00:08:17.279 --> 00:08:20.240 That's what they mean by this is a hard saying. 00:08:20.720 --> 00:08:22.560 It's hard to tick. 00:08:23.040 --> 00:08:25.120 They were offended by Jesus. 00:08:25.360 --> 00:08:26.000 Why? 00:08:26.560 --> 00:08:35.919 Well, because it cuts across their own preferences towards self-sovereignty. 00:08:36.159 --> 00:08:42.080 That they we all think that we can earn our way to God, that God will be pleased with our obedience and our good deeds. 00:08:42.159 --> 00:08:47.759 And Jesus says no, he completely takes the rug from under all of that thinking, and that's offensive. 00:08:48.159 --> 00:08:55.759 Jesus is saying we're incapable of taking the first step towards faith without the Spirit of God blowing into our life. 00:08:55.919 --> 00:08:56.639 Do you see? 00:08:56.879 --> 00:09:01.440 They were offended in this Jewish context by the inference that Jesus is better than Moses. 00:09:01.679 --> 00:09:03.440 They're like, who does this guy think he is? 00:09:03.600 --> 00:09:05.840 We know his mother and his father, we know his brothers. 00:09:06.000 --> 00:09:07.039 This guy's from Nazareth. 00:09:07.120 --> 00:09:08.559 Does anything good come from there? 00:09:08.720 --> 00:09:10.720 And so they're offended by him. 00:09:11.279 --> 00:09:26.399 And what's more, they wanted a Jesus that they could control, one who would fill their bellies, who they could make king on their terms, who would be a king of their design and choosing, and Jesus is having none of it. 00:09:26.559 --> 00:09:28.480 And so they're offended by him. 00:09:29.279 --> 00:09:33.039 But notice who is it that's offended by Jesus? 00:09:33.120 --> 00:09:36.080 Who is it that says, this is pretty harsh of Jesus? 00:09:37.600 --> 00:09:40.720 Verse 60, many of his disciples. 00:09:41.759 --> 00:09:43.600 We've been interacting with the crowd. 00:09:43.679 --> 00:09:48.240 There's the crowd of the 5,000, the 5,000 men, 20,000 people. 00:09:48.480 --> 00:09:54.320 But then around Jesus, there is a larger crowd of disciples. 00:09:55.120 --> 00:09:58.320 We're not talking about the 12 here, we'll get to the 12 in the minute. 00:09:58.399 --> 00:10:00.879 So you want to think of kind of three concentric rings. 00:10:01.039 --> 00:10:13.279 There's Jesus and the 12 in this inner circle, and then there's the wider group of disciples, right, who have been following him in his Galilean ministry, and then there's the crowd. 00:10:13.440 --> 00:10:16.960 And we're talking here about people who had followed Jesus for a while. 00:10:17.120 --> 00:10:19.440 We're talking about the disciples. 00:10:19.600 --> 00:10:20.639 There's larger crowds. 00:10:20.720 --> 00:10:24.480 Some people, uh, some gospel writers give the number at about 120. 00:10:25.840 --> 00:10:28.960 Saying that those people are the ones that leave. 00:10:30.559 --> 00:10:32.559 People had been following Jesus. 00:10:32.720 --> 00:10:38.320 People were like, yes, I think Jesus is the Messiah, but things are getting harder and he's getting more offensive. 00:10:39.679 --> 00:10:42.559 And so they say, No, we're offended by this. 00:10:42.799 --> 00:10:43.840 We're going now. 00:10:44.320 --> 00:10:47.440 And Jesus, Jesus' response to them. 00:10:48.240 --> 00:10:51.120 Verse 61, he asks this question, he says, Do you take advantage? 00:10:51.360 --> 00:10:52.960 Do you take offense at this? 00:10:53.200 --> 00:10:58.960 And then verse 62, then what if you were to see the Son of Man ascend to where he was before? 00:11:01.120 --> 00:11:19.840 Son of Man is Jesus' favorite title for himself, but essentially what Jesus is saying to the disciples is, guys, if you're offended at me saying this, that the Spirit of God must bring faith, must bring life to you, if you're offended by that, it's only going to get worse. 00:11:20.960 --> 00:11:22.320 It's only going to get worse. 00:11:22.480 --> 00:11:32.879 If you're struggling with the implications of my teaching now, when I'm here on earth in gentleness and humility, how will you cope when I ascend to my throne and I show you that I am the sovereign over all creation? 00:11:34.240 --> 00:11:40.399 To say nothing of the fact that the way to that throne is the way of what? 00:11:40.799 --> 00:11:43.039 It's the way of the cross, right? 00:11:44.559 --> 00:11:46.879 That's offensive to the Jewish mind. 00:11:46.960 --> 00:11:50.960 The idea that of Messiah, that's great. 00:11:51.200 --> 00:12:04.720 But the idea of a crucified Messiah, a Messiah humiliated in shame and ignominy, said, guys, the way to my throne is going to be through the way of humiliation and shame and crucifixion. 00:12:04.879 --> 00:12:08.080 If you're offended by me now, it's only going to get worse. 00:12:08.399 --> 00:12:09.279 Do you see? 00:12:13.759 --> 00:12:23.919 Our natural state, you and I, by nature of our of our birth, is to take offense at all of this. 00:12:24.639 --> 00:12:47.120 There is something in each of us that wants to be in charge, that doesn't like being told what to do, that prefers self-governance and self-sovereignty and self-authority rather than the submission to another, even if it is a good sovereign Lord. 00:12:47.440 --> 00:12:53.919 Some of you might be already bristling at some of the things that I've been saying over the last couple of minutes. 00:12:54.080 --> 00:12:59.200 And that is because by nature, this is offensive to us. 00:13:00.399 --> 00:13:09.600 We are predisposed to taking offense to Jesus when he says, you can't do it on your own. 00:13:09.919 --> 00:13:12.480 You need to ask for help. 00:13:13.440 --> 00:13:15.200 You cannot rule yourself. 00:13:15.840 --> 00:13:19.840 I will ascend to my throne and I will show that I am the sovereign over all. 00:13:21.759 --> 00:13:25.200 This is why Jesus says that the flesh is no help at all. 00:13:25.519 --> 00:13:30.240 That salvation has to be has to come from some outside initiative. 00:13:32.240 --> 00:13:35.120 And that outside initiative is the spirit of God. 00:13:35.519 --> 00:13:40.080 And so he says in verse 63, it is the spirit who gives life. 00:13:40.320 --> 00:13:42.559 The flesh is no help at all. 00:13:43.039 --> 00:13:47.279 The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life. 00:13:51.919 --> 00:14:08.320 When Jesus says, the words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life, it's not simply the case that simply by hearing Jesus' words that we are given life in the same way that it's not so simple as just eating bread and drinking wine that automatically confers God's favor. 00:14:08.480 --> 00:14:17.360 No, Jesus is saying that his words are spirit and life when they are accepted by us and trusted and believed. 00:14:20.000 --> 00:14:29.600 You and I need a God who is powerful enough to change our hearts, to transform our natural dispositions and our circumstances. 00:14:30.399 --> 00:14:36.080 If salvation, if becoming a Christian was all on us, we would never come. 00:14:37.440 --> 00:14:38.720 We would never come. 00:14:41.440 --> 00:14:49.679 But because he loves us, he has given us his spirit and his life-laden word. 00:14:50.080 --> 00:14:54.080 And he says, Come, take me at my word, trust me. 00:14:54.480 --> 00:15:00.320 We need a God who is sovereign, who is in control of all things. 00:15:02.240 --> 00:15:04.960 That is the necessity of the sovereign God. 00:15:05.200 --> 00:15:07.440 Secondly, the comfort. 00:15:07.679 --> 00:15:14.000 Because I know as soon as you talk about authorities, everybody can, I don't prefer it. 00:15:14.879 --> 00:15:16.879 But let's see why it's good. 00:15:18.000 --> 00:15:20.879 Let's look at the comfort of a sovereign God. 00:15:22.399 --> 00:15:24.480 Why is Judas here? 00:15:25.679 --> 00:15:32.879 Judas hasn't been mentioned yet in the Gospels, and yet he's uh name-checked in various ways uh in these 11 verses. 00:15:33.039 --> 00:15:35.519 You note them down there in uh verse 64. 00:15:35.600 --> 00:15:39.279 Again, we have this sovereign knowledge of Jesus in the parentheses. 00:15:39.519 --> 00:15:47.279 Jesus knew from the beginning who uh who those who did not believe, and who it was who would betray him. 00:15:47.759 --> 00:15:54.639 And then in verse 70, he says, Uh, did I not choose you the twelve? 00:15:54.720 --> 00:15:57.039 And yet one of you is a devil? 00:15:57.600 --> 00:16:01.039 And then it gets clarified for us in verse 71. 00:16:01.279 --> 00:16:09.279 He spoke of Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot, for he, one of the twelve, was going to betray him. 00:16:10.000 --> 00:16:12.799 Why the emphasis on Judas here? 00:16:13.200 --> 00:16:19.519 Why do we close this section in John's Gospel by this emphasis on Judas? 00:16:24.639 --> 00:16:35.919 It is because it helps us to see the clear and robust sovereignty of God in the face of opposition and resistance. 00:16:38.240 --> 00:16:43.679 Note verse 64 again and 65. 00:16:44.639 --> 00:16:53.519 But there are some of you who do not believe, for Jesus knew from the g from the beginning who those were who did not believe and who it is who would betray him. 00:16:53.679 --> 00:17:02.480 And he said, This is why I told you that no one can come to me unless it is granted him by the Father. 00:17:04.880 --> 00:17:14.240 Judas is there in the twelve, because it has been granted to him by the Father to be there. 00:17:16.319 --> 00:17:19.440 God put him to be there. 00:17:22.160 --> 00:17:27.039 All that he would do, and God put him there. 00:17:30.480 --> 00:17:34.559 Again, verse 70, where Jesus says, Did I not choose you? 00:17:35.839 --> 00:17:36.960 The twelve. 00:17:38.240 --> 00:17:39.920 Isn't that interesting? 00:17:40.480 --> 00:17:43.279 That Jesus doesn't say, I chose eleven of you. 00:17:43.599 --> 00:17:54.640 Eleven of you are great, but that guy, no, I chose you, the twelve, and yet one of you is a devil. 00:17:56.960 --> 00:17:58.799 Why call him a devil? 00:18:00.960 --> 00:18:10.160 Well, again, because at this point the readers of John's gospel and us as well are thinking, well, is the devil winning? 00:18:10.640 --> 00:18:12.480 There's so much opposition to Jesus. 00:18:12.559 --> 00:18:24.880 There's some people that want him dead, his ministry's lying in tatters, everybody's left, including some of the people that were following him for uh for a good number for a good amount of time, and they're all gone as well, and it's just the twelve left. 00:18:24.960 --> 00:18:30.480 And so this question that's hanging in the air at the end of John 6 is does the devil have the upper hand? 00:18:30.720 --> 00:18:32.559 Is the devil winning? 00:18:34.880 --> 00:18:42.160 But the answer from Jesus' teaching here is no, the devil's not winning. 00:18:43.039 --> 00:18:45.759 Jesus has him exactly where he wants him. 00:18:46.400 --> 00:18:51.359 He has him on a lead and has placed him right at the heart of his inner circle. 00:18:51.599 --> 00:18:58.960 And from there, that devil, Judas, will do exactly what God has intended him to do. 00:19:04.000 --> 00:19:15.279 At this point, we could tumble down a very fruitful rabbit worn and ask, well, if Judas is there to carry out the purposes of God, how can he be held responsible? 00:19:16.400 --> 00:19:18.960 We're not going to do that, but I will say this. 00:19:19.680 --> 00:19:25.599 When Judas betrays Jesus, he does so willingly, voluntarily. 00:19:26.000 --> 00:19:41.359 We know this from the scriptures, and we know that actually he was building up to it all the way through because you read Luke's gospel, and one of the things that you read there is that Ludus, Judas was stealing from the common purse that the disciples had all the way through Jesus' ministry. 00:19:41.440 --> 00:19:42.559 He was a thief. 00:19:44.319 --> 00:19:54.000 Judas, like all the rest, was obliged to hear the voice of the Son of God and to come to him and believe, and yet Judas did not. 00:19:54.799 --> 00:19:59.119 And his intent in the end was to portray the Son of God. 00:19:59.279 --> 00:20:01.279 He did so voluntarily. 00:20:02.160 --> 00:20:02.799 Why? 00:20:03.359 --> 00:20:07.920 Because Judas is addicted to self-sovereignty and self-love. 00:20:09.680 --> 00:20:19.759 But God in his sovereignty uses the willful, wicked acts of sinful human beings to bring about his good purposes. 00:20:20.000 --> 00:20:53.680 He places Judas at the heart of the twelve, knowing that he would voluntarily betray Jesus and purposed to use that betrayal that would take Jesus to the cross, where his flesh would be torn like that bread, that the blood would flow, like that wine that he says, Come and eat my flesh and drink my blood, that that's going to happen at the cross, and Judas is going to bring it about that people might eat by faith and live forever. 00:20:54.079 --> 00:20:59.359 That God is going to use the wicked acts of Judas to bring about the salvation of the whole world. 00:20:59.519 --> 00:21:01.519 That's the way that God has always acted. 00:21:01.680 --> 00:21:07.440 You see that back in the book of Genesis, back with Joseph of technically colored dreamcoat flame, fame. 00:21:07.519 --> 00:21:09.920 You know, I close my eyes, that whole bit, right? 00:21:10.319 --> 00:21:11.680 It's good to see your still wick. 00:21:13.279 --> 00:21:22.720 And what happens at the end of the story after he was sold into slavery by his brothers, he becomes the second most powerful in the land of Egypt, second only to Pharaoh, and he meets his brothers again. 00:21:22.799 --> 00:21:27.920 And what he says to his brothers is, You intended for evil, but God intended for good. 00:21:28.559 --> 00:21:35.680 You intended for evil, but God intended for good and for the saving of many lives, even those who are alive today. 00:21:36.960 --> 00:21:42.160 Judas intended for evil, voluntarily, willingly. 00:21:42.640 --> 00:21:49.119 But God, in his sovereign goodness, intended for good and for the saving of many lives. 00:21:51.359 --> 00:21:54.720 You sit there and you say, Mark, you said this was supposed to be a comfort. 00:21:55.119 --> 00:21:56.319 Haven't quite got there yet. 00:21:56.720 --> 00:21:59.599 How is this a comfort for us in this way? 00:22:00.640 --> 00:22:02.640 Not that there aren't still questions about this. 00:22:02.720 --> 00:22:07.839 And we did we did a two-sermon series about a year and a half ago on the sovereignty of God and human responsibility. 00:22:08.000 --> 00:22:10.079 You can check it out on the on the website. 00:22:10.319 --> 00:22:32.160 It's not that there aren't still questions about these things, but the comfort is this that when all hell breaks loose in your life and it feels like the devil is winning and that everything is out of control, you can look at Jesus and he will tell you, yes, yes, yes, there is a devil in your midst, but I've put him there. 00:22:32.400 --> 00:22:35.279 Yes, there's a devil in your midst, but I've put him there. 00:22:35.440 --> 00:22:37.519 I chose him and he will do my will. 00:22:37.680 --> 00:22:40.319 He will bring about my good purposes through you. 00:22:40.480 --> 00:22:46.160 I won't let him do more to you than is purposed by me. 00:22:47.359 --> 00:22:50.880 That you might know life through me and life to the fullest. 00:22:51.039 --> 00:22:54.160 Yes, there's a devil in your ranks, but he's not in charge. 00:22:54.480 --> 00:22:55.119 I am. 00:22:57.119 --> 00:23:06.640 You might not understand how those things can be, just as my disciples couldn't understand how my dying on the cross could save the world, but it did. 00:23:07.359 --> 00:23:25.279 And if I can use the injustice and suffering of that to bring about good, then I can use the devil in your ranks to bring about good and God glorifying goodness and joy in your life and in your circumstances. 00:23:25.519 --> 00:23:30.400 The devil doesn't get to run amok in your life. 00:23:30.720 --> 00:23:35.599 He is under the sovereign control of the God who loves you. 00:23:41.839 --> 00:23:55.759 This is the comfort of the sovereign God that he uses his sovereign control not to keep you from suffering, but to keep you through suffering. 00:23:56.000 --> 00:24:11.440 And to see that you would come out the other side, knowing a deeper knowledge of him, having a clearer, stronger faith in him, having a more vibrant love for him, that Christ might be formed in your life. 00:24:11.599 --> 00:24:12.720 And you know this to be true. 00:24:12.799 --> 00:24:19.359 If you've been through a season of suffering, yes, it's very not, it's not very pleasant in the midst of it. 00:24:20.000 --> 00:24:23.119 But you look back and you say, I'm not the same person that I was. 00:24:23.440 --> 00:24:31.200 You look back and say, I learned more about God and about myself and about what it means to follow him. 00:24:31.759 --> 00:24:34.720 It clarified my values and my loves. 00:24:34.799 --> 00:24:38.720 It helped me to kill sin and grow in trust and faith as a Christian. 00:24:38.880 --> 00:24:49.039 Yes, I didn't see it at the time, but I look back at this season and I've seen how Christ has formed himself in me and how he has preserved me through that season. 00:24:49.200 --> 00:24:53.839 Yes, there was a devil in my ranks, but he didn't have ultimate control. 00:24:54.079 --> 00:24:56.480 Jesus did, and he loves me. 00:24:57.039 --> 00:25:17.279 If he can use that evil to bring about the salvation of the world by his death on the cross, then I trust, I trust my sufferings, I trust those seasons to him, and I ask that he would bring about glory in my life and in those around me. 00:25:17.440 --> 00:25:18.240 Do you see? 00:25:20.400 --> 00:25:22.079 What's the alternative? 00:25:23.519 --> 00:25:34.640 The alternative is to say that suffering happens to you by blind indifference or by the incompetency of God, or that the devil is off a lead and he just does what he likes. 00:25:34.960 --> 00:25:44.640 No, the comfort of a sovereign God is that he uses the sufferings and trials that you go through to bring about his good purposes. 00:25:46.880 --> 00:25:49.920 And so finally, the response to the sovereign God. 00:25:50.640 --> 00:25:54.799 Jesus turns to the twelve disciples and he asks, He says, Do you want to go away as well? 00:25:55.839 --> 00:25:57.839 Do you want to leave too? 00:25:59.440 --> 00:26:03.039 This chapter opens with a question and ends with a question to the disciples. 00:26:03.119 --> 00:26:09.519 He begins, he asks Philip at the start of John says, where are we going to get all where are we going to get bread to feed these guys? 00:26:11.440 --> 00:26:13.680 How will we provide for this crowd? 00:26:13.920 --> 00:26:20.319 And what we see there is that they're the disciples, the 12, are still thinking materially, but now actually there's been a development. 00:26:20.559 --> 00:26:28.480 They've seen the miracle, they've heard the teaching, and now actually faith has been aroused in the disciples. 00:26:28.880 --> 00:26:30.240 There's a change here. 00:26:30.480 --> 00:26:40.559 The Father is drawing the eleven, clarifying faith for them, helping them to see that Jesus is the one who has the words of eternal life. 00:26:43.759 --> 00:26:50.400 Note the the link between Peter, so Peter says, Lord, to whom shall we go? 00:26:50.640 --> 00:26:52.240 You have the words of eternal life. 00:26:52.400 --> 00:26:55.440 Now Jesus has said something similar on up in verse 63. 00:26:55.599 --> 00:26:57.440 It is the spirit who gives life. 00:26:57.599 --> 00:26:59.759 The flesh is no help at all. 00:27:00.480 --> 00:27:01.839 He understands. 00:27:02.160 --> 00:27:07.119 But one of the things that you need to note from verse 63 is that's all present tense, it's not future. 00:27:07.279 --> 00:27:11.839 When Jesus says the spirit gives life, saying, Spirit gives you life now. 00:27:13.039 --> 00:27:15.519 Forgiveness is available now. 00:27:16.720 --> 00:27:23.839 Just as the bread and wine nourish you now, so the spirit of God is salvation to you now. 00:27:24.079 --> 00:27:27.200 There is forgiveness by his grace now. 00:27:27.359 --> 00:27:32.240 There is change of heart now, and the disciples begin to see it. 00:27:34.160 --> 00:27:39.440 What's more, Peter recognizes that there's nowhere else to go to find life. 00:27:39.759 --> 00:27:43.839 It's as though he turns to Jesus and says, We've we've considered it. 00:27:44.720 --> 00:27:48.799 We've thought about going, we've thought about leaving you too. 00:27:49.359 --> 00:27:56.640 But when we stopped and really thought about it, there's no other Lord that surpasses you. 00:27:56.799 --> 00:28:01.440 There's no better salvation, no fuller meaning, there's no other philosophy. 00:28:01.599 --> 00:28:03.359 They all come up short. 00:28:05.839 --> 00:28:08.160 This is something for us all to consider. 00:28:11.200 --> 00:28:21.519 When we are deep in our doubts and our questions, when we are wearied by suffering and trial, one of the things to consider and to wrestle with is is there somewhere better to go? 00:28:22.559 --> 00:28:24.240 Is there a better Lord? 00:28:24.480 --> 00:28:27.200 Is there a more life-giving Lord? 00:28:27.440 --> 00:28:28.799 What's the alternative? 00:28:28.960 --> 00:28:31.759 That's essentially what Peter is saying to Jesus. 00:28:33.440 --> 00:28:34.079 Where else will we go? 00:28:34.240 --> 00:28:35.759 You have the words of eternal life. 00:28:35.839 --> 00:28:37.680 Is there a better Lord to follow? 00:28:38.559 --> 00:28:41.680 Is it better to believe that there is no God at all? 00:28:42.079 --> 00:28:45.839 Does that solve the problem of suffering and evil? 00:28:47.039 --> 00:28:53.119 Or does it just mean that my indignation at suffering is ultimately baseless? 00:28:53.440 --> 00:28:59.759 That there's no meaning beyond which I can create for myself and which can be taken away by suffering in a moment? 00:29:00.079 --> 00:29:01.200 To whom shall we go? 00:29:01.359 --> 00:29:02.960 Is that a better Lord? 00:29:03.599 --> 00:29:07.359 Is it better to believe that we would flourish more under our own authority? 00:29:07.519 --> 00:29:13.200 Would that bring us more joy, a joy that cannot be taken away by suffering, rejection, or failure? 00:29:13.359 --> 00:29:14.720 To whom shall we go? 00:29:15.039 --> 00:29:16.880 Is that a better Lord? 00:29:18.480 --> 00:29:22.799 Is it better to walk away because you're angry at God? 00:29:24.640 --> 00:29:27.359 Because of your suffering in your present or in your past? 00:29:27.599 --> 00:29:29.119 God's big enough for your anger. 00:29:29.200 --> 00:29:33.759 I'm not saying that you shouldn't be angry at God, but don't let it drive you away. 00:29:33.920 --> 00:29:36.000 Take your anger to him. 00:29:39.119 --> 00:29:41.119 Is it better to walk away? 00:29:41.759 --> 00:29:44.720 Will that change the reality of the suffering that you've been through? 00:29:44.880 --> 00:29:46.559 Will that lessen the pain? 00:29:46.799 --> 00:29:48.799 Will that help you to go on? 00:29:50.559 --> 00:29:52.079 To whom shall you go? 00:29:53.039 --> 00:29:54.960 Is there a better Lord? 00:29:59.759 --> 00:30:05.839 Peter says to Jesus, we don't have all of our questions answered. 00:30:06.079 --> 00:30:10.799 There are things that still confuse us, provoke us, even offend us. 00:30:11.839 --> 00:30:13.920 But we've never met anybody like you. 00:30:14.960 --> 00:30:21.920 No one more tender and more gentle, and yet also more authoritative and provined. 00:30:23.279 --> 00:30:34.000 Someone so powerful and yet so willing to be betrayed, someone so worthy of honor and yet willing to be humiliated. 00:30:37.279 --> 00:30:43.680 As we close this part of John's gospel, we're left at the same sort of crossroads. 00:30:43.920 --> 00:30:51.599 Do you take offense at Jesus and his words and walk away, or do you come and receive spirit and life? 00:30:52.480 --> 00:30:55.039 Do you say I reject this teaching? 00:30:55.119 --> 00:31:00.400 Or do you say, Lord, this teaching's hard and it's confusing and I have questions? 00:31:01.839 --> 00:31:03.759 But I see that you have the words of eternal life. 00:31:04.400 --> 00:31:05.759 I'm not going anywhere. 00:31:06.880 --> 00:31:11.599 Be patient with me, Lord, uh, teach me, show me. 00:31:14.000 --> 00:31:16.319 Or do you say, Do you know what, Jesus? 00:31:16.559 --> 00:31:18.160 I'll die for my own sins. 00:31:18.319 --> 00:31:19.279 Thanks very much. 00:31:21.440 --> 00:31:35.440 Or do you come in humility and faith to the one who will forgive now, nourish you now, preserve you to the end, and raise you up on the last day, as he has promised in this passage? 00:31:39.599 --> 00:31:41.119 Where will you go? 00:31:43.359 --> 00:31:46.720 Will you stick with the one who has the words of eternal life? 00:31:47.039 --> 00:31:50.079 Or will you take offense at Jesus?