READING: 1 Chronicles 10-12, John 6:45-71
“Lord, who will we go to?”
John 6:68
Many who followed Jesus decided that they could no longer do so. They heard him speak of eating flesh and drinking blood (John 6:53-56) and apparently interpreted His words literally. The saying was too strange and too hard for them to understand, and they chose not to accept it. Their departure was not news to Jesus, who “knew from the beginning those who would not believe and the one who would betray Him” (John 6:64). Some of the “disciples” were apparently following Jesus only for what they could get from Him; they had come to Jesus for bread when they were hungry, but they weren’t willing to give themselves fully to Him. Now, they “turned back and no longer accompanied Him” (John 6:66).
When Jesus asked His twelve disciples if they, too, were planning to walk away, it was Simon Peter who answered well: “Lord, who will we go to? You have the words of eternal life” (John 6:68). Peter may not have understood the implications of all he said, and he himself would deny knowing Jesus. At the same time, though, his words were right: only through Jesus would eternal life come. No rabbi, teacher, political king, or priest had that answer. For Peter, holding tightly to Jesus at the moment others left only made sense.
Still, though, billions of people around the world continue today to turn in other directions—e.g., like false gods, wrong theologies, other human beings, themselves, and religions – to try to find eternal life. Sadly, not one of the other perceived “routes to eternal life” ends in anything more than damnation. The reality, however, is that most of these billions of people have no knowledge of Jesus. They do not know that He has the words of eternal life, for they have never even heard His name. Our calling as Christ-followers is, in response, to take the gospel to those places and make disciples (Matt. 28:18-20).
If we don’t get to the nations to tell them about Jesus, to whom will non-believing nationals turn? No one else has the words of eternal life.
ACTION STEPS:
- Plan to take a mission trip with your local church.
- If you are considering international missions, check out the options at https://www.imb.org/trip-finder/.
PRAYER: “Jesus, You alone have the words of eternal life. Burden me to announce those words to others.”
TOMORROW’S READING: 1 Chronicles 13-15, John 7:1-27