Question:

Have you ever really wanted to do something, but when you started, you realized it's not what you expected and you gave up?

 


John 6:60-71 - Many Disciples Leave Jesus

60 Jesus’ disciples heard this. Many of them said, “This is a hard teaching. Who can accept it?”

61 Jesus was aware that his disciples were complaining about his teaching. So he said to them, “Does this upset you? 62 Then what if you see the Son of Man go up to where he was before? 63 The Holy Spirit gives life. The body means nothing at all. The words I have spoken to you are full of the Spirit. They give life. 64 But there are some of you who do not believe.” Jesus had known from the beginning which of them did not believe. And he had known who was going to hand him over to his enemies. 65 So he continued, “This is why I told you that no one can come to me unless the Father helps them.”

66 From this time on, many of his disciples turned back. They no longer followed him. 67 “You don’t want to leave also, do you?” Jesus asked the 12 disciples.

68 Simon Peter answered him, “Lord, who can we go to? You have the words of eternal life. 69 We have come to believe and to know that you are the Holy One of God.”

70 Then Jesus replied, “Didn’t I choose you, the 12 disciples? But one of you is a devil!” 71 He meant Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot. Judas was one of the 12 disciples. But later he was going to hand Jesus over to his enemies.


Discussion questions:

  1. In verse 60, many of Jesus' disciples said, "This is a hard teaching. Who can accept it?" Why was Jesus' teaching so difficult to accept? Have you ever struggled with accepting something in God’s Word?
  2. Read verse 63. What do you think Jesus means by this? How can we ensure that we are being guided by the Spirit and not our flesh?
  3. Which two types of contrasting responses to Jesus’ teachings can we see in this passage? What do they reveal about the nature of following Jesus?
  4. Peter's response in verse 68 is powerful: "Lord, who can we go to? You have the words of eternal life." What is the basis of Peter’s decision? How can we have this dependence on Jesus?
  5. The passage ends with Jesus acknowledging that one of the Twelve is "a devil" (Judas). What can we learn from the fact that even among Jesus' closest disciples, there was one who would betray him?
  6. What’s the most challenging part of this passage to you? How would you respond?