Questioning God’s Word! John 6:59-66

Text: "But be ye doers of the Word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves."

James 1:22.

          “But He (Christ Jesus) said, Yea rather, blessed are they that hear the Word of God, and keep it.”

Luke 11:28.

Good morning, obedient Christian!  When you read the Word of God, and thereby ‘hear’ what the Lord God has revealed unto us in His Word - you do not seek to question God’s Word, but hasten to do what God’s Word is teaching you to do.  Praise God for non-questioning Bible readers!

“God is not a man, that He should lie; neither the son of man, that He should repent (say and not do); hath He said, and shall He not do it?  Or hath He spoken, and shall He not make it good? “                         (Numbers 23:19)

God says what He means in His Word, and means exactly what He says!

As Christ taught in the synagogue at Capernaum, He spoke in what should have been clearly heard as ‘plain speech’.  He used long-established figurative and symbolic illustrations concerning His Body and His Blood that all  in the Jewish tradition should have been able to discern.  But, either they did not understand, or they just downright would not seek to understand Him!

Of course, with hindsight, we Bible Scholars now know that this was a clear fulfillment of historical Old Testament prophecy - and what the Bible prophesies ALWAYS comes to pass.

“Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, Whom shall I send, and who will go for Us?  Then said I (Isaiah), Here I am; send me.  And He (the Lord) said, Go, and tell this people, Hear ye indeed, but understand NOT; and see ye indeed, but perceive NOT…lest they see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and convert (to be Christians), and be healed (from sin).”  (Isaiah 6:8-10)

There are none so blind and those who will not see, none so deaf as those who will not hear.  Some fools believe that ignorance is bliss.  How sad.

However, the Lord Jesus, being infinite in His patience with us all, left His hearers at the synagogue in absolutely no doubt of the meaning of His symbolic words.  He openly informed all hearers that He was not speaking about any literal eating of His Body, or drinking of His Blood.  He was speaking Spiritually, not literally.

“It is the Spirit that quickened; the flesh profiteth nothing; the words that I speak unto you, they are Spirit, and they are life.  But there are some of you that believe not.  For Jesus KNEW from the beginning who they were that believed not, and who would betray Him.”  (Vs. 63-64)

If the Bible makes clear sense - don’t seek to make nonsense out of it!

When Christ spoke symbolically in the Capernaum synagogue concerning His Body and His Blood - some of His disciples, not the twelve, ‘…murmured at it…’; they said, ‘This is a hard saying; who can hear it?’  (Vs. 60-61)

When He made mention of His ‘…ascending up where He was before (Heaven)…’, the murmuring, and unbelief undoubtedly became much worse.

Then, when the Lord Jesus proclaimed the absolute Sovereignty of His Father in Heaven in all things pertaining to the Salvation of man - ‘…many of His disciples went back, and walked no more with Him.’  (V.65-66)

You see, the heart of fallen man likes to think that he/she can just come unto Christ Jesus and be saved whenever it pleases self to do so.  However, that is most definitely not the case.  Christ set forth the fact that, ‘…No man can come unto Me, except it (saving faith?) were given unto him/her of My Father.”  (V.65)  (Ephesians 2:8-9)

Fallen mankind hates to acknowledge the Sovereignty of the Living Lord God!

The Lord God Whom I seek to obey, serve, love and worship is completely Sovereign over all my puny self. He is Sovereign in Creation; He is Sovereign in power; He is Sovereign in wisdom; and He is most certainly Sovereign in all things pertaining to my soul’s Salvation. 

I am NOTHING but a Hell-deserving sinner, saved by God’s Sovereign grace. Hallelujah!  What a Sovereign Lord and Saviour!  Jesus Lives!  Rejoice all repentant sinners!  It is the Lord God Who saves our souls!

Thought:  Who is in Sovereign control of YOUR soul, beloved friend?