SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 4/20/2016 9:54 AM
I want to
quote from Dr. Warren Wiersbe’s commentary on the verses we are currently
looking at, John 6:60-71, and I caution that we may repeat some of these things
in future Spiritual Diaries on these verses.
I have mentioned many times in my Spiritual Diaries how much I
appreciate Dr. Wiersbe who puts the cookies on the shelf where you can reach
them.
“Departing (vv. 60-71): Our Lord’s teaching was not hard to understand
but hard to accept once you understood it.
The Jewish religious leaders both misunderstood His words and rejected
them. They were ‘offended’ by what He
taught. (The Greek word is ‘scandalized.’) They stumbled over the fact that He claimed
to come down from heaven. They also
stumbled over the idea that they had to eat His flesh and drink His blood in
order to be saved. But if they stumbled
over these two matters, what would they do if they saw Him ascend back into
heaven? (John 6:62).
“Jesus
explained that His language was figurative and spiritual, not literal. There is no salvation in ‘flesh.’ In fact, the New Testament has nothing good
to say about ‘the flesh.’ There is
nothing good in it (Rom. 7:18) and we must not have confidence in it (Phil.
3:3).
“How, then
do we ‘eat His flesh and drink His blood’?
Through the Word. ‘The words that I speak unto you, they are
spirit and they are life’ (John 6:63). ‘And
the Word became flesh’ (John 1:14). Our
Lord said the same thing ‘He that heareth My word and believeth on Him that
sent Me, hath everlasting life’ (John 5:24).
The scribes who knew Jeremiah 31:31-34 would have understood the concept
of receiving God’s Word into one’s inter being.
“The result
of this message was the loss of most of our Lord’s disciples. They went back to the old life, the old
religion, and the old hopeless situation.
Jesus Christ is ‘the way’ (John 14:6), but they would not walk with
Him. This was no surprise to the Lord,
because He knows the hearts of all people.
“When Jesus
asked His 12 Apostles if they planned to desert Him too, it was Peter who spoke
up and declared their faith. Where else
could they go? ‘thou hast the words of
eternal life.’ Peter got the
message! He knew that Jesus was speaking
about the Word and not about literal
flesh and blood.
“Peter was
one of several people who declared their belief that Jesus is the Son of God
(see John 1:34, 49; 3:18; 5:25; 9:35; 10:36; 11:4, 27; 19:7; 20:31). The only mistake he made was to bear witness
for the entire group. Peter was sure
that all of the Apostles were believers, which shows how convincing Judas
was. Even Peter did not know that Judas
was an unbeliever!
“The
preaching of the Word of God always leads to a sifting of the hearts of the
listeners. God draws sinners to the
Saviour through the power of truth, His Word.
Those who reject the Word will reject the Saviour. Those who receive the Word will receive the
Saviour and experience the new birth, eternal life.
“Do you feel your need because there is a
spiritual hunger within? Are you willing
to admit that need and come to the Saviour?
If you will, He will save you and satisfy you forever!”
Answer to yesterday’s Bible question: “Samuel” (1 Samuel 1:20).
Today’s Bible question:
“Who wrote a New Testament book urging his readers to be doers of the
word, and not hearers only?”
Answer in our next SD.
4/20/2016 10:20 AM
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