DO YOU ALSO WANT TO GO AWAY?
66 FROM THAT TIME MANY OF HIS DISCIPLES WENT BACK AND WALKED WITH HIM NO MORE.
67 Then Jesus said to the twelve, “DO YOU ALSO WANT TO GO AWAY?”
68 But Simon Peter answered Him, “LORD, TO WHOM SHALL WE GO? YOU HAVE THE WORDS OF ETERNAL LIFE."
John 6:66–68 (NKJV)
Comment: In this passage, It was the words of eternal life that Jesus wanted those who departed from Him, those who stopped following Him, to eat. The words of eternal life are meant to be eaten.
Someone who is born of the Spirit, born-again (John 3:5), would need a spiritual food that would keep him or her spiritually healthy and fit. The words of eternal life being referred to in our text that could be gotten from Christ Jesus is the Word that would make a believer thirsty for the things of heaven or eternity.
Apostle Paul in the book of Colossians admonishes the believers:
1 IF THEN YOU WERE RAISED WITH CHRIST, SEEK THOSE THINGS WHICH ARE ABOVE, WHERE CHRIST IS, SITTING AT THE RIGHT HAND OF GOD. 2 SET YOUR MIND ON THINGS ABOVE, NOT ON THINGS ON THE EARTH" (Colossians 3:1,2 NKJV).
Two things are mentioned and spelt out in the above Bible passage to do by believers:
a. Believers should seek those things above, where Christ is (Colossians 3:1).
b. They should set their minds on things above, and not on things on the earth (Colossians 3:2).
When these things are done, a believer would not be carried away by the affairs of life. The person would be conscious of where he or she is going. But the issue is, how many believers today want to hear the words of eternal life?
Contemporary believers want to choose the part of the Bible to read and what to hear and what not to hear (2 Timothy 4:3,4).
It is now that people begin to separate a part of the Bible from other parts. We have heard of some so-called believers who said they would not read Paul's writings, the epistles written by Paul. Yet those writings are part of the canonized Bible! The sole reason why they would not want to read Paul's writings or epistles is because It reproves or condemns the wrong things they are doing.
The epistles of Paul talk mainly about how believers should live their lives. How whoever is having heaven as his or her goal should live and behave (Ephesians 4:17-5:21; Colossians 3:1-4:6).
When you have character defects; wrong character or attitude, you would want to skip the passages of the Bible that talk about such negative characters.
Those who left Jesus, who stopped following Him, were the multitudes who came because of the mundane; food and other material things, mainly to meet their basic needs (John 6:26,27). They would not want to hear the truth. Such seek God only for what to get or receive, they really do not want to have a serious relationship with God.
Now when Jesus told them the truth that the physical food would not be available for them, they would have to eat the person of Him, His flesh; they objected, and departed and stopped following Him completely (John 6:52-58,66).
There are many today in the church with itching ears, who only want to hear what suits their ears—what they wanted to ear. Whatever would not resonate or agree with their own ways of thinking, which is contrary to the Bible; they would not want to hear it. They want the preachers or teachers who would tell them what they desired to hear:
3 FOR THE TIME WILL COME WHEN THEY WILL NOT ENDURE SOUND DOCTRINE, BUT ACCORDING TO THEIR OWN DESIRES, BECAUSE THEY HAVE ITCHING EARS, THEY WILL HEAP UP FOR THEMSELVES TEACHERS; 4 AND THEY WILL TURN THEIR EARS AWAY FROM THE TRUTH, AND BE TURNED ASIDE TO FABLES" (2 Timothy 4:3,4 NKJV).
Some so-called believers only want to hear motivational speakers; whoever would tell them about holiness or being heavenly minded, they would not want to hear such.
Are you among those who have itching ears? Do you want to ear the words of eternal life? Do you crave and want to hear the truth?
Peace.