1. Grumbling about Bread From Heaven (verses 41-51)
2. Disputing about Eating His Flesh (verses 52-59)
3. Grumbling about the Hard Saying (verses 60-65)
4. Turning Away from Jesus (verses 66-71)

There are many things in the Bible that are hard to believe.

It is hard to believe that God created the world merely by speaking it into existence (Genesis 1). It is hard to believe that the entire earth was under water at one point, with only Noah and his family safe in the ark (Genesis 7). It is hard to believe that Sarah bore a child when she was 90 years old (Genesis 18:10-14, 21:1-7). It is hard to believe that Lot's wife turned to salt when she looked back at the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah (Genesis 19:26). It is hard to believe that all of the plagues came upon Egypt, just as Moses foretold (Exodus 7-12). It is hard to believe that manna came down from heaven every day for forty years, which was able to feed the Hebrew people in the wilderness (Exodus 16). It is hard to believe that the sun stood still for a day, allowing Israel more daylight to defeat the Amorites in battle (Joshua 10:12-14). It is hard to believe that Balaam's donkey spoke to him when he was on the way to meet with Balak (Numbers 22:21-33). It is hard to believe that the walls of Jericho fell down flat precisely when the people shouted and blew their trumpets (Joshua 6:20). It is hard to believe that the fire came down from heaven and consumed Elijah's drenched altar on Mount Carmel (1 Kings 18:2-40). It is hard to believe that Elijah ascended into heaven in a whirlwind on chariots of fire (2 Kings 2:11-12). It is hard to believe that Elisha raised a child from the dead (2 Kings 4:32-37). It is hard to believe that an axe head made of iron floated (2 Kings 6:6). It is hard to believe that Jonah survived three days and nights inside the belly of a great fish (Jonah 1:17).

All of these things are hard to believe. They all go beyond our regular observations and expectations of what we know of life. We don't see these sorts of things regularly. It's hard to believe that they really happened. But that's just the Old Testament.

There are plenty of things in the New Testament that are hard to believe as well. It is hard to believe that Jesus was born of a virgin (Matthew 1:18-25). All of the miracles of Jesus are hard to believe, how Jesus cleansed the leper with a touch (Matthew 9:1-8), how Jesus raised Jairus' daughter from the dead (Matthew 9:18-26), how Jesus healed the man with a withered hand (Matthew 12:9-14). Or, as we have seen in the gospel of John, how Jesus turned gallons of water into wine (John 2:1-11), how Jesus healed the royal official's son from 20 miles away (John 4:46-54), how Jesus fed the 5,000 (John 6:1-14), how Jesus walked on water (John 6:16-21). In future weeks, we will see Jesus give sight to a blind man (John 9), we will see Jesus raise Lazarus from the dead, after four days in the tomb (John 11). Perhaps, most miraculous of all, is the resurrection of Jesus (John 20), followed by his ascension into heaven (Luke 24).

All of these events are in the Gospel accounts, and they are hard to believe. But there is more in the New Testament that is hard to believe.

The book of Acts is filled with miracles as well. Peter healed a lame beggar (Acts 3:1-10). An angel opened the prison doors to release Peter and John, so that they could go out and preach to the crowds (Acts 5:19-20). Peter healed Aeneas, who had been paralyzed for eight years (Acts 9:32-35). Peter raised Tabitha from the dead (Acts 9:36-42). Paul healed a crippled man at Lystra (Acts 14:8-10), so that the village began worshiping him because of the power he showed.

All of these things are hard to believe. Yet, if you believe in a powerful God, who created the heavens and the earth, you can trust that these things really happened.

But it's not only events in the Bible that are hard to believe. There are teachings in the Bible that are hard to believe as well.

To begin with, there's the gospel! The gospel is hard to believe! Especially in our works-oriented America, where everybody earns their way! You work hard and you will be rewarded. But the gospel isn't "work hard to do good and you will be rewarded." No. The gospel is that you can't earn anything, except your damnation. The only way to be right with God is through faith in Jesus. He is the only way to God. Jesus said, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me" (John 14:6). We come by faith alone, and not in what we do. That's hard to believe.

Jesus is hard to believe. When we read the gospels, we see a man, who was born as a baby (Luke 2:7), who hungered (Matthew 4:2) and thirsted (John 19:28) as we do, who experienced fatigue (John 4:6), who experienced emotions, like anger (Mark 3:5) and joy (Luke 10:21) and sorrow (John 11:35) and compassion (Matthew 9:36). Yet, there are statements in the Bible that tell us that Jesus is God (John 1:1, 14), who created the world (Colossians 1:16-17), who shares glory and honor with the Father (John 17:5; John 5:23), who can forgive sins (Mark 2:5-7), who has authority over life and death (John 11:25-26), who will judge the world (Acts 17:30-31). This is hard to believe, because Jesus is so different than any being that we have experienced in our lives. Truly man, truly God.

When you come to one of these things that is hard to believe, you have a choice to make. Either you can simply refuse to believe it. Or you can embrace it, not fully understanding how it can be, yet trusting the Lord that if it's in the Bible, it must be true.

Well, this morning, as we come to the Scriptures, we are going to see some hard things to believe. You will have the choice to make. Are you going to believe what the Bible says, even if you don't fully understand it all? Or, will you not believe, because it's hard to believe? So, open your Bibles to the gospel of John and turn to chapter 6. Lord willing, we will finish this chapter this morning.

The title of my message this morning is "Hard Sayings of Jesus," because John, chapter 6 is filled with hard sayings of Jesus, that is, sayings of Jesus that are hard to believe. They are so hard to believe that by the end of the chapter, Jesus has only twelve followers left, out of thousands who followed him because he fed them.

The chapter begins with the account of Jesus feeding the 5,000. Then proceeds to tell of how Jesus walked on the water. Then, at the heart of the chapter is argument that Jesus has with the Jews about bread. It's a natural topic, as Jesus just fed the 5,000 with bread. The conversation sort of spins in circles. Jesus told the Jews that they were seeking him only because he gave them bread (John 6:26). He told them to work for the food that endured to eternal life (John 6:27). They asked, "What must we do, to be doing the works of God?" (John 6:28). Jesus said, "This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent" (John 6:29). They asked, "What sign do you give?" (John 6:30). Jesus said, "the bread of God is he who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world" (John 6:33). They said, "Sir, give us this bread always" (John 6:34). Jesus replied, "I am the bread of life" (John 6:35).

As we spoke last week, this is one of the seven, "I am" statements in the gospel of John. I am the bread of life. I am the light of the world. I am the door. I am the good shepherd. I am the resurrection and the life. I am the way, the truth, and the life. I am the true vine.

Last week, I sort of quizzed you all if you remembered these seven "I Am" statements. Someone mentioned last week about Jesus being the living water. I promised that I would look at it. It's true that Jesus is living water, but in the gospel of John, Jesus never says, "I am the living water." Instead, Jesus says things like this, "The water that I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life" (John 4:14). "Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, 'Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water'" (John 7:38). But these seven "I am" statements are the explicit statement of Jesus in the gospel of John.

Coming back to John, chapter 6. Jesus said, "I am the bread of life" (verse 35). The Jews did not like this. We pick up our text in verse 41,

John 6:41
So the Jews grumbled about him, because he said, "I am the bread that came down from heaven."

This is the point of my introduction. Rather than humbly receiving what Jesus says about himself, rather than believing the hard thing to believe, the Jews grumbled at what Jesus said. This is my first point:

1. Grumbling about Bread From Heaven (verses 41-51)

The Jews were not at all convinced that Jesus had come from heaven. They put forth their argument in verse 42:

John 6:42
They said, "Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How does he now say, 'I have come down from heaven'?"

They saw the humanity of Jesus, that he was Mary and Joseph's son, but they didn't accept his divinity, that he was sent from the Father to give life to those who would believe. Then Jesus says something difficult to believe.

John 6:43-44
Jesus answered them, "Do not grumble among yourselves. No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him. And I will raise him up on the last day.

These Jews are obviously not coming to Jesus. They are not believing in him. Jesus gives the reason: the Father wasn't drawing them.

This is a similar argument to what we saw last week. Remember back in verse 36? Jesus said to these same Jews: "But I said to you that you have seen me and yet do not believe" (John 6:36). Then, he gives the reason why they didn't believe in verse 37: "All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never cast out" (John 6:37).

They didn't believe, because the Father had not given them to Jesus. If you think about that, it's a hard statement. Jesus is saying that their belief is dependent upon the Father giving them to the Son, because, if the Father gives them to the Son, they will come to Jesus, and they will believe in Jesus.

This is hard to believe, because we think that our belief in Jesus is all about our will. We are the ones who will decide whether we believe in Jesus or not. But Jesus says it's not about our will. Jesus says that it's about God's will, God's will to give you to Jesus. Jesus says the same thing here in verse 44, "No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him. And I will raise him up on the last day."

So, why weren't these Jews coming to Jesus and believing in him? Because the Father wasn't drawing them. If the Father was drawing them, they would come to Jesus, and they would believe in Jesus, and Jesus would raise them up on the last day. For proof about this, Jesus quotes from the Old Testament. Look at verse 45:

John 6:45-46
It is written in the Prophets, 'And they will all be taught by God.' Everyone who has heard and learned from the Father comes to me— not that anyone has seen the Father except he who is from God; he has seen the Father.

This is a quote from Isaiah 54:13, which teaches the same thing yet again, that those who have been taught of God, and heard from God, and learned from God, will come to Jesus. Again, the reason why these Jews were not believing in Jesus is because, they were not given to Jesus by the Father, the Father was not drawing them to Jesus, they were not being taught by God Himself. Because, those the Father gives, will come to Jesus. Those the Father draws, will come to Jesus. Those the Father teaches, will come to Jesus.

Now, this is hard to believe. There are many who will reject this teaching, simply because it's not what they have experienced. Most people, when they come to Jesus, think that it was all about them! They were the ones who decided to come to church, or to read their Bibles, or to investigate the claims of Jesus. They were the ones who weighed the cost of following Jesus, they were the ones who made the decision to believe and trust in Jesus. People aren't wrong in this. It is their experience. But, too often, those who come to Christ conclude that their faith was because of their action alone. So, when Jesus says that it is the Father, who gives and draws and teaches, and that the ultimate deciding factor in their faith is God, not ourselves, people reject such teaching, because it's hard to believe, because it's not their experience. They have experienced the wrestling in their own will about Jesus, and haven't considered the role of God in their wrestling.

Jesus is saying here that you come to Jesus and believe in Jesus, because God gives you to Jesus, because God draws you to Jesus, because God teaches you about Jesus. Now, this may be hard for some of you, but with all of the hard things of the Bible to believe, my hope and prayer for you is that you would simply embrace it, and believe it, like you do the other things in the Bible that are hard to believe. That you would not find yourself like these Jews, who were resisting the things of Jesus and grumbling at his teaching. You don't have to fully understand it to believe it.

Now, one of the great objections to what Jesus is saying here is that it's to limiting. It doesn't give everyone an opportunity to believe, as it's dependent upon God to give, draw, and teach. Well, such an objection should be quieted by the next words of Jesus in verse 47.

John 6:47
Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes has eternal life.

Regardless of how it all happens in the souls of men, the promise is sure! Whoever believes in Jesus has eternal life! This is the gospel! This is John 3:16, "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life." God gave his Son to us, that we might believe in him! That we might not perish! That we might have eternal life! This promise is to all who believe! This promise is to every single one of you here this morning. This promise is to every single one of your family members, and friends and co-workers. This promise is to everyone you meet at Walmart, and see at the gas station, and see in the crowds at the football games. "Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes has eternal life."

It's a clear call to come and believe in Jesus, that you might have eternal life! The hard saying of Jesus here is that God must be doing something in the hearts of those who believe. People believe precisely because God has given them to Jesus. People believe precisely because God draws them to Jesus. People believe precisely because God teaches them about Jesus.

Continuing on in verse 48, Jesus changes the subject a bit. He begins by repeating what chapter 6 is all about.

John 6:48
I am the bread of life.

This flows from his feeding of the 5,000, about which these Jews were grumbling at his claim. Then, in verse 49, he returns again to talk about Moses and the manna. He said,

John 6:49
Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, and they died.

To be sure, the manna in the wilderness sustained the people of God for their 40 years of wandering. But the manna wasn't a forever thing. All of those who wandered in the wilderness eventually died. But in verse 50, Jesus presents the contrast of the bread that he offers.

John 6:50
This is the bread that comes down from heaven, so that one may eat of it and not die.

This is the great contrast between Jesus and the manna. Those who ate the manna died! But those who eat of Jesus, the bread from heaven, will never die, but will have eternal life. This is what Jesus makes clear in verse 51,

John 6:51
I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. And the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh."

With these words, Jesus brings in again this metaphor of faith, eating of Jesus. He already talked about this in verse 35, "I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst." To come to Jesus is like eating of Jesus. To believe in Jesus is like drinking of Jesus. Jesus says in verse 51, that if you eat of Jesus, the bread from heaven, you will live forever! He says, "the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh." As the gospel of John progresses, it becomes clear what Jesus means here. Jesus will give his flesh to be crucified upon the cross. His death will be the payment for our sins. The gospel of John is calling us to believe in Jesus, the crucified one, who gave his life for us!

We see the response of the Jews in verse 52,

John 6:52
The Jews then disputed among themselves, saying, "How can this man give us his flesh to eat?"

Here's my second point:

2. Disputing about Eating His Flesh (verses 52-59)

This is so typical of the Jews in dealing with Jesus. They are always dealing on the literal realm. Do you remember when Jesus spoke with Nicodemus (in John 3)? Jesus said to him, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God" (John 3:3). Nicodemus took the words literally. "Nicodemus said to him, 'How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother's womb and be born?'" (John 3:4). But Jesus wasn't talking about a physical birth. He was talking about the spiritual birth, that is, the experience of being thoroughly changed from the inside out, transformed by the power of God, to such an extent that it seems as if you were born a second time!

Do you remember when Jesus was speaking with the woman at the well? "Jesus said to her, 'Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again. The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life'" (John 4:13-14). This woman took the words literally. "The woman said to him, 'Sir, give me this water, so that I will not be thirsty or have to come here to draw water'" (John 4:15). But Jesus wasn't talking about physical water! He is talking about the spiritual thirst that people have, longing to be satisfied in their souls. Such thirst can only be satisfied in Jesus.

Likewise here in John, chapter 6, the Jews took the words of Jesus literally, as if he were calling them to a cannibalism, an eating of his physical flesh. Yet, Jesus had already established the idea of eating as a metaphor in verse 35, "I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst" (John 6:35). These words should be understood as a metaphor. Also, Jesus said later to his disciples (in verse 63) that "It is the Spirit who give life; the flesh is not help at all. The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life."

I believe that's the key to understanding what Jesus is saying, beginning in verse 53:

John 6:53-59
So Jesus said to them, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day. For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink. Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me, and I in him. As the living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father, so whoever feeds on me, he also will live because of me. This is the bread that came down from heaven, not like the bread the fathers ate, and died. Whoever feeds on this bread will live forever." Jesus said these things in the synagogue, as he taught at Capernaum.

I remember talking with a high school classmate about these words. He and I played baseball together. He and I both graduated from high school the same year. We both went off to college after high school. Then, I went off to seminary to study the Bible. He also went off to seminary, but he studied to be a priest in the Roman Catholic Church. We saw each other back at our high school when we were attending a football game or something. I remember talking with him about the Mass.

Our discussion quickly turned to these words, because, they are crucial for Roman Catholic theology. For the Catholics believe that during the communion ceremony, the bread that is offered for all to eat, actually becomes the very body and blood of Jesus. They hold this because of the account of the Last supper, when Jesus held up the bread and said, "This is my body" (Matthew 26:26; Mark 14:22), "which is given for you" (Luke 22:19). Catholics take those words literally. They believe that the bread "transubstantiates" into the body of Jesus. It still looks like a wafer. It still feels like a wafer. It still tastes like a wafer. But in that moment, when the priest says those words, "This is my body," the bread actually changes substance into the body of Jesus.

Then, that wafer becomes all important in your salvation, because, in order to have eternal life, you must eat the wafer that has changed into the body of Jesus, because Jesus said, "Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day" (John 6:54). So, in order to have eternal life, you must feed on the flesh of Jesus, which is the wafer offered up in the Mass of the Roman Catholic Church. A place where they go to embrace this is John, chapter 6. Roman Catholics hold to this doctrine strongly!

My high school friend held to this belief equally as strongly. He was not willing to concede that Jesus was speaking spiritually, as he said in verse 63, "It is the Spirit who give life; the flesh is not help at all. The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life." My high school friend was not willing to take this as a metaphor of faith, just like the water to the woman at the well, just like the new birth to Nicodemus, No, he insisted, it must be that we must eat of this wafer to have eternal life. That's why the Catholic church places such an emphasis upon going to Mass. Because it is there (and only there), that you can get the wafer and receive eternal life. They are not willing to bend on this doctrine, because, the entire church is grounded in this belief, that Jesus is here talking about the Last Supper.

Yet, there are great difficulties in this view. First of all, the Last Supper hadn't yet taken place. The last supper takes place on the night of the death of Jesus. Jesus was offering the Jews then and there to "eat his flesh," not physically, but spiritually through faith in him! This was all before he instituted the Lord's Table.

Second, in the gospel of John, the institution of the Lord's Supper isn't even mentioned. So there is no obvious connection between the words of Jesus here and the phrase "this is my body" at the Last Supper. Further, if all people had was the gospel of John, it would be insufficient for salvation. But it is. It is written for people to believe, that they might have life.

Third, the gospel of John is all about believing in Jesus. It would be entirely out of character for the gospel at this point to say, "Ooops, one more thing you need to be saved. You need to eat of this wafer." "He came as a witness, to bear witness about the light, that all might believe through him" (John 1:7). "But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God" (John 1:12). "That whoever believes in him may have eternal life" (John 3:15). "Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life. He does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life" (John 5:24).

Fourth, and conclusively, the context clarifies that these words are to be taken as a metaphor: "Jesus said to them, 'I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst'" (John 6:35). "It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh is no help at all. The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life" (John 6:63).

So, when Jesus speaks here about feeding on his flesh, he's talking about taking in the whole Christ! He's talking about being "all in" on Jesus. He's talking about trusting what Christ did in the flesh. Are you? Have you eaten of Jesus? Have you taken him into your life? The promise is eternal life!

OK, let's move on to my third point:

3. Grumbling about the Hard Saying (verses 60-65)

John 6:60-61
When many of his disciples heard it, they said, "This is a hard saying; who can listen to it?" But Jesus, knowing in himself that his disciples were grumbling about this, said to them, "Do you take offense at this?

There is a distinction here. Usually, it's the "Jews" who are talking with Jesus, but here it's "his disciples." It may be only the 12. It may be beyond the 12. Jesus reasoned to them,

John 6:61-64
"Do you take offense at this? Then what if you were to see the Son of Man ascending to where he was before? It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh is no help at all. The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life. But there are some of you who do not believe." (For Jesus knew from the beginning who those were who did not believe, and who it was who would betray him.)

This "audience reduction" sermon didn't take Jesus by surprise. He knew who did not believe. He knew who would betray him.

John 6:65
And he said, "This is why I told you that no one can come to me unless it is granted him by the Father."

Jesus returns again to verse 44. What did Jesus know from the beginning? He knew that the Father had not granted these disciples to come to him. OK, my final point:

4. Turning Away from Jesus (verses 66-71)

This is a very sad paragraph, yet filled with hope.

John 6:66
After this many of his disciples turned back and no longer walked with him.

A disciple is defined here as one who walks with Jesus. In the days of Jesus, disciples were "learners." Schools in those days often centered around a main teacher. His student would literally follow the teacher around, walking and talking with him as they took in his wisdom.

We see here "many" disciples identified as walking with Jesus. But at this point, they "turned back and no longer walked with him." These disciples are those who were fed by him and the followed him across the Sea of Galilee to Capernaum. I suspect that we are talking about hundreds of people at this point who turned back. They were down to only the twelve.

John 6:67
So Jesus said to the twelve, "Do you want to go away as well?"

I with that I could understand the intent behind this question. Was Jesus wanting them to go away? Was he testing them? I think that this is a "God question," not really looking for an answer, but to see what such a question does to the person in their heart as they ponder a response.

John 6:68
Simon Peter answered him, "Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life,

What a great response. I would encourage you to ponder this way as well, especially when you face difficulties in your life. May you still cling to Jesus realizing that you have nowhere else to go. Also, when you encounter hard things in the Bible, cling to Jesus by faith. There is no where else for you to go.

Where else will you go? Will you try to go to the wisdom of Plato to figure out the things of this life? Are you going to try some psychologist or some life guru to help you with this life? No. Stick with Jesus. He has the words of eternal life.

Do you trust in the Scripture as the truth that will guide you into eternal life? John's whole purpose in writing is that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ and that by believing, you may have life in his name. Do you hold to the Bible like Peter held to Jesus? There is no other book in the world like it.

Then comes Peter's great affirmation.

John 6:69
and we have believed, and have come to know, that you are the Holy One of God."

This is Peter's profession of faith. He is saying that Jesus is the Holy One. Jesus is the Messiah. Jesus is the one who can bring life!

So, think about the hard things that I opened my message with this morning. Why do I believe in the flood? Because I believe in Jesus. Why do I believe in the plagues? Because I believe in Jesus. Why do I believe in Jonah being in the fish for three days? Because I believe in Jesus.

I believe that Jesus died for my sins according to the Scriptures. I believe that he rose from the tomb to show his power over death. Once you believe in Jesus risen from the dead, there are a bunch of other things that become easier to believe in.

But all of your beliefs in the difficult things in the Bible all stem from your faith in Christ. If you survey the gospels and look for how Jesus took the Old Testament (the Bible of his day). Never does he doubt anything written in the Old Testament. He believed every word of the Old Testament. He said that all of the Scriptures are trustworthy.

John 6:70-71
Jesus answered them, "Did I not choose you, the twelve? And yet one of you is a devil." He spoke of Judas the son of Simon Iscariot, for he, one of the twelve, was going to betray him.

Why did the disciples stay with Jesus? Because Jesus had chosen them. Jesus had the words of eternal life. They believed in him. They came to know that he is the Holy One of God. Yet, even among the twelve, one was a devil. Judas would betray Jesus.

Jesus also knew that Judas would betray him. There was no surprise when Judas left the disicples and betrayed him. If you read the account of the Lord's Supper, you will see that Jesus identified him by giving him the morsel bread and excusing him, saying, "What you are going to do, do quickly." (John 13:27). He knew that Judas would betray him with a kiss, because it was prophesied (Psalm 41:9). None of this took Jesus by surprise. Yet, in God's plan, Jesus chose the twelve to be around him, but the one he knew would betray him.

The fearful reality is that Judas had been exposed to everything that the other disciples had heard with their ears and witnessed with their eyes. Yet, he didn't believe. What about you? Have you heard with your ears about Jesus and yet still don't believe?

These are hard words. May you embrace them. May you see the role of God in your salvation and give all glory to Christ, who chose us in him before the foundation of the world (Ephesians 1:4). If you see God's grace in your life, you will embrace the hard words of Jesus, not because you understand them, but because you trust in Jesus. The hard sayings of Jesus separate the true believers from the false. May we be like Peter, saying, "Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life."

This sermon was delivered to Rock Valley Bible Church on January 12, 2025 by Steve Brandon.
For more information see www.rockvalleybiblechurch.org.