Sunday Gathering - John 6 : 60-70 - Jonny Greaves - Sermon Only

Jonny Greaves preaches on John 6:60-70, the closing verses of a chapter that began with the feeding of the five thousand and became Jesus’ long “bread of life” discourse. Andy had preached the earlier section two weeks ago. Now the crowds are hearing hard words, and people start to leave.

The through-line is the cost of following Jesus. The disciples’ grumbling uses the same word as the Israelites in the wilderness: “this is a hard teaching, who can accept it” is the moment people realize following Jesus could cost them. Many turn back. Jesus asks the Twelve, “You do not want to leave, do you?” Peter’s reply, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life,” becomes the hinge: Peter has handed out the bread and seen the healings, yet does not understand the cross.

The key claim is that belief does not come from understanding. Even after the resurrection the disciples still expected Jesus to throw out the Romans, yet he welcomed them because they had met him. In Jesus, God reveals his heart — gracious and compassionate, slow to anger, rich in covenant love and faithfulness (Exodus 34) — and his will: everyone who looks to the Son and believes shall have eternal life (John 6:40), echoing the bronze snake, where anyone who looked was saved. The call is to trust Jesus even when the way is costly.

Bible passages

• John 6:60-70 — main passage, read in full
• John 6:54-58 — quoted from the earlier discourse Andy preached on
• John 6:63, 65, 67-69 — quoted within the main reading
• John 6:40 — “everyone who looks to the Son and believes in him shall have eternal life”
• Exodus 16 — the manna story retold at length
• Numbers 11:5 — the “cucumbers” complaint (he calls it Exodus)
• Exodus 34:6-7 — “gracious and compassionate, slow to anger, rich in covenant love and faithfulness,” which he calls his favourite
• John 1:18 — “no one has ever seen God, but… the Son has made himself known” (he guesses the verse number)
• Numbers 21:4-9 — the bronze snake, which he calls an Exodus story
• Matthew 16:13-28; Mark 8:27-38 — the parallel “who do you say I am” conversations where Peter objects that the Messiah must not die
• Exodus 7-14 — passing allusions (ten plagues, Red Sea)
• Jesus’ baptism — the Spirit landing on Jesus

Key points

• John 6 moves from a simple miracle into Jesus’ long, difficult teaching; people have always struggled to accept what he says.
• Jesus’ bread-of-life language echoes the manna story: God fed the grumbling Israelites, but they needed true life, not just bread.
• John uses the same word for the disciples’ grumbling as for the Israelites’: “this is a hard teaching” is grumbling behaviour, not a neutral question.
• Following Jesus began as excitement, thousands fed, constant healing, but as the cost became clear, many turned back.
• Followers come in layers: some were just hanging on for the free meals.
• Jesus says the Spirit gives life and the flesh counts for none; yet some do not believe, and he knew from the beginning who would betray him.
• Jesus asks the Twelve plainly, “You do not want to leave, do you?”, an honest question about staying at a cost.
• Peter’s confession comes from experience: he handed out the bread and fish and saw the healings first-hand.
• Peter did not understand the cross. In Matthew and Mark he objects that the Messiah must rule and reign, not die; even after the resurrection the disciples still expected the kingdom.
• Belief does not come from understanding. The disciples believed because they had met Jesus; the person of Jesus has revealed God to them.
• In Jesus, God reveals his heart: Exodus 34’s gracious, compassionate God is exactly what Jesus demonstrated in his compassion for people trapped by sin and death.
• In Jesus, God reveals his will: John 6:40, everyone who looks to the Son and believes shall have eternal life.
• The bronze snake, anyone who looks is saved, is the imagery Jesus applies to himself; the path to victory runs through humility, sacrifice, and the cross, the “upside-down kingdom.”
• God’s will is not a complicated hidden plan; when you understand his heart, you know his will is to rescue people.

Calls to action

• To those who have never professed faith: look to Jesus as Peter did, even without understanding; the bronze snake says “you’ve just got to look.”
• To all listeners: approach God’s word with a heart that wants to find him, not as an academic exercise.
• To believers: step out in faith today, trusting Jesus in hard circumstances, and keep supporting and praying for one another.
• To believers: bring the love God showed in Jesus into your life and the lives of those you love.

Watch the video: https://youtu.be/QduGRY8Z7Vw