A Study of John 6:65–71

“And he said, “This is why I told you that no one can come to me unless it is granted him by the Father.” After this many of his disciples turned back and no longer walked with him. So Jesus said to the twelve, “Do you want to go away as well?” Simon Peter answered him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life, and we have believed, and have come to know, that you are the Holy One of God.” 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.”

John 6:65–71 ESV

Observation/Summary (short explanation of what the passage says in your own words):

After explaining to His wider group of disciples that it is the Spirit who gives life, and also that He knew some of them did not believe, Jesus told them this was why He said earlier that no one can come to Him unless it is granted to them by His Father. After this conclusion of Jesus’ discourse in the synagogue of Capernaum, many of the disciples who had followed Him up to this point turned back and stopped following Him (not the Twelve). After this Jesus turned to the Twelve and asked if they wanted to leave too, but Simon Peter declared they had believed in Him, and only He has the words of eternal life. Peter also said there is no one else, for Jesus is the Holy One of God. In response to this Jesus asked the rhetorical question, “Did I not choose you, the twelve?”. And then He also said, “And yet one of you is a devil.” By this Jesus meant Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot, who He knew would betray Him.

Implication (what does this mean to us):

In these final verses of John chapter 6, Jesus is addressing His own followers after His discourse in the synagogue of Capernaum. Many of the Galilean Jews and other Jewish leaders present for His teaching were offended by a number of things He said. Perhaps what offended them most though was Jesus’ metaphorical words about eating His flesh and drinking His blood to describe the need for believing faith in Him and in His coming redemptive work on the cross to describe what it means to truly believe in Him and receive eternal life. But it was not only the people of Capernaum and the surrounding region who were offended, many of His disciples were offended as well, as we read in verse 60 where they said, “This is a hard saying; who can listen to it?”. By this they meant it was offensive and hard to accept or believe.

We will see in this passage that the Twelve disciples of Jesus are addressed separately from the other disciples of Jesus. This is because Jesus had more disciples than just the most prominent Twelve we are familiar with. There were some who followed Him around, and some who remained where they lived but also viewed Him as their authoritative teacher. And just as there was one among the Twelve who did not truly believe and trust in Jesus, there were others among His wider group of disciples who did not truly believe and would walk away. Here, in these verses, we read of some such disciples who walked away from Jesus after hearing His most recent discourse.

In verse 65 Jesus said, “This is why I told you that no one can come to me unless it is granted him by the Father.” Here we find Jesus in the middle of confronting His dissenting disciples who took offense at His teaching, and in this verse He expands on the topic of unbelief. Earlier, in verses 37 and 44-45, Jesus explained the initiative of God the Father in calling and enabling people to believe in Him. This does not mean we have no say in the matter, but it does mean unless God first comes to us, we can never come to Him. We are truly helpless apart from His grace. 

This also helps those who do believe Jesus to understand the reason for unbelief a little bit better. Many among these disciples may have been following Him for quite some time, but they had not truly become His followers. Many only followed Him for material or earthly reasons. They only wanted Him to keep miraculously giving them food and healing, and to establish an earthly kingdom. When they found out this was not His primary reason for coming, they walked away. We who follow Jesus today would do well to consider why Jesus came, and to examine our own reasons for following Him. Do we desire the gifts more than the Giver Himself?

In verse 66 the offended disciples of Jesus turned back from following Him and walked away. After their grumbling recorded in verse 60 Jesus’ response did not lessen the offense for them. Jesus did not back down from what He had taught, but rather, He pressed further and expounded on His point by telling them He is full of the Holy Spirit and it is the Spirit who gives life. Therefore, His words, when believed, are themselves spirit and life. Jesus did not expect His additional remarks to cause them to change their minds. He knows what is in the hearts of all people (John 2:23-25), and He never backs down from speaking the truth to suit our preferences. Here, He refused to give them what they wanted, but He did offer them something greater. However, even though Jesus offered them something infinitely better than what they wanted, they refused to accept it.

Importantly though, it was not that Jesus said these things in an intentionally offensive or brash way. Even the harsh truth of God is kinder than the soft lies of the Evil One. Jesus is full of grace and truth. In everything Jesus does He is perfectly gracious and loving, but the content of what He says is by nature offensive to all of us before we come to know Him. We must humbly accept the truth of our fallen state, and only then we can see our need for a Savior, and accept His gracious, loving gift. These disciples who walked away were unwilling to do this. They were unwilling to see and accept their need for God to save them. They were only interested in a Messiah or even a God of their own making who would act in the manner they thought was best.

As many offended, disgruntled disciples left Him, Jesus turned to the Twelve and said, “Do you want to go away as well?”. From the language of this passage it seems likely there were few besides the Twelve who remained. This question could have been posed either in a despairing, tentative way, or in a way that expected the answer to be “No.” According to the assessment of the original Greek by scholars like F.F. Bruce, this question was not phrased in a despairing way. In addition to this, because Jesus also said multiple times in this passage that He knows who truly believes in Him and who does not, He had no doubt the answer to this question would  be “No.” Jesus also did not ask this question because He needed to hear their answer. He needed no assurances from them, because He also already declared His certainty of those who truly believe in Him and follow Him with right motives. This question was asked for the sake of the disciples who remained. In the face of this mass apostasy, Jesus gave these followers who remained an opportunity to respond to Him in faith and voice their loyalty to Him.

In verses 68-69, Simon Peter responded, and the text implies that He spoke for the remaining disciples. And there are two parts to Peter’s response. First, He asked and answered the rhetorical question, “Lord to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life…”. Peter essentially said, “Go away from you Lord? Who else would we go to? We have left everything behind to follow you, and in you we have found the way to eternal life. There is none like you.” With this Peter made a clear statement of faith in Jesus and acknowledged Jesus as his Lord, and in saying this Peter also declared they had determined following Jesus to be worth it despite the trouble that came their way.

Interestingly, these words from Peter are reminiscent of Psalm 73:25 where the Psalmist says to God, “Whom have I in heaven but you? And there is nothing on earth that I desire besides you.” Additionally, after the resurrection and ascension of Jesus, we can see Peter declare this boldly to the religious leaders of Israel, after having been arrested with John the night before, in Acts 4:12 where he said of Jesus, “And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.”

Next, the second part of Peter’s response is, “…and we have believed, and have come to know, that you are the Holy One of God.” Here, Peter further declared his and the other apostles faith in Jesus. By saying they “believed” and “have come to know,” Peter communicated that what began with faith, had become only more certain. They believed Jesus is Lord, and that He is the Messiah, the Holy One of God. While the apostles did not have a fully developed view of Jesus yet, by calling Jesus “holy,” Peter put Jesus in the same category as God the Father. “Holy” means “set apart.” It is a word that describes God’s unique “otherness.” He is in a category all His own and infinitely above us. Peter and the other apostles recognized that Jesus was greater than any prophet or king who came before Him; even greater than Moses. And as Jesus is full of the Spirit of God, one in essence with the Father and the Spirit, and spoke the words of eternal life; He is God incarnate and therefore is the “Holy One of God.”

In verse 70 Jesus answered Peter’s response with, “Did I not choose you, the twelve? And yet one of you is a devil.” By saying this Jesus made it clear it was He who chose them, and not the other way around. Peter and the other disciples were not doing Jesus a favor by following Him. Jesus had sought them out and given them the opportunity to follow Him, and they had accepted this opportunity. And even as Jesus chose the Twelve, He knew that Judas would betray Him. This is why Jesus said one of them was a devil.

The word used for devil in the original Greek is “diabolos,” and it means “slanderer,” or “false accuser.” This is a good Greek parallel for the Hebrew word “satan,” which is not a proper name but a title that means roughly the same thing (satan means “the adversary” or “accuser”). Judas was not himself the satan, or the devil, but one way the devil acts is through sinful human beings. When we choose to act in accordance with the will of evil instead of the will of our righteous God, the evil intent of the devil becomes ours. This is why Jesus calls Peter, the same man who made this sincere declaration of faith, “Satan” in Mark 8:33, and indirectly calls Judas the devil here. In the moment of Peter’s failing in Mark 8:33, and in the moment of Judas’ ultimate betrayal in John 13:2, their will was in unity with the devil. Jesus knew the ultimate source of the evil will that would betray Him and contradict His will, and He does not hesitate to call it what it is.

Lastly, John the gospel writer adds a parenthetical statement to let the reader know Jesus knew Judas the son of Simon Iscariot would betray Him from the beginning. Simon (not Simon Peter) was the name of Judas’ father, and the word Iscariot means “man of Kerioth.” This would have been the name of the region Judas came from. As much as Judas’ betrayal would have stung, it did not come as a surprise to Jesus. In John’s gospel account, and in the other three gospels, Judas is always identified as the betrayer of Jesus before the betrayal happens to communicate that while it came as a surprise to the apostles, Jesus knew all along. Just as Jesus willingly submitted to death on a cross to pay the penalty for our sin, He also willingly submitted to this betrayal.

Response (How does this change how I think, act and pray?):

This passage should cause us who follow Jesus to consider our motives. Do we seek Jesus because of what we want from Him, or do we seek Him because we, like Peter and the believing disciples among the Twelve, believe Jesus alone has the words of eternal life, and that He is the Holy One of God? The example of the apostate disciples in this passage, and the foreknowledge Jesus had of Judas’ coming betrayal shows that a person can claim to be a follower of Jesus, go to the right gatherings and say the right things, but also not be a true believer in their heart. To become a follower of Christ is not a matter of religious ritual or intellectual belief; even the demons believe in God (James 2:19). Rather, following Jesus means not only believing Him is the one true God, and the source of eternal life, it also means trusting in Him and surrendering our life and will to His. This means counting Him as more precious than anything else in this world.

The disciples who left, walked away when they realized they weren’t going to get what they wanted from Jesus. They never truly wanted Jesus Himself. Loving someone only for what they can give us is not true love at all. Jesus does give us good gifts, but the best gift of all is a restored relationship with Him. Jesus came to pay our debt for sin which separates us from Him and dooms us to eternal death and punishment, in order to save us for a loving, personal relationship with Him for eternity. So, why are we following Jesus? Is it for Him, or for what we want Him to give us in this world? Have we truly trusted in Him, and given our lives to Him as our only Lord God and Savior? Belief and trust is all that is required, but it must be sincere.

Self Reflection:

1. What are my motives for following Jesus?

2. What about Jesus makes Him unique?

3. If Jesus can use even someone like Judas who would betray Him to accomplish His good purposes, what does that tell me about His ability to use the temporary struggles in my life for eternal good?

Definitions of the original language in the context of this passage:

-Granted: “δεδομένον”, “dedomenon”; verb, perfect, passive, participle, singular, nominative, neuter | periphrastic participle – give, grant, to give something to someone.

-The Father: “τοῦ πατρός”, “tou patros”; noun, genitive, singular, masculine | prepositional object – God is call the Father:

– of all rational and intelligent beings, whether angels or men, because he is their creator, preserver, guardian and protector.

– of Christians, as those who through Christ have been exalted to a specially close and intimate relationship with God, and who no longer dread him as a stern judge of sinners, but revere him as their reconciled and loving Father.

-the Father of Jesus Christ, as one whom God has united to himself in the closest bond of love and intimacy, made acquainted with his purposes, appointed to explain and carry out among men the plan of salvation, and made to share also in his own divine nature.

-Turned: “ἀπῆλθον”, “apēlthon”; verb, aorist, active, indicative, third person, plural | finite verb – go away, depart.

-Back: “ὀπίσω”, “opisō”; adverb | substantival adverb – back, behind, afterwards; to go backward. In John 6:66, of those who are unfaithful to Christ’s teaching and stop following him.

-Walked: “περιεπάτουν”, “periepatoun”; verb, imperfect, active, indicative, third person, plural | finite verb – walk, live; to associate with one, to be one’s companion, used of one’s followers.

-[To] The Twelve: “τοῖς δώδεκα”, “tois dōdeka”; article, dative, plural, masculine | attributive article/indeclinable, numeral | cardinal adjective – the twelve disciples of Jesus.

-Simon: “Σίμων”, “Simōn”; noun, nominative, singular, masculine | proper name – Peter, one of the twelve, was originally known as Simon bar Jonah, meaning Simon son of Jonah. Later, Jesus gave him the name Peter. As such, he is sometimes referred to by both names, i.e. “Simon Peter.”

-Peter: “Πέτρος”, “Petros”; noun, nominative, singular, masculine | proper name – Peter = “a rock or a stone”; one of the twelve disciples of Jesus.

-Lord: “Κύριε”, “Kyrie”; noun, vocative, singular, masculine | vocative – God, Lord; is a title of honor expressive of respect and reverence, with which servants greet their master; this title is given to: God, the Messiah.

-Have Believed: “πεπιστεύκαμεν”, “pepisteukamen”; verb, perfect, active, indicative, first person, plural | finite verb – have faith, entrust, believe, through one’s agency to be brought to faith.

-Have Come To Know: “ἐγνώκαμεν”, “egnōkamen”; verb, perfect, active, indicative, first person, plural | finite verb – know, understand.

-The Holy One: “ὁ ἅγιος”, “ho hagios”; article, nominative, singular, masculine | attributive article/adjective, nominative, singular, masculine | substantival adjective – holy one, pure, sacred, blameless, most holy.

-Jesus: “ὁἸησοῦς”, “ho Iēsous”; article, nominative, singular, masculine | attributive article/noun, nominative, singular, masculine | proper name – Jesus = “Yahweh is salvation”; Jesus, the Son of God, the Saviour of mankind, God incarnate.

-Did [I Not] Choose: “ἐξελεξάμην”, “exelexamēn”; verb, aorist, middle, indicative, first person, singular | finite verb – select, make choice, choose (out), of Jesus choosing his disciples.

-A Devil: “διάβολός”, “diabolos”; adjective, nominative, singular, masculine | predicate nominative – a false accuser, slanderer; metaphorically applied to someone who, by opposing the cause of God, may be said to act the part of the devil or to side with him.

-Of Judas: “Ἰούδαν”, “Ioudan”; noun, accusative, singular, masculine | proper name – Judas, Jehudah, Jude, Juda; Judah or Judas = “he shall be praised”; Judas Iscariot, the apostle who betrayed Jesus.

-Of Simon: “Σίμωνος”, “Simōnos”; noun, genitive, singular, masculine | proper name – Simon, father of Judas who betrayed Jesus.

-Iscariot: “Ἰσκαριώτου”, “Iskariōtou”; noun, genitive, singular, masculine | proper name – Iscariot = “men of Kerioth”.

-To Betray: “παραδιδόναι”, “paradidonai”; verb, present, active, infinitive | complementary infinitive – to deliver something to one; to deliver up treacherously; used of Judas betraying Jesus.