John 6:66 - Why did many disciples stop following Jesus?

Hidden In Him said:

LoL. For starters, I think you need to present more actual teaching instead of an endless stream of questions. I clicked your site pages, and it's nothing but continual questions throughout, now matter how far one seems to dig.

But if you'll forgive my bluntness here, the following is an extremely poorly constructed "argument," disguised as a question:

• Is the Bread of Life Discourse in John chapter 6 a symbolic teaching, where eating his flesh and drinking his blood means to “spiritually believe?” If so, why did many disciples stop following Jesus?

Your argument presumes that the reason so many left Him that day was because He had in effect communicated, "I am going to be crucified and raised from the dead on the third day, and before My crucifixion I will institute the practice of communion, and literally become the wafer and the wine supernaturally."

Nowhere in this text is ANY of that stated. In fact, the dating of this passage precedes any mention whatsoever by the Lord of him dying, or of the sign of Jonah being given, or any other reference to His crucifixion, let alone literally becoming a wafer.

This is the epitome of what is called "reading into" a Biblical text.

Your site is clean-looking and attractive. Your "teaching", however, leaves a great deal to be desired. You are relying way too much on the teachings of your church at the expense of actually teaching the word of God .

God bless, and I wish you the best.

Many seek to be right, and as a result, they fail to seek the truth! Your logical is foolish. The disciples left because they were not believing the Lord and his teachings, just like you.
Hidden In Him

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Randy Kluth said:

I don't know that the Bread of Life Discourse is a "stumblingblock to Protestants?" What makes you think so? What it is is a stumblingblock to those who don't believe Jesus is at the core of our faith, that we must draw upon his life in order to produce life ourselves.

Even the battle between agnostics and believers is predicated on the denial, by agnostics, of a spiritual experience that actually transforms us into something more righteous than we can be without Jesus. That "righteousness" is denied by the unbelieving world, because it condemns their own lack of spiritual life, which Christ has offered to all.

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Hidden In Him said:

LoL. For starters, I think you need to present more actual teaching instead of an endless stream of questions. I clicked your site pages, and it's nothing but continual questions throughout, now matter how far one seems to dig.

But if you'll forgive my bluntness here, the following is an extremely poorly constructed "argument," disguised as a question:

• Is the Bread of Life Discourse in John chapter 6 a symbolic teaching, where eating his flesh and drinking his blood means to “spiritually believe?” If so, why did many disciples stop following Jesus?

Your argument presumes that the reason so many left Him that day was because He had in effect communicated, "I am going to be crucified and raised from the dead on the third day, and before My crucifixion I will institute the practice of communion, and literally become the wafer and the wine supernaturally."

Nowhere in this text is ANY of that stated. In fact, the dating of this passage precedes any mention whatsoever by the Lord of him dying, or of the sign of Jonah being given, or any other reference to His crucifixion, let alone literally becoming a wafer.

This is the epitome of what is called "reading into" a Biblical text.

Your site is clean-looking and attractive. Your "teaching", however, leaves a great deal to be desired. You are relying way too much on the teachings of your church at the expense of actually teaching the word of God .

God bless, and I wish you the best.
Hidden In Him

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Truthcampaign.org said:

Furthermore, what is the actually teaching of the word of God? Your interpretation or the interpretation of the Church that Jesus started? Keep in mind my friend, the Bible was compiled by the Church. Believing in what you want does get you into heaven. Believing in the truth that Jesus taught, does!

Council of Rome - Wikipedia

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Hidden In Him said:

Catholics, LoL. Anything you answer with is immediately invalid, yet they insist on having a conversation you didn't ask for anyway.

I suppose that ends our conversation, but it was "educational" while it lasted.

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Enoch111 said:

I do not watch videos, but let's focus on the question. And the answer is found in John 6:60: Many therefore of his disciples, when they had heard this, said, This is an hard saying; who can hear it?... From that time many of his disciples went back, and walked no more with him.

Jesus was presenting Himself to the Jews as the Bread of Life -- the Bread which would give eternal life as opposed the the manna in the wilderness which simply sustained life in the wilderness. Jesus said that unless one eats His flesh and drinks His blood, one cannot have eternal life. And the Jews took this literally to mean cannibalism. Hence they were offended, and said "This is an hard saying". But was Jesus teaching cannibalism, or was He speaking about spiritual realities? The answer is found in verse 63: It is the Spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are Spirit, and they are Life.

In other words, to partake of the body and blood of Christ is to spiritually receive Him within the soul (Rev 3:20), and when that happens the Holy Spirit "quickeneth" (or brings to life) the dead spirit of the sinner. And at the same time the one who receives Christ as Lord and Savior receives the gift of eternal life.

And at the Lord's Supper, believers partake symbolically of the body and blood of Christ. But the Catholic Church has changed the Lord's Supper into the Mass, which is a totally different idea.

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• What are the words he just spoke? Several times Jesus spoke, eat my flesh (7) and drink my blood (3) to obtain eternal life.

• What does “no avail” mean? It means “no help or benefit.”

• Did Jesus say “my” flesh is of no avail? No, he said “the” flesh is of no avail.

• Is Jesus’ flesh of no avail? No!

• The Lord is perfect and sinless. His flesh is holy and pure. His flesh and spirit rose from the dead. Was his flesh on the cross of no help or benefit? Jesus is referring to “our” sinful flesh. The Lord is saying, it is no help or benefit to feed “our” flesh that dies and withers away. “His” resurrected flesh and blood feeds our spirit (soul), which gives life.

• Consuming his flesh and blood feeds our spirit (soul) which gives life, not our sinful flesh which is of no avail. We transform into the Body of Christ by spiritually being fed, so we too rise from the dead.

DNB said:

Like @Hidden In Him said, your website was more confusing, rather than provocative or elucidating. To the point, I barely know how to reply meaningfully to your OP?
Either way, ....as to why Jesus' discourse in chapter 6 created such a polarization between his audience, and without going into an exegetical exposition, I believe that various clues are clearly within the discourse itself.
1. Their drawing unto him from the beginning, was misguided
2. They were expecting a more superficial and elaborate testimony than what he was professing at the time.
3. Christ's words were too profound for them.
4. Many are called, few are chosen (not directly in Chapter 6)
5. Those that do become convicted of Christ's message, have been lead accordingly

26. Jesus answered them and said, "Truly, truly, I say to you, you seek Me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate of the loaves and were filled.

30. So they said to Him, "What then do You do for a sign, so that we may see, and believe You? What work do You perform?

41. Therefore the Jews were grumbling about Him, because He said, "I am the bread that came down out of heaven."
52. Then the Jews began to argue with one another, saying, "How can this man give us His flesh to eat?"
60. Therefore many of His disciples, when they heard this said, "This is a difficult statement; who can listen to it?"

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.
64. "But there are some of you who do not believe." For Jesus knew from the beginning who they were who did not believe, and who it was that would betray Him.
65. And He was saying, "For this reason I have said to you, that no one can come to Me unless it has been granted him from the Father."

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