Then many of his disciples who were listening said, “This saying is hard; who can accept it?” 61 Since Jesus knew that his disciples were murmuring about this, he said to them, “Does this shock you? 62 What if you were to see the Son of Man ascending to where he was before? 63 It is the spirit that gives life, while the flesh is of no avail. The words I have spoken to you are spirit and life. 64 But there are some of you who do not believe.” Jesus knew from the beginning the ones who would not believe and the one who would betray him. 65 And he said, “For this reason I have told you that no one can come to me unless it is granted him by my Father.” 66 As a result of this, many [of] his disciples returned to their former way of life and no longer accompanied him. 67 Jesus then said to the Twelve, “Do you also want to leave?” 68 Simon Peter answered him, “Master, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. 69 We have come to believe and are convinced that you are the Holy One of God.” 70 Jesus answered them, “Did I not choose you twelve? Yet is not one of you a devil?” 71 He was referring to Judas, son of Simon the Iscariot; it was he who would betray him, one of the Twelve.
The Jews whose hearts were hardened against Jesus’ words in the Bread of Life discourse remained in their unbelief. Some of the disciples understood Jesus’ comments about being the “Bread of Life” and eating his flesh and drinking his blood in a materialistic or even cannibalistic way. They found his comments shocking, repulsive, and difficult to accept. They did not grasp the spiritual significance of Jesus’ words. Jesus, aware of their grumbling, asked them directly if his teaching offended them. He asked them if they would better understand and accept his teaching if they witnessed his ascension to heaven, where he was before, to receive the revelation from God just as Moses had ascended the mountain to receive his revelation from God. Would that help them to grasp the significance of his teachings?
Jesus knew that some of his disciples did not truly believe in him. He also knew from the beginning which disciple would betray him. That is why he told them that no one could come to him unless he was given to him by the Father because belief in him is a gift from the Father. To accept Jesus’ teachings, one has to be born of the Spirit because it is the spiritual view, given by faith, that leads to eternal life (Jn. 3:5-6). Faith is important in grasping spiritual truths and obtaining eternal life. Some of Jesus’ disciples stopped following him as a result of their misunderstanding of his words.
Jesus asked the apostles if they were also going to abandon him and Peter, who with the other apostles was beginning to understand that Jesus was the Messiah, answered, “Master, to whom shall we go?” Peter declared that Jesus alone offers eternal life through his teachings. Peter, in his profession of faith, said that he and the other apostles had faith in Jesus and the firm conviction that he was the Holy One of God. Jesus told the apostles that one of the Twelve he had chosen was a devil who would betray him, and John, using his knowledge of past events, named Judas as that disciple.
Almighty God, grant us the strength to remain steadfast in our faith and the courage to trust in your teachings even when they challenge our understanding. Grant us the will to truly believe in Your Son and the desire to serve him. This we pray through the same Christ our Lord. Amen!
__________________________________
References
Chiu, José Enrique Aguilar, et al. The Paulist Biblical Commentary. Paulist Press, 2018.
Brown, Raymond Edward, et al. The New Jerome Biblical Commentary. Upper Saddle River, NJ, United States, Prentice Hall, 1990.
Chiu, José Enrique Aguilar, et al. The Paulist Biblical Commentary. Paulist Press, 2018.
Brown, Raymond Edward, et al. The New Jerome Biblical Commentary. Upper Saddle River, NJ, United States, Prentice Hall, 1990.
Orchard, Bernard, et al. A Catholic Commentary on Holy Scripture. Feb. 1953.
Comments