BiblicalInsights.net

What direction are you taking in the New Year?  Where are you headed?  Who are you going to follow to get there?  Who has the ability to give your life ultimate meaning and purpose?  Jesus asked His disciples a question that was answered with a question.  Jesus asked, “Will ye also go away?”  Jesus asks three hundred and seven questions in the New Testament books of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John.  There are approximately nine hundred eighty questions asked in the Greek New Testament.  Jesus uses questions extensively when teaching others.  Questions provoke thought, are sometimes very personal and generally require an answer.  Our own priorities and pursuits are revealed in an exploration of the context of these questions.
The Question
Jesus asked, “Will ye also go away?”  The “ye” in this question refers to the apostles.  The question probes the level of their commitment to the Lord.  Others, primarily unbelievers, had abandoned following Jesus.  Jesus said some difficult things and they could not or did not accept them.  Jesus told them that they had to “eat His flesh and drink His blood.”  They misunderstood Jesus words.  Jesus did not mean this literally.  He was speaking metaphorically.  He was speaking of fully embracing His true identity and accepting His teaching for their lives.  In John 6:35, Jesus stated that He was the bread of life.  How do we “partake” of this bread?  By believing on Jesus and relying upon Him for spiritual life based upon His word.  In John 6:63, Jesus states, “It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life.”  Those who forsook Jesus, failed to meet the test of discipleship.  They would not follow Jesus all the way.  Now, Jesus wants to know if His disciples are fully committed to following Him all the way.  So, He asked this probing and very personal question.  Each of us should consider this question personally.  Will we follow Jesus anywhere and everywhere He leads us?
The Answer
Peter (speaking, no doubt, for the rest of the apostles) said, “Lord, to whom shall we go? Thou hast the words of eternal life. And we believe and are sure that thou art that Christ, the Son of the living God.”   If we are not following Jesus, then, who?  There were other options for the disciples.  They could follow Moses in which they would surrender the efficacy of the atoning power of the blood of Christ which was secured when He died on the cross.  Or, they could follow one of the prophets.  Except, the Old Testament prophets pointed to Christ (Deuteronomy 18:18; Isa. 7:14, 9:6, 53).  They could follow their own lusts, or some of the philosophers of their day (Paul encountered Epicureans and Stoics in Acts 17 on Mars Hill), or perhaps the Roman Emperor.  All of these are rejected by Peter.  Peter declares, ONLY YOU.  “Thou hast the words of eternal life.  Only the words of Jesus have the power to produce spiritual life and eternal life.  A person becomes a Christian by being begotten by the word of truth (I Peter 1:21-25).  Peter writes, “Seeing ye have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit unto unfeigned love of the brethren, see that ye love one another with a pure heart fervently.  Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible seed, by the word of God which liveth and abideth for ever.”  The word of God is the gospel of Christ.  Jesus wanted to know the level of their commitment to Him.  Unbelievers forsook Jesus.  Did the apostles believe?  Peter responds, “…we believe and are sure that thou art that Christ, the Son of the living God.” Faith based upon truth produces conviction.  These convictions are a solid foundation upon which to build a meaningful life.  We can live by these convictions and we can die by them.  Thou art the Christ (the Messiah and so the savior of the world) and the Son of God (deity, the Second Person of the godhead).  The apostles’ faith was deeply grounded in two immutable truths that secured their redemption and hope.
The Resolution
Any question Jesus asked must be resolved.  Truth leads to absolute knowledge and removes all doubt.  It produces resolve.  Only you–resolves who we will listen to and who we will follow.  Follow indicates relationship and resolves meaning and purpose.  Faith resolves identity.  We believe and are sure.  Believers live by faith.  Eternal life resolves the future.  Christians know where they are headed and how to get there.  At the brink of a New Year, we would be wise to consider Jesus’ question for ourselves.  Resolving to follow Jesus gives us meaning, purpose, identity and destiny.