Many therefore of his disciples, hearing it, said: This saying is hard, and who can hear it?

“(Tr. xxvii. 2) Such is our Lord’s discourse. The people did not perceive that it had a deep meaning, or, that grace went along with it: but receiving the matter in their own way, and taking His words in a human sense, understood Him as if He spoke of cutting of the flesh of the Word into pieces, for distribution to those who believed on Him: Many therefore, not of His enemies, but even of His disciples, when they heard this, said, This is an hard saying, who can hear it?”

“After he had quelled the wrangling of the Jews, and their murmuring, the Lord next allays the scandal of the disciples, and first the scandal of the departing disciples is treated; second, the devotion of those who remain is examined, at the place, "Jesus therefore said to the twelve." Concerning the first he does three things. First, the scandal of the disciples is set forth; second, the kindness of Christ in repressing it, at the place, "But Jesus knowing," etc.; third, the obstinacy and unbelief of those departing is set forth, at the place, "After this many of his disciples went back." It must be known, then, concerning the first, that there were many among the people of the Jews who clung to Christ, believing in him, and followed him, yet not having left all things, as the twelve had; and all of these were called disciples. And of these he says that many, namely among the people, who believed in him, hearing the things he had said above, said: "This saying is hard." Of these it is said in Luke 8:13: "They believe for a while, and in time of temptation they fall away." Now it says many, because, as it is said in Ecclesiastes 1:15, "the number of fools is infinite." And Matthew 20:16: "Many are called, but few are chosen." These, then, said: "This saying is hard." A thing is called hard which is not easily divided, and which offers resistance. A saying, then, is hard either because it resists the intellect, or because it resists the will—namely, when we cannot grasp it with the intellect, or it does not please the will; and in both ways this saying was hard for these men. Hard indeed to the intellect, because it exceeded the weakness of their understanding; for since they were carnal, they could not grasp what he said, that he would give them his own flesh to eat. But hard to the will, because he said many things about the power of his divinity. And although these men believed him as they would a prophet, they did not yet believe him to be God; and therefore it seemed to them that he was speaking things greater than himself. 2 Corinthians 10:10: "The letters are weighty." Ecclesiasticus 6:21: "Wisdom is exceedingly harsh to unlearned men." And therefore it follows: "Who can hear him?" They say this to excuse themselves. For since they had given themselves to him, they ought to have heard him; but because he was not teaching them pleasing things, they wished to seek some occasion for withdrawing; Proverbs 18:2: "A fool receiveth not the words of prudence, unless you say the things that are turning in his heart." Next, when he says, "But Jesus, knowing within himself that his disciples murmured at this, said to them: Doth this scandalize you?" the kindness of Christ in allaying the scandal is set forth, and first he declares and makes manifest the scandal; second he removes the cause of the scandal, at the place, "If then you shall see the Son of man ascend up where he was before?"; third he indicates the cause itself, at the place, "But there are some of you that do not believe." Now he declares the scandal, because they had said secretly, "This saying is hard," so as not to be heard by him. But he who by the power of his divinity knew what they were saying makes this manifest; and this is what is meant by "But Jesus, knowing within himself"—that is, what they were saying within themselves—namely, that his disciples murmured at this (above, John 2:25: "He needed not that any should give testimony of man, for he knew what was in man"; Psalm 7:10: "God searcheth hearts and reins"); he said to them: "Doth this scandalize you?" As if to say: you ought not to be scandalized at this. Or it can be read as a concession, as if to say: I know that you are scandalized at this; Isaiah 8:4: "He shall be"—namely to those believing in Christ—"for a sanctification indeed; but for a stone of stumbling to the two houses of Israel," that is, to the murmuring disciples and to the crowds. But since teachers ought to avoid scandalizing their hearers, why does the Lord set forth such teachings to them, that they should be scandalized and depart? I answer. It must be said that the necessity of the teaching required that the Lord set forth such things to them. For they had pressed upon him for bodily food, whereas he had come in order to lead them to a desire for spiritual food; and therefore it was necessary that he should set forth to them the teaching concerning spiritual food. Nor, however, was their scandal caused by any fault in Christ's teaching, but by their own unbelief. For if they did not understand the Lord's words on account of their carnality, they could have questioned the Lord, as the apostles did on other occasions. But this, according to Augustine, the Lord permitted by way of dispensation, so that he might furnish to those who teach well a cause of patience and consolation against those who speak ill of their words, since even disciples presumed to detract from the words of Christ. Next, when he says, "If then you shall see the Son of man ascend up where he was before?" he removes the occasion of scandal, which occasion was, as Chrysostom says, both concerning the person of the speaker and concerning the words spoken; and therefore he first removes the occasion of scandal as regards the person of the speaker, and second as regards the words spoken, at the place, "It is the spirit that quickeneth." Now the occasion of these men's scandal was that they had heard the Lord speak divine things of himself; hence, because they believed him to be the son of Joseph, they were scandalized by what he said of himself. And therefore, removing this occasion, God shows them his divinity more openly; hence he says: you are troubled at the things I have said concerning myself—"if then you shall see the Son of man ascend up where he was before"—supply: what will you say? As if to say: you will never be able to deny that I have descended from heaven, that I am the giver or teacher of eternal life. He did something similar with Nathanael: for when Nathanael said, "Thou art the king of Israel," he wished to raise him to a more perfect knowledge; hence he said to him: "Thou shalt see greater things than these." And therefore he makes manifest to these men something greater that would come to pass concerning himself, saying, "If then you shall see the Son of man ascend up where he was before?" Now he ascended into heaven with the disciples watching, as it is said in Acts 1:9. If then he ascended to where he had been before, then he had been in heaven before; above, John 3:13: "No man hath ascended into heaven, but he that descended from heaven." But observe that although the person of the Son of God and the Son of man in Christ is the same, yet because the nature is other, something belongs to him by reason of his humanity—namely, to ascend—which does not belong to him by reason of his divinity, according to which he has nowhere to ascend to, since he is eternally at the highest summit of all things, namely in the Father; but according to his humanity it belongs to him to ascend to where he was before, namely in heaven, where he was not according to human nature; which is against the error of Valentinus, who said that Christ brought a heavenly body. Thus, then, to where he had been before according to his divinity, he ascended, with the apostles watching, and by his own power, according to his humanity; below, John 16:28: "I came forth from the Father, and am come into the world; again I leave the world, and I go to the Father." But, according to Augustine, these words are introduced in another way: for he says that these men were scandalized at the Lord's saying that he would give them his flesh to eat, which they understood carnally, as though they were to eat it according to the letter, like the flesh of animals, and were scandalized. And removing this understanding, he says, "If then you shall see the Son of man ascend," with his body whole, "to where he was before"—supply: will you then say that I was going to give you my flesh to eat as you eat the flesh of animals? Next, when he says, "It is the spirit that quickeneth," he removes the occasion of scandal on the part of the words spoken, and, according to Chrysostom, he first distinguishes a twofold understanding of these words; second he shows which of the two befits the words themselves, at the place, "The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life." It must be known, then, as to the first, that the words of Christ can be understood according to a twofold sense, namely according to the spiritual and according to the bodily. And therefore he says, "It is the spirit that quickeneth," that is, if you understand the words which I have said according to the spirit, that is according to the spiritual sense, they will give life; "the flesh profiteth nothing," that is, if you understand them according to the fleshly sense, they profit you nothing—indeed they harm you; because, as it is said in Romans 8:13, "If you live according to the flesh, you shall die." Now the Lord's words about eating his flesh are understood carnally when they are taken according to how the words sound outwardly, and as the nature of flesh has it; and it was in this way that they understood them, as has been said. But the Lord was saying that he would give himself to them as spiritual food—not that the true flesh of Christ is not in the sacrament of the altar, but because it is eaten in a certain spiritual and divine manner. Thus, then, the fitting sense of the words spoken is not carnal, but spiritual. Hence he adds, "The words that I have spoken to you"—namely, concerning the eating of my flesh—"are spirit and life"; that is, they have a spiritual sense, and, understood in this way, they give life. Nor is it a wonder that they have a spiritual sense, since they are from the Holy Spirit; 1 Corinthians 14:2: "It is the spirit that speaketh mysteries." And therefore the mysteries of Christ give life; Psalm 118:93: "Thy justifications I will never forget: for by them thou hast given me life." But according to Augustine it is expounded otherwise: for what he said, "the flesh profiteth nothing," is understood of the flesh of Christ. For it is manifest that the flesh of Christ, as joined to the Word and the Spirit, profits greatly in every way; otherwise the Word would have been made flesh in vain, the Father would have manifested him in the flesh in vain, as it is said in 1 Timothy chapter 4. And therefore it must be said that the flesh of Christ, considered in itself, profits nothing, and has no profitable effect, except as any other flesh. For if it be separated in the understanding from the divinity and the Holy Spirit, it has no other power than any other flesh; but if the spirit and the divinity come to it, it profits many, because it makes those who receive it remain in Christ: for it is the spirit of charity through which man remains in God; 1 John 4:13: "In this we know that we abide in God, and he in us: because he hath given us of his spirit." And therefore the Lord says: this effect, namely of eternal life which I promise you, you ought not to attribute to the flesh considered in itself, because the flesh so considered profits nothing; but if you attribute it to the spirit, and to the divinity joined to the flesh, then it confers eternal life; Galatians 5:25: "If we live in the spirit, let us also walk in the spirit." And therefore he adds, "The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life"; that is, they are to be referred to the spirit joined to the flesh; and understood in this way, they are life, namely of the soul. For just as the body lives a bodily life through the bodily spirit, so too the soul lives a spiritual life through the Holy Spirit; Psalm 103:30: "Thou shalt send forth thy spirit, and they shall be created." Next, when he says, "But there are some of you that do not believe," he shows the cause of the scandal, which was their unbelief, as if to say: the cause of your scandal is not the hardness of the saying which I have spoken to you, but your unbelief. And therefore he first shows their unbelief; second he excludes a false opinion; third he makes manifest the cause of their unbelief. The Lord shows their unbelief indeed when he says, "There are some of you that do not believe." He did not say "who do not understand," but, what is more, he intimates the cause why they do not understand: for they did not understand for this reason, that they did not believe; Isaiah 7:9, according to another reading: "Unless you believe, you shall not understand." And he said "some," so as to except the disciples; 2 Thessalonians 3:2: "All men have not faith"; Romans 10:16: "All do not obey the gospel"; Psalm 105:25: "They believed not his words." The Evangelist excludes a false suspicion when he adds, "For Jesus knew," as if to say: Jesus did not say, "There are some of you that do not believe," as though this had newly become known to him; but because he knew from the beginning—namely of the world—who they were that believed, and who it was that would betray him; Hebrews 4:13: "All things are naked and open to his eyes"; and Ecclesiasticus 23:29: "All things were known to the Lord God before they were created." Now the Lord next assigns the cause of their unbelief, which arises from the withdrawal of the grace that draws; hence he was saying, "Therefore did I say to you," as if to say: therefore it was necessary that I should say the foregoing things to you, because no one can come to me—namely, by faith—unless it has been given him by my Father. From which it follows, according to Augustine, that even the very act of believing is given to us by God. But why it is not given to all has been shown above, in the same place where the Lord said almost the same words. He repeats them here, however, for two reasons: to show that his receiving them into the faith was more for their benefit and advantage than for Christ's; Philippians 1:29: "To you it is given ... that you should believe in him"; as if to say: it is your own good that you believe; and therefore Augustine says: it is indeed a great thing to believe; rejoice that you have believed. Second, to show that he is not the son of Joseph, as they supposed, but of God: for it is God the Father who draws men to the Son, as appears from what has gone before. Next, when he says, "After this many of his disciples went back," the obstinacy of these disciples is set forth. For although the Lord had reproved them, and had removed the cause of the scandal, so far as it lay on his part, nevertheless they persevered in unbelief; and therefore it says that many of his disciples went back. He did not say "they departed," but "they went back"—from the faith which they had according to power, and, cut off from the body of Christ, they lost life, because perhaps they had not even been in the body, as Augustine says. For there are some who simply go back: namely, those who follow the Devil, to whom it was said, Matthew 4:10: "Get thee behind me, Satan." And of certain women it is said, 1 Timothy 5:15: "Some are already turned aside after Satan." Peter does not go back in this way, but after Christ; Matthew 16:23: "Go behind me, Satan." But these men went back after Satan. Hence it follows, "and after this they walked no more with him"—namely although it is required of us that we walk with Jesus; Micah 6:8: "I will judge for thee, O man, what is good," and it follows, "to walk carefully with thy God." Next, when it is added, "Jesus therefore said to the twelve: Will you also go away?" the Lord examines the disciples who remained; and first the examination of the disciples is set forth by Christ's question; second the devotion of those remaining is added, by Peter's answer, at the place, "Simon Peter therefore answered him"; third Peter's answer is corrected, at the place, "Jesus answered them." Now the Lord examines the twelve who had remained, whether they wished to persist; and therefore he said to the twelve—namely, the apostles: "Will you also go away?" And this for two reasons. First, lest, because these had remained while the others departed, they should ascribe this to their own righteousness and grow proud, thinking that they had done Christ a favor by not abandoning him; and therefore, by showing that he did not need their following, he holds and confirms them the more. Job 35:7: "And if thou do justly, what shalt thou give him, or what shall he receive of thy hand?" Second, because it sometimes happens that someone has the will to depart from another, and yet is held back by shame; and therefore, not wishing them to be constrained by shame to remain with him (since to serve unwillingly is the same as not to serve at all), he removes even the shame and the necessity of remaining, placing it in their own judgment whether they wished to remain or to depart, because "God loveth a cheerful giver," as it is said in 2 Corinthians 9:7. There follows the devotion of those who remained, by Peter's answer: for he, a lover of his brethren, a preserver of friendship, and bearing a special affection toward Christ, answers on behalf of the whole company, saying: "Lord, to whom shall we go? Thou hast the words of eternal life. And we have believed." Here he does three things. First, he extols Christ's excellence; second, he commends his teaching; and third, he professes his faith. He extols his excellence indeed when he says, "Lord, to whom shall we go?" As if to say: you are driving us away from you; give us another better than you, to whom we may go. But certainly "there is none like unto thee among the strong, O Lord": Exodus 15:11, and Psalm 88:7: "Who is like to God?" And therefore we will not leave you; Psalm 138:7: "Whither shall I go from thy spirit?" And, according to Chrysostom, Peter's word is greatly indicative of friendship: for by now Christ was more honorable to them than fathers and mothers. But he commends his teaching when he says, "Thou hast the words of eternal life." Now Moses had the words of God, and likewise the prophets, but rarely the words of eternal life; but you promise eternal life—what greater thing, then, do we seek? Above: "he that believeth in me hath life everlasting"; and above, John 3:39: "he that believeth in the Son of God hath life everlasting." But he professes his faith when he adds, "And we have believed and have known that thou art the Christ, the Son of God." For in our faith two things must chiefly be believed, namely the mystery of the Trinity and of the Incarnation; and these two things Peter here confesses. The mystery of the Trinity indeed, when he says, "Thou art the Son of God." For in saying that he is the Son of God, he makes mention of the person of the Father and of the Son, and at the same time also of the Holy Spirit, who is the love of the Father and the Son, and the bond of both. But the mystery of the Incarnation, when he says, "Thou art the Christ"; for "Christ" in Greek is called "anointed" in Latin—namely with the invisible oil of the Holy Spirit; but not according to the divine nature, because one who is anointed with the Holy Spirit is made better by that very anointing, but according as he is God, Christ is not made better; therefore he is anointed according as he is man. Now he says "we have believed and have known," because to believe comes before to know; and therefore if we wished to know before believing, we would not know, nor would we be able to believe, as Augustine says. Isaiah 7:9, according to another reading: "Unless you believe, you shall not understand." Now the Lord corrects Peter's answer when he says, "Have not I chosen you twelve, and one of you is a devil?" And first the Lord's answer is set forth; second the Evangelist's explanation, at the place, "Now he meant Judas." Because Peter had been generous in his answer, including all of them, saying thus, "And we have believed, and have known that thou art the Christ, the Son of God," by which it seemed that all would attain to eternal life, therefore the Lord excepted Judas from the company of believers. But this indeed was a commendable confidence in Peter, that he suspected no evil of a companion; but in the Lord it is a wisdom to be admired, that he saw hidden things. And therefore he says, "Have not I chosen you twelve, and one of you is a devil?" Not by nature, but by imitation of diabolical malice. Wisdom 2:24: "By the envy of the devil, death came into the world: and they follow him that are of his side"; below, John 13:27: "After the morsel, Satan entered into him," namely because he was made conformed to his malice. But if Christ chose Judas, and he became evil, it seems that he erred in his choosing. To this it is answered, first, according to Chrysostom, that this is not said of the election of predestination, but of election to some office, and to a state of present righteousness, to which someone is sometimes chosen not according to what is future, but according to what he presently is in fact; because by this kind of election free will is not taken away, nor is the possibility of sinning removed; hence it is said, 1 Corinthians 10:12: "He that thinketh himself to stand, let him take heed lest he fall." Thus, then, the Lord chose Judas not as one who was then evil, yet the possibility of sinning was not taken from him by this election. Second, it is answered, according to Augustine, that the Lord chose Judas though evil; and because it belongs to the good to use evil for good, although he knew him to be evil, God made good use of his evil, in that he endured being betrayed by him in order to redeem us. Or it must be said that the choosing of the twelve apostles is not here referred to the persons, but to the number; as if to say: I chose in you the number twelve. For this number is fittingly consecrated to those who were to preach the faith of the Holy Trinity through the four corners of the world; and this number indeed did not perish, because in the place of the perishing traitor Matthias was put in his stead. Or, according to Ambrose, he chose Judas though evil for this reason, that he might console our weakness, if it should ever happen to us to be betrayed by friends, since we read that the Lord and Master was betrayed by a disciple. But it is asked here why, when the Lord says, "One of you is a devil," the disciples say nothing; and afterward, when he says, below John 13:21, "One of you shall betray me," they said, "Is it I, Lord?" I answer that it must be said that the reason for this is that here the Lord spoke generally, saying that one of them was a devil, which can be referred to any kind of malice whatsoever, and therefore they were not moved; but there, hearing of so great a deed—namely, the betrayal of their Master—they were not able to contain themselves. Or it must be said to this, that when the Lord spoke these words, each of them had confidence in his own strength, and therefore they did not fear for themselves. But when they heard Peter told, "Get behind me, Satan," they were terrified, and thought more meanly of themselves; and therefore, wavering, they said: "Is it I, Lord?" Now this answer, which the Lord had made obscurely, the Evangelist explains, saying, "Now he meant Judas," as the outcome of the event proved, as is evident below, in chapter 13.”

“We have here an account of the effects of Christ's discourse. Some were offended and others edified by it; some driven from him and others brought nearer to him. I. To some it was a savour of death unto death; not only to the Jews, who were professed enemies to him and his doctrine, but even to many of his disciples, such as were disciples at large, who were his frequent hearers, and followed him in public; a mixed multitude, like those among Israel, that began all the discontents. Now here we have, 1. Their murmurings at the doctrine they heard (Joh 6:60): This is a hard saying, who can hear it? (1.) They do not like it themselves: "What stuff is this? Eat the flesh, and drink the blood, of the Son of man! If it is to be understood figuratively, it is not intelligible; if literally, not practicable. What! must we turn cannibals? Can we not be religious, but we must be barbarous?" Si Christiani adorant quod comedunt (said Averroes), sit anima mea cum philosophis - If Christians adore what they eat, my mind shall continue with the philosophers. Now, when they found it a hard saying, if they had humbly begged of Christ to have declared unto them this parable, he would have opened it, and their understandings too; for the meek will he teach his way. But they were not willing to have Christ's sayings explained to them, because they would not lose this pretence for rejecting them - that they were hard sayings. (2.) They think it impossible that any one else should like it: "Who can hear it? Surely none can." Thus the scoffers at religion are ready to undertake that all the intelligent part of mankind concur with them. They conclude with great assurance that no man of sense will admit the doctrine of Christ, nor any man of spirit submit to his laws. Because they cannot bear to be so tutored, so tied up, themselves, they think none else can: Who can hear it? Thanks be to God, thousands have heard these sayings of Christ, and have found them not only easy, but pleasant, as their necessary food. 2. Christ's animadversions upon their murmurings. (1.) He well enough knew their murmurings, Joh 6:61. Their cavils were secret in their own breasts, or whispered among themselves in a corner. But, [1.] Christ knew them; he saw them, he heard them. Note, Christ takes notice not only of the bold and open defiances that are done to his name and glory by daring sinners, but of the secret slights that are put upon his doctrine by carnal professors; he knows that which the fool saith in his heart, and cannot for shame speak out; he observes how his doctrine is resented by those to whom it is preached; who rejoice in it, and who murmur at it; who are reconciled to it, and bow before it, and who quarrel with it, and rebel against it, though ever so secretly. [2.] He knew it in himself, not by any information given him, nor any external indication of the thing, but by his own divine omniscience. He knew it not as the prophets, by a divine revelation made to him (that which the prophets desired to know was sometimes hid from them, as Kg2 4:27), but by a divine knowledge in him. He is that essential Word that discerns the thoughts of the heart, Heb 4:12, Heb 4:13. Thoughts are words to Christ; we should therefore take heed not only what we say and do, but what we think. (2.) He well enough knew how to answer them: "Doth this offend you? Is this a stumbling-block to you?" See how people by their own wilful mistakes create offences to themselves: they take offence where there is none given, and even make it where there is nothing to make it of. Note, We may justly wonder that so much offence should be taken at the doctrine of Christ for so little cause. Christ speaks of it here with wonder: "Doth this offend you?" Now, in answer to those who condemned his doctrine as intricate and obscure (Si non vis intelligi, debes negligi - If you are unwilling to be understood, you ought to be neglected), [1.] He gives them a hint of his ascension into heaven, as that which would give an irresistible evidence of the truth of his doctrine (Joh 6:62): What and if you shall see the Son of man ascend up where he was before? And what then? First, "If I should tell you of that, surely it would much more offend you, and you would think my pretensions too high indeed. If this be so hard a saying that you cannot hear it, how will you digest it when I tell you of my returning to heaven, whence I came down?" See Joh 3:12. Those who stumble at smaller difficulties should consider how they will get over greater. Secondly, "When you see the Son of man ascend, this will much more offend you, for then my body will be less capable of being eaten by you in that gross sense wherein you now understand it;" so Dr. Whitby. Or, Thirdly, "When you see that, or hear it from those that shall see it, surely then you will be satisfied. You think I take too much upon me when I say, I came down from heaven, for it was with this that you quarrelled (Joh 6:42); but will you think so when you see me return to heaven?" If he ascended, certainly he descended, Eph 4:9, Eph 4:10. Christ did often refer himself thus to subsequent proofs, as Joh 1:50, Joh 1:51; Joh 2:14; Mat 12:40; Mat 26:64. Let us wait awhile, till the mystery of God shall be finished, and then we shall see that there was no reason to be offended at any of Christ's sayings. [2.] He gives them a general key to this and all such parabolical discourses, teaching them that they are to be understood spiritually, and not after a corporal and carnal manner: It is the spirit that quickeneth, the flesh profiteth nothing, Joh 6:63. As it is in the natural body, the animal spirits quicken and enliven it, and without these the most nourishing food would profit nothing (what would the body be the better for bread, if it were not quickened and animated by the spirit), so it is with the soul. First, The bare participation of ordinances, unless the Spirit of God work with them, and quicken the soul by them, profits nothing; the word and ordinances, if the Spirit works with them, are as food to a living man, if not, they are as food to a dead man. Even the flesh of Christ, the sacrifice for sin, will avail us nothing unless the blessed Spirit quicken our souls thereby, and enforce the powerful influences of his death upon us, till we by his grace are planted together in the likeness of it. Secondly, The doctrine of eating Christ's flesh and drinking his blood, if it be understood literally, profits nothing, but rather leads us into mistakes and prejudices; but the spiritual sense or meaning of it quickens the soul, makes it alive and lively; for so it follows: The words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life. To eat the flesh of Christ! this is a hard saying, but to believe that Christ died for me, to derive from that doctrine strength and comfort in my approaches to God, my oppositions to sin and preparations for a future state, this is the spirit and life of that saying, and, construing it thus, it is an excellent saying. The reason why men dislike Christ's sayings if because they mistake them. The literal sense of a parable does us no good, we are never the wiser for it, but the spiritual meaning is instructive. Thirdly, The flesh profits nothing - those that are in the flesh (so some understand it), that are under the power of a carnal mind, profit not by Christ's discourses; but the Spirit quickeneth - those that have the Spirit, that are spiritual, are quickened and enlivened by them; for they are received ad modum recipientis - so as to correspond with the state of the receiver's mind. They found fault with Christ's sayings, whereas the fault was in themselves; it is only to sensual minds that spiritual things are senseless and sapless, spiritual minds relish them; see Co1 2:14, Co1 2:15. [3.] He gives them an intimation of his knowledge of them, and that he had expected no better from them, though they called themselves his disciples, Joh 6:64, Joh 6:65. Now was fulfilled that of the prophet, speaking of Christ and his doctrine (Isa 53:1), Who hath believed our report? and to whom is the arm of the Lord revealed? Both these Christ here takes notice of. First, They did not believe his report: "There are some of you who said you would leave all to follow me who yet believe not;" and this was the reason why the word preached did not profit them, because it was not mixed with faith, Heb 4:2. They did not believe him to be the Messiah, else they would have acquiesced in the doctrine he preached, and not have quarrelled with it, though there were some things in it dark, and hard to be understood. Oportet discentum credere - Young beginners in learning must take things upon their teacher's word. Note, 1. Among those who are nominal Christians, there are many who are real infidels. 2. The unbelief of hypocrites, before it discovers itself to the world, is naked and open before the eyes of Christ. He knew from the beginning who they were of the multitudes that followed him that believed, and who of the twelve should betray him; he knew from the beginning of their acquaintance with him, and attendance on him, when they were in the hottest pang of their zeal, who were sincere, as Nathanael (Joh 1:47), and who were not. Before they distinguished themselves by an overt act, he could infallibly distinguish who believed and who did not, whose love was counterfeit and whose cordial. We may gather hence, (1.) That the apostasy of those who have long made a plausible profession of religion is a certain proof of their constant hypocrisy, and that from the beginning they believed not, but is not a proof of the possibility of the total and final apostasy of any true believers: such revolts are not to be called the fall of real saints, but the discovery of pretended ones; see Jo1 2:19. Stella cadens non stella fuit - The star that falls never was a star. (2.) That it is Christ's prerogative to know the heart; he knows who they are that believe not, but dissemble in their profession, and yet continues them room in his church, the use of his ordinances, and the credit of his name, and does not discover them in this world, unless they by their own wickedness discover themselves; because such is the constitution of his visible church, and the discovering day is yet to come. But, if we pretend to judge men's hearts, we step into Christ's throne, and anticipate his judgment. We are often deceived in men, and see cause to change our sentiments of them; but this we are sure of, that Christ knows all men, and his judgment is according to truth. Secondly, The reason why they did not believe his report was because the arm of the Lord was not revealed to them (Joh 6:65): Therefore said I unto you that no man can come to me, except it be given unto him of my Father; referring to Joh 6:44. Christ therefore could not but know who believed and who did not, because faith is the gift and work of God, and all his Father's gifts and works could not but be known to him, for they all passed through his hands. There he had said that none could come to him, except the Father draw him; here he saith, except it be given him of my Father, which shows that God draws souls by giving them grace and strength, and a heart to come, without which, such is the moral impotency of man, in his fallen state, that he cannot come. 3. We have here their final apostasy from Christ hereupon: From that time many of his disciples went back, and walked no more with him, Joh 6:66. When we admit into our minds hard thoughts of the word and works of Christ, and conceive a secret dislike, and are willing to hear insinuations tending to their reproach, we are then entering into temptation; it is as the letting forth of water; it is looking back, which, if infinite mercy prevent not, will end in drawing back; therefore Obsta principiis - Take heed of the beginnings of apostasy. (1.) See here the backsliding of these disciples. Many of them went back to their houses, and families, and callings, which they had left for a time to follow him; went back, one to his farm and another to his merchandise; went back, as Orpah did, to their people, and to their gods, Rut 1:15. They had entered themselves in Christ's school, but they went back, did not only play truant for once, but took leave of him and his doctrine for ever. Note, The apostasy of Christ's disciples from him, though really a strange thing, yet has been such a common thing that we need not be surprised at it. Here were many that went back. It is often so; when some backslide many backslide with them; the disease is infectious. (2.) The occasion of this backsliding: From that time, from the time that Christ preached this comfortable doctrine, that he is the bread of life, and that those who by faith feed upon him shall live by him (which, one would think, should have engaged them to cleave more closely to him) - from that time they withdrew. Note, The corrupt and wicked heart of man often makes that an occasion of offence which is indeed matter of the greatest comfort. Christ foresaw that they would thus take offence at what he said, and yet he said it. That which is the undoubted word and truth of Christ must be faithfully delivered, whoever may be offended at it. Men's humours must be captivated to God's word, and not God's word accommodated to men's humours. (3.) The degree of their apostasy: They walked no more with him, returned no more to him and attended no more upon his ministry. It is hard for those who have been once enlightened, and have tasted the good word of God, if they fall away, to renew them again to repentance, Heb 6:4-6. II. This discourse was to others a savour of life unto life. Many went back, but, thanks be to God, all did not; even then the twelve stuck to him. Though the faith of some be overthrown, yet the foundation of God stands sure. Observe here, 1. The affectionate question which Christ put to the twelve (Joh 6:67): Will you also go away? He saith nothing to those who went back. If the unbelieving depart, let them depart; it was no great loss of those whom he never had; lightly come, lightly go; but he takes this occasion to speak to the twelve, to confirm them, and by trying their stedfastness the more to fix them: Will you also go away? (1.) "It is at your choice whether you will or no; if you will forsake me, now is the time, when so many do: it is an hour of temptation; if you will go back, go now." Note, Christ will detain none with him against their wills; his soldiers are volunteers, not pressed men. The twelve had now had time enough to try how they liked Christ and his doctrine, and that none of them might afterwards say that they were trepanned into discipleship, and if it were to do again they would not do it, he here allows them a power of revocation, and leaves them at their liberty; as Jos 24:15; Rut 1:15. (2.) "It is at your peril if you do go away." If there was any secret inclination in the heart of any of them to depart from him, he stops it with this awakening question, "Wilt you also go away? Think not that you hang at as loose an end as they did, and may go away as easily as they could. They have not been so intimate with me as you have been, nor received so many favours from me; they are gone, but will you also go? Remember your character, and say, Whatever others do, we will never go away. Should such a man as I flee?" Neh 6:11. Note, The nearer we have been to Christ and the longer we have been with him, the more engagements we have laid ourselves under to him, the greater will be our sin if we desert him. (3.) "I have reason to think you will not. Will you go away? No, I have faster hold of you than so; I hope better things of you (Heb 6:9), for you are they that have continued with me," Luk 22:28. When the apostasy of some is a grief to the Lord Jesus, the constancy of others is so much the more his honour, and he is pleased with it accordingly. Christ and believers know one another too well to part upon every displeasure. 2. The believing reply which Peter, in the name of the rest, made to this question, Joh 6:68, Joh 6:69. Christ put the question to them, as Joshua put Israel to their choice whom they would serve, with design to draw out from them a promise to adhere to him, and it had the like effect. Nay, but we will serve the Lord, Peter was upon all occasions the mouth of the rest, not so much because he had more of his Master's ear than they, but because he had more tongue of his own; and what he said was sometimes approved and sometimes reprimanded (Mat 16:17, Mat 16:23) - the common lot of those who are swift to speak. This here was well said, admirably well; and probably he said it by the direction, and with the express assent, of his fellow-disciples; at least he knew their mind, and spoke the sense of them all, and did not except Judas, for we must hope the best. (1.) Here is a good resolution to adhere to Christ, and so expressed as to intimate that they would not entertain the least thought of leaving him: "Lord, to whom shall we go? It were folly to go from thee, unless we knew where to better ourselves; no, Lord, we like our choice too well to change." Note, Those who leave Christ would do well to consider to whom they will go, and whether they can expect to find rest and peace any where but in him. See Psa 73:27, Psa 73:28; Hos 2:9. "Whither shall we go? Shall we make our court to the world? It will certainly deceive us. Shall we return to sin? It will certainly destroy us. Shall we leave the fountain of living waters for broken cisterns?" The disciples resolve to continue their pursuit of life and happiness, and will have a guide to it, and will adhere to Christ as their guide, for they can never have a better. "Shall we go to the heathen philosophers, and become their disciples? They are become vain in their imaginations, and, professing themselves to be wise in other things, are become fools in religion. Shall we go to the scribes and Pharisees, and sit at their feet? What good can they do us who have made void the commandments of God by their traditions? Shall we go to Moses? He will send us back again to thee. Therefore, if ever we find the way to happiness, it must be in following thee." Note, Christ's holy religion appears to great advantage when it is compared with other institutions, for then it will be seen how far it excels them all. Let those who find fault with this religion find a better before they quit it. A divine teacher we must have; can we find a better than Christ? A divine revelation we cannot be without; if the scripture be not such a one, where else may we look for it? (2.) Here is a good reason for this resolution. It was not the inconsiderate resolve of a blind affection, but the result of mature deliberation. The disciples were resolved never to go away from Christ, [1.] Because of the advantage they promised themselves by him: Thou hast the words of eternal life. They themselves did not fully understand Christ's discourse, for as yet the doctrine of the cross was a riddle to them; but in the general they were satisfied that he had the words of eternal life, that is, First, That the word of his doctrine showed the way to eternal life, set it before us, and directed us what to do, that we might inherit it. Secondly, That the word of his determination must confer eternal life. His having the words of eternal life is the same with his having power to give eternal life to as many as were given him, Joh 17:2. He had in the foregoing discourse assured eternal life to his followers; these disciples fastened upon this plain saying, and therefore resolved to stick to him, when the others overlooked this, and fastened upon the hard sayings, and therefore forsook him. Though we cannot account for every mystery, every obscurity, in Christ's doctrine, yet we know, in the general, that it is the word of eternal life, and therefore must live and die by it; for if we forsake Christ we forsake our own mercies. [2.] Because of the assurance they had concerning him (Joh 6:69): We believe, and are sure, that thou art that Christ. if he be the promised Messiah, he must bring in an everlasting righteousness (Dan 9:24), and therefore has the words of eternal life, for righteousness reigns to eternal life, Rom 5:21. observe, First, The doctrine they believed: that this Jesus was the Messiah promised to the fathers and expected by them, and that he was not a mere man, but the Son of the living God, the same to whom God had said, Thou art my Son, Psa 2:7. In times of temptation to apostasy it is good to have recourse to our first principles, and stick to them; and, if we faithfully abide by that which is past dispute, we shall be the better able both to find and to keep the truth in matters of doubtful disputation. Secondly, The degree of their faith: it rose up to a full assurance: We are sure. We have known it by experience; this is the best knowledge. We should take occasion from others' wavering to be so much the more established, especially in that which is the present truth. When we have so strong a faith in the gospel of Christ as boldly to venture our souls upon it, knowing whom we have believed, then, and not till then, we shall be willing to venture every thing else for it. 3. The melancholy remark which our Lord Jesus made upon this reply of Peter's (Joh 6:70, Joh 6:71): Have not I chosen you twelve, and one of you is a devil? And the evangelist tells us whom he meant: he spoke of Judas Iscariot. Peter had undertaken for them all that they would be faithful to their Master. Now Christ does not condemn his charity (it is always good to hope the best), but he tacitly corrects his confidence. We must not be too sure concerning any. God knows those that are his; we do not. Observe here, (1.) Hypocrites and betrayers of Christ are no better than devils. Judas not only had a devil, but he was a devil. One of you is a false accuser; so diabolos sometimes signifies (Ti2 3:3); and it is probable that Judas, when he sold his Master to the chief priests, represented him to them as a bad man, to justify himself in what he did. But I rather take it as we read it: He is a devil, a devil incarnate, a fallen apostle, as the devil a fallen angel. He is Satan, an adversary, an enemy to Christ. He is Abaddon, and Apollyon, a son of perdition. He was of his father the devil, did his lusts, was in his interests, as Cain, Jo1 3:12. Those whose bodies were possessed by the devil are never called devils (demoniacs, but not devils); but Judas, into whose heart Satan entered, and filled it, is called a devil. (2.) Many that are seeming saints are real devils. Judas had as fair an outside as many of the apostles; his venom was, like that of the serpent, covered with a fine skin. He cast out devils, and appeared an enemy to the devil's kingdom, and yet was himself a devil all the while. Not only he will be one shortly, but he is one now. It is strange, and to be wondered at; Christ speaks of it with wonder: Have not I? It is sad, and to be lamented, that ever Christianity should be made a cloak to diabolism. (3.) The disguises of hypocrites, however they may deceive men, and put a cheat upon them, cannot deceive Christ, for his piercing eye sees through them. He can call those devils that call themselves Christians, like the prophet's greeting to Jeroboam's wife, when she came to him in masquerade (Kg1 14:6): Come in, thou wife of Jeroboam. Christ's divine sight, far better than any double sight, can see spirits. (4.) There are those who are chosen by Christ to special services who yet prove false to him: I have chosen you to the apostleship, for it is expressly said that Judas was not chosen to eternal life (Joh 13:18), and yet one of you is a devil. Note, Advancement to places of honour and trust in the church is no certain evidence of saving grace. We have prophesied in thy name. (5.) In the most select societies on this side heaven it is no new thing to meet with those that are corrupt. Of the twelve that were chosen to an intimate conversation with an incarnate Deity, as great an honour and privilege as ever men were chosen to, one was an incarnate devil. The historian lays an emphasis upon this, that Judas was one of the twelve that were so dignified and distinguished. Let us not reject and unchurch the twelve because one of them is a devil, nor say that they are all cheats and hypocrites because one of them was so; let those that are so bear the blame, and not those who, while they are undiscovered, incorporate with them. There is a society within the veil into which no unclean thing shall enter, a church of first-born, in which are no false brethren.”

“What and if ye shall see the son of man,.... Meaning himself then in a state of humiliation, and was taken for a mere man, though the true Messiah, and Son of God: ascend up where he was before? for Christ was, he existed before his incarnation, and he was in heaven before; not in his human nature, but as the word and Son of God: and he intimates, that when he had done his work, and the will of his Father, for which he came down from heaven, by the assumption of the human nature, he should ascend up thither again; and which would be seen, as it was, by his apostles; and which would prove that he came down from heaven, as he had asserted; see Eph 4:9; and that his flesh and blood were not to be eaten in a corporeal sense; in which sense they understood him: and he hereby suggests, that if it was difficult to receive, and hard to be understood, and was surprising and incredible, that he should come down from heaven, as bread, to be eat and fed upon; it would be much more so to them to be told, that he who was in so mean and lowly a form, should ascend up into heaven.”

“Many therefore of his disciples - So it appears that he had many more than the twelve, who constantly accompanied him. This is a hard saying; who can hear it? - Who can digest such doctrine as this? It is intolerable: it is impracticable. There is a similar saving in Euripides, to the σκληρος λογος of the evangelist. Ποτερα θελεις σοι μαλθακα ψευδη λεγω, η σκληρ' αληθη, φραζε; Tell me whether thou wouldst that I should speak unto thee, a Soft Lie, or the Harsh Truth? The wicked word of a lying world is in general better received than the holy word of the God of truth!”