John chapter 6. We'd like to read just the last
five verses, beginning at verse 66, and then we'll recount what
brought this incident about in the ministry of our Lord. That
is, so many that profess to know Him walk away. John 6 verse 66. From that time, many of his disciples
went back. Not just a few, but many. Because there were many following
him at this time. They were some of the many that
he had fed in the first part of the chapter. 5,000 men besides
women and children. They followed him when he crossed
the sea. but now we're told from that time many of his disciples
went back and walked no more with him. Then said Jesus unto
the twelve, Will ye also go away? Then Simon Peter answered, Lord,
to whom shall we go? Thou hast the words of eternal
life, and we believe and are sure Thou art that Christ, that
Messiah, the one the Old Testament spoke of in the Psalms, in Moses,
in the Prophets. You're that Christ, the Son of
the Living God. Jesus answered them, Have not
I chosen you twelve, and one of you is a devil? He spoke of
Judas Iscariot, the son of Simon, for he it was that should betray
him, being one of the 12. From that time, many went back
and walked no more with him. What caused this departure? Why
at this time? What took place at this time
that caused these people to walk back? As we said earlier, Among
these many that walked back at this time and followed no more
with him, I'm sure there was quite a few among those 5,000
that he fed. When he fed the multitude with
the few fishes and loaves, look, if you will, back in the earlier
part of the chapter, the first part of the chapter. After that
miracle takes place, we read in verse 13, Therefore they gathered
them together and filled twelve baskets with fragments of the
five barley loaves, which remained, over and above unto them that
had eaten. Then those men, those men that
were fed, those men that I witnessed and partook of this miracle,
when they had seen the miracle that Jesus did say, This is of
a truth, that prophet, that should come into the world. They were
convinced of it here. Afterwards, as we read in verse
66 of the same chapter, many of them walked no more with him.
Look at verse 15. When Jesus therefore perceived
that they would come and take him by force to make him a king,
he departed again into a mountain himself alone. They would take
him by force to make him a king. He didn't need their help to
do that. He was already king. You remember when he was born
and the wise men came from the east seeking him that was born
king of the Jews? And Herod heard that news that
another king was born. You know the story. And he wanted
to find him, pretending to want to worship, but he wanted to
kill him, because we're told in Luke chapter 2 that Herod
and all Jerusalem was disturbed by the news. Another king. And you remember, 33 years later,
as he stands before Pilate, and Pilate said, are you a king then?
And our Lord said, for this reason came I into the world. Yes, what
you say is true. I am a king. He didn't need the help of these
men to make him a king. 700 years before, in Isaiah chapter
9 we're told, unto you a child is born, unto you a son is given. Not a son born, but a son given. He's the eternal Son of God. Unto you, true, a child is born,
flesh of our flesh and bone of our bones. But God gave His Son. His Son was from everlasting
to everlasting, just as God the Father is. But Isaiah said, upon
His shoulders shall be the government. He shall rule, He shall be king,
the mighty God, the Prince of Peace, and of His kingdom, His
government, there shall be no end. So you see, our Lord and
King, that Lord just read about in Psalm 29, He that sets king
forever doesn't need the assistance of man to maintain His kingship. He crosses the sea. We spoke
about that several weeks ago. He crosses, or rather sends his
disciples across the sea, and he comes walking up on the water. Again, Psalm 29. Oh, he has his
way, does he not? Walks up on the sea and comes
to the other side. And these people follow him.
Look, if you will, down at verse 25. When they couldn't find Christ
on the other side of the sea, they take shipping and they come
looking for him. Verse 25, And when they had found
him on the other side of the sea, they said unto him, Rabbi,
Master, when comest thou hither? Our Lord's answer, verily, verily,
I say unto you, you seek me not, you seek me rather, not because
you saw the miracles, but because you did eat of the loaves and
were filled. He didn't commend them for following
Him, because they followed Him for the wrong reason. And He
tells them that in verse 27, labor not for that meat which
perisheth, like you ate before the fish and the loaves, but
for that meat which endureth unto everlasting life, which
the Son of Man shall give unto you, for Him hath the Father
sealed. They didn't like that. That's
not what they wanted to hear. He didn't commend them as they
thought he would. He tells them that he's superior
to that manna. They said, our fathers ate manna
in the wilderness, in those 40 years of wilderness journey. Our fathers did eat manna in
the wilderness. And he said, I'm the true manna.
Your fathers ate that bread and died. He said, I'm the true bread
of heaven. or the true bread that comes
down from heaven that God shall give unto those that really do
hunger. And they didn't like that either.
Look at verse 41. After our Lord said that, that
He was the bread that came down from heaven, the Jews then murmured, verse
41, at Him. Now just a day before they wanted
to make Him king. The Jews then murmured at him
because he said, I am the bread which came down from heaven. And they said, is not this Jesus,
the son of Joseph? How fickle they are. How fickle. Whose father and mother we know?
And how is it then that he saith, I came down from heaven? And they murmured. Look down,
if you will, at verse 52. Our Lord tells them that He's
the bread of life, that if any man eats of Him, he shall never
die. He said, I'm the living bread,
verse 51, which came down from heaven. If any man eat of this
bread, he shall live forever. Wow, what a claim. What a claim,
what a statement. And the bread that I will give
him is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world,
Jew, Gentile alike." They've got a problem with that too.
Verse 52. Then the Jews therefore strove
among themselves, saying, How can this man give us his flesh
to eat? And they murmured some more. Look down, if you will, at verse
59. These things said he in the synagogue as he taught in Capernaum. Many, therefore, of his disciples,
when they heard this, said, This is a hard saying. Who can hear
it? Who can understand it? When Jesus
knew it himself that his disciples murmured at it, he said unto
them, Does this offend you? Does this offend you? Are you
stumbled by this? Look what he says in verse 62.
What if you shall see the Son of Man ascend up to where he
was before? If what I speak to you now offends
you, what if you see me ascend back to glory? He said, I'm telling
you, I'm God. I'm the bread of life. You can't
come to the Father except by me. We didn't read it, but he
said over there, He knew that they followed him for the wrong
reasons. He said, you labor for the bread
that perisheth. He said, no man can truly come
to me, except the Father which has sent me draw him. And they
murmured at that. They didn't like that either.
This is a hard saint. Does this offend you? Verse 63,
it is the spirit that quickeneth. Oh, now he's getting really down
where the rubber meets the road, as we say. It is the Spirit that
quickeneth. The flesh profiteth nothing.
Are you telling us that all that we've done profits nothing? Are
you telling us the sacrifice we've made to find you profits
nothing? Are you saying that being descendants
of Abraham profits nothing? How can you say that? He said,
it is the Spirit that quickeneth, the flesh profiteth zip. Nothing. Nothing. It's the Spirit that gives life. Lord, if we're dead in sin, He
must quicken us. If He doesn't do it, it doesn't
get done. Isn't this exactly what he said
to Nicodemus, who came to our Lord by night, slipped in through
the back door? We know that you're a teacher
come from God, because no man can do the things that you do
except God be with him. Nicodemus, you must be born again. It is the Spirit that quickeneth. He didn't tell Nicodemus that
was something that he himself could do, that is Nicodemus,
but he told him, it must be done. If it's not done, if God doesn't
do it, if God doesn't breathe on your dead soul and give you
life, you'll never see the kingdom of God. Paul said in 1 Corinthians
2, spiritual things are spiritually discerned. Again, verse 63, it
is the spirit that quickeneth, the flesh profiteth nothing. I declare, he's not going to
win friends and influence people that way, is he? That's not what
he came to do. The words that I speak unto you,
they are spirit and they are life. But there are some of you
that believe not. For Jesus knew from the beginning
who they were that believed not and who should betray him. Therefore
said I unto you that no man can come unto me except they were
given him of my father. Now that brings us back to verse
66. From that time many of his disciples
went back and walked no more with him. They'd heard enough. They'd been defended enough. They'd been insulted enough. The flesh profits nothing? It
sounds like he's telling us that salvation's all of the Lord.
That a man can't even truly come to Him unless he's drawn. That
the flesh has nothing to do with it. We can't stand that. We just can't have that. Then
said Jesus unto the twelve, verse 67, will ye also go away? There are
two questions there. Our Lord asked one and then Peter
asked one. Our Lord said, will ye also go
away? The title of our message is Multiplied
Grace. multiplied grace. And I take
that title from Peter's own words. In both his epistles, he said,
grace and peace be multiplied to you. And using Peter as an
example, of that very thing when we come to consider His answer
and His question. Lord, to whom shall we go? You only have the words of eternal
life and we believe and are sure that Thou art the Christ, the
Son of the living God. But first consider the Lord's
question. Will you also go away You that
I've called, will you leave Andrew?" In this Gospel chapter 1, Andrew
was a disciple of John the Baptist. One of the two remaining disciples
of John the Baptist. Because John's mission was accomplished. He said, I rejoice like the best
man at the wedding. Oh, the bridegroom has come. He that has the bride is the
bridegroom. That's not me. And he told everyone,
religious, soldiers, told everyone, behold the Lamb of God, that's
him. One day he stood with two of
his disciples. One was Andrew, Peter's brother.
Jesus walks by and he says to them, behold the Lamb of God,
that's him. That's him. Fellas, quit following
me. You don't need me anymore. I'm just a voice of one crying
in the wilderness. My joy, therefore, is fulfilled
because now He's arrived." And John swiftly, swiftly, fades
from the scene. Not long after that, he's beheaded. He said, he, that is Christ. John said, he must increase,
Lord, but I must decrease. And it was John's joy to do so. It was John's joy to step back
and let Christ have all the glory and all the honor, because from
him he received all the mercy and all the grace. And Andrew,
upon hearing those words, that Jesus of Nazareth was the Lamb
of God, followed Him, spent time with Him. And then he goes back
and says, Peter, come with me. Come with me. We've found the
Messiah. And he brings his brother to
Christ. And Christ looks at Peter and
said, you'll be called Cephas, a rock. Afterwards, he finds
Philip, then James, his brother John. After this, they go back
to fishing. After this encounter in John
1, but our Lord walks by afterwards. And they're in their boats, mending
their nets, and he says, come follow me and I'll make you to
become fishers of men. And they left everything and
followed him. He walked a little further, saw
James and John, said the same thing, follow me. And now he
says to them, you want to go away? You want to leave? Matthew, he called him as he
was sitting at the receipt of custom, a publican, a tax collector. Matthew, will you also go away? Will I go away? Yes, I will. I'll go with the
crowd, or I'll go my own way, which way it doesn't matter,
but I'll take it unless I'll go away without question
unless He keeps me. Unless He keeps me, I'll go with
that crowd. I'll turn my back, proving that
I'm an unbeliever. I'll go out from them because
I was not of them. Unless He's worth the work of
grace in my heart, I'll go away. Oh, look, look back in the chapter
at verse 37. Unless, unless. I'm going to go away, Louie,
and you will too. Unless that One who called us
is able to keep us. Unless He has grace to call us
out of darkness into His marvelous light and grace to keep us there. Grace to open our eyes to behold
the Lamb of God and grace to keep our eyes upon Him as we
walk through this world. And thank God he does. He's the
God of all grace. Look at verse 37. He said, all
that the Father giveth me shall come to me. Where else they gonna
go? They shall come to me. In time
they'll hear my voice and they'll follow me. I find such comfort
in that blessed verse of scripture, don't you? Oh, thank God. All that the Father giveth me
shall come to me. They're going to hear my voice.
I don't know who the Father has given to the Son. He's speaking
of His elect, His chosen. That before the world was, when
He stood as the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world,
when He agreed to the terms of that everlasting covenant, that
in the fullness of time to come and do everything, everything
necessary for the salvation of all those the Father had given
to Him. That's what he speaks of here.
All that the Father giveth me, I don't know who they are. I
can't think of who the preacher was, but someone told him one
time, we want you just to preach to the elect. We don't like the
way you just randomly exhort sinners to trust Christ. Just preach to God's left." And
he said, well, who are they? Who are they? Have you put a
mark down their back or something? No, no. The great shepherd of
the sheep, who certainly knew who the elect were, he said,
your names are written in heaven. He said, go into all the world
and preach the gospel to every creature. Everybody and God will
take that word by his blessed spirit and drop it into the hearts
of his elect and renew them and bring them to the Son. That's
what he says. All that the Father giveth me
shall come to me and him that cometh unto me. Peter, Andrew, James, John, all
except that devil who was never converted, Judas, and him that
cometh to me, I will in no wise cast out. No matter who they
are, if they've come to me, I will keep them and they'll never be
cast out. He says, for, verse 38, or because,
I came down from heaven not to do mine own will, but the will
of Him that sent me. And this is the Father's will
which is sent me, that of all," A-double-L, which He had given
me, listen to the captain of your salvation. Listen to the
words of our great King. Of all which He had given me,
I should lose nothing, but you raise it up again at the last
day. Oh, multiplied grace. Grace is
not a word. Grace is an operation. Grace
is God working in your heart and keeping you, preserving you,
and bringing you to the throne of His everlasting glory without
a spot, without a wrinkle, or without any such thing. Paul
writes to the church at Philippi, and says, He that's begun a good
work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ. Peter, I told you we were going
to zero in on Peter. Peter, can he keep this sinner? Can he keep this sinner? Turn, if you will, to 1 Peter
chapter 1. 1 Peter chapter 1. Let's ask Peter, is his grace
sufficient? for a weak, weak man like me. 1 Peter chapter
1, this is what he tells us. Oh,
and thank God, it is indeed good news. Verse 3, blessed be the
God and Father, of our Lord Jesus Christ, which, according to His
abundant mercy, hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by
the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance
incorruptible and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved."
You see that word, brothers and sisters? reserved in heaven for
you." The master said, in my father's house are many mansions. If that weren't true, if that
wasn't the case, if that's not how it is, I wouldn't be telling
you this, he said. And he said, I also say this
to you, that I go away to prepare a place for you. And if I go
and prepare that place for you, I'm coming back for you that
where I am, there you may be also. It's just a matter of time,
Lord. Just a matter of time, as old
Job said, when a few years are come, that I shall go the way
from whence I shall not return. Reserved in heaven for you. Verse 5, in the meantime, in
the meantime, until we arrive there, who are kept by the power
of God through faith unto salvation. Oh yes, Peter says, He can keep
you. His grace is sufficient. Peter,
what if I deny Him? What if I'm so fallen and so
caught unawares by temptation that I deny Him? What then, Peter? Look, if you will, in Luke chapter
22, you know where I'm going. Again using Peter to answer the
question because he did that very thing. Luke chapter 22. Our Lord is standing before the high priest,
or will be. Let's skip down to verse 59.
Luke 22 verse 59. Now remember just hours before
this, Our Lord told Peter, Satan had desired to have you that
he might sift you as wheat, but I prayed for you that your faith
fail not. And when you're converted, strengthen
your brethren. Peter, before the cock crows
twice this night, you'll deny three times that you ever knew
me. And Peter denied that. He said,
that can't be possible. You're mistaken. I love you. I'll go die with you. Surely
I won't deny you. And now they've all forsook him
and fled. Peter comes back, and our Lord
is before the high priest, being the substitute for Peter, being
the substitute for me. In verse 59, in about the space
of one hour, after another confidently affirmed, of a truth this fellow
also is with him, for he is a Galilean. And Peter said, Man, I know not
what thou sayest. And immediately, while he yet
spake, the cock crewed. And the Lord turned. This is
the only place we're told this. And the Lord turned and looked
upon Peter. And Peter remembered the word
of the Lord, how he said unto him, Before the cock crow, thou
shalt deny me thrice. And Peter went out and wept bitterly. I don't have a doubt that Peter
wept bitterly for three days and three nights. He wept bitterly,
brokenhearted, his mind in turmoil, his heart broken, thinking, what
have I done? Because remember, as of yet,
they knew not the scripture that he should rise again from the
dead. We're told that over and over
in the Gospels. And Peter thinks, what have I
done? What have I done? I told him
that I would go with him to death. And I denied that I was even
acquainted with Tim. Oh, Peter thought, if I just
had that to do over, if I could just go back and do that, oh,
why did I do that, Peter thought, and he wept and he wept and he
wept for three days. What have I done, he thought. When our Lord spoke to Peter
prior to this about being arrested, crucified, Peter
said, be it far from thee, Lord. I won't allow that. The Lord
said, get thee behind me, Satan. They were so ignorant of his
true mission. Even after the resurrection,
they asked him, will you at this time restore the kingdom again
to Israel? And Peter denied that he even
knew him. My soul. I can't imagine. Well, that's about all I can
do. The torment of Peter's mind for those three days. After everything
he did for me, I denied I even knew him. After everything I
saw, After everything I was an eyewitness of on the Mount of
Transfiguration, in the garden that night, that day he healed
my mother-in-law. I saw Him raise Lazarus from
the dead. I saw Him walk on water, and
He bid me walk on water. And I walked on it till I took
my eyes off Him, and yet He reached down and lifted me up. And now
I've denied Him. Oh, what have I done? And you
know what Peter thought? I'll never have an opportunity.
I'll never have an opportunity to tell Him how sorry I am. how sorry I am." That's what
Peter thought. Well, we're told, Paul tells
us in 1 Corinthians 15, when Christ had risen from the dead,
He appeared to Cephas. Broken-hearted, weeping Cephas. And our Lord comforted him, blessed
him. and let him know, you're still
mine." Oh yes, Peter would say, his grace is sufficient. And
he would write afterwards, be aware brothers in Christ, be
aware, we have an adversary, the devil, walking about as a
roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. I've learned from
experience. Oh, but Peter said, I've learned
this too. But the God of all grace, the God of all grace,
grace for a weak sinner like me and like you, His grace is
sufficient. Oh yes, Peter, thank God for
His amazing grace. And then look at the question
that Peter rather asked the Lord back in John chapter 6. When
our Lord asked him, will you also go away? Peter answered in verse 68, Lord,
to whom shall we go? Our Lord asked the question in
verse 67, and here's Peter's answer. Lord, to whom shall we
go? Thou hast the words of eternal
life. To whom shall we go? You have the words. Your words are life, and we believe
and are sure that thou art that Christ. You're He, not another. We need not look for another.
You're the Christ. You're that one that they all
wrote about. You're the one that should come
into the world. You're God's anointed. You're the Christ, the Son of
the living God. And it's committed under your
trust, your care, to keep us. Where else are we going to go?
Who else are we going to turn to? The weakest of God's sheep
are in the same position as the strongest. And where's that at? In His hand. In His hand. We're in His hand and none, He
said, can pluck them out. Again, Peter said, kept by the
power of God. Oh, He that called us from darkness
will keep us. Lord, to whom shall we go? Notice
what Peter said, whom. Now, we've already mentioned
enough about Peter to prove there was a whole lot he didn't know,
wasn't there? A whole lot he didn't understand.
Well, my soul, he didn't even understand why Christ had to
die until after the resurrection. But he knew whom, didn't he? That's the difference. Lord,
to whom shall we go? Peter believed in him. What do you believe, Peter? What
do you believe? We believe Him. Where's your
body of divinity? That's Him there. That's Him.
Jesus of Nazareth. That's what we believe. Listen
to what old Spurgeon said. I read an article along this
line by him. Thought I'd share it with you.
Spurgeon said doctrine with certain friends is everything. And their
rigid orthodoxy is the one care of their lives. And Spurgeon
said this, now against the sound creed and the doctrines of grace,
I have not a word to say. God be thanked that I love these
things as much as those who exalt them above measure. But still
our Lord is and must be the leading theme of our ministry. As much
as we love the master's throne, we love the master better still. We love Christ better than creed
and would rather magnify our Lord than any set of truths. Oh, more about Him. More about Christ. Paul said,
I know whom I have believed. And knowing Him, knowing whom,
knowing something about Him, that He's King of kings and Lord
of lords, that He's the everlasting Father, the mighty God, the Prince
of peace, He's all these things. Paul said, I believe He can keep
me. knowing whom I believe, who He
is, what He's able to do, what He's already done for this sinner,
I believe He's able to keep that that I've committed unto Him
against that day. And I do too, don't you? Who
are kept by the power of God. Paul in another place said, we
know, we know that all things work together to them who love
God, to them who are thee called according to His purpose." Paul
said, we know that. We know that. How can you be
so sure, Paul, that all things work together for good? Because
it's God that's doing the work. Whom He foreknew, He called. Whom He called, He justified
and glorified. Turn, if you will, to 2 Peter
chapter 2, and we'll wrap this up. The second epistle that Peter
wrote, chapter 2, verse 13. Did I say chapter 2? I meant
chapter 1. 2 Peter chapter 1. He's writing to these pilgrims
scattered, persecuted, God's people, and he says in verse
12 of chapter 1, Wherefore, I will not be negligent to put you always
in remembrance of these things, though ye know them and be established
in the present truth. Yea, I think it meet, I think
it proper." It's just right, Peter says. As long as I am in
this tabernacle, this body, this flesh, to stir you up by putting
you in remembrance, stir you up. How does one do that? stir you up, arouse you, awaken
you. How does one do that? All by
pointing them to Christ. Keep looking to Christ. And look what Peter says in verse
14, knowing that shortly, I must put off this my tabernacle, this
body, this life, will soon be over, even as our Lord Jesus
Christ hath showed me. Moreover, I will endeavor that
ye may be able, after my decease, to have these things always in
remembrance." All remembrance. Remember that the Lord Jesus
Christ is that one in whom God has entrusted all grace. Remember that the Lord Jesus
Christ, He is the Messiah. To whom shall you go if you turn
from Him? Oh, Peter said, I'll stir you
up by reminding you of these things. God forgive me. That
I take those blessed truths for granted. That I take Him for
granted. Get over the wonder of a text
like this. He loved me. And He gave Himself. Himself. He gave Himself for
me. Oh, what a wonder. What a wonder. The hymn writer said, and can
it be that I should gain an interest in the Savior's blood? Died He
for me that caused His shame? Oh, my soul! Amazing love, how
can it be that Thou, my God, should die for me? For me! Amazing Amazing love. Job, we didn't read it this morning,
but he said, I know that my Redeemer liveth. I know. Job said that, as he said, in
dustcloth, rather, sackcloth and ashes, grieving. But he found
his joy in this. Is this not what our Lord told
his disciples? In the world you shall have tribulation,
but be of good cheer. I've overcome the world. Job
said, I know that my Redeemer liveth. And though the skin worms
devour this flesh, yet in my flesh I shall see God with mine
own eyes and not another. I know, Job said, I know that
he liveth. Peter said, I know that you're
the Christ, the Son of the living God. Old John Bunyan wrote this. I'll read it. We'll use it to
close the message with. He wrote, the river of death
has been a terror to many, and yea, the thought of it has often
frightened me. But now, he says, but now in
Christ, I stand easy. I like that expression, don't
you Kenneth? He says, now in Christ, I stand
easy. I see myself at the end of my
journey, my toilsome days are ended, and I'm going to see that
head which was crowned with thorns, and that face which was spit
upon for me. I go where I shall live by sight,
and be with Him, whose company is my delight. I have loved to
hear my Lord spoken of, now I am going to see Him." See Him. I have seen the print
of his shoe on the earth, but now I'm going to hear his voice.
I have beheld his world, beautiful though touched by sin, but now
I'm going to dwell in his heaven where sin can never enter." There,
brothers and sisters in Christ, in Christ, we can stand easy. Can we not? God bless you.