I am now somewhere in the middle of reading through the Gospels, and I have to tell you, this time through feels a bit different than previous read-throughs, which, by the way dates back to childhood (considering the text from the four Gospels were preached regularly in church when I was growing up). Although I have recently detailed the main reason why “Reading Through The Bible 2025” has now stretched into 2026, one of the current reasons now that I have been making a concerted effort to connect with God’s Word regularly but at a slower pace, so that I can absorb more of the nutrients.
Now we are entering the sections that really captured my attention when I read through it this time:
The above in fact took me quite a few repeated read-throughs in order for me to grasp logistically what exactly was going on. Oftentimes when God wants to get my attention, He will use a “hook,” oftentimes a passage that I’m less familiar with at the time of reading that, as I’m trying to grasp it intellectually I’m kind of frustrated because I’m not quite capturing what exactly is going on.
That happened here. Jesus got in the boat with His disciples after walking toward them on the open water, and was with them presumably on the opposite shore, where they were intending to go. But, evidently neither Jesus nor His disciples were there, especially when the folks among the 5,000 fed arrived where the disciples were heading (and the presence of the boat in which they saw the disciples leaving the previous evening).
The crowds were relentless in seeking and finding Jesus. But He had some words for them:
Evidently, by Jesus’s statement, these guys were like paparazzi (yes, paparazzi existed long before Hollywood). They wanted to follow Him physically, but it wasn’t so that they could learn to live like Him. So He addressed it head-on:
Granted, the context of the above was from one of the times Jesus confronted the Pharisees, but there’s a similar tone here. These other people, from Tiberias, were interested in Jesus only for what He could give them.
I’ll pause right there, because that’s a bit of a heart check for me as well. Like anyone else, I love the thought of Jesus’s abundant life that He promises. But I hate affliction. I still think I’ve endured far more than I think I should ever have had to endure. Much of my life’s historical frustrations can be traced to how, despite the constant row of challenges and difficulties in my childhood, I had held out hope and faith that my adulthood would be not just better but actually really good, only for my adulthood to also be one long series of continued hardships, stumbles, and falls. That no matter how hard I pushed or held out hope, it would still not work out, and I would still not make it. But these are lies from the pit of hell! My hatred of affliction is traced to lies! Jesus said that there would be affliction:
But He also said that He has overcome the world.
Today’s passage takes us to the sixth chapter of John’s account of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. I’ll be transparent: it’s not an easy chapter to digest when you really look at it. The line from the following verse,
“From that time many of His disciples went back and walked with Him no more.”
John 6:66 NKJV
https://bible.com/bible/114/jhn.6.66.NKJV
hit me hard during a previous read-through in a prior year. I didn’t like it. But it was because I didn’t know what to do with it. All I could do with it then was to leave it and come back another day. And now, that day came in the last week. As I sat with the passage, with the chapter on the whole, God brought clarity to me that helped me understand why things went the way they did, and what I need to do to avoid that trap. As such, I desire to share with you here today what I’ve been learning from it.
Preamble: John 6:1-22, Jesus fed the five thousand (almost right after John the Baptist was killed), and then sent His disciples away on a boat to the opposite shore while He withdrew Himself to pray. (Being fully human, I believe that He needed to process these events with His Heavenly Father.) Then, after being filled again after spending time with His Father, He sought out His disciples on the sea by walking on the open water.
Closing out this section:
Closing out this section:
“So when they had rowed about three or four miles, they saw Jesus walking on the sea and drawing near the boat; and they were afraid. But He said to them, “It is I; do not be afraid.” Then they willingly received Him into the boat, and immediately the boat was at the land where they were going.”John 6:19-21 NKJV
Now we are entering the sections that really captured my attention when I read through it this time:
“On the following day, when the people who were standing on the other side of the sea saw that there was no other boat there, except that one which His disciples had entered, and that Jesus had not entered the boat with His disciples, but His disciples had gone away alone— however, other boats came from Tiberias, near the place where they ate bread after the Lord had given thanks— when the people therefore saw that Jesus was not there, nor His disciples, they also got into boats and came to Capernaum, seeking Jesus.”John 6:22-24 NKJV
The above in fact took me quite a few repeated read-throughs in order for me to grasp logistically what exactly was going on. Oftentimes when God wants to get my attention, He will use a “hook,” oftentimes a passage that I’m less familiar with at the time of reading that, as I’m trying to grasp it intellectually I’m kind of frustrated because I’m not quite capturing what exactly is going on.
That happened here. Jesus got in the boat with His disciples after walking toward them on the open water, and was with them presumably on the opposite shore, where they were intending to go. But, evidently neither Jesus nor His disciples were there, especially when the folks among the 5,000 fed arrived where the disciples were heading (and the presence of the boat in which they saw the disciples leaving the previous evening).
“when the people therefore saw that Jesus was not there, nor His disciples, they also got into boats and came to Capernaum, seeking Jesus. And when they found Him on the other side of the sea, they said to Him, “Rabbi, when did You come here?””John 6:24-25 NKJV
The crowds were relentless in seeking and finding Jesus. But He had some words for them:
“Jesus answered them and said, “Most assuredly, I say to you, you seek Me, not because you saw the signs, but because you ate of the loaves and were filled.”John 6:26 NKJV
Evidently, by Jesus’s statement, these guys were like paparazzi (yes, paparazzi existed long before Hollywood). They wanted to follow Him physically, but it wasn’t so that they could learn to live like Him. So He addressed it head-on:
“‘These people draw near to Me with their mouth, And honor Me with their lips, But their heart is far from Me.”Matthew 15:8 NKJV
Granted, the context of the above was from one of the times Jesus confronted the Pharisees, but there’s a similar tone here. These other people, from Tiberias, were interested in Jesus only for what He could give them.
I’ll pause right there, because that’s a bit of a heart check for me as well. Like anyone else, I love the thought of Jesus’s abundant life that He promises. But I hate affliction. I still think I’ve endured far more than I think I should ever have had to endure. Much of my life’s historical frustrations can be traced to how, despite the constant row of challenges and difficulties in my childhood, I had held out hope and faith that my adulthood would be not just better but actually really good, only for my adulthood to also be one long series of continued hardships, stumbles, and falls. That no matter how hard I pushed or held out hope, it would still not work out, and I would still not make it. But these are lies from the pit of hell! My hatred of affliction is traced to lies! Jesus said that there would be affliction:
“These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.””John 16:33 NKJV
But He also said that He has overcome the world.
“Many are the afflictions of the righteous, But the Lord delivers him out of them all.”Psalms 34:19 NKJV
This is a promise: not that I don’t (or won’t) have troubles, but that if I cry out to Jesus, He will deliver me.
“I sought the Lord, and He heard me, And delivered me from all my fears.”Psalms 34:4 NKJV
“This poor man cried out, and the Lord heard him, And saved him out of all his troubles.”Psalms 34:6 NKJV
“The young lions lack and suffer hunger; But those who seek the Lord shall not lack any good thing.”Psalms 34:10 NKJV
“The eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, And His ears are open to their cry.”Psalms 34:15 NKJV
“The righteous cry out, and the Lord hears, And delivers them out of all their troubles.”Psalms 34:17 NKJV
Anyone on whom God sets His seal, will be delivered and taken care of by Him:
“Do not labor for the food which perishes, but for the food which endures to everlasting life, which the Son of Man will give you, because God the Father has set His seal on Him.””John 6:27 NKJV
The above is a major paradigm-shifter. If our focus is on the things of this life, such as the American dream, or even on good things that God might provide, like a spouse or a fulfilling line of work, then we’ve made those things our god instead of the God of gods (or King of kings, or Lord of lords, etc). Jesus’s desire is for us to have more than just the temporary things of this life, and really that we should prioritize the things of the next life over this one:
““Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal; but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”Matthew 6:19-21 NKJV
““Therefore do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.”Matthew 6:31-33 NKJV
And the same could be said regarding how to approach both affliction and life with (and in) Jesus:
“The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.”John 10:10 NKJV
“The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.”Psalms 23:1 NKJV
“Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; For You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; You anoint my head with oil; My cup runs over. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me All the days of my life; And I will dwell in the house of the Lord Forever.”Psalms 23:4-6 NKJV
God promises to always be with us and to comfort us. He will reward us for sure in the next life, and even in this one as well. But we have to seek Him with all of our hearts, desires, passions, wants, needs, and wills.
“Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning.”James 1:17 NKJV
If God doesn’t change or turn, then neither should we:
“But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind. For let not that man suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord;”James 1:6-7 NKJV
And that’s what I believe Jesus was getting at when saying the following:
“Jesus answered them and said, “Most assuredly, I say to you, you seek Me, not because you saw the signs, but because you ate of the loaves and were filled. Do not labor for the food which perishes, but for the food which endures to everlasting life, which the Son of Man will give you, because God the Father has set His seal on Him.””John 6:26-27 NKJV
The next section contains some of the most powerful and important messages in all of Scripture:
“Then they said to Him, “What shall we do, that we may work the works of God?” Jesus answered and said to them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He sent.””John 6:28-29 NKJV
One of the longest-standing arguments in all of Judeo-Christian history is the question of salvation as it pertains to good works. Of course, the answer is simple: it’s faith in Jesus. It’s believing that what He did on the cross, dying for the sins of all humanity, is sufficient for salvation. It’s believing that Jesus is exactly who the Bible says He is, and that He did exactly what the Bible says He did. It’s believing that God the Father truly did send Him to earth to live and walk among us, and that He not only died on the cross for our sins but that He also rose again, conquering death in the process:
“but has now been revealed by the appearing of our Savior Jesus Christ, who has abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel,”II Timothy 1:10 NKJV
(The next one below is Jesus Himself talking.)
“I am He who lives, and was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore. Amen. And I have the keys of Hades and of Death.”Revelation 1:18 NKJV
Additionally, God promises that those who have Jesus Christ in their hearts will also be raised to life:
“But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you.”Romans 8:11 NKJV
“So when this corruptible has put on incorruption, and this mortal has put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written: “Death is swallowed up in victory.” “O Death, where is your sting? O Hades, where is your victory?” The sting of death is sin, and the strength of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.”I Corinthians 15:54-57 NKJV
Above all, the only true “good work” that one can do is believing in the One whom God has sent (that is, Jesus Christ, the Son of God), and letting Him transform you into being like Him:
“And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.”Romans 12:2 NKJV
“Imitate me, just as I also imitate Christ.”I Corinthians 11:1 NKJV
Or, in my case: “just trust in Him, and live your life to His service, and you’ll be fine.”
The next section of John 6 is quite challenging, and it culminates with the sad reality that not even many who get to see Jesus face to face, will “get it” and follow Him for Him (rather than for their own personal benefit only):
“Therefore they said to Him, “What sign will You perform then, that we may see it and believe You? What work will You do? Our fathers ate the manna in the desert; as it is written, ‘He gave them bread from heaven to eat.’ ” Then Jesus said to them, “Most assuredly, I say to you, Moses did not give you the bread from heaven, but My Father gives you the true bread from heaven. For the bread of God is He who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.” Then they said to Him, “Lord, give us this bread always.” And Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life. He who comes to Me shall never hunger, and he who believes in Me shall never thirst. But I said to you that you have seen Me and yet do not believe.”John 6:30-36 NKJV
But still, Jesus tries again:
“All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will by no means cast out. For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me. This is the will of the Father who sent Me, that of all He has given Me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up at the last day. And this is the will of Him who sent Me, that everyone who sees the Son and believes in Him may have everlasting life; and I will raise him up at the last day.””John 6:37-40 NKJV
Again, as Jesus is explaining to the crowd, this is the Gospel. Don’t get hung up on literal bread. Don’t get hung up on extraneous traditions, especially if you don’t know why you are doing said tradition. It’s about receiving Jesus Christ as your King and Savior. It’s about surrendering your life to Him. It’s about submitting your will to Him. It’s about inviting Him into your heart so that He is able to not only heal you but also transform you in order to conform you to His perfection. Following old customs and traditions that meant everything to the first few generations that walked with God the Father but lost its flavor quickly over time, those won’t get you any extra favor with Him. Heck, even the Pharisees don’t know what they’re doing (and haven’t for quite a while). Jesus makes it clear that his mission is to ensure that He doesn’t even lose one person that God has sent Him to reach (including those to whom God is still sending Him to reach). That’s the good news! That’s the Gospel! Everyone has an opportunity to receive Jesus as their King and Savior! This availability is right in front of you!
“The Jews then complained about Him, because He said, “I am the bread which came down from heaven.” And they said, “Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How is it then that He says, ‘I have come down from heaven’?” Jesus therefore answered and said to them, “Do not murmur among yourselves. No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up at the last day. It is written in the prophets, ‘And they shall all be taught by God.’ Therefore everyone who has heard and learned from the Father comes to Me. Not that anyone has seen the Father, except He who is from God; He has seen the Father. Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me has everlasting life. I am the bread of life. Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, and are dead. This is the bread which comes down from heaven, that one may eat of it and not die. I am the living bread which came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever; and the bread that I shall give is My flesh, which I shall give for the life of the world.””John 6:41-51 NKJV
Once again, the Jews, hung up on their traditions, are still thinking of Jesus’s preaching the Gospel as “the son of the carpenter talking to us about maybe replicating the manna miracle in the desert that no one else but God has ever done,” rather than “the Son of God Himself explaining that by believing His words and obeying them, and by especially believing that He is Who He says He is—the Son of God.”
“The Jews therefore quarreled among themselves, saying, “How can this Man give us His flesh to eat?” Then Jesus said to them, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in you. Whoever eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day. For My flesh is food indeed, and My blood is drink indeed. He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood abides in Me, and I in him. As the living Father sent Me, and I live because of the Father, so he who feeds on Me will live because of Me. This is the bread which came down from heaven—not as your fathers ate the manna, and are dead. He who eats this bread will live forever.” These things He said in the synagogue as He taught in Capernaum.”John 6:52-59 NKJV
(Side note: this chapter is the one containing the famous “Jesus as the Bread of Life” verses that many Protestant churches have referenced, whether in sermons or hymns. I do believe that what Jesus says is true; I just find it very interesting that the context in which He says (and reiterates) these statements is to a crowd (not the Pharisees, by the way) acting like paparazzi that doesn’t understand that following Him is not like being part of a fan club! Salvation is by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone; not by works, and not by joining a Jesus Christ fan-club!)
“Therefore many of His disciples, when they heard this, said, “This is a hard saying; who can understand it?””John 6:60 NKJV
Here unfortunately is where many turned away from Jesus. One note: where it says “His disciples,” it’s not referring to the twelve main disciples (and you’ll see it later on in the chapter); it’s referring to the crowd (really, the paparazzi) that wanted to follow Him in hopes that He might subsidize their fleshly desires (like maybe another feast like the one they had just had the previous evening), and not much else.
“Therefore many of His disciples, when they heard this, said, “This is a hard saying; who can understand it?” When Jesus knew in Himself that His disciples complained about this, He said to them, “Does this offend you? What then if you should see the Son of Man ascend where He was before? It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing. The words that I speak to you are spirit, and they are life. 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 would betray Him. And He said, “Therefore I have said to you that no one can come to Me unless it has been granted to him by My Father.” From that time many of His disciples went back and walked with Him no more.”John 6:60-66 NKJV
I remember coming across the last verse of the above section (“From that time many of His disciples went back and walked with Him no more.”), and reading it hit me hard. I didn’t yet understand the reason for it, only that Jesus challenged them. Just the thought of people walking away from Jesus because He said something hard was enough for me. (That, plus the thought that Jesus would say something hard enough to make people want to walk away!) At the time, much of my understanding of Jesus, aside from the basics of “born of a virgin, suffered under Pontius Pilate, died, was buried, and raised back to life on the third day,” consisted also of receiving healing and ministering to others (including strangers) by praying for their healing and using His name as I did so. The thought of having to radically change my thinking in addition to the above was not on my radar.
The bottom line is, this is an important part of the Gospel along with the rest. It is great now in 2026 to see people in our country (and across parts of the world) flocking to churches to hear about Jesus. This is what we want. And even more importantly, this is what Jesus wants. He wants all to come to repentance, to come to Him, to receive Him so His work of redemption can take effect in them.
“The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.”II Peter 3:9 NKJV
But the reality is that it’s not enough to be a “fan” of Jesus. It’s not enough to like the idea of Him being one’s Savior and Lord. It’s not even enough to only believe that Jesus is the Son of God (although it is indeed a very important part of salvation!):
“You believe that there is one God. You do well. Even the demons believe—and tremble!”James 2:19 NKJV
The reality is, even though all will hear about Jesus at one point in time or another, most will not truly follow:
““Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it.”Matthew 7:13-14 NKJV
As I read through the verses following John 6:66, I notice something else:
“From that time many of His disciples went back and walked with Him no more. Then Jesus said to the twelve, “Do you also want to go away?””John 6:66-67 NKJV
(Note: as promised, this is why I believe that the Bible isn’t referring to the twelve disciples when it records that “many of His disciples went back and walked with Him no more.” It’s because in the very next verse, it says that Jesus then turned to the twelve and asked them if they also were going to abandon Him like the others had done.)
Reading through the whole chapter up until this point, and then especially bearing in mind verses 66 and 67, I get the impression (as do many commentators) that Jesus’s tone was one of sadness, not anger, let alone arrogance (He was perfect and didn’t sin, so of course there would be no tone of arrogance!). He’s going to be honest about what it takes to receive eternal life. He came not to abolish the Law of Moses but to uphold it, and in fact to fulfill it:
““Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill.”Matthew 5:17 NKJV
The Law still stands. But Jesus’s mission was to take care of the penalty for disobedience and sin, which always required blood:
“For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”Romans 6:23 NKJV
Because He took care of the “wages of sin” as required by the Law by giving up His life for us on the cross, He provided a way out.
“And walk in love, as Christ also has loved us and given Himself for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling aroma.”Ephesians 5:2 NKJV
“And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life. For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.”John 3:14-16 NKJV
And even today, Jesus still provides a way out:
“No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it.”I Corinthians 10:13 NKJV
But we need to turn our lives over to Him in order to be able to walk in freedom (in Him):
“Therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall.”I Corinthians 10:12 NKJV
And part of turning our lives over to Him is realizing (and then acting on that realization) that He is the only way, as demonstrated in Peter’s response:
“But Simon Peter answered Him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. Also we have come to believe and know that You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.””John 6:68-69 NKJV
Although Peter did have a tendency to put his foot in his mouth at times, here he spoke the truth. Not only so, but he also spoke faith and confidence. Based on the text, it was clear that at this point he started to understand that a life without Jesus Christ at the center was no life at all. Following Jesus only for what He can do for you is not enough. It’s good as a starting point, because we all have needs, and what we need the most is Jesus. But there’s more we have to do, and that is to surrender our lives to Him as King and Savior, and to let Him transform us into what He wants us to be, so that we then can do what He wants us to do. There is no other way.
Interestingly, a similar type of conversation that had occurred between Jesus and the crowd in John 6 also occurred later, between Jesus and Thomas:
“Thomas said to Him, “Lord, we do not know where You are going, and how can we know the way?” Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.”John 14:5-6 NKJV
At the end of the day, it’s not even about the way, or the bread. Those are just examples. It’s about Jesus, and a radical faith that leads into action to where we trust Him to be everything that we need for our lives until our last moment here on earth:
“Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.”John 14:6 NKJV
“But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.”Hebrews 11:6 NKJV
“For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.”Ephesians 2:8-10 NKJV
