The Point of the Gospel

The Point of the Gospel

The Cost of Following Jesus {John}

Many complained that Jesus’ teaching of eternal food and drink was too difficult to believe. Jesus said, “This offends you? What if you see the Son of Man return to heaven? The Spirit gives life. Physical life means nothing. The words I give you are spiritual and they are life. Yet some still don’t believe.”

Jesus had known from the beginning who would accept and who would betray him. “This is why I said the Father must supply the knowledge or opportunity for a person to come to me.”

Many turned back and stopped following Jesus. He asked the twelve if they wanted to leave as well. Simon Peter said, “Lord, to whom else would we turn? You have the words of eternal life. We believe and know that you are the Holy One of God.”

Jesus said, “I chose you twelve, but one of you is a devil.” He meant Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot.

Personal Thought: Christian teaching usually emphasizes that no one goes to heaven (receives eternal life) or finds God except through Jesus but seldom mentions that to go to Jesus, God must first send the person. This puts a slightly different spin on things and goes toward the overall theme of The Point of the Gospel: Jesus said he came so that the Holy Spirit might follow him and be the ultimate teacher. His purpose in coming was not foremost to provide us with the Bible but to forge a bridge to God by removing our sins. He forgave us, became the final sacrifice for our sins to allow us into the presence of God, and provided a resource, a conscience, a teacher to show us the way—the Holy Spirit. Our individual relationship with God depends on the Spirit. While the Bible is certainly a tool toward that end, the Holy Spirit is God’s divine hand in our lives.