You are the Holy One of God
John 6: 51-69
Pentecost 13 (Proper 15)
Grace, mercy, and peace from God our Father and our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ amen. The sermon text for the thirteenth Sunday after Pentecost is the Gospel reading John 6. Whose side are you on? Are you with the Lord or have you rejected Him? Who are you going to follow? Do you follow Christ, or do you follow your own path? That is the question that Jesus asks His disciples at the end of His bread of life discourse in our Gospel reading. We have been hearing the Lord’s bread of life discourse for the last several weeks. As you may remember Jesus miraculously fed five thousand people the day before. Some in the crowd went to seek Jesus the next day. They found Him on the other side of the sea of Galilee in Capernaum. They wanted more food. Jesus spoke to them instead. He revealed that He is the Son of God. He told them that He had come from the Father, that He is the Savior of the world, and that He is God in the flesh. He revealed to them that He is the only way to the Father in heaven.
After hearing what Jesus said the crowd of people rejected Him. They did not believe that Jesus came down from heaven because they knew His family – His mother and siblings. They knew that He could do miracles, but they did not believe that He was the Son of God. They did not think that Jesus was their Savior because they believed that they were saved through their obedience to the Law. They viewed Jesus as only a man and thus they did not believe that He was God in the flesh. In other words, they rejected Jesus.
That takes us to the end of our reading when Jesus now turns to the Twelve. After this many of His disciples turned back and no longer walked with Him. So Jesus said to the Twelve, “Do you want to go away as well?” Simon Peter answered Him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life, and we have believed, and have come to know, that you are the Holy One of God.”
There is a theme that we see in all of our readings for today. There are two types of people in the world. There are those who believe in Jesus and there are those who do not believe in Him. We see that in our Gospel reading. The crowds turned back and no longer followed Jesus, but Peter and the other apostles (except for Judas) believed in Jesus and continued to walk with Him. We see that same theme in our Old Testament reading from Proverbs. There are those who are wise. The wise take instruction, they are righteous, and they fear God. There are also those who are unwise. The unwise are wicked, they are scoffers, and they refuse to take any instruction from God at all. There is an alternate Old Testament reading from Joshua 24 for this Sunday. Joshua gathered all the tribes of Israel together and said these words to them. “Now therefore fear the Lord and serve Him in sincerity and in faithfulness. Put away the gods that your fathers served beyond the river and in Egypt and serve the Lord. And if it is evil in your eyes to serve the Lord, choose this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your fathers served in the region beyond the river, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.” Joshua tells us that there are only two types of people. Those who serve the Lord and those who serve false gods.
We see this same theme in our epistle reading for today. There are those who walk as children of light and those who walk in darkness. The children of light believe in the Lord Jesus Christ. They have received God’s grace and are part of God’s kingdom. Those believers who walk as children of light hear God’s Word and desire to live a life pleasing to the Lord. They sing praises to God, and they have a thankful heart. They want to do the will of the Lord. They are the ones who follow Jesus. But there are also those who walk in darkness. They are enslaved by their sin. They refuse to look to the Lord and so they look to themselves. They follow the evil desires of their heart. Paul speaks about what this life in darkness looks like throughout Ephesians 5. He speaks about sexual immorality, crude language, drunkenness, jealousy, and envy. He speaks about those who are impenitent.
As you can see all of our readings for today are saying the same thing. There are two types of people in the world. There are those who trust in the Triune God. These believers have been given the wisdom of God and they walk as children of light. And then there are the unbelieves. They trust in themselves, they are unwise, and they walk in the darkness of sin. That takes us back to the words of Jesus. When the crowds no longer waked with Him, Jesus asked His disciples this question. “Do you want to go away as well?” It is a question that He asks all of us. Our confession is the same as Peter. “Lord to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life, and we have believed, and have come to know, that you are the holy One of God.”
It is important for us to understand that we don’t believe in Jesus based upon our own reason or strength. Jesus explains this to us in our Gospel reading. Remember what He said. “This is why I told you no one can come to Me unless it is granted him by the Father.” Paul teaches the same thing in 1 Corinthians when He tells us that no one can confess that Jesus is Lord accept by the power of the Holy Spirit. Martin Luther understood this Biblical teaching when he wrote the explanation of the third article of the Apostles Creed in the Catechism. “I believe that I cannot by my own reason or strength believe in Jesus Christ, my Lord, or come to Him; but the Holy Spirit has called me by the Gospel, enlightened me with His gifts, sanctified and kept me in the true faith.” We believe in Jesus Christ by the power of God working through His Word.
But now that we are Christians, we are presented with choices each day that can directly affect our faith in Christ. Do we go to church each week, or do we frequently skip because of other things? Do we diligently study God’s Word or do we allow the world to influence us? Do we have a prayer life or is our day too busy for prayer? Do we concern ourselves with things eternal or are we more concerned about success in this world? We make our priority list every day. Where is God on that list? We are not static. We are either growing in our faith and drawing closer to God or we are drifting away from God. This is especially important to realize in the age that we live in. We are living in a time when the world is becoming less Christian and more pagan.
But we are not to fear. The Lord Jesus is calling you to look to Him and be strengthened. He invites you to confess your sins to Him and to call upon His Name. He forgives you and He has restored you. He loves you greatly. You know this to be true. All you need to do is look upon His death and resurrection and you will certainly see His love. The Holy Spirit now moves you. He turns your gaze to the Lord. He moves in you a love of God and neighbor. He gives you the desire to follow Jesus. He opens your heart to receive the wisdom of God and to walk as children of light. And so when Jesus turns to us and asks the question. “Do you want to go way as well?” Our response is the same as Peter. “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life, and we have believed, and have come to know, that you are the Holy One of God.” Amen.