John 6 starts with more than 5,000 people following Jesus. He feeds them all with five loaves and two fish. They’re ready to make Him king.
By the end of the chapter, almost all of them are gone.
After this many of his disciples turned back and no longer walked with him. (John 6:66)
Jesus is left with twelve. And then He says something that makes it look even worse: one of the twelve is a devil.
If you were keeping score, this chapter looks like a failure. So what’s the point?
Here’s what I think it is. Whenever it looks like resistance to Jesus is winning, God’s people need a strong, clear vision of God’s sovereignty over all of it, including the resistance.
And let me bring that closer to home. Whenever it looks like Jesus isn’t winning in your life, when it seems like He’s not beating the thing that’s beating you, that’s exactly when you need to see how big God is.
The offer on the table
All through John 6, Jesus makes the same offer in different words. He is the bread of life. Whoever comes to Him won’t hunger. Whoever believes in Him has eternal life. When He talks about eating His flesh and drinking His blood, He means take Him in. Trust Him. Receive Him. Get your life from Him. He’d give that life through the cross, His body broken in our place.
It’s the best offer anyone has ever made. And the crowd walks away.
Resistance keeps rising
Read the chapter and you can watch it build. They grumble (v. 41). They argue (v. 52). Even His disciples say, “This is a hard saying; who can listen to it?” (v. 60). Some don’t believe (v. 64). Many leave (v. 66).
At every step, it looks more like the other side is winning.
God is over the resistance
But at every step, Jesus says something that puts the resistance in its place.
When they grumble, He says, “No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him” (John 6:44). Your grumbling isn’t the deciding vote. My Father is.
When people don’t believe, He says that’s exactly why He told them no one comes unless the Father grants it (v. 65). Unbelief isn’t proof that people are in charge of God.
Then He turns to the Twelve. “Do you want to go away as well?” And Peter gives one of the great answers in the Bible:
“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.” (John 6:68–69)
Finally, somebody believes. And Jesus answers:
“Did I not choose you, the twelve? And yet one of you is a devil.” (John 6:70)
He’s not slapping Peter down. He’s reminding him that faith itself is a gift. And He’s showing them that even the traitor in the room is no surprise to Him.
Why mention Judas?
Why end the chapter with Judas? Because it answers the question everybody’s thinking: Is the devil winning?
No. Jesus knew from the beginning who would betray Him (v. 64). Judas wasn’t a crack in the plan. He was inside it. Later Jesus would say about His own life, “No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord” (John 10:18). Even the worst thing that ever happened, the murder of the Son of God, was something God was ruling over and turning into our salvation.
You can read verse 70 and see nothing but puzzles. Or you can see a refuge. When everything in your life feels out of control and it seems like evil is winning, Jesus is saying: I’m not surprised. I’m not outmaneuvered. I’m in charge.
What to do with this
- Write it down. “God is in control.” Put it somewhere you’ll see it every day, and read it every time your world shakes.
- Tell someone the Judas story. At lunch, at dinner, to your kids. It looked like the devil was wrecking God’s plan, and he was walking right into it.
- Take Jesus in. Saving faith isn’t just agreeing with facts about Jesus. It’s receiving Him, trusting Him, finding your life in Him. If you’ve never done that, do it today.
- Come to the Table. Communion is a weekly reminder that His body was broken and His blood was shed on purpose, by His own sovereign will, for you.
If you’re holding on with the twelve while the crowd walks away, you’re not on the losing side. You’re right where Peter was: Lord, to whom else would we go?