John 6:68 - Printer Friendly

ESV: Simon Peter answered him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life,

NIV: Simon Peter answered him, 'Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.

NASB: Simon Peter answered Him, 'Lord, to whom shall we go? You have words of eternal life.

CSB: Simon Peter answered, "Lord, to whom will we go? You have the words of eternal life.

NLT: Simon Peter replied, 'Lord, to whom would we go? You have the words that give eternal life.

KJV: Then Simon Peter answered him, Lord, to whom shall we go? thou hast the words of eternal life.

NKJV: But Simon Peter answered Him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.

Verses 68 and 69 are Peter's witness to Jesus' divinity; this is the third of seven such declarations in the gospel of John. Peter's response comes after most of Jesus' followers turn and walk away. Because His recent teachings are challenging (John 6:60), the crowd proves their lack of actual faith by completely abandoning Jesus and His ministry. Their reaction is not merely described as "leaving," but implies that they totally dismissed His spiritual truth (John 6:66).

None of the disciples fully understand what Jesus' symbolic teaching about bread, flesh, and blood really means. That understanding won't be complete until after Christ' resurrection (John 20:9). And yet, Peter's response is exactly how a believer responds when Christ disrupts their preferences, their traditions, or their personal opinions. Here, Peter's response is extremely practical and very logical: "where else are we going to go, since only you have the truth?" When faced with a choice between what we like, and what is true, we ought to stick with truth, even if it's uncomfortable.

John 6:60–71 shows the drastic impact of Jesus' teaching on the crowd: most walk away. When confronted with spiritual needs and a spiritual message, most people will turn it down. What society wants is spectacle, material things, and a political savior. The more Jesus insists on being the means to eternal life, the angrier the crowd becomes, until the vast majority simply abandon Him. The twelve disciples, on the other hand, seem willing to follow Jesus, though they are also struggling to accept His recent claims. Peter's declaration will be the third of John's seven witnesses to Jesus' divinity.

In chapter 6, Jesus feeds thousands of people who had been following Him. He does this by miraculously dividing the contents of a small lunch, leaving more left over than He had to begin with. At first, the crowd is amazed and they enthusiastically praise Jesus. After sending the disciples across the Sea of Galilee, and rescuing them from a storm by walking on the water, Jesus once again addresses the crowd. This time, He emphasizes the spiritual lesson behind His prior miracle. In response, most of those who had been praising Jesus turn away from Him in disappointment.

John chapter 6 occurs some months after the events of chapter 5, bringing the narrative to about one year prior to Jesus' crucifixion. As with the rest of the Gospel of John, the purpose is not to repeat information from the other three Gospels, but to focus on Jesus' status as God incarnate. This chapter continues to expand the list of Jesus' miraculous signs and the witnesses to His divine nature. Here, Jesus also gives the first of seven ''I AM'' statements found in this Gospel. Chapter 7 will once again skip ahead to a major public step in Jesus' path to the cross.

The gospel of John was written by the disciple John, decades later than the gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke. The author assumes that a reader is already familiar with the content of these other works. So, John presents a different perspective, with a greater emphasis on meaning. John uses seven miracles—which he calls “signs”—in order to prove that Jesus is, in fact, God incarnate. Some of the most well-known verses in all of the Bible are found here. None is more famous than the one-sentence summary of the gospel found in John 3:16.

Accessed 5/5/2024 3:30:32 AM