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The early followers of Jesus misunderstood. They wanted a better temporal life. Jesus came to deliver eternal life. Subsequently, many of the disciples stopped following Jesus.

John 6:66-69

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.”

After Jesus fed the five thousand with five loaves of bread and two small fish, a group of people became intent on following him. They wanted to be with Jesus for a sermon and supper. Jesus confronted their motives, and upon explaining his mission, many “turned back and no longer walked with him.”

When the large group of wannabe disciples walked away, Jesus questioned those who had left everything to follow him. In today’s passage, he asks, “Do you want to go away as well?” Their spokesman, Simon Peter, made it clear that they had no place else to go. He confessed that only Jesus had the “words of eternal life.”

This statement by Peter is piercing, isn’t it? Even when obedience is hard, even when the journey is painful, even when we don’t understand, even when the nights are dark and long, there is no one else to turn to, and there is no other place to go. Only Jesus has the words of eternal life.

Lord Jesus, you alone hold the words of eternal life. Your presence is the only place of encouragement and peace. Thank you for holding us close with your strong embrace, even when we feel like running away. In your name, we pray. Amen.