Jesus was the one peter was clinging to

JESUS WAS THE ONE PETER WAS CLINGING TO
EDITED BY GLENN PEASE
“Then Jesus saidunto the twelve, Will you also go
away? Then Simon Peter answered Him, Lord, to
whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal
life.” John 6:67, 68.
BIBLEHUB RESOURCES
Pulpit Commentary Homiletics
The Departure Of The Many Consolidating The Few
John 6:67-69
B. Thomas Notice -
I. JESUS" QUESTION. "Will ye also," etc.? This implies:
1. His regard for the freedom of the will. Christ does not destroy, nor even interfere with, the
freedom of the human will, but ever preserves and respects it. He ever acknowledges the
sovereignty of the human soul and will.
2. That it was his wish that each disciple should decide for himself. "Will ye," etc.?
(1) The personality of religious decision. Religion is personal. Every religious act must be
personal, and is ever judged as such.
(2) The importance of religious decision, "Will ye," etc.? A most important question to them in
its immediate and remote issues. Their destiny hangs upon it.
(3) The urgency of immediate decision. If they had a wish to leave him, the sooner the better.
The question of our relationship to Christ cannot be settled too soon. It demands immediate
consideration.
3. That it was not his wish to retain them against their will.

(1) This would be against the principle of his own life.
(2) It would be against the principle of all spiritual life.
(3) And against the great principle of his kingdom, which is willing obedience and voluntary
service. Whatever is done to him against the will, or without its hearty concurrence, has no
virtue, no spiritual value. All his true soldiers are volunteers. Unwilling service must lead to
separation sooner or later.
4. His independency of them.
(1) He is not disheartened by the great departure. Many went back. He was doubtless grieved
with this, with their want of faith and gratitude, but was not disheartened.
(2) He is independent of even his most intimate followers. "Will ye," etc.? If even they had the
will to go away, he could afford it. One might think that he could ill afford to ask this question
after the great departure from him. He had apparently now only twelve, and to these he asks,
"Will ye also," etc.? He is not dependent upon his disciples. If these were silent, the very stones
would speak; if the children of the kingdom reject him, "many shall come from the east," etc.
5. His affectionate care for them. "Will ye also," etc.? In this question we hear:
(1) The sound of tender solicitude. There is the note of independency and test of character; but
not less distinctly is heard the note of affectionate solicitude for their spiritual safety. He did not
ask the question of those who went away.
(2) The sound of danger. Even the twelve were not out of danger. Although they were in one of
the inner circles of his attraction, they were in danger of being carried away with the flood.
(3) The sound of tender warning. "Will ye also," etc.? You are in danger. And their danger was
greater and more serious than that of those who left; they were more advanced, and could not go
away without committing a greater sin.
(4) The sound of confidence. The question does not seem to anticipate an affirmative reply. With
regard to all, with the exception of one, he was confident of their allegiance.
II. THE DISCIPLES ANSWER. Simon Peter was the mouthpiece of all. The answer implies:
1. A right discernment of their chief good. "Eternal life." This, they thought, was their greatest
need, and to obtain it was the chief aim of their life and energy; and in this they were right.
2. A right discernment of Jesus as their only Helper to obtain it. Little as they understood of the
real meaning of his life, and less still of his death, they discerned him
(1) as the only Source of eternal life;
(2) as the only Revealer of eternal life;
(3) as the only Giver of eternal life. "With thee are the words," etc.
3. Implicit faith in his Divine character. "We believe and know," etc. They had faith in him, not
as their national, but as their personal and spiritual Deliverer - the Saviour of the soul. and the
Possessor and Giver of eternal life.
4. A determination to cling to him.
(1) This determination is warmly prompt. It is not the fruit of study, but the warm and natural
outburst of the heart and soul.

(2) It is wise. "To whom shall we go?" They saw no other one to go to. To the Pharisees or
heathen philosophers? They could see no hope of eternal life from either. To Moses? He would
only send them back to Christ. It would be well for all who are inclined to go away from Christ
to ask first, "To whom shall we go?"
(3) It is independent. They are determined to cling to Christ, although many left him. They
manifest great individuality of character, independency of conduct, and spirituality and firmness
of faith.
(4) It is very strong.
(a) The strength of satisfaction. Believing that Christ had the words of eternal life, what more
could they need or desire?
(b) The strength of thorough conviction. They not only believe, but also know. They have the
inward testimony of faith and experience. True faith has a tight grasp. Strong conviction has a
tenacious hold.
(c) The strength of willing loyalty. "Lord, to whom," etc.? "Thou art our Lord and our King, and
we are thy loyal subjects." Their will was on the side of Christ, and their determination to cling
to him was consequently strong.
(d) The strength of loving attachment. The answer is not only the language of their reason, but
also the language of their affection. Their heart was with Jesus. They could not only see no way
to go from him, but they had no wish.
(e) The strength of a double hold. The Divine and the human. The hold of Jesus on them, and
their hold on him. They had felt the Divine drawing, and they were within the irresistible
attraction of Jesus. They were all, with one notorious exception, by faith safely in his hand.
LESSONS.
1. Loving faith in the Saviour is strengthened by trials. It stands the test of adverse
circumstances. In spite of forces which have a tendency to draw away from Christ, it clings all
the more to him.
2. The success of the ministry must not always be judged by additions. Subtractions are
sometimes inevitable and beneficial. The sincerity of the following should be regarded even
more than the number of the followers.
3. It is afar greater loss for us to lose Jesus than for Jesus to lose us. He can do without us, but we
cannot do without him. He can go elsewhere for disciples; but "to whom shall we go?" B.T.
Biblical Illustrator
Will ye also go away?... To whom should we go? Thou hast the words of eternal life.
John 6:67-69
Human destiny and its attainment through Christ
W. M. Punshon, LL. D.I. GOD HAS SET BEFORE US A DESTINY. "Eternal life."

1. The idea of a future world in the abstract is probably present to every man.
2. It is impossible for any one to entertain this idea without being haunted by the tremendous
possibilities of its truth. A man may lose sight of it, or rush to escape it, but let it once have a
lodgment within, and he cannot refuse it acknowledgment.
3. It does not require any argument to prove a future world — you know that there is one.
4. It is equally impressed upon the human consciousness that this future life
(1)is one of conscious immortal existence;
(2)has a retributive connection with the doings of the present life.
II. HE HAS REVEALED TO US THE METHOD BY WHICH THIS DESTINY MAY BE
ACHIEVED AND REALIZED.
1. The revelation of God's mercy in the gospel proceeds on the assumption of this conscious
immortal existence, and has furnished appliances by which the happiest conditions of that
existence may be brought within the reach of all. It is not merely a manual of precept for this
world; it is a treasury of hope and comfort for the world to come. Point- ing to the Saviour,
whose suretyship it announces, and from whose death it receives its validity and power, it says,
"This is the true God and eternal life," and it proclaims to the troubled spirit that in Christ's
possession are the words of eternal life.
2. Those words were never spoken in their fulness till Christ came. There were broken utterances
about it, but He brought life and immortality to light.
III. HE HAS LIMITED AN EXCLUSIVE SAVIOUR. "Neither is there salvation in any other."
1. To have allowed a plurality of Saviours would have indicated a falter- ing confidence or an
unsatisfied claim.
2. There needs no other Saviour, so there is no other.
3. This conviction will force itself on all some day.
4. The experience of the past proves that none other has the words of eternal life. All ancient
religion and philosophy are empty of information on eternal life.
5. The re. searches of the present can find no other Saviour.
(W. M. Punshon, LL. D.)
Two stages of spiritual life
E. L. Hull, B. A.(Text in conjunction with Luke 5:8).
I. THE FIRST STAGE MARKED BY FEAR AT THE REVELATION OF DIVINE GLORY. It
was not merely the wonder that produced the cry. This was not the first time that Peter had seen
the power of Christ, and others had seen it who had not been affected. He saw in Christ the Holy
one, and then came a sense of the chasm between Himself and Jesus.
1. Such a revelation does awaken the feelings of fear and awe. Before Christ came men had
heard of holiness, but its awful presence was never fully felt until He crossed the path of the
world. By Him the "thoughts of many hearts were revealed." Before the light of His holiness all
lying hypocrisies quailed. And for eighteen centuries the world has been convinced of sin by the
presence of the Holy One. When a man realizes a sense of the presence of this holiness his cry is
that of Peter's.

2. Every one must have this feeling before He can cast himself utterly on Christ.
II. THE SECOND STAGE — CONFESSION OF DEVOTION TO CHRIST OUR LIFE. This
was a testing time for the disciples — a time when they were driven to feel that Christ was their
life. And in Christian experience there are similar periods, and then we feel that everything but
the perfect reception of Him fails to satisfy the heart. Our spiritual nature craves three things.
1. A knowledge of God the Eternal Truth. Christ has revealed the Father.
2. Reconciliation with God the Eternal Righteousness. Christ is life for the conscience. 3.A
knowledge of God the Eternal Love. Christ brought God close to man's heart.
(E. L. Hull, B. A.)
Reasons for continuance with Jesus
W. H. Van Doren, D. D.I. NO OTHER CHRIST WILL COME.
II. NO ONE WILL BRING A BETTER WORD.
III. THERE REMAINS NO OTHER FAITH.
IV. THERE IS NO BRIGHTER KNOWLEDGE.
(W. H. Van Doren, D. D.)
If not to Christ then to whom
W. M. Taylor, D. D.? —
1. "To whom shall we go?" is his first question when a man awakens to moral consciousness,
and feels within him those inarticulate longings which reveal that he is not what he ought to be.
Plato accounted these yearnings the reminiscences of a former state in which the soul had seen
the perfect ideas of things now lost — a near approach to the Bible doctrine of the Fall. The soul
feels that it is not what it once was, and that it cannot make itself so; but it recognizes its
forgotten greatness when it sees it again. It is not to be deceived. It says when one specimen is
offered, "This is not what I seek;" but when it finds Christ it identifies its long lost manhood in
Him.
2. Besides these longings there is within us a sense of guilt, and the spirit groans, "Who will help
me? " As when the sick cry for a physician. Man must go somewhere. The Jews were confronted
with four rival systems. Sadduceeism, Pharisaism, Essenism, Christianity, and these virtually
confront the seeker to-day.
I. Shall we go to SCEPTICISM?
1. That seeks to cure the soul's malady by denying it. That gives the same satisfaction as
persuading a starving man that there is no reality in his hunger. How much more rational to
accept the bread God has provided. Reject revelation and the same difficulties emerge in
philosophy — so you only get rid of their only possible solution — just as sick men refused the
doctor only throw away the chances of getting well.
2. The service of infidelity to man is well seen in the French Revolution.
II. Shall we go to RITUALISM? To improve our spiritual nature by ceremonial means is to
begin at the wrong end, for it is the character of the soul that gives quality to the rite. The root of
the evil is in the soul, which no ceremony can touch. Witness the Pharisees who would not go
into Pilate's Hall for fear of defilement, and yet could plot for murder. Witness the Italian

brigand who gives thanks for a successful robbery. Witness the multitudes of formal worshippers
on Sunday who take advantage of their neighbours on Monday. Formalism only substitutes
hypocrisy for religion.
III. Shall we go to ASCETICISM?
1. It is useless in practice, because the heart can. not escape from itself, and no walls can exclude
temptation.
2. The whole system is cowardly.
3. It is a negative thing.
IV. Shall we go to JESUS? What are His qualifications?
1. He has the words of eternal life. By words man was lured to his destruction, and now by words
he is to be saved.
2. What are His words. Their substance is, "God so loved the world," etc. Faith in these words
gives certainty where before was doubt, and peace where formerly was despair.
3. See what they have done in the case of the apostles, heathens, drunkards, sinners of every age
and degree. All that is noble and elevating in our modern civilization have come from
Christ.Conclusion: When our modern prophets ask us to leave Him, we reply —
1. Find us a better answer to the questioning of our spirits than He has furnished.
2. Show us a better ideal of manhood than He has given.
3. Bring us brighter light in the life beyond than He has thrown.
4. In a word, give us something better than Christ.
(W. M. Taylor, D. D.)
Man's need of a Saviour
Dean Vaughan.1. There is here one great assumption which, being removed, the whole drops to
pieces. It is that man must have some one to go to. He cannot live without a master, a guide, a
comforter. The soul cannot live alone or grope its own way. St. Peter's question evidently
implies, "We cannot leave Thee till we have found another who shall outbid Thee in Thy offers,
and outshine Thee in Thy revelations."
2. This is what we may call the argument from want. Man wants someone, and therefore God has
someone for him. To whom is the only question, not whether we shall go. Was Peter right, or
was he rash and wrong?(1) There are some suppositions which would be fatal to this argument.
Supposing there be no God, or, at most, a God unconcerned about His creatures, then to say that
man's spiritual thirst is any proof that God has provided spiritual water is a fallacy; it only proves
that to want and to have not is man's pitiless destiny. But if there be a God such a conception is
revolting to our best instincts, and dishonouring to God Himself. Far worthier is that of One
touched with a feeling of our infirmities, and if this be true, then provision is sure.(2) This
argument is not weakened by sin's entrance. The fact that man was spared after he had sinned,
and that he now needs God's care and love more than ever, strengthens the argument. What Peter
wanted, and what we want is —
I. SOME ONE WHO CAN RAISE US ABOVE CIRCUMSTANCES. How many of our race
suffer from poverty, anxiety, sickness, disappointment, the sense of inferiority, and the dullness

of life's routine, etc. God designs that such should have independence, earth's giving or refusing:
and there is only one person who goes to the root of the trouble, for He can say to us, "I came to
you from heaven, and there we know of no such distinctions; there the only honour is humility,
the only office self-sacrifice, the only distinction, the being nearest to and likest God. Cultivate
these things over which tyranny has no power, and I will guide you by my counsel and afterward
receive you to glory."
II. SOME PERSONAL HELP TO LIFT US ABOVE SIN. Sin is an established fact, explain it,
disguise it, extenuate it how we may. Christ's mission was to teach us the nature and guilt of sin.
When this is brought home to the soul then indeed it cries, "To whom shall I go? Surely God
must have some one for me? " He is in that sinless one who came into the world to save sinners.
If we accept not Christ the voice of centuries tells us that there is no other.
III. SOME ONE WHO SHALL RAISE US ABOVE DEATH ITSELF. This we find in Him who
confronted death and conquered, and who is "The resurrection and the life." Has any one else,
not the words, but even the hope and promise of eternal life?
(Dean Vaughan.)
Christ the only source of religious rife
Principal Tulloch.1. There is a time when our religious thoughts and feelings undergo a strain. It
may be in youth, when the world first lays hold of us: or in passing into manhood, when the
intellect recoils from in- herited thought; or under some terrible temptation. Then it seems
doubtful whether we shall stay in the old house or "go away."
2. When this time comes, we must have an answer in our hearts why we should stay with Christ,
or else we shall certainly go.
3. The idea of all religion is that of the higher "eternal" life of our text. "Let us eat and drink,"
etc., is common enough in practice, but no school advocates it. All schools maintain that there is
a life of unselfishness which has as its vital principle the happiness of others.
4. The question, then, is not as to the need. but the sources of this higher life. The religion of
Christ is said to be no longer effectual. Science, the religion of humanity, art, and culture, make
their claims more or less to the exclusion of Christ.
5. How, then, can it be shown that in Christ alone is the true source of the higher life for man. By
—
I. THE POWER OF CHRIST'S PERSONALITY. It was not a question of opinion as to whether
the doctrines of Christ could be abandoned, an alternative between those of Christ and the
Pharisees. The issue here, as ever, was a purely personal matter.
1. This assertion of authoritative personality is characteristic of Christ as a religious teacher. "I
am the Way," etc. The words would have been profane boasting on any other lips. But when we
see in Him what Peter saw in Him, we at once own the power and blessing of His words.
2. The consciousness of a Divine character in Christ is the most powerful root of the Divine life.
We are moved by character as by nothing else. Truth on its intellectual side is hard to find, and
may easily be eluded. It is this which makes the essential weakness of many modern schemes of
religion. They are schemes of intellectualism, and, to the majority, are useless. They are
incapable of being moved by science and art, because the motive power of life does not work in

the main through the intellect or the taste. The higher life may be helped by them, but they do not
give or quicken it.
3. But let the personal life in us be brought in contact with a higher personal life, and the springs
of our higher life are at once touched. Place a noble human being amongst others, and how
powerfully does his influence work! It is intelligible to all minds, and steals into all hearts. It was
such a power as this, in a super-eminent degree, that Christ was felt to be. Behind all His
kindness, there lay a depth of Divine personality.
4. All this Christ is still, and the higher life is realized by us when our character is moulded by
His, and His mind is formed in us.
II. THE DIRECT REVELATION OF THE HIGHER LIFE THROUGH HIS WORDS. The idea
of Divine personality carries with it the idea of revelation. If the power behind the world is a
personal power, it cannot but make itself known; and eternal life can only be known to us
through its expressions in such a one as Christ. If we cannot find it here, we can find it nowhere.
All Christ said or did was a revelation of it. Here is strength to resist evil and to make habitual in
us the instincts of a higher life, and nowhere else. And if we have failed, our hearts tell us it is
because we have gone back from Christ.
(Principal Tulloch.)
The difficulties of disbelief
J. Parker, D. D.1. Suppose we give up the Christian faith, what shall we have instead? Wise men
are bound to look at consequences. If you were asked to leave your house, would you not inquire
where yon were to go? And are we to concern ourselves more about shelter for the body than a
home for the soul?
2. It is easier to pull down than to build up, to spoil a picture than to paint one, to tempt a man
than to save one, to ruin life than to train it for heaven. Infidels are doing this easy work, and to
them we must put the practical question, Give up religion, and what then?
I. GIVE UP THE IDEA OF GOD, AND WHAT THEN? You would refuse to throw away the
poorest covering till you knew what you were to have in return. Will you, then, recklessly give
up the idea of the living, loving, personal God at the bidding of any man? Remember that you
can put away the mystery of God, and you get in return the greater mystery of godlessness. The
wax flower on your table was made, but the roses in your garden grew by chance, forsooth.
II. GIVE UP THE IDEA OF THE FUTURE, AND WHAT THEN? If a man asked you to throw
away a telescope, would you not inquire what you were to have in return? Will you, then, throw
away the faith-glass through which you read the solemn and wondrous future. Christian
revelation tells us that death is abolished, and heaven the goal of human spirits. Renounce this,
and what can the sceptic give?
III. SHUT YOUR BIBLE, AND WHAT THEN? The .Bible says, "The Lord is my Shepherd,"
etc.; the tempter says, "Be you that shepherd." It says, "He, every one that thirsteth," etc.; he
says, "You have no thirst that you cannot slake at the muddy pool at your feet." It says, "God is a
present help in time of trouble"; he says, "Dry your tears, and snap your fingers in the face of the
universe." It proclaims the forgiveness of sins; he says, "You have never sinned." It says, "In My
Father's house are many mansions"; he says "Your mansion is the grave; get into it, and rot
away." Conclusion:

1. Keep this question straight before you.
2. Inquire of the tempter his power to provide an alternative.
3. Be sure that the alternative is worth having. And you will find —
4. That if you leave the Divine life and aspect of things, there is nothing but outer darkness.
(J. Parker, D. D.)
The disciples' reasons for cleaving to Jesus
Isaac Jennings.I. Let us glance at THOSE SYSTEMS FOR WHICH WE ARE TEMPTED TO
FORSAKE CHRIST.
1. Romanism.
2. Spiritualism.
3. Pantheism.
4. Secularism.
5. The world.
II. Let us examine CHRIST'S SUPERIOR CLAIMS ON OUR AFFECTION AND FAITH.
1. He is a Divine Teacher.
2. An all-sufficient Saviour.
3. An Almighty Protector.
4. A Sovereign Lord.
5. The Rest of the weary soul.Conclusion:
1. Christ is infinitely worthy of our confidence and love.
2. Make yourselves better acquainted with Him, and your faith and lore will be confirmed.
(Isaac Jennings.)
Personal affiance in Christ the soul's safeguard
Bp. S. Wilberforce.(Sermon to Young Men): —
1. We can scarcely conceive of any one but Peter speaking these words. They would not have
been the first answer of the critical Thomas or the more philosophical John. The truth they
contain would at last have aroused the faith of Thomas, and have been the resting-place of the
love of John. Their sudden, unqualified utterance could only have broken from the lips of Peter.
At the bare mention of the possibility of departure from Christ, St. Peter's soul was on fire, and
the utterance of his heart outran the slower processes of the intellect, and he spoke with the voice
of one who had experienced the power of the words of eternal life.
2. Young men are specially tempted to go away. The distinctive feature of your age is that it
abounds in temptations. There is —
I. THE TEMPTATION TO A LIFE OF IDLE SELF-INDULGENCE.
1. With health strong, spirits high, and companionship abundant, the pleasure of merely living is
so very great as for the time to seem almost satisfying. The facilities for easy living increases this
temptation; but to yield to it is to kill the heart of your truest life. Though there may be nothing

positively sinful in the separate acts of such a life, it is as a whole most sinful. You are guilty of
the sin of omission, and rendering yourself unfit for the work of the future when it comes. For in
such a life the seeds of all future evil are sown — softness, slothfulness, selfishness, etc.
2. This temptation is not to be overcome by the dull aphorisms of morality, nor by the festering
pricks of ambition — the one all powerless against the other, as dangerous as the evil. What you
need is to know Christ for yourself, so that love for Him becomes a real passion in your heart.
Personal affiance brings you into His presence; and to be in His presence is to love Him, and
love makes all labour easy. There is no limit to the height to which this may not exalt the most
common-place life.
II. THE TEMPTATION TO IMMORAL PLEASURES.
1. To attempt to restrain young men of strong passions by stoical philosophy or prudential
maxims, is like throwing a little water on a great fire, which, hissing out its own feebleness, does
but quicken the burning.
2. There is but one sufficient remedy: that which has turned the martyrs' flames into a pleasant
whistling wind, and subdued the flesh in all the triumph of its strength — the love of Christ.
Bring Christ by the cry of faith into thy life; set thy struggles against corruption in the light of
His cross, and pardon, and purity, and power will come from the pierced hand.
III. THE TEMPTATION TO SENSUOUS RELIGIOUSNESS.
1. Our worship may easily be smothered by the weight of its external adorning till it sinks into
the death of mere formality, or is sentimentalized into the languid feebleness of an unmanly
emotion.
2. The charm of such a temptation can only be broken by the knowledge of Christ on the cross
dying for our sin, awakening by His word the sense of guilt, bringing the message of forgiveness,
and holding communion with the reconciled spirit. When this mighty revelation comes, the soul
cannot rest in outer things, nor allow the most beautiful symbol to intercept one ray of His
countenance, who is fairer than the children of men. You cannot starve the busy, intrusive fancy
into a heavenly affection. The love of Christ must so elevate the spirit, that it shall rest in no
form, but in every form seek Him supremely.
IV. THE TEMPTATION TO FREE-THINKING, AND THE LOSS OF ALL REALLY FIXED
BELIEF IN CHRISTIANITY.
1. Ages have their own temper, and there is much that is noble in that of our own. It contrasts
most favourably with sensual, dull, and easy-living times. Labour, conflict, victory, are its
watch-words. But its victories breed in it a certain audacity, to which the authority and genius of
the Christian revelation oppose themselves.
2. Safety is not to be found in sleepily disregarding what is passing around us, nor in setting
ourselves against the temper of the day, or in inventing a concordat between it and revelation,
nor in forbidding criticism and turning away from discoveries. The rock, whose rugged breast
affronts the torrent, cannot stay, but can only chafe the troubled waters.
3. If there are hard sayings discovered in the Christian record, and many turn back because of
them, this is but a sifting of the inner willingness of hearts to go away. What else do the many
voices around us proclaim but that, more than ever, we need a personal knowledge of Christ to
keep us safe amidst the strife of tongues?

4. The real talisman against unbelief is not in hard, narrow, exclusive views, but in personal love
to Christ. This love will sweep away a thousand doubts and speculative difficulties, and supply a
whole life of resistance which is quickened into action by the mere touch of what might harm the
spirit.
(Bp. S. Wilberforce.)
Whence the words of eternal life
S. A. Ort, D. D.I. THE ANSWER OF SCIENCE. By education, by learning the laws of nature
and training oneself to obey them, Professor Huxley likens life to a game at chess. The board is
the world; the pieces the phenomena of the universe; the rules its laws. The player on the other
side is hidden. His play is always fair, but he never overlooks a mistake. To the man who plays
well the highest stakes are paid. The one who plays iii is checkmated without remorse. Education
is learning the rules of this game.
1. This representation ignores the spiritual nature. That there is a spiritual nature and spiritual
fact is attested by the consciousness and history of our race.
2. The God of Science is unknowable, without sympathy for the weak and erring, and
compassion for the suffering. If this be all the God there is, how foolish to concern ourselves
about the words of eternal life!
3. This theory of the highest living leaves out of the account the most startling fact of human life
— sin.
4. This answer has been tested. Give us culture, say the scientists, and we will save the race, and
usher in the long-looked-for Golden Age. Ah, yes, culture I that is what Athens had, and
perished. That is what Paris has, and, as Carlyle says, is crazy. That is what Germany has, and
still is full of the worst ills. That is what England has, and yet England is neither satisfied nor
happy. That is what we have, and still these spirits of ours crave something higher, stronger,
purer, better. That is what this age of ours has, and withal is blind and weak, and restless as the
storm-tossed sea. Science may educate, but still sin remains, and conscience is not quieted.
II. PETER'S ANSWER. What a mighty contrast between Christ and science..
1. Go to Jacob's well. "Whence has thou the living water?" The scientist would reply, "Out of the
great well of nature. Study the laws of the universe." Would the woman's heart have been
touched, and would she have obeyed?
2. Suppose it had been the scientist who had been dining at Simon's table; he would have said,
"Woman, it is not scientific to weep. Be calm. Life is a game at chess; you have been
checkmated because you didn't understand the rules of the game." Would she have gone away as
she did disburdened and satisfied?
3. What would the scientist have done at the grave of Lazarus?
4. Where has science given us a parable of the prodigal son?
(S. A. Ort, D. D.)
Jesus Christ the only source of rest and happiness
W. L. Johnson.I. In this reply of the apostle's is implied A CONVICTION OF THE
INSUFFIENCY OF ALL HUMAN MEANS FOR THE ATTAINMENT OF SALVATION.

"Lord, to whom shall we go?" Shall we apply to the scribes and Pharisees? Shall we inquire of
the ceremonial or moral law? Shall we submit to the decisions of reason?
1. The scribes and Pharisees, and other doctors of the law among the Jews, at that period were
blind leaders of the blind. Their corruptions had darkened their minds, and thrown a veil over the
sacred writings; so that the plainest prophecies were misunderstood, and the most important
doctrines perverted by them.
2. The apostles were equally convinced that life and salvation could not be obtained from an
observance of the ceremonial or moral law.(1) With respect to the former — they knew that the
tabernacle service was chiefly typical, shadowing forth good things to come.(2) With respect to
the latter — even if they could not recollect that they had been guilty of any gross immorality,
yet they knew that they were far from that perfection which the law demands.
3. They were also persuaded of the entire insufficiency of reason to point out to them the path of
life. Untaught by revelation, what knowledge can we obtain respecting the salvation of a sinner?
II. The text implies that they had A FIRM BELIEF IN CHRIST'S PERFECTIONS AND
QUALIFICATIONS AS A SAVIOUR, "Thou hast the words of eternal life."
1. This is the language of faith, and expresses the sentiments and exercises of every soul that
flees to the Saviour for refuge.
2. In this confession they acknowledge, also, a belief in His ability to instruct men in the way of
life.
3. It also implies faith in Him as the only atoning sacrifice.
4. To be a perfect Saviour, He must be able, also, to ensure everlasting life to those whose sins
He expiated; and, therefore, He must be possessed of power to apply His purchased salvation to
the souls of His people.
III. From such a view of His offices, and a complete satisfaction in His undertaking and
character, arises an unconquerable desire for the blessings which He has to bestow; and hence
the words of the text are to be considered as expressing A FIRM RESOLUTION TO ADHERE
TO HIM AS THEIR SAVIOUR AND LORD. "To whom shall we go," say the disciples, "but
unto Thee."
1. United to Him they see safety; separated from Him they behold inevitable death.
2. This holy resolution is formed, not merely from necessity, but from a conviction of the
honour, delight, and immortal glory which await the followers of the Lamb.
(W. L. Johnson.)
Words of eternal life
D. Merson, M. A.I. A SEARCHING QUESTION PUT AT A CRITICAL TIME.
1. It is a question put at a time when there was a great falling off from the number of Christ's
followers. Now was the time to show their colours — now or never. The chaff was driven away.
The wheat remained. Times of apostasy are sifting seasons for God's people, giving a renewed
call to every soldier of the Cross to rally round the deserted banner. The example of others is no
safe guide. Public opinion is often a feeble indicator of duty. There is one example, and only one,
that we are safe to follow — the example of Christ. There is one standard, and only one, that

never varies — the Word of God. Keep the infallible standard in your eye, and that will help to
steady you amid the changes of men and time.
2. This question was put at a time when there was a fresh demand made on the faith of Christ's
followers. It is obvious that our Lord's design was to lead His followers to a knowledge of the
hidden mysteries of His kingdom; to set before them some of the deeper truths of revelation.
Progressiveness marked all His teaching. Faith has often to surmount barriers which are
impassable by the natural understanding. Duty is ever making fresh demands upon us, and as we
advance we are ever finding out depths that we have not yet sounded, and heights of holiness we
have not yet scaled. There are speculative difficulties that try our faith, and perplexing things in
God's word that we cannot explain. In the face of such perplexities it will be our wisdom to hold
fast what we can accept. "What we know not now, we shall know hereafter."
3. This question was put at a time when higher devotion was required in the life of Christ's
followers. When God reveals Himself to His people, as He has been doing with increasing
clearness at different stages in the world's history, it is in order to enable them to be more
devoted witnesses for Him among men. All our knowledge ought to help us to live holier and
nobler lives; otherwise it profits nothing.
II. A NOBLER REPLY FOUNDED ON WEIGHTY REASON.
1. Christ the highest of all teachers. We have many professing guides, but they all save One lead
astray. Shall we follow our modern Pharisees and adopt the creed of the formalist? No, that will
not satisfy the soul that longs for life. Shall we follow our modern Sadducees and adopt the creed
of the atheist? No, that will not satisfy the soul that longs for God. Are we perplexed in our
search for truth, and know not whose teaching to trust amid conflicting opinions? Let us learn to
distrust, in matters of eternal moment, all human guides, and look to that Name beside which
there is none other under heaven given among men whereby we must be saved. Then we shall
have a Teacher to instruct us wiser than man, a Light brighter than the sun to shine on our path.
2. Eternal life the best of all possessions. Christ has something to bestow which no other
claimant can boast of. He offers an inheritance that will outlast the sun, and live as long as God
Himself.
(D. Merson, M. A.)
Words of eternal life
D. Merson, M. A.What are any of these life-giving words? Here are a few. "I am the
Resurrection and the Life," etc. "Seek ye Me, and your soul shall live." "Whoso eateth My
flesh," etc. "God so loved the world," etc. What "potential energy" slumbers in those wonderful
words! They carry within them to the guilty and the dying a Divine message fraught with saving
and life-giving power. They are simple that a child may read them, but they hold, as it were in
solution, the deepest thoughts of God. The mere words are often compared to the casket
containing the gem. To find the gem you have to open the casket. Even so, to get at the meaning
of Christ's life-giving words, you need the spiritual discernment, the key that will unlock the
gospel casket. The application of its contents to the heart will result in life eternal. Or take
another similitude: The words are like the title-deeds of an inheritance. The possession of the
title-deeds settles the ownership of the property. So the man who appropriates by faith the truths
of the gospel makes good his claim to the inheritance which the gospel promises. Accept these
truths, hold fast the title-deeds, and the inheritance is yours — not simply will be yours at some
future time, but is yours now. The moment you receive the words of Christ you become

possessor of the life of Christ. And this is what is here called "Eternal Life," which has been
defined to be not simply endless being, but a life of perfect harmony with its environment, not
subject to the changes and imperfections of this finite world. To be in harmony with Christ,
otherwise called reconciliation with God — this is the aim of man's being, the noblest heritage of
fallen humanity. Christ makes the offer of it to all His followers. In Him it is to be found, and
those who are in Him have already entered into possession. But, so long as they are in this finite
world, they are like the sons of Jacob in their possession of Canaan, surrounded by foes and
exposed to changes, so that the circumstances are not favourable to undisturbed possession, the
external harmony or environment not being perfect, but the time is coming when the harmony
thus incomplete will be consummated in fairer worlds amid perfect and purer surroundings.
(D. Merson, M. A.)
Revealed religion the only source of true happiness
W. B. Sprague, D. D.Taking the gospel just as we find it, I shall show that all men's desires are
to be met in it and in nothing else. If we reject it, whither shall we go for the fruition of oar
desires? Take —
I. THE DESIRE OF CONTINUED EXISTENCE. That this is deeply seated in the soul is evident
from the horror which annihilation awakens. Where shall we, then, find the evidence that the
desire is to be gratified?
1. The senses only inform us that we shall die, and no disembodied spirit appears to contradict it.
2. Reason only speculates upon it as a probability, and those philosophers who most cleverly
argued it our disbelieved their own reasonings.
3. But faith looks through the darkness and beholds in Christ "life and immortality brought to
light."
II. THE DESIRE OF ACTION. The gospel, and that only —
1. Gives a right direction to the human faculties. Those faculties have acquired a wrong direction
which reason, working through the highest civilization, could not correct; but just in proportion
as the gospel has prevailed the standard of morality has been elevated.
2. Opens a noble field for their exercise. When the gospel is not known the social duties are but
little understood or performed; but Christianity enjoins the doing of good to our fellow-creatures,
not only as beings who are to live here, but for ever.
3. Enjoins employments which are fitted to improve man's faculties, and thus render him capable
of some vigorous and successful action.
III. THE DESIRE OF KNOWLEDGE. True, man may advance with no other light but the light
of nature. But in that department which respects the character of God and man's eternal relations
human reason is at best an inadequate instructor. The knowledge derived from the Bible is —
1. Most practical, adapted to influence the affections, and through them the life.
2. Sublime. Its revelations are stamped with moral grandeur — God, creation, the soul,
redemption, immortality, etc.
3. For ever progressive. The treasures of the Bible are inexhaustible, and he who walks by it here
will walk in the brighter light of heaven hereafter.
IV. THE DESIRE OF THE APPROBATION OF OTHER BEINGS.

1. Wherever the gospel has not existed, malice, hatred, envy, revenge, etc., have held the soul in
dominion in spite of all that reason could do to redeem it. But the gospel brings into exercise the
spirit of forgiveness and benevolence, and makes man a brother, instead of an enemy, to his
fellowman.
2. But this desire has respect to the favourable regard of God, and is met
(1)By the gospel proclamation of forgiveness;
(2)The impartation of a character which renders man the object of Divine complacency.
V. THE DESIRE FOR SOCIETY. There is an impression abroad that Christianity is unfriendly
to social enjoyment. But monkery is a perversion of Christianity. Christianity is in its very nature
social, for —
1. A large part of its duties are social.
2. Its tendency is to refine and exalt the social affections.
3. It has established a society — the Church.
4. It meets this desire through every period of existence.Conclusion:
1. Does not this furnish a conclusive argument for the Divinity of the gospel?
2. How malignant the spirit of infidelity.
(1)Even on the theory that Christianity is false, it can supply nothing in its place.
(2)But on the theory that Christianity is true, it stands chargeable with opposing man's best
interests in time and eternity.
3. How blessed the employment of extending the gospel!
(W. B. Sprague, D. D.)
Christ the centre of Unity
W. Hay-Aitken, M. A.An old Greek sage had a theory, and it must be admitted that there was a
great deal of truth in his speculations. He had a notion that the history of the universe was
composed of alternate cycles, covering vast periods of time — the cycle of love and the cycle of
hate. Under the influence of love, when this cycle was being fulfilled which he supposed all
came under, the mighty force and tendency of each was towards unity. Then came the cycle of
hate when the centrifugal forces produced universal disintegration; parts flew off from the whole,
from their proper centre, and from their proper relations to each other; and the various objects of
beauty also began to disappear. This was a curious conception, but was there not a great deal of
truth in it? May we not say that there are two laws in the spiritual kingdom of Jesus Christ? First,
the love law, having for its centre God, who pervades the universe and tends to promote harmony
and beauty and every other comeliness. The second, the law of hatred or self-assertion, by which
the individual, breaking away from God, sets himself up as his god; from which will of necessity
result the disintegration of society, confusion, anarchy, and the ruin of the universe. These two
great laws are operating in our midst.
(W. Hay-Aitken, M. A.)
Christ Himself the sole protection against the assaults o
Bp. S. Wilberforce.f unbelief: — It is not by limiting the intellectual side of our religion, but by
exalting its spiritual side, that we can be safe and keep others safe. It is not by striving to repress

intellectual activity, nor by jealously warning it off the precincts of revealed religion; it is by
lifting up before men's eyes the Cross of Christ, and teaching them personal affiance in Him, that
we shall keep uninjured the great deposit of the truth. And this is the only talisman: without it all
speculations upon the mystery of life and of God are full of danger; for though such peril is
preeminently present in studies and inquiries which tend to shake received belief as to things
sacred, it is not with them only that it is present. It is almost as easy for controversial orthodoxy,
as for adverse speculative criticism, to land the spirit in the valley of the shadow of death.
Nothing can more endanger the true life of the spirit than the cold charnel-house breath of a mere
reasoning, unloving, uncharitable orthodoxy. Alas, the pathway of the Church, through times of
great controversy, is marked by the mouldering corpses of such combatants for truth. This, and
this only, can keep us safe amongst our own perils — to have known ourselves the love bred
within the soul by a true belief in Christ's atoning blood, in Christ's perpetual presence, in
Christ's abiding love. And of this we may be sure no speculative difficulties can endanger one
soul, which has been taught by experimental knowledge to say in times of darkness, "Lord, to
whom shall we go? Thou hast the words of eternal life."
(Bp. S. Wilberforce.)
A reason against turning back
C. H. Spurgeon.When Christian, in the "Pilgrim's Progress," thought about going
back, he recollected that he had no armour for his back. Look at that fact whenever
you are tempted.
(C. H. Spurgeon.)
Christ alone can satisfy the soul
Lamartine., Luther.Timour the Tartar desired universal dominion, saying the earth
was too small for more than one master. "It is too small to satisfy the ambition of a
great soul." "The ambition of a great soul," said the Sheik of Samarcand to him one
day, "is not to be satisfied by the possessionof a morsel of earth added to another,
but by the possessionof God alone sufficiently great to fill up an infinite thought."
(Lamartine.)I have received from Taubenheim one hundred pieces of gold, and
fifty pieces of silver from Schart, so that I begin to fear lest God be giving me my
portion here below. But I solemnly declare that nothing can make me happy except
God.
(Luther.)
The world cannot confer happiness
Boswell."One should think," said I, "that the proprieter of all this (Keddlestone, the
seat of Lord Scarsfield) must be happy." "Nay, sir," said Johnson; "all this excludes
but one evil — poverty."
(Boswell.)
Christ only is worth serving

Dr. Guthrie.A great statesman, abandoned in his old age by his sovereign, lay
dying one day in England; and it is recorded of. him that he said," If I had served
my God as faithfully as I have served my king, He had not cast me off now." How
true! Blessed God!Thou will never abandon any who put their trust in Thee.
(Dr. Guthrie.)
The hopelessness of humanity away from Christ
W. M. Punshon, LL. D."To whom shall we go?" Poorhumanity, distracted by
many perplexities, bleeding from many wounds, weeping over many griefs, must
go somewhere: she cannot eat out her own heart with grief and consume her own
life with sighing. Whither shall we go? Where shall the great mystery of our
existence be unveiled to us? Is Nature to be the temple of our worship, with its
skies, now bright and now cloudy, arching over us in alternate loveliness and
terror? Ah, there is no gospelin her sighing wind, and all her resurrections die
again, and all her waves break upon a strand that is unknown and far. Can
infidelity reassure us? Is there safety in the everlasting "No?" Can we vanquish the
danger by denying it? Can we overcome the peril by putting it far away? Men try
this sometimes, but it is a sombreregion to dwell in where dead leaves crackle
under foot. Ah, no! there is a shuddering and sickly air, as of some ghost-haunted
wood or precincts stern and savage; and it is useless, for Death will come, although
society join us in the conspiracy to cheat him, and although friends forbear kindly
to inquire about our age, and although decay can go and rouge over its wrinkles,
and compliment itself into youth again, Death will come; and there is something in
all of us that will keep on asking, "What then? what then?" "What after death for
me remains?" Oh, it is wiser surely even with the Egyptian to shape the coffin in
the lifetime, or with the Jew to build the sepulchre in the garden. Speaking of Jews,
would Judaism serve to shelter us? It has glorious types — a wonderful history,
many lighted windows of worship. Shall we enter the door?Nay, don'texhume it:
it has been in the sarcophagus, a corpse, now for more than a thousand years.
Christ would have been the soul of it once, but it rejected Him, and struck its own
suicide in a mistaken chivalry which preferred death to what it deemed to be
dishonour. Judaism can do nothing for us. Then shall reason light us down the vale,
or morality put a staff in our hand, or superstition torture us into safety, or
formalism ferry us over the swellings of Jordan? Alas! they are all miserable
comforters; they lift no cloud; there it hangs, mysterious and solemn, over the
passage into eternal life. Jesus of Nazareth, Divine human Saviour! we come to
Thee: we pray to Thee. In Thee is all the beauty which the Greek worshipped: in
Thee is all the law which the stern Roman loved. Thou art Nature's great
interpreter; and infidelity shrinks away from Thy presence; and Judaism is fulfilled
in Thee; and superstition becomes reverence as Thou speakest; and formality gets

an inner spirit; and faith in Thee is the highest reason; and love to Thee is the
grandest morality.
(W. M. Punshon, LL. D.)
No retreat
H. O. Mackey.When Garibaldi sailed from Genoa in 1860 he took with him a thousand
volunteers. They landed at Marsala almost in the face of the Neapolitan fleet. When the
commander of Marsala, returning to the port, saw the steamers, he gave orders to destroy them.
Garibaldi having landed his men, looked with indifference, almost with pleasure on the work of
destruction. "Our retreat is cut off," he said, exultingly; "we have no hope but in going forward:
it is to death or victory."
(H. O. Mackey.)
COMMENTARIES
EXPOSITORY (ENGLISH BIBLE)
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers(68) Then Simon Peter answered.—The look may
have been directed to Peter, or here, as elsewhere, his natural character makes him spokesman
for the Twelve. And striking is his speech. “Go away? To whom? They had left all to follow
Him, and find all in Him. The Baptist is not living, and they know no other teacher. Go away?
How could it be, when His words are spirit and eternal life?” (John 6:63.)
Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary6:66-71 When we admit into our minds hard thoughts of
the words and works of Jesus, we enter into temptation, which, if the Lord in mercy prevent not,
will end in drawing back. The corrupt and wicked heart of man often makes that an occasion for
offence, which is matter of the greatest comfort. Our Lord had, in the foregoing discourse,
promised eternal life to his followers; the disciples fastened on that plain saying, and resolved to
cleave to him, when others fastened on hard sayings, and forsook him. Christ's doctrine is the
word of eternal life, therefore we must live and die by it. If we forsake Christ, we forsake our
own mercies. They believed that this Jesus was the Messiah promised to their fathers, the Son of
the living God. When we are tempted to backslide or turn away, it is good to remember first
principles, and to keep to them. And let us ever remember our Lord's searching question; Shall
we go away and forsake our Redeemer? To whom can we go? He alone can give salvation by the
forgiveness of sins. And this alone brings confidence, comfort, and joy, and bids fear and
despondency flee away. It gains the only solid happiness in this world, and opens a way to the
happiness of the next.

Barnes' Notes on the BibleSimon Peter answered him - With characteristic ardor and
promptness. Peter was probably one of the oldest of the apostles, and it was his character to be
first and most ardent in his professions.
To whom shall we go - This implied their firm conviction that Jesus was the Messiah, and that he
alone was able to save them. It is one of Peter's noble confessions - the instinctive promptings of
a pious heart and of ardent love. There was no one else who could teach them. The Pharisees, the
Sadducees, and the scribes were corrupt, and unable to guide them aright; and, though the
doctrines of Jesus were mysterious, yet they were the only doctrines that could instruct and save
them.
Thou hast ... - The meaning of this is, thou teachest the doctrines which lead to eternal life. And
from this we may learn:
1. that we are to expect that some of the doctrines of the Bible will be mysterious.
2. that, though they are difficult to be understood, yet we should not therefore reject them.
3. that nothing would be gained by rejecting them. The atheist, the infidel - nay, the philosopher,
believes, or professes to believe, propositions quite as mysterious as any in the Bible.
4. that poor, lost, sinful man has nowhere else to go but to Jesus. He is the way, the truth, and the
life, and if the sinner betakes himself to any other way he will wander and die.
5. We should, therefore, on no account forsake the teachings of the Son of God. The words that
he speaks are spirit and are life.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary68. Then Simon Peter—whose forwardness in this
case was noble, and to the wounded spirit of His Lord doubtless very grateful.
Lord, to whom, &c.—that is, "We cannot deny that we have been staggered as well as they, and
seeing so many go away who, as we thought, might have been retained by teaching a little less
hard to take in, our own endurance has been severely tried, nor have we been able to stop short
of the question, Shall we follow the rest, and give it up? But when it came to this, our light
returned, and our hearts were reassured. For as soon as we thought of going away, there arose
upon us that awful question, 'To whom shall we go?' To the lifeless formalism and wretched
traditions of the elders? to the gods many and lords many of the heathen around us? or to blank
unbelief? Nay, Lord, we are shut up. They have none of that 'ETERNAL LIFE' to offer us
whereof Thou hast been discoursing, in words rich and ravishing as well as in words staggering
to human wisdom. That life we cannot want; that life we have learnt to crave as a necessity of the
deeper nature which Thou hast awakened: 'the words of that eternal life' (the authority to reveal it
and the power to confer it). Thou hast: Therefore will we stay with Thee—we must."
Matthew Poole's Commentary Peter, who is observed in the whole history of the gospel to have
discovered the hottest and quickest spirit, and to have been first in answering questions
propounded to the twelve, as Matthew 16:16, &c., replies,
Lord, to whom shall we go? &c., thereby teaching us under temptations to apostasy, first, to
consider what we shall get by it, as the following words teach us, that an abiding with Christ in a
steady adherence to the truths of his gospel, is the best choice that we can make.
Gill's Exposition of the Entire BibleThen Simon Peter answered him,.... Who was strong in the
faith of Christ, and full of zeal for him, and love to him; and who was the mouth of the apostles,

and always forward to speak out of the abundance and sincerity of his heart, in their name;
believing, that they all of them, for he had now no suspicion of Judas, no more than of the rest,
had the same faith in Christ, love to him, and esteem of him, as he himself had; wherefore out of
a good opinion of them, and love to Christ, he thus addressed him:
Lord; or "my Lord"; as the Syriac version renders it; which was either a title of respect, and the
same with "Sir" with us; or else, as acknowledging the dominion and authority of Christ, as Lord
of all, and especially of the saints, and as claiming his interest in him; and which carries in it a
reason, why he should abide by him:
to whom shall we go? as a teacher, whose ministry we can attend upon, to greater profit and
advantage? not to the Scribes and Pharisees, whose leaven, or doctrine, Christ had bid them
beware of; who taught for doctrines the commandments of men, and were blind leaders of the
blind; nor to John the Baptist, who had declared he was not the Messiah; but had pointed him out
to them in his person, as the son of God; and in his office as the Lamb of God, that takes away
the sins of men; and perhaps, he might not be now living; and if he was, he would have
encouraged them not to follow him, but abide with their master; so that there was no other, that
was "better", as Nonnus expresses it, that they could go unto; and therefore it would be folly and
madness in them to leave him: and as it was with Peter and the rest of the disciples, so it is with
all sensible sinners, and true believers, who see there is no other to go to for life and salvation,
but Christ; not to the law of Moses, which accuses, curses, and condemns, and by which there is
neither life nor righteousness; nor to any creature, or creature performance, for there is a curse on
him that trusts in man, and makes flesh his arm; nor to their own righteousness, which is impure
and imperfect, and cannot justify before God, nor answer for them in a time to come; nor to their
tears of repentance, which will not satisfy the law, atone for sins, or wash them away; nor to
carnal descent, birth privileges, a religious education, sobriety, and civility, to trust to which, is
to have confidence in the flesh, which will be of no avail; nor to ceremonial services, or moral
duties, or even evangelical ordinances, neither of which can take away sin. There is no other
Saviour, but Christ, to look to; no other Mediator between God and man, to make use of; no
other physician of value, for diseased and sin sick souls to apply unto; no other fountain but his
blood, for polluted souls to wash in, and be cleansed; no other city of refuge, or strong hold, for
souls sensible of danger, to flee unto and be safe; no other to come to as the bread of life, where
hungry souls may be fed; no other place of rest, for those that are weary and heavy laden; nor is
there any other, where there is plenty of all grace, and security from every enemy, as in him: and
therefore, to whom can they have recourse, but unto him? and that for the following reason,
thou hast the words of eternal life: meaning, either the promises of eternal life, which were made
before the world began, and were put into Christ's hands, for his people, and are yea and amen in
him; or the doctrines of eternal life; for so the Gospel, and the truths of it, are called, Acts 5:20;
and that because the Gospel brings life and immortality to light, gives an account of eternal life;
of the nature of it, that it is a glorious life, a life free from all the sorrows of the present one; a
life of pleasure, and of perfect knowledge and holiness, and which will last for ever: and because
it points out the way to it, that it is not by the works of the law, but by the grace of God; that it is
his free gift, through Christ; and that Christ is the way, the truth, and the life, or the true way to
eternal life: and because it is a means of quickening dead sinners, and of reviving true believers,
and of nourishing them up unto everlasting life: or this phrase may design the power and
authority which Christ has, to dispose of, and dispense eternal life; for he has the firing itself in
his hands, and a power to give it to as many as the father has given him; and to them he does

give it: and each of these senses carry in them a reason why souls should go to Christ, and to him
only, for life and salvation.
Geneva Study BibleThen Simon Peter answered him, Lord, to whom shall we go? thou hast the
words of eternal life.
EXEGETICAL (ORIGINAL LANGUAGES)
Meyer's NT CommentaryHYPERLINK "/context/john/6-68.htm"John 6:68-69. Peter, according
to the position, for which the foundation is already laid in John 1:43, makes the confession, and
with a resolution how deep and conscious!
ἀπελευσόμεθα] Future, at any time. “Da nobis alterum Te,” Augustine.
ῥήματα ζωής, κ.τ.λ.] Twofold reason for stedfastness: (1) ῥήματα … ἔχεις, and (2) καὶ ἡμεῖς,
κ.τ.λ. Thou hast the words of everlasting life (ζωὴν αἰώνιον προξενοῦντα, Euthymius Zigabenus;
more literally: “whose specific power it is to secure eternal life”); an echo of John 6:63. The
ῥήματα which proceed from the Teacher are represented as belonging to Him, a possession
which He has at His disposal. Comp. 1 Corinthians 14:26.
καὶ ἡμεῖς] and we for our part, as contrasted with those who had fallen away.
πεπιστ. κ. ἐγνώκ.] “the faith and the knowledge to which we have attained, and which we
possess, is that,” etc. (Perfect). Conversely, John 17:8; 1 John 4:16. Practical conviction may
precede (Php 3:10) and follow (comp. John 8:32) the insight which is the product of reason. The
former quite corresponds to the immediate and overpowering impressions by which the apostles
had been won over to Jesus, chap. 1. Both, therefore, are conformable with experience, and
mutually include, and do not exclude, each other.
ὁ ἅγιος τοῦ θεοῦ (see the critical notes): He who is consecrated of God to be the Messiah through
the fulness of the Spirit and salvation vouchsafed Him. See on John 10:36; 1 John 2:20; comp.
Mark 1:24; Luke 4:34; Acts 4:27; Revelation 3:7.
The similar confession, Matthew 16:16, is so different in its occasion, connection, and
circumstances, that the assumption that our passage is only another version of the synoptical
account (Weisse and others) is unwarrantable. Who can take exception to the repetition of a
confession (of which the apostles’ hearts were so full) upon every occasion which presented
itself? Certainly, according to John (see already John 1:42 ff., John 2:19), it is untenable to
suppose that in our passage, according to the right reading (see the critical notes), we have not
yet a complete and unhesitating confession of the Messiah (Ewald); or that the disciples had only
now attained a full faith in Him (Weizsäcker). We would have to assume in the earlier passages
of chap. 1 a very awkward ὕστερον πρότερον on the part of the evangelist,—a view in which
even Holtzmann acquiesces (Judenth. u. Christenth. p. 376).
Expositor's Greek TestamentHYPERLINK "/john/6-68.htm"John 6:68. Simon Peter answered in
name of all, Κύριε … ζῶντος. He gives a threefold reason why they remained faithful while
others left. (1) πρὸς τίνα ἀπελευσόμεθα; “To whom shall we go away?” implying that they must
attach themselves to some one as a teacher and mediator in divine things. They cannot imagine
that any one should be to them what already Jesus had been. (2) Especially are they bound to

Him. because He has words of eternal life, ῥήματα ζωῆς αἰωνίου ἔχεις. They had experienced
that His words were spirit and life, John 6:63. In themselves a new life had been quickened by
His words, a life they recognised as the true, highest, eternal life. To have received eternal life
from Christ makes it impossible to abandon Him. (3) καὶ ἡμεῖς (John 6:69), “we for our part,”
whatever others think, πεπιστεύκαμεν καὶ ἐγνώκαμεν “have believed and know,” cf. 1 John 4:16,
ἡμεῖς ἐγνώκαμεν καὶ πεπιστεύκαμεν, which shows we cannot press the order [cf. Augustine’s
“credimus ut intelligamus”] but must accept the double expression as a strong asseveration of
conviction: we have believed and we know by experience ὅτι σὺ εἶ … ὁ ἅγιος τοῦ Θεοῦ occurs
in Mark 1:24, Luke 6:34; cf. Acts 3:14; Acts 4:27; Acts 4:30; Revelation 3:7. The expression is
not Johannine; but the idea of the Messiah as consecrated or set apart is found in John 10:36, ὃν
ὁ Πατὴρ ἡγίασε. Peter’s confession here is equivalent to his confession at Caesarea Philippi,
recorded in the Synoptic Gospels.
Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges68. Then Simon Peter] Omit ‘Then.’ S. Peter, as
leader, primus inter pares, answers here as elsewhere in the name of the Twelve (see note on
Mark 3:17), and answers with characteristic impetuosity. The firmness of His conviction shews
the appropriateness of the name given to him John 1:42. His answer contains three reasons in
logical order why they cannot desert their Master: (1) there is no one else to whom they can go;
the Baptist is dead. Even if there were (2) Jesus has all that they need; He has ‘sayings of eternal
life.’ And if there be other teachers who have them also, yet (3) there is but one Messiah, and
Jesus is He. See on John 6:47.
Bengel's GnomenHYPERLINK "/john/6-68.htm"John 6:68.[153] Ῥήματα, the words) The
disciples, even though as yet they do not comprehend the special principles of the discourses of
Christ, yet hold the general foundation. A most noble instance of implicit faith, involved in the
explicit faith [faith involved in the faith evolved].[154] The whole of the phraseology, the words
of eternal life—we have believed—the Son of God, is repeated from John 6:63-65.[155] So
Martha, ch. John 11:27, upholds her faith in Jesus Christ, although she did not as yet perceive the
grounds and bearings of the resurrection. [In answer to Jesus, “I am the resurrection and the life,”
etc., she replies, “I believe that Thou art the Christ, the Son of God, which should come into the
world.”]
[153] πρὸς τίνα, to whom) It is a blessed thing for that man, into whose mind, if even it should
see the door open, nothing whatever else glides in.—V. g.
[154] i.e. Universal faith implied in the faith expressed by Peter.
[155] To which therefore Peter alludes, contrasting the Twelve with the unbelievers.—E. and T.
Pulpit CommentaryVerses 68, 69. - Simon Peter - prominent here, and in John 13:6-11, 24, 36;
John 18:10; John 20:2-10; John 21:7, etc.; just as he is in the synoptic Gospels (see portrait of St.
Peter, Introduction VIII. 3 (4)) - [then ] answered him;Lord, to whom shall we go? Perhaps
ἀπελευσόμεθα is even stronger than the ὑπάγειν; Hast thou not drawn us to thyself, and supplied
a need and craving which thou hadst first of all excited? Is there any teacher to rival thee? Can
we look for another while we have thee? "Da nobis alterum te" (Augustine). The second part of
this immortal reply points clearly back to ver. 63, where the Lord had declared that the words he
had spoken to them were spirit and life. Thou hast words of eternal life. Not "the words," which
would savour too much of the dogmatic and technical, but words of life - words which minister

the Spirit of life; words which convey the Divine power, even the Holy Spirit, to our minds;
words which bring those thoughts before us which we can believe, and believing which, we have
eternal life. "Thou hast such words" (cf. for use of ἔχειν, 1 Corinthians 14:26). The third item of
this confession is twofold. We have believed, and have come to know; so that we now do believe
and know that, etc. There is a knowledge which precedes belief, and there are some great facts
and ideas about Christ which lead to a higher and to a different belief (see John 17:8; 1 John
4:8); but again the fullest knowledge follows belief, a notional and real assent leads to an
invincible assent. Faith is the womb of assurance. This richer knowledge is mediated by love.
"He that loveth not knoweth not," and the faith that evokes "love" also excites and confirms the
"knowledge" that is life eternal (John 17:2). That thou art the Holy One of God The recognition
of the nature of the Lord, which fell short of the great utterance of Peter in Matthew 16:16. This
was an ascription which the daemoniacs, or the devils, by their lips were ready from the first to
proclaim prematurely (Mark 1:24; Luke 4:34). (On the holiness of Christ, on his entire
consecration, and on the fact that he was sealed and sent into the world to do the Father's will,
see John 10:36; 1 John 2:20; Revelation 3:7.) "Thou art sent on the highest mission. Thou canst
accomplish all that thou hast told us; we have come to believe it, and we do know it. We cannot
leave thee. We are not looking for temporal honours or Messianic splendours, but for the food
that endureth unto everlasting life."
Vincent's Word StudiesSimon Peter
Assailants of the authenticity of John's Gospel have asserted that it reveals an effort on the part
of the writer to claim for the disciple whom Jesus loved a pre-eminence above Peter. The
assertion is effectually contradicted by the narrative itself. See John 1:42; John 6:68; John 13:6;
John 18:10, John 18:16; John 20:2, John 20:7; John 21:3, John 21:7, John 21:11, and notes on
those passages. Peter's replying for the twelve, in this passage, is a case in point.
The words of eternal life (ῥήματα ζωῆς αἰωνίου)
There is no article. Thou hast words. Words of life are words which carry life with them.
Compare the phrases bread of life, light of life, water of life, tree of life.
PRECEPT AUSTIN RESOURCES
CLINGING TO CHRIST NO. 3210
A SERMON PUBLISHED ON THURSDAY, AUGUST 11, 1910,
DELIVERED BY C. H. SPURGEON,AT THE METROPOLITAN

TABERNACLE, NEWINGTON, ON LORD’S-DAYEVENING, JULY 12,
1863.
“Then Jesus saidunto the twelve, Will you also go away? Then Simon Peter
answeredHim, Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal
life.” John 6:67, 68.
[See Sermons #2914,Volume 50—AMOURNFUL DEFECTIONand #1646,
Volume 28— A HOME QUESTION AND A RIGHT ANSWER—
Read/downloadboth sermons, free of charge, at
http://www.spurgeongems.org.]
I. WITHOUT any preface, we will proceedat once to considerthe first
division of our subject, which is that THE PREACHING OF THE
DOCTRINESOF TRUTHIS OFTEN THE MEANS OF SEPARATING THE
PRECIOUS FROM THE VILE. In the case before us, we see that the
preaching of the Lord Jesus Christ actedlike a greatwinnowing machine. His
nominal disciples were like a heap of wheat and chaff all mingled togetheron
the threshing floor. His words were like a mighty wind passing through the
whole mass, separating the chaff from the wheat and driving it away—leaving
only the good corn lying all around Him. This leads me to say that apart from
afflictions, temptations and persecutions, the preaching of the gospelis, in
itself, a means of dividing the true followers ofChrist from those who are only
His disciples in name and, whereverthere is a faithful, Christ like ministry,
you will find many going awayfrom it for the very same reasons that those
nominal disciples went awayfrom Christ. “Fromthat time many of His
disciples went back and walkedno more with Him.” Some went awayfrom
Christ because His doctrine was too mysterious. They heard His wondrous
words only with their outward ears and, judging them in the letter and not
comprehending the spirit of them, they said, “This is a hard saying; who can
hear it?” They misunderstood and misrepresentedwhat intelligent Sunday

schoolchildren nowadays easilycomprehend! And as they did not know what
the Saviorreally meant, they argued that this was a reasonwhy they should
not listen to Him any longer. We must, therefore, not be surprised if when we
are speaking to our congregations upon the deep things of God, there are
some who do not comprehend the spiritual meaning of what we are saying,
and who, instead of patiently waiting until they can understand it, or coming
to us for an explanation of their difficulties, turn awayfrom us, crying, “We
will hear no more of these mysteries!We cannotat once understand them
and, therefore, we will not take the trouble to learn what the preacher intends
to teachus by them.” Others went awayfrom Christ because His teaching
was too spiritual for them. He said to them, “Verily, verily, I say unto you,
Except you eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink His blood, you have no
life in you.” They gave only a carnalinterpretation to Christ’s words and
altogethermissedtheir spiritual meaning. If He had talkedto them as the
Pharisees did, they would have understood Him and enjoyed His message.If
Christ had spokento them about phylacteries, making broad the borders of
their garments, the tithing of mint and anise and cummin, fasting two or three
days in a week and washing their hands before they ate bread, they would
have comprehended such talk as that and would have exceedinglyliked it!
And there are still many, even in England, who would listen gladly to the
praise of mere outward rites and ceremonies andwho would find intense
satisfactionin millinery, wax candles,
2 Clinging to Christ Sermon #3210
2 Tell someone todayhow much you love Jesus Christ. Volume 56
crossesandanything that is externally ornamental or attractive—but they
have no love for that which is spiritual! Our Lord’s teaching was too spiritual
for those nominal followers ofHis. He did not give them husks such as swine
might relish, but He gave them the very kernels of the truth of God and,
therefore, they turned away from Him. He gave them not chaff, but the very
finest of the wheat—but they, being unrenewed by divine grace and,
therefore, having no appetite for such food, “wentback, and walkedno more
with Him.” And every ministry that is truly spiritual will drive awaysome
who come for a while under its influence, for there are still many to be found

who will say, “If the preacherwould confine himself to moral duties, or even
to Scripture histories, we would not mind listening to him. But when he talks
about feeding upon Christ, and about communion with Jesus, andabout the
spiritual separatedlife, these are things of which we know nothing and of
which we do not wish to know anything.” And so they go their way. Others
there were, no doubt, who were offended with Christ because whatHe said
glorified Himself. He contrastedHimself with the manna that their fathers ate
in the wilderness and of which they naturally thought very highly, for man
then “ate angels’food.” But Jesus said, “Your fathers did eatmanna in the
wilderness, and are dead...Iam the living bread which came down from
heaven: if any man eatof this bread, he shall live forever.” He proclaimed
Himself the Son of man who came down from heavenand who would go back
to heaven—and this offended them—and there are still many to whom the
glorifying of Christ is obnoxious. If the doctrine that is preached glorifies the
Creatorand abases the creature, there are some of our hearers who at once
get angry! They cannot endure the extolling of our glorious Lord and Master.
Our praise of Him makes discord in their ears. If we would chatterabout the
dignity of human nature; if we would extol that poor foolish creature, the son
of Adam, they would be pleasedenough! But to put all crowns upon Jesus
Christ’s head, to ascribe all honor and glory to Him and to Him alone—to
preach up nothing but a full Christ for empty sinners—there are many who
will be annoyed by such preaching as this and straightwaythey will turn back
and walk no more with us. Chiefly, however, Christ’s nominal disciples left
Him because His preaching was too personal for them. He proclaimed what
was in their hearts and, therefore, He spoke to them with the utmost
directness. And this plainness of speechoffended them, so they turned away
from Him. How many sermons have been preachedbefore people and how
few have been preachedat them! Yet the sermons that are preached before us
are goodfor nothing, but the sermons that are preached at us are the only
ones that are likely to be blessedto us! We have known some hearers who
have winced considerablywhen the preaching has been plain and personal.
The description of their case has been so graphic and the cap fitted them so
well that, rather than wearit, they have takenthemselves to a preacherwith a
smoothertongue, who— “To soothe the unholy throng”— has laid aside the
boldness of speechwhich it is both his privilege and his duty to exercise!

There are some of our hearers who suspectthat somebody has told the
minister all about them—but what has happened is that God has guided the
preacherunconsciouslyto picture them so accuratelythat they cannothelp
recognizing their own portrait! One says, “I do not like the preacherbecause
he tells me so much about my sins.” Another, who is a drunk, says, “I do not
like him because,afterlistening to him, I cannot enjoy my cups as I did
before.” Another, who is the slave of some other form of sin, says, “I do not
like him because he lays the axe to the very root of the tree of my sin. His
blows come too closelyhome to please me.” There are others who are not
honest enoughto confess thatit is so with them, also, but though they may not
admit it, this is really the fact—theydo not like the truth of God because the
truth of God does not like them! We have in all our congregationsa certain
number of hearers who make greatprofessions for a time, but afterwards go
back and leave us. The reasonvery often being that the preaching has sifted
them out from the wheat, and proved that they are only chaff. I know that
some of you feel very uncomfortable when I am preaching the doctrine of
electionor any of the other greatdoctrines of sovereigngrace. I am very sorry
for any of you who cannot appreciate those glorious truths of God in which
my souldelights
Sermon #3210 Clinging to Christ 3
Volume 56 Tell someone todayhow much you love Jesus Christ. 3
itself to the fullest—and I would earnestly and solemnly urge you to examine
yourselves to see whetheryou have ever had divine grace in your hearts at all
if you do not love to hear the doctrines of grace preached!There are others,
though not many in this congregation, who are not pleasedwhen I begin
preaching concerning human responsibility and the duty of sinners to repent
and believe the gospel. Theydo not like to hear me proclaim that part of the
truth of God, though they revel in divine sovereignty, predestination, election
and such greattruths! So it comes to pass that there is, occasionally, a small
stream of hearers trickling awaytowards antinomianism, and another stream
flowing in the opposite direction towards legalism!I hope that at leastin the

case ofsome of them, though they leave us, they do not, at the same time, leave
Christ! A man may turn awayfrom sound doctrine and yet may not have left
a personalSavior. Though he may have rejectedsome part of the truth of
God, he may still have his finger upon the hem of Christ’s garment, and so
may remain in contactwith Him. But I am greatly afraid that there are some
who leave us, who go awayto hell! Some who, when they forsake the Lord’s
house, also forsake the Lord of the house. Some who, when they leave the
congregationof the saints, also leave the King of saints and turn aside unto
crookedways. II. Well now, suppose that they do leave Christ when they
leave us? That suggestsa secondtopic of considerationin our text, which is
that WHEN SOME PEOPLE GO AWAY, WE MUST NOT BE SURPRISED,
NOR UNDULY ALARMED. You notice that in the narrative there is no
mention of any remark by Christ concerning those who had turned back, nor
any expressionof a desire for their return. He could read their hearts and
knew the motives that had causedthem to rejectHis teaching and cease to be
even nominally His followers, so He turned to His 12 apostles andput to them
the pathetic question which we will presently examine—“Willyou also go
away?” This silence of our Savior concerning those who were driven away
from Him by His preaching of the truth of God suggeststhat they were not
plants of His Father’s right hand planting, but only weeds that had to be
pulled up by the roots and thrown away! Among Christ’s nominal disciples,
there were some who followedHim for the loaves and fishes. They enjoyed His
discourses, especiallythose that finished up with the feeding of the multitude!
They were greatly gratified by being in His society, especiallywhenthey
shared in the distribution that was made to the poor out of the bag that Judas
carried as treasurerto the company. They always profited under Christ’s
ministry, but if they did not profit in spirituals, they took goodcare to profit
in temporals! These were the people who went away from Christ when He set
before them the spiritual meat and drink which had no attraction for them.
“No,” they said, “we did not bargain for that kind of fare. Let those have it
who like it. As for us, we need something more substantialthan that” and,
therefore, from that time they “wentback, and walkedno more with Him.”
There are a few people of this sort in most congregationsevennow. They
always have an eye to anything material that can be gained by mingling with
the disciples of Christ. But as soonas there are no more loaves and fishes to be

had, no more doles or grants or gifts—awaythey go— and we see them no
more in our midst! Now, whensuch people as these take offense at the truth of
God and leave us, we really need not regret their going exceptfor their own
sakes.While they remain with us, there is always a faint hope that some
higher motive may cause them to stayand that the nominal followerof Christ
may become one of His true disciples. But, apart from that view of the case,
we cannot greatly mourn when He, whose fan is in His hand, drives awaythe
chaff which has been all too long reckonedas wheat! Then, among the
apparent disciples of Christ, were some who followedHim because they were
charmed by His oratory. Even the officers who were sent by the chief priests
and Pharisees to arrestChrist returned without Him and gave as their excuse
for not taking Him, “Neverman spoke like this man.” He was, indeed,
unrivaled in His eloquence. His parables were so interesting that they won the
attention of the multitude—“the common people heard Him gladly.” There is
a greatpower of attractionin realnatural oratory—and in our Lord’s case
there was a divine power far beyond anything to which the loftiesthuman
eloquence has ever attained. So there were many who said, “We never heard
such a
preacheras this before. Wherever He preaches, there is sure to be a crowd.
The multitudes throng around Him and press upon Him! Let us also go and
hear Him.” As they listened to Him, their ears were charmed, but their hearts
were not changedand, by and by, they “went back, and walkedno more with
Him.” We also have had nominal adherents of this sort. We are always glad to
see all who come to hear the Word of God, but if they unite with the disciples
of Christ simply because ofsome excellenceofspeechwhich they admire in
the preacherand are not, themselves, truly converted, the soonersuchdross is
scrummed from the surface of the molten gold, the better will it be for the
gold! Others, no doubt, followedChrist for a time because theyliked
anything new, curious and singular. Here was a strange preacherwho had not
even a house to live in. The foxes had holes and the birds of the air had nests,
but He had nowhere to lay His head. He was also a preacherwho said and did

unusual things. He saw some lilies growing and He said, “Considerthe lilies
how they grow:they toil not, they spin not; and yet I sayunto you, that
Solomonin all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.” He pointed to
some ravens flying overhead, and said, “Considerthe ravens:for they neither
sow nor reap; which neither have storehouse norbarn; and God feeds them:
how much more are you better than the fowls?” He was a preacherwho used
simple language, so that even children could comprehend it! Yet, at the same
time, He talked so wondrously that the people were astonishedat His doctrine,
for He taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes.” Yet, when
the novelty of His teaching had worn off, they “went back, and walkedno
more with Him.” There are some people of this sortstill living— they go to
hear every fresh preacher who attracts a crowd and they may be sufficiently
fascinatedto gain admissionto the church. But they vanish as soonas there is
a new attraction! And any church that has had them on its roll need not
sorrow greatlywhen the chaff is winnowed from the wheat. So I might go on
describing those who go awayfrom us even as Christ’s nominal followers
went awayfrom Him, but I will just say to any minister here who has lost any
of his hearers through his faithful preaching of the truth, “Do not fret, my
dear brother, on their account, and do not abate a single jot or tittle of
anything that you believe to be the truth of God.” I would not alter my
preaching in order to retain any individual, howevereminent or influential he
might be. Others may fish for him if they like, but I shall not. My business is
to declare my Master’s messageexactlyas He has revealedit to me in His
word and by His Spirit! I am responsible to Him for the faithful discharge of
the duties to which He has calledme—and when I have, in His name, fully and
fearlesslyproclaimedall the truth that He has taught me, I am not to be
blamed if some refuse to receive the word, and so it becomes a savorof death
unto death to them. It was so with the preaching of our Lord Himself, for
there were many who “went back, and walkedno more with Him,” when He
uttered truths of God which were unpalatable to them. III. Now I come to
the very important matter upon which I want to especiallyspeak to you, as it
particularly concerns you who are now present. Some have gone out from us
because they were not of us, for if they had really been of us they would
doubtless have continued with us. And this factsuggests the need of putting to
you THE SOLEMN QUESTION WHICH OUR LORD PUT TO HIS

DISCIPLES— “Willyou also go away?” Every word in this question is
important. Let us first considerthe little pronoun, “you.” “Will you also go
away?” “You, the 12 who have been with Me from the beginning. You who
have been with Me in my tribulation and have shared My reproach. You who
were, some of you with Me on the mount of transfiguration and in the room
where the little maid was bid to rise—willyou go awayfrom Me? To you,”
Christ seemedto say, “I have expounded the parables as I never explained
them to the mixed multitude. To you I have unlockedthe mysteries of the
kingdom of God. To you My heart has been opened as it has been to no one
else—Ihave not kept back from you anything that was goodfor you to
know— you are My chosenones, My favorites, My much loved ones. To
deliver you from peril, I walkedupon the stormy waves. To preserve you in
the time of temptation, I spent whole nights in prayer. Upon you I have
poured a plenitude of blessings—willyou go away from Me after all this?”
Now Christ seems to me to put this solemn, personalquestion to you, my dear
brothers and sisters in Christ! Will you go away from Him after all that He
has done for you? You believe that you have been called by His grace,
for you have enjoyed the sweetness ofHis love and you have been admitted
into close personalfellowshipwith Him. The secretof the Lord is with you
who fear Him. He has delivered you in six troubles, and in sevenno evil has
touched you. You bear your willing witness that He is a gracious Lord and
Master, and that He has been a precious Christ to you! Indeed, you say that
He is your all in all and that words fail you to tell all that you think of Him!
Then can you, will you go awayfrom Him after all this? I think I know what
your answermust be, but I will not speak ofthat just now. Now put the
emphasis upon the first word in the question—“Willyou also go away?”
Matthew Henry says that our Lord left the disciples to make the choice
whether they would go or stay—and then he observes that, “Christwill detain
none with Him againsttheir wills. His soldiers are volunteers, not pressed

men.” Christ also says to us who profess to be His disciples, “Will you go away
from Me?” Rememberthis, belovedfriends, although the Spirit of God keeps
us following Christ, yet He never does this againstour wills. He makes us
willing in the day of His power, but still, it is quite true that Christ has no
unwilling followers. If you are willing to leave Him; if your will would permit
you to be a deserterfrom the army of Christ, you have already deserted!So I
put the question to you as though the whole matter restedwith you, “Will you
go away from your Lord and Master? Do you really wish to leave your
Savior? Do you, in your heart, say, “I will never again endure suffering and
reproachfor His name’s sake. I will never againput my trust in Him who died
upon the cross. Iwill go back to the world and be content with the world’s
joys and pleasures”?Will you thus go awayfrom Christ and walk no more
with Him? Then take the next word in the question: “Will you also go
away?” There is often a disposition in us to do what others do. Young man,
you know that your father, who once professedto be a followerof Christ,
afterwards apostatized. Will you, also, go back because he turned traitor to
Christ? When some great monarch among the trees of the forestfeels the
woodman’s axe and quivers and, at last, falls with a tremendous crash, many
a shrub and plant that grew securelynear it are crushed to death by its fall.
And so, sometimes, whensome greatprofessorfalls and goes downto
destruction, there are many young believers, growing, as it were, under his
shadow, who are in imminent peril of being draggeddown with him! Now, my
young friends, you have heard that so and so and so and so have turned back,
like Pliable, to the City of Destruction—“willyou also go away?” Will the tide
also sweepyou away, or will you, by the grace of God, swim againstit? There
it goes, broadand deep! Upon its surface is the foam of pleasure, but in its
depths is the damnation of hell—will you also floatdown it as multitudes of
others are doing, or will you stem the current— “Strong in the strength which
God supplies Through His eternalSon”? We must, all of us know some of
these reprobates who once were numbered among the people of God. There is
one who used to partake of the communion cup at the Lord’s table, but now
he is drinking of the cup of devils at the bar of the gin palace—“willyou also
go away” as he has gone? There is another who used to go up to the house of
prayer and his voice was often heard at the prayer meetings. But the greedof
gold sized him and now he is a sordid money grabber and he would grind an

orphan’s bones if they would make him bread! “Will you also go away” as he
has gone? Saddestofall, there is one who used to preach the gospeland many
were charmed by his brilliant oratory. But now he is blaspheming God with
his fellow infidels! “Will you also go away” as he has gone? Young men and
women, and old ones, too, you see what the apostateshave become!You see
what has happened to some who apparently did run well, but who never really
started in the right course—orthey would have continued in it till they
reachedthe goal. You see how some who left the harbor with a fair wind and
all sails set have made shipwreck of faith because they never knew the grace
of God in truth—are you willing to be like they? “Will you also go away?” I
know I shall not be alone in giving the answerthat John Newtonputs into his
well-knownhymn— “When any turn from Zion’s way
(Alas, what numbers do)! I think I hear my Savior say, ‘Will you forsake Me
too?’ Ah, Lord, with such a heart as mine, Unless You hold me fast I feel I
will! I shall decline, And prove like they at last. What anguish has that
question stirred, If I will also go? Yet, Lord, relying on Your word, I humbly
answer, ‘No.’” IV. Now, as briefly as we can, let us considerPETER’S
REPLY TO OUR LORD’S QUESTION, and I hope that many a heart here
will make that reply its own. It was a grand answer!There is a magnificence
about it which I cannotexpect to bring out to the fullest—“Lord, to whom
shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.” “Lord, to whom shall we
go?” WhenI was meditating upon this subject yesterday, I turned that
question over and over againin my mind and I askedmyself, “Where could I
go if I were to forsake my Lord?” Earth has no place where I could hide my
guilty head if I, after preaching the gospelto others, should desertthe cross of
Christ! Noteven across the oceancould I find a harbor of refuge or a hermit’s
cave where I could secure seclusionif I tried to run awayfrom my Lord. I
would be hounded and denounced everywhere by those who know my name,
even if they do not know me, as one who has preachedthe gospelto tens of
thousands. And I should be pointed at by the finger of scornand all who have
desired my fall would gloatover it—and think me only fit to be a football for

Satanand his hosts to kick. I canindeed adopt John Newton’s lines and say
with him to my dear Lord and Savior— “To whom or where could I go If I
should turn from You?” That is how I personallyfeel with regardto Peter’s
reply to our Lord’s question. Will eachone of you put the matter before
yourself from your own standpoint as I have put it from mine? Let me take
the case ofany avowedfollowerof Christ here. Where could you go to find
comfort if you should forsake your Lord? Suppose you turn from Christ—
perhaps you might try to find peace and comfort in ceremonies. Canyou
imagine yourself sitting or kneeling in a Popish place of worship? Can you
think of yourself as trying to get comfort by watching those boys in white
swinging the smoking censers, orthose men in blue and purple and scarlet
and fine linen bowing before their images and chanting in a language that you
probably do not understand? Can you imagine yourself deriving comfort
from those wax candles, those crucifixes or that little wafer godof which the
idolaters think so much? Could you get comfort out of the gorgeous
architecture, the dim religious light, the pealing organ and all the
paraphernalia inseparably associatedwith the Romish ritual? If you should
ever spend a few minutes in one of those places, I think you would say, “Well,
whateverbecomes of me, I could not come here! I know too much to ever put
any trust in such childish ceremonies and superstitious observances. I cannot
imagine my soulever being satisfiedwith such husks as these.” Next, let us
suppose that you go to Moses andtry to be saved by the law. As you have
given up Christ, you try whether you cannotfind comfort in your own good
works. You become eminently religious, devout, charitable, moral and
upright. You try, from morning till night, to live a perfect life. You are
wanting to see if you can, by any means, build a road to heavenfor yourself,
or construct a ladder out of your own goodworks by which you can reach
God’s presence in glory. Now, my brothers and sisters in Christ, what do you
think of such a scheme as this? “Oh, sir!” says one friend, “I once tried to go
round by Mount Sinai, but there were such lightning and thunder—and the
mountain was so full of terror to me that I dare not go that way again!
Whateverelse I might do, I could not go back againto the beggarlyelements
of the old law! I did once think that I could be saved by my own goodworks,
but I found that I had launched my boat upon such a stormy sea that I was
glad to get back to land again—and

I shall never againventure out upon those perilous waters.” I expect this
friend says just what many more of you feel—thatyou could no more go back
to Moses, andseek to be savedby the law—than you could hope to be saved
by Popish rites and ceremonies! We will suppose, next, that you try to live an
utterly carelesslife. Let us imagine, if we can, that you give up all thoughts of
religion, that you do not attend any place of worship, that you abandon your
present habit of prayer, Bible reading and so on, and that you just settle down
to attend to your earthly business and have no care about the business of the
world to come!Can you manage to do that? There are many, all around us,
who are constantly acting thus—and some of them are quite used to it by this
time, for they have never cared for anything but the things of time and sense.
But I am quite sure there is no true child of God who could live such a life as
that! If some of you were to stayaway from the house of God for a month, you
know that you would be utterly miserable! You could not help thinking about
divine things—they would force themselves upon you, for you have a
consciencewhichis neither dead nor seared. It is like that Mr. Conscience, of
whom John Bunyan says in his Holy War—“The old gentleman, too, the
Recorder, who was so before Diabolus took Mansoul—he also beganto talk
aloud. And his words were now to the town of Mansoulas if they were great
claps of thunder.” It is so with you, and that enlightened and awakened
conscienceofyours would make you, of all men, most miserable if you tried to
live a careless, godlesslife! Why, you know that even when you are dull and
heavy with regard to spiritual things, you are most unhappy, and you cry out
in your agony— “DearLord, and shall we always live At this poor dying
rate?” Well, if you cannotendure that state of things even in a small degree,
it is quite certain that you could not endure it altogether!So, if you think of
leaving your Lord, it is evident that you could not live in utter carelessness.
Suppose that you turn aside to the pleasures ofthe world. Suppose you take a
tickettomorrow evening for the theaterand go there? The moment you had
takenyour seat, you would say to yourself, “I wish I had never come in this

Jesus was the one peter was clinging to

Jesus was the one peter was clinging to

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