Jesus Demands Belief
After Jesus' discourse, many of His disciples, grumble at his teaching. Jesus replies, "Does this cause you to stumble? ... The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and are life." (John 6:60-61, 64)
Jesus expected his hearers to comprehend what he had told to them, even if they did not completely understand it. It is like when Mary heard the angel's announcement that she would bear a son. She comprehended the message, though she did not completely understand how it would happen. Mary said to the angel, "How can this be, since I am a virgin?" (Luke 1:34).
After his discourse, there is no sign of Jesus explaining what his teachings "really meant" to the apostles, as he always did whenever they misunderstood. (John 4:32-34, 11:11-14, 14:4-6, 14:7-9, Mark 4:34) At no time does Jesus offer any clarification that his teaching was meant figuratively. Instead, he demands that they accept and believe the words they have heard.
The first thing he does is challenge them to believe him, "What then if you see the Son of Man ascending to where He was before? (Then would you believe that I came down from heaven?)"
Jesus' next statement, "It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing" is not a to reference his own flesh, which has profited us a great deal (Hebrews 10:19-20). Whenever "the flesh" is contrasted with "the spirit" in the Bible (like in John 3:6, and so many times St. Paul's letters) the comparison is between the natural and the supernatural. In this way, Jesus is urging his disciples not to fall back on their own fleshy natures, but to trust in his words, since his words "are spirit and are life". If the disciples had never comprehended him, Jesus would not have chided them for not accepting his teaching. Jesus does nothing to correct the literal understanding of his disciples, because they understand him rightly.
The issue here is not of the disciples' comprehension, but of their willingness to accept Jesus and his difficult teachings. This is why Jesus says, "But there are some of you who do not believe," and, "For this reason I have said to you, that no one can come to Me unless it has been granted him from the Father." (John 6:64, 65)
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(Scripture taken from the NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE�, Copyright � 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission.)
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