Lord, to Whom Shall We Go?

It's one thing to say we believe something. It's another to find ourselves in circumstances where we must depend upon what we believe.

We can confess that Jesus is the Son of God, that he loves us, that he died for our sins and rose again, and that he has promised us eternal life. These are truths many of us have known and believed for years.

But what happens when our understanding is challenged? When God doesn't act as we expected? When his Word confronts something we've always assumed to be true? Or when circumstances leave us wondering how his promises can possibly be fulfilled?

I've faced those questions, and I expect I will face them again. There have been times when I've struggled to understand what God is doing and wondered how to reconcile what I believe with what I'm experiencing. Perhaps you have, too.

In those moments, I often find myself returning to something Peter said to Jesus:

"Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life." (John 6:68, NIV)

To Whom Shall We Go?

A great crowd had followed Jesus, drawn by the miracles he had performed. With five loaves and two fish, he fed thousands. There was enough for everyone, and when the disciples gathered what remained, they filled twelve baskets with leftovers.

The people were astonished. Some even wanted to make Jesus their king. But Jesus withdrew from them.

The following day, the crowd went looking for him. When they found him, Jesus challenged their motives. They had followed him, he said, not because they understood the signs he had performed, but because they had eaten their fill.

They were looking for more bread.

Jesus offered them something far greater.

He told them not to work for food that spoils, but for food that endures to eternal life. Their ancestors had eaten manna in the wilderness, yet they had still died. Now the Father was offering them the true bread from heaven, the bread that gives life to the world.

Then Jesus declared:

"I am the bread of life." (John 6:35, NIV)

He explained that those who came to him would never hunger, and those who believed in him would never thirst. He was offering more than food for their bodies. He was offering himself, the one in whom their deepest need for life with God would be met.

But his teaching became increasingly difficult for those listening.

Jesus said that he had come down from heaven. He spoke of giving his flesh for the life of the world, and of the need to eat his flesh and drink his blood. Eternal life would come through him, through the giving of himself.

The crowd began to grumble. Even some who had been following him struggled to accept what he was saying. They had witnessed his miracles and eaten the bread he provided, but his teaching challenged their understanding and expectations.

And many turned away.

Jesus turned to the Twelve and asked whether they intended to leave as well.

Peter answered:

"Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life."

I find Peter's answer remarkable.

He may not have understood everything Jesus was teaching, but he knew something about Jesus himself. He had witnessed his works, listened to his teaching, and come to believe that Jesus was the Holy One of God.

Peter didn't have every answer, but he knew there was nowhere else to turn for eternal life.

And that is where his question becomes our own.

When our understanding is challenged or our confidence begins to falter, what do we know about Jesus? What has he told us about himself? Can we trust him?

In Him Was Life

John begins his Gospel with these words:

"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God." (John 1:1, NIV)

John tells us that everything was made through him. Nothing that exists came into being apart from him. And then he writes something particularly important: "In him was life."

Let's think about that for a moment.

The one Peter was speaking to was not simply a wise teacher or a prophet with an important message. He was the eternal Word of God, the one through whom all things were created. The Word had become flesh and was living among them.

Life itself came through him.

When Jesus said that he was the Bread of Life, he was declaring that eternal life is found in him. And he had come to give that life to the world.

His purpose was rooted in the Father's love. Earlier in John's Gospel, Jesus had explained that God loved the world so much that he gave his Son so that whoever believes in him would not perish but have eternal life (John 3:16).

Jesus came to accomplish that purpose by giving himself for the life of the world.

And notice what he promises those who come to him. He will never turn them away. He will lose none of those the Father has given him. He will raise them up on the last day.

Four times in John 6, Jesus repeats his promise to raise believers on the last day.

He isn't simply telling us that eternal life is possible. He promises to give it and to raise those who belong to him.

But eternal life is not only a future promise.

In John 5:24, Jesus says that those who hear his word and believe the Father who sent him already have eternal life. They have passed from death to life.

Our eternal life in Christ doesn't begin when we die. It begins when we come to him in faith. We have been brought into a new relationship with God that changes how we live today, even as we await the fullness of that life in the resurrection.

The Shepherd Who Knows Us

In John 10, Jesus describes himself as the Good Shepherd.

His sheep recognize his voice. He knows them, and they follow him. He gives them eternal life, and no one can snatch them from his hand.

I find that deeply comforting. We belong to someone who knows us personally and cares for us.

Jesus explains that the Father has given his sheep to him, that no one can snatch them from the Father's hand, and then he makes an astonishing declaration: "I and the Father are one." (John 10:30, NIV)

His promise to keep us rests upon his authority and his unity with the Father. Yet he is also the Good Shepherd who loves his sheep enough to lay down his life for them.

His love and his power belong together.

I find that important when I'm struggling. Sometimes I don't understand why God allows certain things to happen. I may pray for a particular outcome, only to find that circumstances unfold quite differently.

I don't have answers for everything I've experienced, and I doubt I ever will. But I can return to what Jesus has told me about himself.

He knows his sheep. He loves them. He has given himself for them, and he has promised that no one can snatch them from his hand.

And his care for us is not something we must wait until the resurrection to experience.

Later in John's Gospel, as Jesus prepares his disciples for his departure, he promises that the Father will send the Holy Spirit, the Advocate, to remain with them. He assures them that he will not leave them as orphans (John 14:16–18).

I love that language. We will not be left as orphans.

Jesus knows the sorrow and uncertainty his disciples are about to face. He assures them that they will not be abandoned, and he promises them his peace. Not a peace dependent upon everything going well, but a peace he himself gives.

Through the Holy Spirit, they will continue to know his presence and care.

And that is a comfort for us today.

We can come to him with our fears, questions, and disappointments. We can open his Word and listen again to what he has said. We can pray, even when we struggle to find the words, knowing that he has not abandoned us.

We can ask his Spirit to help us trust him and follow him, even when the way ahead is uncertain.

We may not know what tomorrow will bring. But we know the one to whom we belong, and he has promised to be with us.

I Am the Resurrection and the Life

We see the significance of Jesus' promises when he visits the family of his friend Lazarus.

Lazarus has died. His sisters, Mary and Martha, are grieving. When Jesus arrives, Martha tells him that if he had been there, her brother would not have died.

There is sorrow in her words, and perhaps disappointment as well. She knows Jesus has the power to heal, but her brother is already dead.

Jesus tells Martha that Lazarus will rise again.

Martha believes this. She knows about the resurrection at the last day.

But Jesus wants her to understand something more.

"I am the resurrection and the life." (John 11:25, NIV)

He tells Martha that those who believe in him will live, even though they die. Then he asks her a question.

"Do you believe this?" (John 11:26, NIV)

I wonder how often we find ourselves facing that same question.

We believe Jesus is the Son of God. We believe he died for our sins and rose again. We believe he gives eternal life to those who trust him.

But then someone we love dies. We receive a frightening diagnosis. A relationship breaks down. We face uncertainty about the future.

And suddenly, what we believe is no longer simply a matter of agreeing with something we've been taught. We are being called to trust Christ with our lives.

That doesn't mean we won't struggle or have questions.

Martha believed in Jesus, but she was still grieving. And Jesus didn't rebuke her for her sorrow. When he saw the grief of Mary and those gathered with her, Jesus himself wept.

I take comfort in that.

The one who is the resurrection and the life understands our grief. He doesn't stand apart from our suffering, unmoved by what we experience.

But neither is he powerless before it.

Jesus went to the tomb of Lazarus and called him out. And Lazarus, who had been dead for four days, came out alive.

The one who had declared himself the resurrection and the life demonstrated his authority even over death.

The Promise Has Already Begun

But there is something greater still.

Jesus did not come merely to raise Lazarus from the dead. He came to give himself for the life of the world.

In John 10, Jesus explains that he lays down his life willingly and has authority to take it up again. His death was not an accident or a defeat that caught God by surprise. He was accomplishing his Father's will.

And Jesus did exactly what he said he would do.

He died, was buried, and rose again.

Lazarus was restored to the life he had known, and he would eventually die again. But Jesus rose from the dead, victorious over death itself.

The apostle Paul calls Jesus the firstfruits of those who have died (1 Corinthians 15:20). It's an image drawn from the harvest. The firstfruits are the beginning of what is to come.

I find that picture wonderful.

The harvest has already begun.

Jesus has risen, and those who belong to him will follow. His resurrection is not simply evidence that God has the power to raise the dead. It is the beginning of the resurrection harvest he has promised to his people.

The one who promises to raise us has himself passed through death and risen victorious. We are not placing our hope in something he has never accomplished.

We are trusting the living Christ, who has promised that death will not have the final word over those who belong to him.

Do You Believe This?

I keep coming back to Peter's question.

"Lord, to whom shall we go?"

Peter was confronted with difficult teaching and the decision to continue following Jesus when others were turning away. Martha was confronted with the death of her brother and Jesus' claim to be the resurrection and the life.

And we, too, encounter times when we must consider what we believe about Jesus.

Sometimes our faith feels strong. At other times, we struggle to understand, and we may wonder whether we have enough faith to face what lies ahead.

I've experienced both, and I suspect I will continue to experience them throughout my life.

But I've been learning that my hope doesn't rest upon the strength of my feelings or my ability to understand everything God is doing.

My hope rests in Jesus Christ.

He has shown us his love by giving himself for us. He has demonstrated his power by rising from the dead. And he has promised never to abandon those who belong to him.

We can bring our fears, questions, and uncertainties to him. We can listen again to what he has said, remember what he has done, and trust him with what we cannot see or understand.

Near the end of his Gospel, John tells us why he wrote his account of Jesus' life, death, and resurrection. He wrote so that we might believe Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and through believing have life in his name (John 20:31).

That's John's invitation to us.

And so, when I find myself struggling, uncertain, or afraid, I return to Peter's confession. Not because I have every question answered, but because of what I have come to believe and know about Jesus.

Where else is life to be found?

"Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life."