This Is a Hard Teaching: Trusting Jesus When You Don’t Understand | John 6:60–65 | 2 Minute Disciple Episode 166

Read Many of his disciples said, “This is very hard to understand. How can anyone accept it?” Jesus was aware that his disciples were complaining, so he said to them, “Does this offend you? Then what will you think if you see the Son of Man ascend to heaven again? The Spirit alone gives eternal life. Human effort accomplishes nothing. And the very words I have spoken to you are spirit and life. But some of you do not believe me.” (For Jesus knew from the beginning which ones didn’t believe, and he knew who would betray him.) Then he said, “That is why I said that people can’t come to me unless the Father gives them to me.” (John 6:60–65, NLT)

Notice What stands out to you in this passage? Is there a word or phrase that catches your attention? Hold it in your heart for a moment.

Reread Hear these words again — and notice that it is not the hostile crowd but the disciples themselves who are struggling with what Jesus has said.

Meditate This is a hard teaching. Who can accept it? The ones saying this are not the Pharisees or the hostile crowd. They are disciples — people who have been following Jesus, who have seen the miracles, who left everything to be with Him. And they are stumbling over what He has just said. Jesus knows. He doesn’t pretend not to notice. He asks: Does this offend you? And then He points them further — not to an easier version of the teaching, but upward: What if you see the Son of Man ascend to where He was before? He is saying: you haven’t seen anything yet. If you think this is hard to receive — wait until the cross, wait until the resurrection, wait until the ascension. The story is bigger than you can currently hold. Don’t bail out because you’ve hit something you don’t understand. And then He says something that takes the pressure off in the best possible way: The Spirit gives life; the flesh counts for nothing. The words I have spoken to you — they are full of the Spirit and life. You cannot understand these things by intellectual analysis alone. Understanding comes through the Spirit. You don’t need to figure it all out — you need to receive what the Spirit is giving.

Some teachings of Jesus are hard. Some things He says will stretch us beyond our current capacity to understand. The question is what we do in that moment — whether we walk away, or whether we stay and trust that the Spirit will open what we cannot yet see. Take a few moments to reflect on this question: Is there a teaching of Jesus that I have been quietly avoiding or dismissing because it is too hard — and am I willing to stay with it and ask the Spirit to open it to me?

Respond Jesus, speak to me through the hard things. Don’t let me take the easy exit.

Exercise The rush of life will meet you again when you leave this sacred place—but you can carry this moment into your day by forming new habits. Habit: Staying with the Hard Things Today’s habit is an act of patient, Spirit-dependent study: identify one teaching of Jesus that you have found difficult, uncomfortable, or confusing — something you may have quietly set aside — and spend ten minutes today sitting with it and asking the Holy Spirit to give you understanding. Read it slowly. Ask: “Spirit, what is Jesus actually saying here? What am I missing? What do You want me to receive from this that I haven’t been able to receive on my own?” You may not get full clarity today. That’s okay. The goal is not to resolve the difficulty — it is to stay with it, trusting that the Spirit who gives life is at work in the words. Before you begin, pray: “Holy Spirit, I bring this hard thing to You. I am not walking away from it. Open what I cannot open on my own — and give life to these words in me.” I have one ask of you before you go, would you please consider supporting this podcast? Click the support the podcast link and give a simple gift. That’s your two minutes with Jesus for today.

Now, take what you’ve heard…share it and live it. Until next time, keep slowing down, keep listening, and keep walking with Jesus.