In this sermon, the preacher discusses the concept of total depravity and the responsibility of individuals. He explains that man's mind is made up of different subtleties, including imagination and memory. The preacher emphasizes that Jesus recognizes the total depravity of man's nature. He also highlights the power of Jesus, particularly in relation to the Father's will to raise up those who believe in him on the last day. The preacher concludes by emphasizing that when individuals are given over to Christ, their entire being, body, soul, and spirit, is under his control and responsibility.

In the last two weeks, you remember some weeks ago, we were down here at Jerusalem when our Lord Jesus was speaking to Nebuchadnezzar in the night time, and then He came from Jerusalem up to Judea here, as He must need go to Samaria, and then you remember that wonderful night we had as we listened to Him revealing Himself to the woman up there. Then He journeyed from Samaria back into Galilee, to Cana of Galilee, where He performed that first miracle, and He came back again, and it was there on that second occasion that He spoke the word of power, and the nobleman's fountain over here in Capernaum, twenty-five miles away, was wonderfully and miraculously healed. And when He left Cana of Galilee, and came down over the Jordan, and down the Piraeus Valley, and back over the Jordan, and back to Jerusalem, and you remember, at the gate of the Pool of Bethesda, that our Lord performed that other wonderful miracle. Then He came back out of Judea, and you remember He was right back to Galilee, and last week we saw Him crossing over to the other side, and then back again in the clouds. And that's where we are still at, where the clouds followed Him back to Capernaum. And we're in John, chapter six, this evening. Do you remember verse twenty-four? When the people therefore saw that Jesus was not there, that is, on the other side of the lake, neither His disciples, they also took shipping and came to Capernaum seeking for Jesus. And take note, please, of verse fifty-nine again this evening. These things said He in the synagogue as He taught in Capernaum. And so we find the clouds coming to teach Him, and they're finding Him in the synagogue in Capernaum, and we have some wonderful things to look at this evening as He speaks to the multitude. We finished the lesson last week, verse thirty-seven. What a wonderful verse it was to finish up. And He's looking up at the clouds and saying, "'All that the Father giveth Me.'" Don't you remember the explanation I made behind it? What a majority! You see, He was thinking about all the change of all the ages. "'All that the Father giveth Me.'" What a majority! And I believe, of course, that our Lord will have the preeminence even at the end of time, for more will be saved than lost. And here again He goes on, "'All that the Father giveth Me shall come to Me.'" And I made an exclamation mark behind that phrase. What simplicity! You know, the Lord didn't get excited. He depended on the Holy Ghost who preached the Word, and knew that God would work out His purposes. What simplicity! And then He said, "'All that the Father giveth Me shall come to Me, and Him that cometh to Me.'" What responsibility! Don't think, my dear friend, just because there are teachings in this book about God choosing, or God electing, or predestining, that you're going to get out of your responsibility, for you're not. For there is not a truth in God's Word that does away with man's responsibility. How could it? You're responsible this evening if you're not safe of coming to the Lord He. We'll fight more about it again tonight. We're on the same theme. But the Lord said, "'All that the Father giveth Me,' what a majority, "'shall come to Me.'" What simplicity! "'And Him that cometh to Me,' what a responsibility! "'I will in all wise cast out.'" What security! My, if you ever want a check for eternal security, here it is. "'I will in no wise,' and it was our Lord Jesus who said that, "'in no wise cast out.'" And remember, He meant exactly what He said. And remember, He always says exactly what He means. Watch me soon. So, we're journeying on now, following Jesus through John, from verse 38, and we're trying to get right down to the end of the chapter that is. I've outlined the chapter for you, if you're looking up your notes. Some great things in the chapter this evening. First of all, we shall gaze upon the total duchavity of man's nature. Now, this is something, I think, that needs to be underlined in these days, when people think they can do something in the flesh to please God. I think we need to learn that similes are totally prepared. And this is in the chapter this evening. And then, following on, it comes the truth that balances it up very nicely, the vital necessity of the Father's joy. You see, unless God moves, and unless God moves upon sinners, then sinners will just go to hell without a thought. So, this is very vital, this necessary thing of the Father drawing sinners to the faith. And then we shall gaze upon the eternal sufficiency of Christ's provision. It's wonderfully outlined in the chapter this evening. We shall take our time to listen to the critical tonality of the Jews' murmuring. Always when they were cornered by truth, their tonality and criticisms came out in all the fierceness. Then we shall gaze at the logical surety of Peter's answer. I think that's a lovely bit of the chapter. Peter said, Lord, where shall we go? To whom shall we go? My, there's no master like you. Thou hast the words of eternal life. My, he couldn't find another master or another message that he could put in the place of Christ and his word. Then the last two verses of the chapter brings before us that diabolical treachery of that act that Judas performed so long ago. The journey of the chapter. Now, we've got to get these fools out this evening. I want you to notice, and I'm sure you have noticed, that this is one of the deepest, and, I would say, one of the most difficult portions of John's Gospel. I'm sure those of you who've read through this last part of John chapter 6, that you're conscious that it's a very difficult part, and I shall have to just keep it very carefully so that I won't work in the usual way of taking it phrase by phrase. I'll take the subjects, and I think you'll see it clearer like that. Let's look at this tremendous phrase for a moment in verse 44. Our Lord Jesus is talking to these murmurers. Do you see verse 43? Jesus therefore answered and said unto them, Murmur not among yourselves. No man can come to me except the Father which hath sent me draw him. Well, that's a tremendous statement with a great depth. Our Lord Jesus is very open about this. He's just saying, no man, no son of Adam's race, no poor lost sinner, no one dead in trespasses and in sin, no one of Adam's race can come to me except the Father which hath sent me draw him. And so you can see that he's underlining for us an impossibility for a lost son of Adam's race. No man can come to Christ except the Father who sent Christ to draw the man. That brings before us the total depravity of man's nature. I think that's something we ought to see. Now, don't be rushing me and getting this in the back of your mind. Don't be saying to yourself, well, that's not as clear as me, you know, I'm not responsible anymore. Take your time for a minute and don't rush things. My dear friends, it's not teaching any such thing. You won't get out of your responsibility no matter what you find in this book, and if you read things into the verse that's not there, it's a great pity on you. But the Lord Jesus is recognizing here the total depravity of man's nature. And if you go through this book, and you take every specialty that man has, you remember some time ago I dealt with man, and I dealt with man's mind. Man's mind is made up of different faculties. You must know this. We've got a part called imagination. Yes, that's a part of your mind. You can imagine certain things, you can think the shoes in your mind. And then we've got memory. Imagination usually looks that way, can imagine what happens like, and so on. But memory is always going the other way. Yes, we remember faces, and names, and places, and dates, and all the rest of it. We've got imagination and memory, and then we've got understanding in varied degrees. But we all understand with some kind of intelligence. And then right down deep in our heart and mind, we've got affections. And right in the very center we've got something that's called will. Sometimes it's a very stubborn thing. But you'll find this, that when Adam saw in the garden, and came into it, the understanding as far as spiritual and eternal things were concerned, which he had withdrawn from the teaching of your book, that the understanding is darkened in the unsaved mind, and he cannot of himself understand the things of God. My, they are not understood by nature, you know. And not only is the understanding darkened, but you'll find this, that as far as the things of God are concerned, the imagination is vain. You remember the second psalm? My, the imagination was vain there, vain imagination. And you remember that when God looked down in the days of Noah, he could see that the heart and the imagination of man and of thought were evil, and that continued. And you'll find this, that in the unsaved man, his affections are all centered on things below, not on things above, oh no. And you'll find this, that not only is the understanding darkened, the imagination vain, the affection centered on things below, but the memory. My, he could look into the words of God tonight, just like a man looking into a mirror, and he can even, and straightway forget what manner of man he is. They learn from God's words that they're on the very edge of the precipice of an eternal hell, and shudder, and growl, and forget. I do. You'll find that man is totally depraved. Let me say this to you. If God would elect tonight a gift which happened never to speak to you about this again, you would go to hell. And every other unsaved soul on earth stands in the same position. If you have one tiny little thought tonight of eternity, or of getting right with God, or even a small longing in the corner of your heart to be saved, my dear friend, it didn't spring from your darkened nature. It's God that's working in your heart. And unless God works, you'll go to hell. But remember this, that God does work, and God can work, and you can resist God. And there are people who resist the very strivings of the Holy Ghost. Why, Stephen charges the crowd long ago, ye do always resist the Holy Ghost as did your father. And so, this is bringing out the truth of the depravity of man's nature. Except God works, no one will come to Christ. But only God does work. You see, this verse 44, no man can come to me except the Father which has sent me draw him. Now, how does God do this drawing? Don't think that this is a movement apart from the servant of God, for it's not. You know, God uses the human vessels to do the drawing. My God has elected that some of us poor worms of the dust shall be cool workers, thorough liberals with God. It's a wonderful thing, you know, that God, the great, eternal, almighty, holy, inflexible God, would deem to take up a thing like me to work through it, to draw man to his son. But he does. But, you know, there's more to it than that. God is drawing through servants who are uplifting Christ, and the Lord Jesus said, if I be lifted up, will draw. And Hosea said, God drew me with the cords of a man, and it was the man Christ Jesus. And God is using real vessels who are dedicated to the great work of continually, unceasingly, in the gospel, uplifting his son. Ah, you know, some of you never learned that. No wonder you're no use, you know. Remember every touring minister, or any other theme that you might like to bring in, or preaching life after life, such as blessing, or not, uplifting Christ in the gospel. I'd love to teach you that, you know, whether you like it or whether you don't. You know, when Paul, the great, could we learn of this thing? When he went down to Columbia, money just squared the shoulders, and he said, I'm determined to know nothing among you, save Christ and him crucified. Because Paul said, we preach Christ crucified. Do we think we're cleverer? Do you think you know better? Do you think you've got a better theme than this? When Philip went down to Samaria, he preached Christ unto them. And, you know, God is pushing real vessels who are dedicated to the preaching of the glorious gospel of Christ, men who, through the blessed message of the gospel, can uplift continually Christ. And when Christ is uplifted, you know, the magnetic power of God is felt. And I believe there are men and women in this meeting this evening who claim after time you've fought the drawing power of God. God was drawing you back to his family, but you resisted the drawing power. And I'll tell you this, God will not go on drawing forever, you know. One of these nights, God may open his hands and let you go. And if God drops you, and God ceases to work on you, you'll die and go to hell and be lost forever. My dear friends, we're looking at serious things this evening. You're totally depraved there. You'll not get saved without God working, but God is working on God to make thousands of come to Christ. Why? Because God drew them. Thank God for the day and hour when the Holy Ghost worked upon us through the message of the cross, and we were drawn to the Christ. Bless God we were taken in and eternally saved. Now, I want you to see this. You see, the Father draws through the servants who are dedicated to the preaching of the gospel, and the gospel uplifts Christ, and Christ is the magnetic power. And then we go back from verse forty-four to verse thirty-seven, and all that the Father giveth me shall come to me, and in the cometh I will in no wise cast out. And now, I want you to see this. You can look into your own heart, and you see the total depravity there. If God leaves you alone, you'll die and go to hell without a thought. And then you see the vital necessity, and how God looks. You know, He's drawing poor lost sinners to one who is all-sufficient for all eternity. And you know, the all-sufficient is brought before us here in a wonderful way. You see, that very word that we're at, verse thirty-seven, brings out one of the promises of Christ. All that the Father giveth me shall come to me, and in the cometh to me I will in no wise cast out. That is one of the promises. Why, that's a promise that you can put your feet on this evening. Many a poor lost soul was led to rest for all eternity on the Lord Jesus through this promise coming to the heart by the Holy Ghost. The Lord Jesus is saying to you, if you'll only come, I will in no wise cast out. That's the promise. Here's another lovely one. Do you see verse forty-seven? Verily, verily, I say unto you, he that believeth on me hath, present tense, everlasting life. The very moment that you're drawn to let your all rest upon the Savior for all eternity, at that very blessed moment you get eternal life, and you can have this to it, you'll never perish. You couldn't have eternal life for six months, could you? I'd like to know how you'd work it out. How could you get eternal life for six months? That would only be six-month life. But the very moment you come, you get everlasting life, and you'll never perish. You see, we're coming to one who has made great promises, and even the very promises are eternally sufficient. But, you know, not only do we see in this wonderful discourse here his promises, but do you see his purpose? We're starting at verse thirty-eight really now. Verse thirty-eight. For I came down from heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent me. You see, he came into this world to be the servant of Jehovah. He didn't come to act as the Eternal Son, he came to serve as the servant of Jehovah, and to do exactly what the Eternal Council had planned. And verse thirty-nine says, And this is the Father's will which has sent me, that of all which he hath given me, I should lose none. Well, that's the point. You know, that purpose would make you secure too, wouldn't it? You know, the Father sets his reception in some poor lost soul, and through the Gospel he draws that soul to Christ, and as that soul comes, he gives that soul into the keeping of the Saviour. And he says, you know, I'm giving you that precious soul, and you're not to lose them. Do you think he will? My, it was the great Eternal God, through the preaching of the old-fashioned Gospel, that brought me to the Saviour, and the Father gave me to the Son. Do you think the Son will lose me? Because I'll tell you different if you haven't been taught that. In the greater come, the Lord Jesus will stand in eternity. He boosts up the tomb each spring, and he turns round to God, and he'll say, behold, I am the children which thou hast given me, and there'll not be a hoof left behind. Well, that's sufficient, isn't it? His promises are sufficient, or they would be sufficient. If the Lord Jesus looked at me and said, Willie, if you come and trust me, I will earn no wise charter, that would be enough for me. But when he shows me that this is the Father's purpose, that when the Father gave us me to the Son, then he's not to lose me, that's the purpose. Now, the purpose goes further than that. Do you see we're reading verse 39? This is the Father's will which hath sent me, that of all which he hath given me, I should lose nothing. Verse 40, and this is the will of him that sent me, that every one, so that means everyone, doesn't it, which seeth the Son, gets a revelation of the Son through the gospel, and believeth on him, may have everlasting life, and that's the will of the Son. You know, the will of the Father is that the Son is to keep me for all eternity, and the moment that I come and trust him, I'm to get there and then everlasting life. That's his purpose. You see, this is a all-sufficient Savior that we're looking at. Not only his promises, but the purpose of the Father that he came to do through the eternal sufficiency of Christ's provision. But not only his purpose, have a look at this passage. I think this is the bit we need to know. Verse 38, "'For I came down from heaven.'" Isn't he? Verse 41, that's the bit that touched the Jews. The Jews then murmured at him because he said, "'I am the bread which came down from heaven.'" They got annoyed about that. Oh, the modernists get annoyed about that, too. My, there are quite a number who don't believe that he was the eternal Son, that there was any pre-existence of Christ before Bethlehem. Lots of hookers got it into their head that he began his existence at Bethlehem. Never! He came down from heaven. Forget the halls of dust. He came down from heaven. Christ, Jesus, came into the world, came down from heaven. Look at it again. You see, verse 50, "'This is the bread which cometh down from heaven.'" Verse 51, "'I am the living bread which came down from heaven.'" You see, this is the eternal Son, the one we read about in the beginning of this Gospel, the one who was the Word, who was with God and was God. And then the Word became flesh. He came down from heaven. Let's get a good look at the person this evening that we're asked to lean upon for all eternity, and you'll find he's all-sufficient. Have you seen his prominence? I'm the person, I'm the person. Now, you want to go deeper. Here's this power displayed here. Do you see verse 39 at the end of the verse? "'The Father's will which has sent me, that of all which he has given me I should lose nothing but should raise it up again at the last day.'" You see the next verse? "'And this is the will of him that sent me, that every one which seeeth the Son and believeth on him may have everlasting life, and I will raise him up at the last day.'" My dear friends, we're looking at his power. You know, I think this is wonderful. When we're given over to Christ, you know, he takes complete control of body, soul, and spirit. And though death may come, physical death, and the spirit and soul may go to be with him which is far better, and the body is laid in mother earth and goes to dust, yet he's responsible for that body. Because it was given to him, you know. But all this belongs to us. Eyes and ears and hands and feet and bones and veins all belong to him. Body, soul, and spirit. And in the last day of this dead confession, we're raised again. The precious dust that was given to him. This is not a general resurrection we're talking about here. We're talking about faith that was given to us. Talking about faith. Born again, you are. My dear friends, he'll raise them all because he's responsible to see body, soul, and spirit in eternity, like himself, and for all eternity. Look, you've been gazing at his person, gazing at his purpose, gazing at his promises, gazing at his power. I think the most important part of the chapter, of course, is his passion. Now, let's get the hold of this. Let's read on from verse 45. It is written in the prophets, and they shall be all taught of God. Every man therefore that hath heard and hath learned of the Father cometh unto me. You see, that's explaining the drawing power. You see, God teaches you about the wonder-working Saviour who died and rose again, and everyone who has learned, and everyone who has heard cometh unto me. Not that any man hath seen the Father, if he which is of God, he hath seen the Father. Verily, verily, I say unto you, he that believeth on me hath everlasting life. I am that bread of life. That's the first of the seven I am's in John's Gospel. We'll find them all as we go on. In chapter 8 he said, I am the light of the world. Then again he said, I am the resurrection and the life. I am the good shepherd. I am the door. I am divine. But we'll get them as we go through. And there are seven wonderful I am's in John's Gospel, but this is the first one. I am that bread of life, the bread that came down from heaven. Now he enters into the depth of the teaching. Now watch it carefully. Your fathers did eat manna in the wilderness and are dead. Well, the bread that they got in the wilderness, you know, didn't make them immortal. They're dead. Oh, they have blessing, all right, but they're dead. This is the bread which some have done from heaven. That's one of the times when he uses this word, this. I think before the crowd he said, this is the bread. It's just the same as we had in John, chapter 2. He looked at the crowd and he said, destroy this temple. And indeed it is. I will read it again, and you must be careful when he uses the word like that. This is the bread which some have done from heaven, that a man may eat thereof and not die. And I want you to watch the word die. You see, he's talking about them eating manna in the wilderness and are dead. Because that's physical death, isn't it? And he's talking about, I am that bread of life, this is the bread of life, that if a man eats, he shall not die. Not talking about physical death now, is it? I'll tell you, there's a deep truth there. I wonder, could I get it out quickly? You see, the crowd that he was talking to, listen to this, they were already spiritually dead. Oh, they were, away from God, spiritually dead with no taste. And they were going fast and sure to physical death. And they were. And he said, if you accept me, I'm the bread of life, you'll not die. And he wasn't talking about spiritual death and he was talking about the second death, the eternal death. You know, you could trust Christ tonight, but you could die tomorrow physically. And if you trusted Christ tonight for the first time, then you came into this meeting spiritually dead. So that spiritual death was used and physical death could be tomorrow, but eternal death will never be used if you trust the faith. Oh, there's a lovely way of saying this. Now, let's get on into this. Verse 51, I am the living bread which came down from heaven. If any man eats of this bread, he shall live forever. And the bread that I will give is my flesh, or as some of the translations have it, the bread that I will give is my body, which I will give for the life of the world. No wonder the Jews said in the next verse, the Jews therefore spoke among themselves, saying, how can this man give us his flesh to eat? You see, he was getting into the depths of the great truth. He's revealing to them, I came from heaven. I came to do the Father's will. I'm the only one in all the world that can give you life eternal. And I can only give you life eternal when I give my body for you. That was good teaching, you know. If they'd only caught their ears, you know, the teaching was good. And he had to go to Calvary and give himself as a sacrifice, a young blood-thin cross to meet every requirement of a holy God, that he might rise from the dead to be the savior who can give life to everyone that will trust him. But let's get down to it, you know, it goes deeper still. Verse fifty-three. Then Jesus said unto them, verily, verily I say unto you, accept ye each the flesh of the Son of Man, and drink his blood. We have no life in you. Whoso eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, hath eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day. For my flesh is meat indeed, and my blood is drink indeed. He that eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, dwelleth in me, and I in him. I tell you, this was tremendous. And we're at the depth of it now. You see, the Lord Jesus, to put it plainly, was revealing to them his passion on the uncross at Calvary. That's the very depth of this whole discourse. Revealing to them his passion. And you know, this has been mixed up down through the years. You see, when he started talking about eating my flesh, and drinking my blood, they began to talk and think about literal flesh, and literal blood. And we want to get that into our minds. They thought, well, what's he talking about? Why, this is horrible. How can, how can we eat his flesh, and how can we drink his blood? They began to think in the literal sense. And then there are some people who have strained the passage, and they begin to think in the memorial sense. Why, there are people in the world who say, you don't need the table anymore. You can eat the flesh and drink the blood in a spiritual sense. And they're trying to do away with the memorial bread and wine which the Savior actually left for all his believers. Let me say to all the folk that talk like that. When the Lord Jesus spoke about eating flesh and drinking blood here, the table wasn't instituted at all. So, put it out of your mind. Don't be getting mixed up with the literal and the memorial. And then there's another crowd, and they get mixed up with the mystical, the pagan, popish, baboonish Roman church. They try this move of transubstantiation. And the priest blesses the widow, and he says, that's no body, no eating. And this is the blood. A drink. And they're trying to get it mystically, but to the actual. My dear friend, all these are wrong, you see. He's not talking about the literal, and he's not talking about the memorial, and he most certainly isn't talking about this nonsensical mystical. You know, I read the story once of a Roman Catholic priest who blessed the widow, and was supposed to turn it actually into a body. And before it was taken into his hands, it was eaten by a rat. And he went off his head, said that the rat of it is God. Oh, wouldn't you know that was nonsense without me going any further? If he didn't know the truth before, he ought to have known it afterwards. How could a rat eat your God? But it was the nonsensical thing that he was working up that made them so confused. Look, the Lord is not dealing with the physical, and the Lord is not even touching the memorial. And most certainly he's not touching anything that's nonsensical or mystical. He's talking about a spiritual truth, spiritual truth. And he's saying, you know, I'm going to give my body, and I'm going to give my body, and he'll eat it. Oh, that's the word that bothers the whole crowd of them. My dear friend, I think that's one of the best words the Lord could have used to bring forth the depth of a spiritual truth. Remember this, that when Adam fell in the garden and sin entered, he did it by eating. Exactly what happened. And so here's our Lord Jesus, and he's saying this, saying, I'm going to the cross, you know, I see him dying from heaven, and I'm in the center of the Father's will, and I'm going to give my body, and I'm going to give my blood, and when that sacrificial thing—not literal, not memorial, not mystical—when that sacrificial thing is appropriated passionately. That's what eating means, appropriation. You know, I'm very fond of babies. I know that I'm a rough customer and all that, and well, lots of things could be laid to my charge, but I've got a soft, tender spot for babies. I could nurse a baby all day. Now, don't get this wrong, don't be sending around for me. I've got more to do these days. But you know, I was in a house just the other day, just about three days ago, and I always cuddle the babies, you know, and lift them just for a minute or two. A minute or two does me all right. And the mother was feeding the wee thing, just a lovely wee dimple chick. Wee girl, she was lovely. And the mother was feeding her. She was trying to give her some more than she usually gets, and she was actually chewing the thing. It was a little bit of some sort of a cake, and the mother chewed it. She said, you know, I'm eating it for her. She was chewing at me and putting it into the baby's mouth, you see. And she said to me, you know, I'm eating it for her. I said, indeed you're not. You're chewing it for her. You're not eating it for her. You see, I always learn by watching very carefully. I said, go on, give her it as you're going to give her it. And so she put it into her mouth, and then I could see the wee thing, you know, trying to make her face go the way it ought to go. And I watched her for a moment. I said, now she's only trying to chew it through. But then, you know, you could see her. I said, you know, she's eaten it now. And I want to tell you this, you know, she had to appropriate it for herself. And eating is something that only you can do for yourself. Oh, it was a wonderful world. And by eating, you appropriate the thing that will bless you. And our Lord Jesus said, don't fiddle about with the leper among you. He didn't want you to be a cannibal. And don't fiddle about with the memorial. It is only a memorial, symbolic. And for any saint, don't fiddle about with the mystic. Let the Holy Ghost take you to Calvary, and see him giving his body and shedding his blood as such an official offering, and a groupie agent for yourself, and making your own parcel. And you'll have everlasting life. Do you know what Saint Augustine said, and you know it's not very often that I would go to the saints for help. But Saint Augustine said this, believe in Christ, and thou hast eaten. And that was well said. Believe, and thou hast eaten. I want to get the whole of this. Do you see the eternal sufficiency? Do you see the total depravity of everything you can do about it, your dooms? Do you see the vital necessity God will have to move? Do you see what God's trying to do? He's trying to bring you to Christ, where that's being brought out in this very meeting, is uplifting Christ, of the all-sufficient Savior. Can you hear the promises? Can you see the purpose? Do you see the person? Do you see his power? Listen, do you see his passion? He gave his body and blood as a sacrifice. And can you, by faith, outgroup in it that sacrifice and make a promise? You've got life eternal. What a good gospel. The word was well spoken. Eat mine. I believe mine. I'll take mine. Look at yours. Yes, they're all the same thing. Of many I've received here. Now, let's get the whole of this. You see, we've got down the chapter so far. You've noticed the total depravity and the vital necessity and the eternal sufficiency. Now, I want you to notice the carnal, the critical carnality of the Jews. We've got to go back the chapter a little bit. In verse 41, the Jews then murmured at him because, he said, you know, they can always find a cause for murmuring. All the critics that I know can easily find a cause for murmuring. Remember back in the other page? Yes, they murmured because he had performed the miracle on the Sabbath day. Oh, they can always find something to murmur about. All the critics can easily find something. But, you know, usually when the critics really open their mouths, they show their ignorance. Watch this. The Jews then murmured at him because, he said, on the bread which came down from heaven, and they said, is not this Jesus the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? Oh, it's a true statement. He said, I am the bread that comes down from heaven. Is that true? That's true. And they criticized him because he proclaimed truth. And they criticized him because they thought they knew better. Now, here is their statement, and later, is it Jesus the son of Joseph? Was it? Did he? Was it? Indeed, my dear friend, he was no such thing. You see, they just thought they knew. And the critics very often open their mouths to show their ignorance. Very often. I've found it out a thousand times. He was not the son of Joseph. Oh, but why is this book so vile? Because Joseph was going to put away Mary because she was going to have a baby. He didn't want to destroy her, as the Lord demanded. And, you know, Mary said to the angel, I can't have a baby, for I knew not a man. But she didn't know, and she was a virgin. And the child had no human part. And they were wrong, you know. They said this is the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know. They may have known the mother, but it's very habitable from this chapter that they didn't know his father, for his father was gone. Ah, you can see how the critics, my, how ignorant they were. And then when you go down the chapter again, do you see verse sixty-three, verse fifty-two first? The Jews therefore strove among themselves, saying, how can this man give us his flesh to eat? How blind they were! You see, they had all the promises, and prophecies, and traits and status in the Old Testament, and they saw the lamb being put on the altar for the one who got it, and they couldn't understand how he could give himself for them. Oh, no, they couldn't, my, how ignorant they were, and how blind they were. And then, watch this. Do you see verse sixty-six, the third one? From that time, many of his disciples went back, and remember, the word disciple just means learner. There were a lot of followers who were only learning, but they went back, and what? No more written. How sad that is, how blind, how ignorant, how sad it is. Just because of their own little preconceived ideas, just because they're limiting the one that's before them, just because of their ignorance, they're depriving them, and they turn their back, and they go back, probably driving God. How sad. Oh, critics, be very careful. Let me say this to every man in the building. Always be careful what you say about Christ. Always be careful. Mind you, if you turn your back on him, you're heading for hell, aren't you? Because he went to heaven, and if you turn your back on him, you must be heading for hell. Maybe that's where some of you are heading now. Be kind for him. You're back towards heaven, and you're headed toward hell. Be careful. Let's get on down to the end of the chapter. When these have gone away and walked no more with him, I think the Lord found that this was an opportune moment to test the twelve. Then said Jesus, on to the twelve, verse 67, Will ye also go away? Now, look at the logic and the truance of Peter's answer. Then Simon Peter answered him, Lord, to whom shall we go? And that was well said. So Peter had never found anyone just like Christ. To whom shall we go? Who would you put in your place for? Why, I think all the believers here would say that to Jesus. Who could we go to tonight? Well, who would we put in his place? It's a beautiful song that goes like this, No one ever cared for me like thee. No one ever cared. No one ever cared for me like thee. And I would just say, one Sunday evening in the prison up to Cumberland, when she signed to about four hundred prisoners, no one understands like thee. And you know that no one understands. Nobody understands me like Christ. And there is no love like the love of Jesus. Why, what a Savior we are. Who would we go to, Lord? Who would we put in your place? Nobody cares. Nobody understands. Who would we put in his place? There is no master like our master. Compare with that. But then again, Peter went further than that. He said, Lord, to whom shall we go? Thou hast the word of eternal life. You know, there's no master like our master, and there's no message like his message. You know, you can examine all the religions and their doctrines of the world if you wish. On one occasion, I took about two months to read through all the religions of the world, all that Mohammed has, and all that Confucius has, and all the religions of the world. I forget how many I went through. But you know, I'll point out this, that there is no teaching in the whole world from all the so-called leaders that promising life is harmless. There's a man and woman that comes and talks. You know, when old Dr. Cook was asked to preach at the Parliament of Religions in America, it was a wonderful time, you know. I think that I'm right in saying that a hundred and fifty-two different religions were in America at one time, and they were all to give their ideas at this great Parliament of Religions. And the position that they would preach in was drawn out of the house, and Dr. Cook, who spoke for the Christian, was lost. I think that God was in that too. But you know, Confucius had a picture there that really spurred the whole congregation until they were all sitting up. They'd never had anything like that before. And then they, Confucius' religion had a narrator there that moved the multitude. Of course, they all had their best men there. As you know, some of the believers were beginning to quake when it came Dr. Cook's turn. And Dr. Cook, when it came his turn, just came to the desk and stood quietly for a moment. And then he said, ladies and gentlemen, I'm pretending that I have a woman by my side, and her hands are stained with blood. She's a murderer. Has any of the religions that are spoken in this place anything to offer this woman? Can you remove her stain? Can you give her hope for eternity? Can you bring her life and peace? I want your answer. Oh, the crowd was silent. Then he said, I'm looking up to heaven, and in among the saints I see the apostle John. John! Can you tell us anything? And then he heard the voice of John saying, The blood of Jesus Christ, God's Son, cleanseth us from all sin. No religion in the world's got a message like that. Only ours. Only ours. You can drop Confucius, who lies rotten in an ancient grave, and Mohammed is dead, but our blessed Redeemer is alive forevermore. Able to say, there is no master and no message like ours, where would we go? Where would we go? And then Peter came up with this verse explaining, we believe, six to nine, we believe unto truth, that thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God. That was a great statement, and just as you're mistaken. Did you find it? Yes, I know it was well wonderful. You know, I want you to try the picture of a mistake and you get it. Well, you know, here's what Peter said, we believe. He was answering for the whole crowd, wasn't he? Well, he had no right to. He didn't know the whole crowd. My dear sir, you can only answer for yourself. I've got two boys in this meeting tonight, they'll better answer for themselves. I couldn't answer for you, son. You can hold the Lord for yourself. And if you can answer for yourself, it will be all right. Peter said, we! He was answering for the crowd. The Lord pulled him up on this. Here's what Jesus answered very suddenly. Jesus answered them, have not I chosen you twelve, and one of you? It's a devil. The Holy Ghost is out of this a little bit. He speaks of Judas Iscariot, the son of Simon, for it was, for he it was that should betray him, being one of the twelve. You know, friends, the Lord knew everything. The more and more I go through this book, and the further I go, friends, the more I'm persuaded that there was no limitation in his knowledge. Have we discovered that in John's Gospel? I've discovered. Now, he knew Nathaniel when he was under the fig tree, before he had left them. That's John chapter one. In John chapter two, when his mother came and said, they have no wine, he said, woman, what have I to do with thee? He knew what was in her heart. She wanted to chew off a wee bit. He knew. And when Nicodemus came and said, in chapter three, thou art a chief, we come from God, he knew, he knew this big man's needs. My, he said, just keep quiet, you need to be born again. And when we come to chapter four, he knew the history of the woman of the world. He'd never been Brutamaria before. My orthodox Jews didn't know Brutamaria, but that day he must know the truth. But he knew her history. And in John one, he knew Nathaniel. And in John two, he knew his mother's heart. And in John three, he knew Nicodemus's needs. And in John four, he knew the woman's history. And in John five, he knew everything. And there at John six, and he knew. He should betray us. We'll find that out as we go on. Why did he choose Judas as he knew? Not a tight one, isn't it? Not a difference. It was the will of God that Judas should be chosen among the twelve. And as the servant of Jehovah, he was deemed severely tested here. But he submitted to God's will, and he chose one who would betray him. And he walked every day with him, and he was his pick to meet a friend. I tell you, friend, it would be hard to go on with a man in your assembly that you knew would shoot you on the first sight. But he went on knowing Judas was there. And God's will was for this purpose, to teach us all that you could listen to the messages, and see the power, and the authority of Christ, and go to hell. Which chapel, mister? Which chapel, mister, on the street where you sit tonight? To listen to his messages, and see his messages, and be moved by us, because I'm like Judas. After years, you can go to hell, if you want it that way. Judas kissed the Magi. We talk about him betraying Christ with a kiss. Jesus said, I am the door, the way into heaven. And Judas kissed the door upon him, and went to hell. You sure about where you're going? You're not playing about with me, are you? Mister, have you been privileged to sit at Christ's feet? Have you been privileged? Have you been privileged? Friend, remember, you could go from that privileged position into the pit of hell. Is it correct? Learn the diabolical structure that for long to do, the wonderful suffering. Next week, in God's will, we enter another wonderful one, the great day of the faith. Have you listened? Let us pray. Heavenly Father, for all the wonderful things, the deep things, Lord, the great things of God, we thank you. Lord, we bless you for that day when you came and moved upon your dark, dead, benighted soul, and you brought us to Christ. And we thank you tonight from the depths of our hearts for the Christ that you brought us to. We have his promises and thy kind of faith, and we have his purpose and his kind of faith, and we have his power and that kind of faith, and we have the passion of the cross, and we know that kind of faith. Lord, we pray for those who just find them a crowd and they're so critical. Oh, God, they don't know our master, and they seem to miss our message. Forbid that there should be one here whom the devil should take to hell. Oh, Lord, part us in thy team, and with our blessing, for thy name's sake, amen.