John 6:60–71

Will You Also Go Away? a hard saying · "the Spirit gives life" · many turn back · "to whom shall we go?"

The bread-of-life discourse reaches its sifting. Many of the disciples find the saying hard and complain; Jesus answers that the offense will only deepen when they see the Son of Man ascending where he was before. The Spirit is the one who gives life — the flesh profits nothing — and his words are Spirit and life. He knew from the beginning who would not believe, and reminds them that no one can come to him unless it is granted by the Father. Many walk away. But when he asks the Twelve, "Will you also go away?", Peter answers: "Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life." And yet — one of the chosen Twelve is a devil.

Greek Text (SBLGNT)

The Greek text below is the Society of Biblical Literature Greek New Testament (SBLGNT), edited by Michael W. Holmes — © 2010 SBL and Logos, released CC BY 4.0. These twelve verses form the closing scene of the long discourse begun at the feeding of the five thousand: the response of the disciples, the great defection, and the confession of the Twelve.

Πολλοὶ οὖν ἀκούσαντες ἐκ τῶν μαθητῶν αὐτοῦ εἶπαν· Σκληρός ἐστιν ὁ λόγος οὗτος· τίς δύναται αὐτοῦ ἀκούειν; εἰδὼς δὲ ὁ Ἰησοῦς ἐν ἑαυτῷ ὅτι γογγύζουσιν περὶ τούτου οἱ μαθηταὶ αὐτοῦ εἶπεν αὐτοῖς· Τοῦτο ὑμᾶς σκανδαλίζει; ἐὰν οὖν θεωρῆτε τὸν υἱὸν τοῦ ἀνθρώπου ἀναβαίνοντα ὅπου ἦν τὸ πρότερον; τὸ πνεῦμά ἐστιν τὸ ζῳοποιοῦν, ἡ σὰρξ οὐκ ὠφελεῖ οὐδέν· τὰ ῥήματα ἃ ἐγὼ λελάληκα ὑμῖν πνεῦμά ἐστιν καὶ ζωή ἐστιν. ἀλλὰ εἰσὶν ἐξ ὑμῶν τινες οἳ οὐ πιστεύουσιν. ᾔδει γὰρ ἐξ ἀρχῆς ὁ Ἰησοῦς τίνες εἰσὶν οἱ μὴ πιστεύοντες καὶ τίς ἐστιν ὁ παραδώσων αὐτόν. καὶ ἔλεγεν· Διὰ τοῦτο εἴρηκα ὑμῖν ὅτι οὐδεὶς δύναται ἐλθεῖν πρός με ἐὰν μὴ ᾖ δεδομένον αὐτῷ ἐκ τοῦ πατρός. Ἐκ τούτου πολλοὶ ἐκ τῶν μαθητῶν αὐτοῦ ἀπῆλθον εἰς τὰ ὀπίσω καὶ οὐκέτι μετ’ αὐτοῦ περιεπάτουν. εἶπεν οὖν ὁ Ἰησοῦς τοῖς δώδεκα· Μὴ καὶ ὑμεῖς θέλετε ὑπάγειν; ἀπεκρίθη αὐτῷ Σίμων Πέτρος· Κύριε, πρὸς τίνα ἀπελευσόμεθα; ῥήματα ζωῆς αἰωνίου ἔχεις, καὶ ἡμεῖς πεπιστεύκαμεν καὶ ἐγνώκαμεν ὅτι σὺ εἶ ὁ ἅγιος τοῦ θεοῦ. ἀπεκρίθη αὐτοῖς ὁ Ἰησοῦς· Οὐκ ἐγὼ ὑμᾶς τοὺς δώδεκα ἐξελεξάμην; καὶ ἐξ ὑμῶν εἷς διάβολός ἐστιν. ἔλεγεν δὲ τὸν Ἰούδαν Σίμωνος Ἰσκαριώτου· οὗτος γὰρ ἔμελλεν παραδιδόναι αὐτόν, εἷς ἐκ τῶν δώδεκα.

Working Translation

An original literal rendering, not borrowed from any copyrighted translation. Brackets mark phrases added for English clarity.

⁶⁰ Many therefore, when they had heard, [some] of his disciples said, "This word is hard; who is able to listen to it?" ⁶¹ But Jesus, knowing in himself that his disciples were grumbling about this, said to them, "Does this offend you? ⁶² What then if you should see the Son of Man ascending where he was before? ⁶³ The Spirit is the one who gives life; the flesh profits nothing. The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and are life. ⁶⁴ But there are some of you who do not believe." For Jesus knew from the beginning who they were who did not believe and who it was who would betray him. ⁶⁵ And he was saying, "For this reason I have told you that no one is able to come to me unless it has been granted to him by the Father." ⁶⁶ From this [point] many of his disciples went away [back] to the things behind, and no longer walked with him. ⁶⁷ Jesus therefore said to the Twelve, "You do not also want to go away, do you?" ⁶⁸ Simon Peter answered him, "Lord, to whom shall we go away? You have words of eternal life, ⁶⁹ and we have believed and have come to know that you are the Holy One of God." ⁷⁰ Jesus answered them, "Did I not choose you, the Twelve? And of you one is a devil." ⁷¹ Now he was speaking of Judas [the son] of Simon Iscariot; for this one was about to betray him, [being] one of the Twelve.

Note on v. 60: σκληρός means "hard, harsh" — hard to accept, not hard to understand. Note on v. 62: the sentence is an unfinished conditional (an aposiopesis); the apodosis is left for the hearer to complete — "[what then?]". Note on v. 67: μή introducing the question expects the answer "no" ("you do not, do you?"). Note on v. 70: διάβολος here means "devil / slanderer / adversary," a startling word on the lips of Jesus about one of his own chosen apostles.

Passage Structure

These twelve verses close the bread-of-life discourse (6:25–59) and turn it into a sifting. What began as a crowd seeking bread (6:26) ends with a fellowship divided. The scene moves in three movements:

vv. 60–65 — The hard saying and Jesus' answer. Many of the wider circle of "disciples" call the word hard and grumble. Jesus answers in four strokes: the offense will only deepen when they see the Son of Man ascend (v. 62); it is the Spirit who gives life, not the flesh (v. 63); some do not believe, as he knew from the beginning (v. 64); and coming to him is the Father's gift (v. 65, repeating v. 44).
v. 66 — The great defection. The hinge of the passage: "from this" many disciples turned back and no longer walked with him. The hard word has done its sifting work; nominal disciples are separated from true ones.
vv. 67–71 — The Twelve and the confession (and the shadow). Jesus turns to the Twelve: "Will you also go away?" Peter confesses: "Lord, to whom shall we go? You have words of eternal life… you are the Holy One of God." Yet Jesus answers that even among the chosen Twelve, one is a devil — and John names Judas.

Two verbs structure the contrast. To grumble (γογγύζω, v. 61, the word used of Israel in the wilderness, cf. 6:41) and to be offended (σκανδαλίζω, v. 61) mark the unbelievers; to believe and to know (πεπιστεύκαμεν καὶ ἐγνώκαμεν, perfects, v. 69) mark the Twelve. And over the whole scene stands the sovereign knowledge of Jesus: he knew (ᾔδει) from the beginning who would not believe and who would betray him (v. 64), and he reminds them that the very coming to him is granted by the Father (v. 65). The defection of the many and the confession of the few are not surprises; they are read against the backdrop of the Father's giving.

Verse-by-Verse Notes

John 6:60 — Σκληρός ἐστιν ὁ λόγος οὗτος· τίς δύναται αὐτοῦ ἀκούειν;

ἐκ τῶν μαθητῶν αὐτοῦ ("[some] of his disciples"). Note carefully: these are not the hostile "Jews" of vv. 41 and 52, nor the Twelve, but a wider circle of μαθηταί ("disciples, learners") — those who had been following along, attached but not yet truly grafted in. The whole passage will sift this larger company. The word "disciple" in John can name a true follower or merely an outward adherent; here it begins as the latter and is exposed as such by v. 66.

Σκληρός ἐστιν ὁ λόγος οὗτος ("this word is hard"). σκληρός means "hard, rough, harsh" — the root behind English "sclerosis" (a hardening). The key exegetical point is that they do not say the saying is hard to understand (obscure, puzzling); they say it is hard to accept — offensive, intolerable, a word one can scarcely bear to take in. ὁ λόγος οὗτος ("this word/saying") gathers up the whole flesh-and-blood discourse of vv. 51–58 (eating his flesh, drinking his blood) together with the claim of heavenly descent (vv. 41–42, 51). It is the person and claims of Jesus, not a difficult sentence, that gives offense.

τίς δύναται αὐτοῦ ἀκούειν; ("who is able to listen to it?"). The verb ἀκούειν ("to hear, listen to, give a hearing to") with the genitive carries the sense of heeding — "who can listen to this?", i.e., who can give it a hearing, take it on board, keep following such a teacher? The complaint is already half a departure.

John 6:61 — εἰδὼς δὲ ὁ Ἰησοῦς ἐν ἑαυτῷ ὅτι γογγύζουσιν … Τοῦτο ὑμᾶς σκανδαλίζει;

εἰδὼς … ἐν ἑαυτῷ ("knowing in himself"). The participle εἰδώς (from οἶδα, "know") and the phrase "in himself" mark Jesus' supernatural insight: he perceives their grumbling without being told (a recurring Johannine note, cf. 2:24–25). The narrator quietly underscores the omniscience that v. 64 will make explicit.

γογγύζουσιν ("they were grumbling"). γογγύζω is an onomatopoeic word for muttering, murmuring, grumbling — the very word used in v. 41 of "the Jews," and the standard Septuagint word for Israel's murmuring against the LORD in the wilderness (Exod 16; Num 14). The wilderness audience grumbled over manna; this audience grumbles over the true bread from heaven. The disciples are now behaving like the unbelieving crowd.

Τοῦτο ὑμᾶς σκανδαλίζει; ("Does this offend you?"). σκανδαλίζω means "to cause to stumble, give offense, scandalize" (from σκάνδαλον, the trigger of a trap). This names precisely what the "hard word" is doing: it is a stumbling-block. The offense lies in the scandal of a flesh-and-blood Messiah who claims to have come down from heaven and to give his flesh for the life of the world — and who summons people to "eat" him. To the natural mind it is a rock of stumbling.

John 6:62 — ἐὰν οὖν θεωρῆτε τὸν υἱὸν τοῦ ἀνθρώπου ἀναβαίνοντα ὅπου ἦν τὸ πρότερον;

An unfinished conditional. The sentence is grammatically incomplete — a protasis ("if then you should see the Son of Man ascending where he was before") with no stated apodosis. This is aposiopesis, a deliberate breaking-off that leaves the hearer to finish the thought: "[then what? Will you be even more offended? — or will you finally understand?]". The open ending sharpens the challenge.

τὸν υἱὸν τοῦ ἀνθρώπου ἀναβαίνοντα ("the Son of Man ascending"). The logic is pointed. If the descent ("I came down from heaven," vv. 41–42) offends you, what will you make of the ascent? ἀναβαίνω ("go up, ascend") looks ahead to the cross-resurrection-ascension complex (cf. 3:13–14; 20:17), the "lifting up" by which the Son of Man returns to the Father. The point cuts two ways: the ascent is the deepest scandal of all (the Son of Man "lifted up" on a cross), and it is also the vindication that proves the descent was true.

ὅπου ἦν τὸ πρότερον ("where he was before"). This phrase asserts the Son's pre-existence directly. τὸ πρότερον ("before, formerly, the earlier time") and the imperfect ἦν ("was") — the prologue's eternal-being verb (1:1) — say that the Son of Man was already there, in heaven, before he came down. He does not ascend to a new place but returns to where he was. The incarnate one is the pre-existent one. (On the deity and pre-existence of the Son, see Christology.)

John 6:63 — τὸ πνεῦμά ἐστιν τὸ ζῳοποιοῦν, ἡ σὰρξ οὐκ ὠφελεῖ οὐδέν· τὰ ῥήματα ἃ ἐγὼ λελάληκα ὑμῖν πνεῦμά ἐστιν καὶ ζωή ἐστιν.

The interpretive key to the whole chapter. Verse 63 is the controlling statement that tells the reader how the eating-and-drinking language of vv. 51–58 is to be understood. τὸ πνεῦμά ἐστιν τὸ ζῳοποιοῦν — "the Spirit is the one who gives life." ζῳοποιέω means "to make alive, give life, quicken." The life Jesus has been promising all through the discourse is a life the Spirit imparts; it is not a physical transaction with physical flesh.

ἡ σὰρξ οὐκ ὠφελεῖ οὐδέν ("the flesh profits nothing"). Here the words must be handled with care (see the caution below). "The flesh" (σάρξ) here is not a dismissal of Jesus' own incarnate flesh — the very flesh he just said he would give "for the life of the world" (6:51) — nor a denial of the cross. Rather, σάρξ names the merely human, natural plane of existence: human capacity, fleshly perception, the crude literalism that imagines a cannibalistic chewing. On that plane — left to itself, apart from the Spirit — there is no profit (ὠφελέω, "to benefit, profit, help"). The contrast is the familiar Johannine and Pauline antithesis of Spirit and flesh: what the Spirit accomplishes, the flesh cannot. The hearers had been thinking on the level of the flesh (how can this man give us his flesh to eat? v. 52); Jesus lifts the whole matter to the level of the Spirit.

τὰ ῥήματα ἃ ἐγὼ λελάληκα ὑμῖν πνεῦμά ἐστιν καὶ ζωή ἐστιν ("the words I have spoken to you are spirit and are life"). ῥήματα ("words, utterances, sayings") and the perfect λελάληκα ("I have spoken — and they stand spoken"). This sentence completes the key: the "eating" of the Son is accomplished by receiving his words in the power of the Spirit — that is, by faith. To "eat the bread of life" is to come to him and believe in him (cf. vv. 35, 47); and that coming is a Spirit-wrought, word-mediated reality, not a fleshly ingestion. Verse 63 thus guards 6:51–58 from every carnal, cannibalistic misreading: the eating is by the Spirit, through faith, in his life-giving words. (On the life-giving work of the Holy Spirit, see Pneumatology.)

Careful Caution — "the flesh profits nothing" does not disparage the incarnation or the cross

Verse 63 has sometimes been wrenched to mean that Jesus' physical flesh, his bodily death, or even the incarnation itself is of no real value — that "spiritual" reality is all that matters. This is impossible. John has already declared that "the Word became flesh" (1:14) and that Jesus gives "my flesh… for the life of the world" (6:51); to set v. 63 against those statements would make John contradict himself within the same Gospel. "The flesh" in v. 63 is not Jesus' incarnate body but the natural, human-only mode of perceiving and operating — the realm of mere human capacity and crude literalism that cannot grasp or receive heavenly realities. Jesus is not retracting the bread-of-life discourse; he is telling his hearers how to receive it rightly: by the Spirit, through faith, in his words. The cross is not nullified; it is the very thing the Spirit applies to those who believe.

John 6:64 — ἀλλὰ εἰσὶν ἐξ ὑμῶν τινες οἳ οὐ πιστεύουσιν. ᾔδει γὰρ ἐξ ἀρχῆς ὁ Ἰησοῦς …

εἰσὶν ἐξ ὑμῶν τινες οἳ οὐ πιστεύουσιν ("there are some of you who do not believe"). Jesus diagnoses the real problem beneath the offense: not difficulty but unbelief. The hard saying does not create their resistance; it reveals it. The Spirit gives life and the words are life — but only to those who believe; to the unbelieving the same words are a stumbling-block.

ᾔδει … ἐξ ἀρχῆς ("he knew from the beginning"). The narrator steps in. ᾔδει (pluperfect of οἶδα, with simple past force, "he knew") and ἐξ ἀρχῆς ("from the beginning, from the outset") together affirm Jesus' sovereign foreknowledge: he knew all along who the unbelievers were (τίνες εἰσὶν οἱ μὴ πιστεύοντες) and who would betray him (τίς ἐστιν ὁ παραδώσων αὐτόν). The future participle ὁ παραδώσων ("the one who would hand over / betray") points unmistakably to Judas (named in v. 71). The defection that is about to happen takes Jesus by no surprise.

John 6:65 — Διὰ τοῦτο εἴρηκα ὑμῖν ὅτι οὐδεὶς δύναται ἐλθεῖν πρός με ἐὰν μὴ ᾖ δεδομένον αὐτῷ ἐκ τοῦ πατρός.

Διὰ τοῦτο εἴρηκα ὑμῖν ("for this reason I have told you"). Jesus connects the present unbelief to his earlier teaching. εἴρηκα (perfect of λέγω/εἶπον, "I have said — and it stands said") points back to v. 44: "No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him." Verse 65 is the deliberate repetition and explanation of that statement, now applied to the defection at hand.

οὐδεὶς δύναται ἐλθεῖν πρός με ἐὰν μὴ ᾖ δεδομένον αὐτῷ ἐκ τοῦ πατρός ("no one is able to come to me unless it has been granted to him by the Father"). The grammar is emphatic. οὐδεὶς δύναται — "no one is able": this is a matter of moral-spiritual inability, not mere unwillingness in isolation. ἐὰν μὴ ᾖ δεδομένον αὐτῷ — "unless it has been given/granted to him," a periphrastic perfect passive (ᾖ + δεδομένον) stressing a settled gift; the divine passive points to the Father as the giver. ἐκ τοῦ πατρός — "from the Father" as the source. The coming itself — the faith that receives Christ — is a gift, granted by the Father. This is the discourse's clearest statement of divine sovereignty in salvation: those who come, come because the Father gives them to the Son (cf. vv. 37, 44); those who turn back reveal that this gift was not theirs. (On the Father's effectual drawing and the gift of faith, see Soteriology.)

John 6:66 — Ἐκ τούτου πολλοὶ ἐκ τῶν μαθητῶν αὐτοῦ ἀπῆλθον εἰς τὰ ὀπίσω …

Ἐκ τούτου ("from this"). The phrase is both temporal ("from this time on") and causal ("for this reason, as a result of this"). The hard word and Jesus' answer become the turning point at which the wider circle of disciples divides.

πολλοὶ … ἀπῆλθον εἰς τὰ ὀπίσω ("many… went away back"). The mass defection. πολλοί ("many") — not a few stragglers but a large number of those who had been called μαθηταί. ἀπῆλθον εἰς τὰ ὀπίσω literally means "went off to the things behind / to the rear" — a striking idiom for turning back, withdrawing, abandoning the way. οὐκέτι μετ’ αὐτοῦ περιεπάτουν — "no longer walked with him," i.e., no longer accompanied him as followers (περιπατέω, "to walk about," a common image for the conduct of life and discipleship). The hard saying has sifted the crowd: true and false disciples are separated. Those who walk away show that they were never truly given by the Father (v. 65); their discipleship was outward only.

John 6:67 — εἶπεν οὖν ὁ Ἰησοῦς τοῖς δώδεκα· Μὴ καὶ ὑμεῖς θέλετε ὑπάγειν;

τοῖς δώδεκα ("to the Twelve"). This is the first mention of "the Twelve" in John's Gospel. Against the backdrop of the great defection, the narrowing to the inner circle is poignant: the crowds are gone, the wider disciples have turned back, and Jesus turns to the chosen Twelve.

Μὴ καὶ ὑμεῖς θέλετε ὑπάγειν; ("You do not also want to go away, do you?"). The question is framed with μή, which in Greek expects the answer "no." It is not a neutral inquiry but a probing, almost protective question that invites a confession of loyalty: "Surely you do not also wish to go away?" καὶ ὑμεῖς ("you also") sets the Twelve against the many who have just left. Jesus does not chase the departing crowd; he tests and steadies the remnant.

John 6:68 — Κύριε, πρὸς τίνα ἀπελευσόμεθα; ῥήματα ζωῆς αἰωνίου ἔχεις,

Κύριε, πρὸς τίνα ἀπελευσόμεθα; ("Lord, to whom shall we go away?"). Peter speaks for the Twelve. The rhetorical question concedes that there is nowhere else to go — no other source of life. ἀπελευσόμεθα (future of ἀπέρχομαι, "go away, depart") deliberately echoes the ἀπῆλθον ("went away") of the defectors in v. 66: they went away — to whom, then, would we go? The address Κύριε ("Lord") confesses Jesus' authority.

ῥήματα ζωῆς αἰωνίου ἔχεις ("you have words of eternal life"). Peter's confession turns directly on v. 63: it is precisely the words (ῥήματα) of Jesus that are "spirit and life," and Peter affirms that Jesus has (and is the source of) "words of eternal life" (ζωῆς αἰωνίου). The very saying others found "hard" Peter recognizes as the word of life. Where unbelief heard offense, faith hears life.

John 6:69 — καὶ ἡμεῖς πεπιστεύκαμεν καὶ ἐγνώκαμεν ὅτι σὺ εἶ ὁ ἅγιος τοῦ θεοῦ.

πεπιστεύκαμεν καὶ ἐγνώκαμεν ("we have believed and have come to know"). Two perfect-tense verbs, side by side, both with abiding present force. πεπιστεύκαμεν ("we have believed" — and so believe still) and ἐγνώκαμεν ("we have come to know" — and so know still). The order is significant: in John, believing and knowing belong together, and here faith leads into settled knowledge. This is not tentative; it is a confession that has taken root and continues.

σὺ εἶ ὁ ἅγιος τοῦ θεοῦ ("you are the Holy One of God"). The emphatic σύ ("you — you yourself") fronts the confession. ὁ ἅγιος τοῦ θεοῦ ("the Holy One of God") is a high messianic title, marking Jesus as the one uniquely set apart and consecrated by God, holy as God is holy. (The same title is cried out by the unclean spirit in Mark 1:24 / Luke 4:34 — even the demons knew who he was.) Peter's confession is John's counterpart to the great Synoptic confession at Caesarea Philippi: in the hour when many fall away, the Twelve, through Peter, confess Jesus as the Holy One of God, the only source of life.

John 6:70 — Οὐκ ἐγὼ ὑμᾶς τοὺς δώδεκα ἐξελεξάμην; καὶ ἐξ ὑμῶν εἷς διάβολός ἐστιν.

Οὐκ ἐγὼ ὑμᾶς τοὺς δώδεκα ἐξελεξάμην; ("Did I not choose you, the Twelve?"). The negative οὐκ expects the answer "yes": I chose you. ἐξελεξάμην (aorist middle of ἐκλέγομαι, "to choose out, select") is the verb of election. Against Peter's noble confession Jesus sets a sobering qualification. The choosing here is to the office of apostle — Jesus selected this particular Twelve for this particular role — and even that choosing included one who would betray him.

καὶ ἐξ ὑμῶν εἷς διάβολός ἐστιν ("and of you one is a devil"). A stunning statement. διάβολος means "slanderer, accuser, adversary" — the word used elsewhere of the devil, Satan. To call one of the Twelve a "devil" is to say that he is, in this betrayal, an instrument and tool of the evil one (cf. 13:2, 27, where Satan enters Judas). The point is gravely instructive: nearness to Jesus, inclusion in the apostolic band, even being personally chosen for office, is not the same as being saved. One could be numbered among the Twelve, hear every word, witness every sign, and still be a "devil." Election to apostolic office is not election to eternal life.

Careful Caution — "I chose you twelve… one is a devil" does not make God the author of Judas' sin

Jesus' choosing of the Twelve, Judas included, sets the sovereignty of God over even the betrayal (cf. 13:18; 17:12; Acts 2:23) — yet without making God the author of Judas' guilt. Judas acted from his own greed and treachery (12:6), and Scripture holds him fully responsible ("woe to that man," Matt 26:24). The lesson here is not a speculative determinism but a pastoral warning: do not equate being near Christ, or even holding office in his church, with being saved by him. Judas had the closest possible proximity and the highest possible office — and was lost. Outward inclusion is no substitute for the inward gift of the Father (v. 65) received by living faith.

John 6:71 — ἔλεγεν δὲ τὸν Ἰούδαν Σίμωνος Ἰσκαριώτου· οὗτος γὰρ ἔμελλεν παραδιδόναι αὐτόν, εἷς ἐκ τῶν δώδεκα.

ἔλεγεν δὲ τὸν Ἰούδαν ("now he was speaking of Judas"). The narrator identifies the "devil" of v. 70. The imperfect ἔλεγεν ("he was speaking, he meant") and the naming of Judas remove all ambiguity. Judas is identified as Σίμωνος Ἰσκαριώτου — "[son] of Simon Iscariot." "Iscariot" most likely means "man of Kerioth" (a place-name, transliterated from the Hebrew/Aramaic), distinguishing this Judas from others.

οὗτος γὰρ ἔμελλεν παραδιδόναι αὐτόν ("for this one was about to betray him"). ἔμελλεν ("was about to, was destined to") with παραδιδόναι ("to hand over, deliver up, betray" — the standard betrayal verb, picking up ὁ παραδώσων of v. 64). The narrator confirms what Jesus knew "from the beginning."

εἷς ἐκ τῶν δώδεκα ("one of the Twelve"). The chapter ends on this chilling phrase, set in apposition for emphasis: the betrayer was one of the Twelve — not an outsider, not one of the defecting crowd, but one of the inner circle, chosen, sent, trusted. The scene that began with thousands seeking bread closes with the sobering reminder that proximity is not salvation, and that the Father's gift — not enthusiasm, office, or association — is what makes a true disciple.

Key Greek Words and Phrases

Greek	Translit.	Meaning	In context
σκληρός	sklēros	"hard, harsh, rough" (cf. "sclerosis")	v. 60 — the saying is hard to accept, not hard to understand; an offensive, intolerable word
γογγύζω	gongyzō	"to grumble, murmur, mutter"	v. 61 — the wilderness murmuring word (Exod 16; Num 14); the disciples grumble like unbelieving Israel (cf. 6:41)
σκανδαλίζω	skandalizō	"to cause to stumble, offend, scandalize"	v. 61 — the hard word is a σκάνδαλον, a stumbling-block; the offense of the flesh-and-blood, heaven-descended Messiah
ἀναβαίνοντα	anabainonta	"ascending, going up" (participle of ἀναβαίνω)	v. 62 — the ascent of the Son of Man (cross-resurrection-ascension); if the descent offends, what of this?
ὅπου ἦν τὸ πρότερον	hopou ēn to proteron	"where he was before / formerly"	v. 62 — the Son's pre-existence; the imperfect ἦν ("was") of eternal being; he returns, not merely arrives
τὸ ζῳοποιοῦν	to zōopoioun	"the one giving life, making alive" (from ζῳοποιέω)	v. 63 — it is the Spirit who gives the promised life; the interpretive key to the eating language
ἡ σὰρξ οὐκ ὠφελεῖ οὐδέν	hē sarx ouk ōphelei ouden	"the flesh profits nothing"	v. 63 — "flesh" = the natural, human-only plane; not Jesus' incarnate flesh or the cross; it guards 6:51–58 from a carnal reading
ῥήματα	rhēmata	"words, utterances, sayings"	vv. 63, 68 — Jesus' words are "spirit and life"; the eating is by receiving his words in faith by the Spirit
δεδομένον … ἐκ τοῦ πατρός	dedomenon … ek tou patros	"granted… from the Father" (perfect passive)	v. 65 — coming to Christ is the Father's gift (repeating v. 44); divine sovereignty in salvation
ἀπῆλθον εἰς τὰ ὀπίσω	apēlthon eis ta opisō	"went away back, to the rear"	v. 66 — the great defection; nominal disciples turn back and no longer walk with him
πεπιστεύκαμεν καὶ ἐγνώκαμεν	pepisteukamen kai egnōkamen	"we have believed and have come to know" (perfects)	v. 69 — Peter's settled, abiding confession; faith leading into knowledge
ὁ ἅγιος τοῦ θεοῦ	ho hagios tou theou	"the Holy One of God"	v. 69 — Peter's high messianic confession; Jesus uniquely set apart and consecrated by God
ἐξελεξάμην	exelexamēn	"I chose, selected" (aorist of ἐκλέγομαι)	v. 70 — Jesus chose the Twelve for apostolic office — yet one is a devil; office is not salvation
διάβολος	diabolos	"devil, slanderer, accuser, adversary"	v. 70 — Judas, in his betrayal, an instrument of the evil one (cf. 13:2, 27)

Grammar and Syntax that Affect Interpretation

σκληρός = "hard to accept," not "hard to understand" — v. 60. The disciples do not say the saying is obscure; they say it is intolerable. The offense is moral and spiritual, not intellectual — which is why v. 64 names it as unbelief.
γογγύζω — the wilderness word — v. 61. The same verb describes Israel's murmuring against the LORD over manna. The disciples now stand with the unbelieving crowd of v. 41, grumbling over the true bread.
The unfinished conditional (aposiopesis) — v. 62. The protasis ("if you should see the Son of Man ascending…") has no stated apodosis. The deliberate break-off forces the hearer to complete the thought, sharpening the challenge of the ascent.
The imperfect ἦν in "where he was before" — v. 62. The eternal-being verb of 1:1 asserts the Son's pre-existence: he returns to where he already was, rather than going to a new place.
The Spirit/flesh antithesis — v. 63. "The flesh" (σάρξ) is the natural, human-only mode of perceiving and operating, not Jesus' incarnate body. The verse is the interpretive control for vv. 51–58: the eating is Spirit-wrought and faith-mediated, received through his words.
The perfect λελάληκα ("I have spoken") — v. 63. Jesus' life-giving words stand spoken; they are "spirit and life" for those who receive them. This connects directly to Peter's "words of eternal life" in v. 68.
The pluperfect ᾔδει ("he knew") + ἐξ ἀρχῆς — v. 64. Jesus' sovereign foreknowledge frames the whole scene: the defection and the betrayal are no surprise. The future participle ὁ παραδώσων ("the one who would betray") points to Judas.
The periphrastic perfect passive ᾖ δεδομένον ("has been granted") — v. 65. A settled, completed gift, with the divine passive pointing to the Father. Coming to Christ is granted, not self-generated — the discourse's clearest statement of sovereign grace (repeating v. 44).
μή in "you do not also want to go, do you?" — v. 67. The particle expects the answer "no." Jesus' question is not neutral; it invites and steadies a confession of loyalty from the Twelve over against the departing many.
The two perfects πεπιστεύκαμεν καὶ ἐγνώκαμεν — v. 69. "We have believed and have come to know" — abiding states, not momentary acts. Faith and knowledge together, settled and continuing; covenant loyalty to the only source of life.
The aorist ἐξελεξάμην ("I chose") + εἷς διάβολός ἐστιν — vv. 70–71. The choosing is to apostolic office; even so, one of the chosen is "a devil." The grammar refuses to let nearness or office be confused with salvation.

Theological Significance

The sifting power of the hard word. The bread-of-life discourse does not end with applause but with a great defection. The "hard saying" exposes hearts: it does not create unbelief but reveals it (v. 64). The same word that is "spirit and life" to those who believe (v. 63) is a stumbling-block to those who do not. Christ's teaching is itself a winnowing fan, separating true disciples from the merely attached. This is a sobering and recurring pattern: the message that gives life to some hardens others.

The Spirit gives life — and how the bread is eaten. Verse 63 governs the whole chapter. The life Jesus promised is the Spirit's gift, received through his words by faith — not by a fleshly, literal ingestion. This guards 6:51–58 from every carnal or cannibalistic misreading: to "eat the flesh and drink the blood" of the Son of Man is to come to him and believe in him in the power of the Spirit. The discourse is profoundly about faith feeding on Christ; v. 63 keeps it from collapsing into magic or mere physicality. (See Pneumatology on the Spirit who makes alive.)

Coming to Christ is the Father's gift. Twice in this chapter (vv. 44, 65) Jesus grounds the very ability to come to him in the Father's giving. No one is able to come unless it is granted from the Father. The defection of the many and the perseverance of the few are read against this sovereign backdrop: those who come, come because the Father gives them; those who turn back show the gift was never theirs. Salvation, from first to last, is of grace. (See Soteriology.)

Christ, the Holy One with the words of life. When the crowd thins, the deity and sufficiency of Christ shine clearer, not dimmer. Peter's confession gathers the whole discourse into one cry: there is nowhere else to go, because Jesus alone has the words of eternal life, and he is the Holy One of God. He is the pre-existent Son who will ascend to where he was before (v. 62) — the only Savior. To leave him is to leave life itself. (See Christology.)

Office is not salvation: the warning of Judas. The chapter ends with one of Scripture's gravest warnings. A man can be chosen for the apostolic office, numbered among the Twelve, sent out, entrusted with the gospel — and be "a devil," lost in the end. Nearness to Christ, position in his church, association with his people: none of these saves. Only the Father's gift (v. 65), received by living faith, makes a true disciple. Judas stands as a permanent warning against confusing proximity with possession.

Common Misreadings and Careful Corrections

"The flesh profits nothing" (v. 63) means the incarnation, Jesus' physical flesh, or the cross is worthless. Impossible: John has said "the Word became flesh" (1:14) and that Jesus gives "my flesh… for the life of the world" (6:51). "The flesh" in v. 63 is the natural, human-only mode of perceiving and operating — crude literalism that cannot grasp heavenly things — not Jesus' incarnate body. The verse tells us how to receive the bread-of-life discourse: by the Spirit, through faith, in his words. The cross is not nullified; it is exactly what the Spirit applies to believers.
"This word is hard" (v. 60) means the saying was intellectually puzzling or unclear. σκληρός is "harsh, hard to accept," not "obscure." The disciples understood Jesus well enough to be offended. Their problem was not comprehension but unbelief (v. 64).
Verse 62 means Jesus is offering an easier teaching to soften the offense. The opposite: the ascent of the Son of Man (via the cross) is the deepest scandal, not a relief from it. The unfinished conditional intensifies the challenge — and points to the vindication that will prove the descent was true.
Peter's confession (vv. 68–69) is perfect, complete understanding. It is genuine and Spirit-given, but it is fundamentally covenant loyalty to the only source of life — "to whom else shall we go?" — not exhaustive comprehension. The Twelve will still stumble badly (and one will betray). Faith clings to Christ as the Holy One even when the road is hard; it is not a claim to have mastered every mystery.
"I chose you, the Twelve" (v. 70) means Judas was once truly saved and then lost his salvation. The choosing in view is to apostolic office, not to eternal life. Jesus knew "from the beginning" who would betray him (v. 64); Judas was a "devil" within the chosen circle. The text distinguishes election-to-office from salvation — a warning against equating nearness or position with being saved, not a proof of falling from grace.
The Father's "granting" (v. 65) cancels human responsibility, so the defectors are not to blame. The same chapter holds both: no one can come unless the Father grants it (vv. 44, 65), and the unbelievers are responsible for their unbelief (v. 64) and their turning back (v. 66). Divine sovereignty and human accountability stand together, as throughout John.
"The Holy One of God" (v. 69) is a merely human or moral compliment. The title marks Jesus as uniquely set apart and consecrated by God — a high messianic confession (the demons used it knowing exactly who he was, Mark 1:24). Coupled with the pre-existence of v. 62, it confesses far more than admiration for a good teacher.

Cross-References

John 6:41–59 — the immediately preceding section: "I am the bread of life," the grumbling of "the Jews," and the eating-and-drinking of vv. 51–58 that v. 63 now interprets. See John 6:41–59.
John 6:37, 44 — "all that the Father gives me will come to me"; "no one can come unless the Father draws him" — the statements v. 65 repeats and applies to the defection.
John 3:13–14; 12:32–34; 20:17 — the descent and ascent / "lifting up" of the Son of Man; the background to "ascending where he was before" (v. 62).
John 1:1, 14 — the eternal Word who "was" God and "became flesh"; the pre-existence behind v. 62 and the guard against misreading "flesh" in v. 63.
John 13:2, 18, 27; 17:12 — Judas the betrayer, the devil entering him, "the son of perdition"; the unfolding of "one of you is a devil" (v. 70).
Mark 1:24; Luke 4:34 — "the Holy One of God" on the lips of an unclean spirit; the title Peter confesses in v. 69.
Matthew 16:16; Mark 8:29; Luke 9:20 — the Synoptic confession at Caesarea Philippi, the parallel to Peter's confession here.
Exodus 16; Numbers 14 — Israel's grumbling (γογγύζω in the LXX) in the wilderness; the backdrop to the disciples' murmuring (v. 61).
Romans 8:1–11; 1 Corinthians 2:14; 15:45 — the Spirit/flesh antithesis and "the last Adam became a life-giving spirit"; the wider canonical context of v. 63.
1 John 2:19 — "they went out from us, but they were not of us" — the apostolic commentary on the defection of nominal disciples (v. 66).
Acts 2:23 — the betrayal accomplished by "the definite plan and foreknowledge of God," yet by "lawless hands"; sovereignty and responsibility together (vv. 64, 70–71).

Preaching / Teaching Summary

John 6:60–71 turns a sermon into a sifting. The crowd that wanted bread, the disciples who found the word hard, the Twelve who stayed, the one who would betray — all are sorted by their response to Christ. Three lines preach.

First, the hard word reveals the heart. Many called the saying "hard" — not hard to understand, but hard to accept. And Jesus put his finger on the real issue: "there are some of you who do not believe." The offense was never the difficulty of the doctrine; it was the unbelief of the hearer. The same word of Christ is spirit and life to those who believe and a stone of stumbling to those who do not. We do not get to be neutral before Jesus; his word searches us out. A church can be crowded and still be sifted by the gospel it hears.

Second, life comes by the Spirit, through the word, by faith — so do not leave. "The Spirit gives life; the flesh profits nothing." The bread of life is not chewed with the teeth but received by faith, as the Spirit makes Christ's words living and life-giving. And when the crowds melt away and the way grows hard, Peter says the truest thing a disciple can say: "Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life." There is nowhere else. To walk away from Christ is to walk away from life itself. Hard sayings are not reasons to leave the only one who can save.

Third, nearness is not salvation — only the Father's gift is. The chapter ends with a shadow: one of the chosen Twelve is a devil. Judas heard every word, saw every sign, held the highest office — and was lost. Proximity to Christ, membership in his people, even a place of service in his church — none of these saves. What saves is the gift of the Father (v. 65), received by living faith. So the passage presses the question on every hearer that Jesus pressed on the Twelve: "Will you also go away?" The only safe answer is Peter's — to come, and keep coming, to the Holy One of God who alone has the words of eternal life.

Memory and Review Questions

What does it mean that the disciples called the saying "hard" (σκληρός) in v. 60?
It means hard to accept — offensive, intolerable — not hard to understand. The problem was not comprehension but unbelief (v. 64). They understood Jesus well enough to be scandalized by the flesh-and-blood discourse and the claim of heavenly descent.
What is Jesus' argument in v. 62 about the Son of Man "ascending," and what does it imply?
If the descent ("I came down from heaven") offends you, what will you make of the ascent — the Son of Man going up (through cross, resurrection, ascension) "where he was before"? It both deepens the scandal and points to the vindication. "Where he was before" affirms his pre-existence: he returns to where he already was.
What does v. 63 mean by "the Spirit gives life, the flesh profits nothing," and what does "flesh" refer to?
It is the Spirit who imparts the promised life; "the flesh" is the natural, human-only plane — crude literalism and mere human capacity — not Jesus' incarnate body. The verse tells us the life-giving "eating" is by the Spirit, through faith, in Christ's words.
How does v. 63 guard the bread-of-life discourse (6:51–58) from misreading?
It rules out a carnal, cannibalistic reading of "eat my flesh, drink my blood." The eating is Spirit-wrought and faith-mediated, accomplished through receiving his words ("the words I have spoken are spirit and life"), not by physical ingestion. It cannot mean the incarnation or cross is worthless, since John affirms both (1:14; 6:51).
What does v. 64 reveal about Jesus' knowledge, and whom does it point to?
Jesus "knew from the beginning" who did not believe and who would betray him — a statement of his sovereign foreknowledge. The future participle "the one who would betray him" points to Judas (named in v. 71). The coming defection is no surprise to him.
What does v. 65 teach about coming to Christ, and which earlier verse does it repeat?
"No one is able to come to me unless it has been granted by the Father" — coming (saving faith) is the Father's gift. It repeats and explains v. 44 ("no one can come unless the Father draws him"). It is the discourse's clearest statement of divine sovereignty in salvation.
What happens in v. 66, and what does it show?
The great defection: "many of his disciples went away back and no longer walked with him." It shows the sifting work of the hard word — nominal, outward disciples separated from true ones, revealing that the defectors were never given by the Father (cf. 1 John 2:19).
What is the force of Jesus' question in v. 67 and Peter's confession in vv. 68–69?
"Will you also go away?" (with μή, expecting "no") invites a confession of loyalty over against the departing crowd. Peter confesses: there is nowhere else to go; Jesus alone has the words of eternal life; "you are the Holy One of God." The perfects "we have believed and have come to know" mark a settled, abiding faith.
Is Peter's confession perfect understanding? How should we describe it?
No — it is genuine, Spirit-given covenant loyalty to the only source of life, not exhaustive comprehension. The Twelve will still stumble, and one will betray. Faith clings to Christ as the Holy One even amid hard sayings; it is not a claim to have mastered every mystery.
What does v. 70 mean by "I chose you, the Twelve… one is a devil"? Does it teach loss of salvation?
The choosing is to apostolic office, not to eternal life. Even among the chosen Twelve, one (Judas) is a "devil," an instrument of the evil one. It teaches that nearness, office, and association are not salvation — a warning against equating proximity with possession, not a proof of falling from grace.
How do divine sovereignty and human responsibility appear together in this passage?
Coming to Christ is granted by the Father (vv. 44, 65) — yet the unbelievers are responsible for their unbelief (v. 64) and turning back (v. 66), and Judas is fully culpable for his betrayal. The chapter holds both truths together without tension, as John does throughout (cf. Acts 2:23).