“Simon Peter answered him, ‘Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.’” John 6:68

That’s why we (should) come to church or read Scripture – Jesus has eternal life for us, and it is particularly accessible to us in those places.

Fittingly, many biblical verses are embedded in our church liturgy. These include: “you have the words of eternal life”, which form part of the Alleluia in between the epistle and the gospel readings. This positioning reminds us that what we’re about to hear read out is not ‘only’ Scripture but the actual words and deeds of Jesus.

And Jesus is not just flesh like the other people in the Bible – He is man and God. Peter’s explanation of why he – and we – need Jesus is an acknowledgment of spiritual poverty. We can help ourselves not at all. We come to church because we realise that we are not enough by ourselves. As Jesus said a few verses earlier: “It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh is no help at all.” (v.63).

In those verses preceeding our text, Jesus’ hearers were offended by His teaching of His own divinity. He taught that their own righteousness or ancestral pedigree were not enough. Some therefore deserted Him. Jesus asks Peter if he will go too. Gloriously, this is one of the points where Peter really gets the point. His reply – our text – is akin to G K Chesterton’s insight: ‘It’s not that Christianity has been tried and found wanting; it’s that it has been found difficult and left untried.’ Peter does not demand that the Christian life must be easy for him to follow it, simply that there is no other show in town.

It is when we lose sight of Peter’s declaration that Jesus’ words are the words of eternal life that we run aground: when we focus more on flesh than Spirit, more on us than Jesus. We all constantly fall back into our old errors and sins – and chief among them, trust in ourselves rather than in God. We need to participate in liturgical statements like this, week in and week out, to help drag us back to a right understanding of our own sufficiency (zero) and of God’s (infinite).

You have the words of eternal life
You are Jesus Christ the Lord.
Hosanna to the Son of David
Hosanna to the King of Kings
Glory in the highest heaven
For Jesus the Messiah reigns.

(You are the king of glory)

Amen.