Jesus Taught the Called

Greetings, a servant of God, by the grace of God, teaching the truth of God under the authority of Jesus Christ to any who are willing to receive it. (Mat 13:43).

The Holy Bible contains the truth of God by the word of God (Joh 17:17); therefore, God teaches and gives understanding, wisdom, and knowledge to all who pray and seek Him with all the heart (Deu 4:29-31; Jer 29:12,13; Psa 119:2).

Throughout Scripture, God reveals a people who hear His voice, receive His instruction, and walk in His ways - a flock He Himself shepherds in the present age (Psalm 95:7; Isaiah 40:11; Ezekiel 34:11-16). The prophets show this called people drawn from both Israel and the nations, coming to the Servant’s light and seeking His word (Isaiah 49:6; 60:3; Micah 4:2; Zechariah 2:11). When Jesus enters His ministry, He fulfills the prophecies: He teaches those whom the Father draws (John 6:44,45,65), those given understanding (Matthew 13:11), those who hear His voice (John 10:27), while the multitudes overhear and are merely astonished (Matthew 7:28). The gospel of the kingdom of God begins with the Shepherd teaching His called, and through them it goes out to the nations.

The LORD Calls Individuals for His Sanctuary Work

Exo 31:1 And the LORD spoke unto Moses, saying,

Exo 31:2 See, I have called by name Bezaleel the son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah:

Exo 31:3 And I have filled him with the spirit of God, in wisdom, and in understanding, and in knowledge, and in all manner of workmanship,

Exo 31:4 To devise cunning works, to work in gold, and in silver, and in brass,

Exo 31:5 And in cutting of stones, to set them, and in carving of timber, to work in all manner of workmanship.

This teaching on calling begins here. Before the sanctuary is built, the LORD identifies a man by name and sets him apart for His purpose. He calls Bezalel, fills him with the Spirit of God, and equips him with wisdom, understanding, knowledge, and skill for the work of the sanctuary. This is not a general invitation to the nation but a deliberate selection of a specific individual for a specific task in God’s dwelling place.

The pattern is clear throughout Scripture: God calls whom He wills, equips whom He calls, and assigns them to the work that serves His presence among the people. This early calling anticipates the later pattern of the Shepherd calling His own sheep, giving them understanding, and appointing them to carry His teaching to the world.

The Called Are Set Apart by Obedience to the LORD’S Commandments

Deu 28:9 The LORD shall establish you a holy people unto himself, as he has sworn unto you, if you shall keep the commandments of the LORD your God, and walk in his ways.

Deu 28:10 And all people of the earth shall see that you are called by the name of the LORD; and they shall be afraid of you.

Moses shows that the called are distinguished not by nationality but by obedience. The LORD establishes His people as “a holy people unto Himself” when they keep His commandments and walk in His ways. Their obedience becomes the visible mark of their calling, causing the nations to recognize that they belong to the LORD.

This passage reveals the purpose of the called: to live under the authority of God’s commandments and display His holiness in the world. It also reveals the stability of that calling, for the LORD declares, “I change not” (Malachi 3:6). The same God who called Israel to obedience calls His people in every age to walk in His ways, forming a covenant people whose life reflects His unchanging character.

The Called Must Humble Themselves, Pray, Seek, and Turn

2Ch 7:14 If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.

The LORD speaks directly to those who bear His name, revealing the requirements of the called and the promise attached to their obedience. He says that if His people humble themselves, pray, seek His face, and turn from their wicked ways, then He will hear from heaven, forgive their sin, and heal their land.

This verse shows that the called are not defined merely by covenant identity but by covenant response. They must bow before Him, seek His presence, and turn from the very sins that break fellowship. The healing He promises is not merely national restoration but the correction of their errant ways - a spiritual renewal that restores them to His purpose. The LORD does not change, and His call to humility, prayer, seeking, and repentance remains the enduring pattern for all who would belong to Him.

The Servant Walks the Lonely Path of Faithfulness

Job 19:13 He has put my brethren far from me, and my acquaintance are verily estranged from me.

Job 19:14 My kinsfolk have failed, and my familiar friends have forgotten me.

During his ordeal, Job reveals a dimension of the servant’s walk that is rarely acknowledged but deeply true. He says that his relatives are removed far from him, his acquaintances are estranged, and his familiar friends have forgotten him. This is not limited to Job's story; it is the pattern of the faithful servant whose loyalty to God places him on a path others avoid and oppose, and therefore they avoid and oppose the messenger. The servant’s faithfulness exposes the deceitfulness of the heart (Jeremiah 17:9,10), and those who resist truth often withdraw from the one who bears it.

Christ later identifies with this same path while He walks it and teaches that His disciples must deny themselves, take up their cross, and follow Him (Matthew 16:24). He warns that if He is hated a true servant will be hated, loved less, rejected, or abandoned for His sake (John 15:18-20). The servant’s loneliness is not accidental; it is the cost of carrying God’s truth into a world that resists it.

Job’s words become a prophecy of the servant‑life Christ Himself lived and warned about - a life marked not by applause but by faithfulness in loneliness, steadfastness in rejection, and endurance despite the outcome. It is the walk of the called, who remain with God even when others avoid or oppose truth.

The Called Are His Sheep Who Bear His Voice

Psa 95:7 For he is our God; and we are the people of his pasture, and the sheep of his hand. To day if you will hear his voice,

The psalmist declares that the called are “the people of His pasture, and the sheep of His hand.” This is not a poetic flourish but a covenant identity: those who belong to the LORD are His sheep, formed by His care and governed by His voice. The imagery reveals both relationship and responsibility. As His sheep, they hear Him, follow Him, and represent His voice in the world.

This prepares the way for Christ’s teaching that His sheep hear His voice and follow Him (John 10:27). The called do not speak for themselves; they speak what they have heard from the Shepherd. Their life and witness become the living echo of His words, carrying His voice outward as they teach the gospel of the kingdom of God to all the nations (Matthew 24:14).

A Worldwide Calling Out From Among the Mighty

Isa 41:9 You whom I have taken from the ends of the earth, and called you from the chief men thereof, and said unto you, You are my servant; I have chosen you, and not cast you away.

Isaiah reveals that the LORD’S calling is not confined to Israel’s borders but extends to the ends of the earth. He says, “You whom I have taken from the ends of the earth, and called you from its farthest regions.” This is a worldwide calling, a deliberate choosing of a people drawn out from among the nations. The LORD identifies them as His servant, chosen and not cast away.

The striking feature is that this calling is not based on human strength, wisdom, or status. It anticipates the very principle Paul later teaches: “Not many wise after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble are called” (1 Corinthians 1:26). Isaiah shows the LORD selecting His servants from the farthest reaches of the world; Paul explains that this calling deliberately bypasses the world’s power structures. The LORD chooses those whom the world overlooks, gathers them from every direction, and forms them into His servant people who bear His voice and His purpose.

The Servant Opens Blind Eyes and Releases Prisoners From Darkness

Isa 42:6 I the LORD have called you in righteousness, and will hold your hand, and will keep you, and give you for a covenant of the people, for a light of the Gentiles;

Isa 42:7 To open the blind eyes, to bring out the prisoners from the prison, and them that sit in darkness out of the prison house.

Isa 42:8 I am the LORD: that is my name: and my glory will I not give to another, neither my praise to graven images.

Isaiah reveals that the Servant’s work begins with those who are blind, imprisoned, and unable to see the truth of God. The LORD says He has called His Servant in righteousness, will hold His hand, and will give Him as a covenant to the people and a light to the Gentiles, “to open the blind eyes, to bring out the prisoners from the prison, and them that sit in darkness out of the prison house.”

This is not a ministry to those who already see; it is directed toward those who cannot see, cannot discern, and cannot free themselves. Jesus fulfills this when He declares that He was sent “to the lost sheep of the house of Israel” (Matthew 15:24), those blinded by tradition, burdened by sin, and unable to perceive the kingdom. His earthly ministry opens blind eyes, beginning with the lost sheep of the house of Israel.

The extension of His light to the Gentiles does not occur in the fullest sense through His own earthly teaching to the lost sheep of Israel but later through the called who receive His words and carry them to the Gentile nations (Acts 11:18; 13:47; 28:28). After He teaches His believing followers, He sends them to “teach all nations” (Matthew 28:19,20), and Acts 11:18 confirms God's will that repentance for salvation be granted to the Gentiles also. The Servant opens blind eyes in Israel; the called carry His light to the nations. Isaiah’s prophecy becomes the pattern of the kingdom gospel: Jesus teaches the called, and the called bring sight to those who sit in darkness.

The LORD Gathers His Created Servants Along With Those Who See Them, Hear Them, and Turn to the Truth of God

Isa 43:6 I will say to the north, Give up; and to the south, Keep not back: bring my sons from far, and my daughters from the ends of the earth;

Isa 43:7 Even every one that is called by my name: for I have created him for my glory, I have formed him; yea, I have made him.

Isa 43:8 Bring forth the blind people that have eyes, and the deaf that have ears.

Isaiah shows the LORD calling His sons and daughters from every direction, gathering a people who are created by Him and are called by His name. The blind and deaf brought forth are not passive hearers but responsive ones - men and women who had eyes to see and ears to hear the servants whom God created and sent. Their turning to the truth of God is the evidence of true sight and true hearing.

This passage aligns with Christ’s teaching that the good soil represents those who hear the word, understand it, turn, and gather others in fruitful obedience (Matthew 13:23). Isaiah’s gathered ones are precisely this kind of people: those who respond to the voice of God’s servants, who see what He reveals, who hear what He speaks, and who turn toward Him in faith. The LORD forms them for Himself so that their lives declare His praise, establishing the pattern of the called who see, hear, and follow His voice.

The Servant Is Called From the Womb and Sends His Called to the Nations

Isa 49:1 Listen, O isles, unto me; and hearken, you people, from far; The LORD has called me from the womb; from the bowels of my mother has he made mention of my name.

Isa 49:2 And he has made my mouth like a sharp sword; in the shadow of his hand has he hid me, and made me a polished shaft; in his quiver has he hid me;

Isa 49:3 And said unto me, You are my servant, O Israel, in whom I will be glorified.

Isa 49:4 Then I said, I have laboured in vain, I have spent my strength for nought, and in vain: yet surely my judgment is with the LORD, and my work with my God.

Isa 49:5 And now, says the LORD that formed me from the womb to be his servant, to bring Jacob again to him, Though Israel be not gathered, yet shall I be glorious in the eyes of the LORD, and my God shall be my strength.

Isa 49:6 And he said, It is a light thing that you should be my servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob, and to restore the preserved of Israel: I will also give you for a light to the Gentiles, that you may be my salvation unto the end of the earth.

Isaiah reveals the Servant speaking to the distant lands, declaring that the LORD called Him from the womb and named Him before His birth (Matthew 1:21). His mission begins with Israel: He is formed to bring Jacob back and to restore the preserved of Israel. Yet the passage expands beyond Israel to a worldwide calling. The LORD asks if it is too small a thing for the Servant to restore Israel alone; He will also make Him a light to the Gentiles so that His salvation reaches to the ends of the earth.

This light does not reach the nations at the time of His earthly ministry but later through those who hear His voice and respond. Jesus was sent to the lost sheep of the house of Israel (Matthew 15:24), and those who had eyes to see and ears to hear recognized Him and became the ones who turned to God and carried His word outward to the Gentiles.

The Servant teaches the called within Israel - the remnant (Romans 11:5) and commissions them to bring His light to the nations. Isaiah’s prophecy becomes the pattern of the gospel of the kingdom of God: Jesus teaches the called, and the called bear His message of repentance, salvation, and the kingdom of God, to the ends of the earth.

The Word Found, Received, and Made the Joy of the Called

Jer 15:16 Your words were found, and I did eat them; and your word was unto me the joy and rejoicing of my heart: for I am called by your name, O LORD God of hosts.

Jeremiah describes the outcome of the LORD’S promise that those who seek Him with all their heart will find Him (Jeremiah 29:13). He says, “Thy words were found, and I did eat them; and Thy word was unto me the joy and rejoicing of mine heart.” This is the inner experience of the called who truly turn to God. The servant seeks, finds, receives, and internalizes the word, and the result is joy - not merely understanding, but delight.

Jeremiah’s testimony shows that the promise is not empty: when the called seek God, His word becomes their sustenance, their identity, and their rejoicing. The turning of the heart leads to the finding of the word, and the finding of the word leads to the joy of belonging to the LORD. It is the pattern of all who have eyes to see and ears to hear: they seek, they find, and the word becomes their life.

The LORD Personally Seeks, Finds, and Gathers His Scattered Sheep

Eze 34:11 For thus says the Lord GOD; Behold, I, even I, will both search my sheep, and seek them out.

Eze 34:12 As a shepherd seeks out his flock in the day that he is among his sheep that are scattered; so will I seek out my sheep, and will deliver them out of all places where they have been scattered in the cloudy and dark day.

Eze 34:13 And I will bring them out from the people, and gather them from the countries, and will bring them to their own land, and feed them upon the mountains of Israel by the rivers, and in all the inhabited places of the country.

Ezekiel reveals the LORD Himself stepping into the role of Shepherd, declaring that He will search for His sheep, seek them out, deliver them from all the places where they were scattered, and bring them into their own land. This is not delegated work; it is personal, deliberate, and direct. The Shepherd goes after His own, gathers them, and leads them to good pasture.

This passage becomes the foundation for Christ’s self‑identification when He later dwells among the lost sheep of Israel and says, “I am the good Shepherd” (John 10:11). The same LORD who promises to seek and gather His scattered flock in Ezekiel is the One who walks among lost sheep in the flesh (John 1), calling His sheep by name, restoring them, and teaching the called who hear His voice. Ezekiel’s Shepherd is Christ Himself, beginning the pattern of gathering that continues to this day by His servants (1Co 7:22,23).

Transition to the New Testament: The Servant Teaches His Disciples Plainly

Mat 5:1 And seeing the multitudes, he went up into a mountain: and when he was set, his disciples came unto him:

Mat 5:2 And he opened his mouth, and taught them, saying,

Matthew records that Jesus went up into a mountain, His disciples came to Him, and He taught them. What stands out immediately is the manner of His teaching: it is entirely plain speech. No parables, no riddles, no veiled sayings. This is unique because Jesus consistently used parables when addressing the crowds, explaining that parables were given because the crowds did not have ears to hear or eyes to see (Matthew 13:10-17).

But here, in Matthew 5, He speaks directly, openly, and plainly. This is the defining mark that He is teaching His disciples - the receivers of truth - not the multitude. The Sermon on the Mount is not crowd‑instruction; it is disciple‑formation. The New Testament shows that Jesus "taught" many, but only those who the Father called to receive His words became His disciples, and therefore truly taught by Him. The plainness of Matthew 5 is the proof: He is speaking to those who are eager to understand, those who have a heart that can receive truth, those who will later bear fruit as a result.

The Called Disciples Share the Prophets’ Path

Mat 5:11 Blessed are you, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake.

Mat 5:12 Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you.

After teaching His disciples the conditions of blessing, Jesus identifies them with the prophets in the Old Testament that God had also called. Jesus turns directly to them and reveals the cost of receiving His words. He says that those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake are blessed, and that when men revile, persecute, and speak evil against them falsely for His sake, their reward is great in heaven.

Then He makes the decisive comparison: “for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you.” With this statement, Jesus places His disciples in the same line as the prophets - the ones God called, the ones who received His word, the ones who suffered for speaking the Father's truth (Acts 14:22; John 17:17).

The multitudes heard Him teach, but only the disciples - the believing followers - are addressed as heirs of the prophetic path. Jesus spoke to many, but only those whom the Father called to receive His words became His disciples, and therefore truly taught by Him. In Matthew 5:11,12, He confirms that the servant‑life they are entering is the same life lived by the prophets: a life of blessing, truth, and inevitable opposition.

The Called Are the Salt and Light of the Earth Because They Receive and Carry Truth

Mat 5:13 You are the salt of the earth: but if the salt have lost his savour, wherewith shall it be salted? it is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot of men.

Mat 5:14 You are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid.

Mat 5:15 Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it gives light unto all that are in the house.

Mat 5:16 Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.

Those with ears that do not hear and eyes that do not see cannot be salt or light; only receivers of truth can bear it. After identifying His disciples with the prophets, Jesus immediately defines their function in the world. He says they are the salt of the earth and the light of the world. This identity is not given to the crowds, nor to those who merely heard Him teach, but to the ones who received and carried His words.

Ears that do not hear and eyes that do not see are not the salt of the earth; they cannot preserve truth or illuminate anything. Salt that has lost its savour is cast out, and a hidden lamp gives no light. Only those who carry the whole salt of truth brightly, without hiding some of it or compromising with it, fulfill the servant‑calling Christ describes. The disciples are salt because they preserve all of what God has given them; they are light because they display all of His truth openly and freely.

Again, Jesus spoke to many, but only those whom the Father called to receive His words became His disciples, and therefore were truly taught by Him. In Matthew 5:13-16, He shows that the ones who receive His teaching become the ones who bear His truth into the world.

God’s Calling Always Comes with a Warning

Mat 5:17 Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil.

Mat 5:18 For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled.

Mat 5:19 Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven: but whosoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.

Mat 5:20 For I say unto you, That except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, you shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven.

Just as the LORD warned the tribes of Israel, Jesus warns His disciples that receiving the truth of God's unchanging laws carries responsibility. After identifying them as the salt of the earth and the light of the world, Jesus turns to the authority of His own teaching. He declares that He has not come to destroy the law or the prophets but to fulfill them, and that not one jot or tittle will pass until all is accomplished (verses 17,18).

Then He issues a warning that mirrors the pattern seen throughout the Old Testament: God’s calling always comes with accountability. Just as the LORD warned Israel that receiving His word required obedience, Jesus warns His disciples to "do and teach them" and that their righteousness must exceed that of the scribes and Pharisees or they will not enter the kingdom of heaven (verses 19,20).

The multitudes heard Him speak, but only the disciples are confronted with this warning, because only they have been called to receive, do, and teach His words. Those whom the Father calls to receive truth are responsible to walk in it. The Servant teaches plainly, and the called must respond faithfully in obedience. This is the reasonable response (Roman 12:1) for the privilege of being called as stewards of the true gospel (1Corinthians 4:1,2; 1Pe 4:10).

The Authority That Marks the Called

Mat 7:28 And it came to pass, when Jesus had ended these sayings, the people were astonished at his doctrine:

Mat 7:29 For he taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes.

Matthew concludes the Sermon on the Mount by noting that the people were astonished at Jesus’ teaching, for He taught them - the disciples - as one having authority, and not in the way that the scribes teach. This reaction reveals the divide that has run through the entire section. The multitudes heard Him speak, but only the disciples received His words, understood His authority, and were shaped by it.

The crowds recognized something different, but recognition is not reception. The disciples, called by the Father to understand the mysteries of the kingdom, were the ones truly taught by Him. Matthew 7:28,29 stands as the final witness that Jesus spoke to many, but only those whom the Father called to receive and teach His words became His disciples. With this, the foundation is complete, and we can now move into other areas of proof that reinforce the same pattern throughout the New Testament.

Jesus Himself Makes the Distinction

Mat 13:10 And the disciples came, and said unto him, Why speak you unto them in parables?

Mat 13:11 He answered and said unto them, Because it is given unto you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given.

Mat 13:12 For whosoever has, to him shall be given, and he shall have more abundance: but whosoever has not, from him shall be taken away even that he has.

Mat 13:13 Therefore speak I to them in parables: because they seeing see not; and hearing they hear not, neither do they understand.

Mat 13:14 And in them is fulfilled the prophecy of Esaias [Isaiah], which says, By hearing you shall hear, and shall not understand; and seeing you shall see, and shall not perceive:

Mat 13:15 For this people's heart is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes they have closed; lest at any time they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and should understand with their heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them.

Mat 13:16 But blessed are your eyes, for they see: and your ears, for they hear.

Mat 13:17 For verily I say unto you, That many prophets and righteous men have desired to see those things which you see, and have not seen them; and to hear those things which you hear, and have not heard them.

When the disciples ask Jesus why He speaks to the crowds in parables, He answers with the clearest distinction in the gospel accounts. He says that the mysteries of the kingdom are given to the disciples but not to the others (verses 10,11). The multitudes hear His words, but they do not receive them; their ears do not hear, and their eyes do not see.

Jesus explains that this fulfills Isaiah’s prophecy of a people who hear without understanding and see without perceiving. Most importantly, He identifies the cause: not understanding with the heart. (verses 14,15). Then He turns to His disciples and declares them blessed, for their eyes see and their ears hear - and He again aligns them directly with the prophets and righteous men who longed to see and hear what they now receive (verses 16,17).

In this passage, Jesus Himself makes the distinction: the Father’s called are the ones who are given a heart to understand the mysteries of the kingdom. The stony unhearing and unseeing hearts remain outside (Ezekiel 11:19). Even though they hear the words, Jesus only opens the understanding of them to the called (Mathew 13:18-23).

This passage stands as Christ’s own testimony that He spoke to many, but only those whom the Father called to receive and teach His words became His disciples.

Jesus Speaks in Parables to Fulfill the Prophetic Pattern

Mat 13:34 All these things spoke Jesus unto the multitude in parables; and without a parable spoke he not unto them:

Mat 13:35 That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, saying, I will open my mouth in parables; I will utter things which have been kept secret from the foundation of the world.

Matthew states that Jesus spoke to the crowds only in parables, and that without a parable He did not speak to them (Matthew 13:34). This continues the distinction He has just made: He only opens the understanding of them to the called (Matthew 13:18-23). Matthew then inserts the prophetic Scripture to show that this method was foretold: “I will open my mouth in parables; I will utter things which have been kept secret from the foundation of the world” (verse 35, quoting Psalm 78:2).

With this passage, Jesus aligns His ministry with the prophetic pattern once again. The mysteries of the kingdom spoken in parables by the prophets while they were moved by the Holy Spirit (2Peter 1:21) are now taught to the called by the same Spirit (Ephesians 3:5) while the crowds hear only stories they cannot understand. Jesus speaks to many, but only those whom the Father called to receive and teach His words are given the understanding of the secrets spoken from the beginning.

Mar 4:34 But without a parable spoke he not unto them: and when they were alone, he expounded all things to his disciples.

The Father Calls, and the Called Are Taught by God

Joh 6:44 No man can come to me, except the Father which has sent me draw him: and I will raise him up at the last day.

Joh 6:45 It is written in the prophets, And they shall be all taught of God. Every man therefore that has heard, and has learned of the Father, comes unto me.

Jesus declares that no man can come to Him unless the Father who sent Him draws that person. This is the same distinction He made in Matthew 13: only the called receive understanding. Raising them up at the last day speaks of the first resurrection (Revelation 20:5,6) upon the return of Christ. He then quotes the prophetic Scripture: “And they shall all be taught of God” (John 6:45, citing Isaiah 54:13). With this, Jesus identifies the called as those whom the Father personally calls and teaches - the same pattern seen in the prophets, who were moved by the Holy Spirit (2 Peter 1:21), and in the apostles, to whom the mysteries of the kingdom were revealed by the Spirit (Ephesians 3:5). The unhearing and unseeing remain outside, but those drawn by the Father are taught by God Himself. Jesus spoke to many, but only those whom the Father called to receive and teach His words were given understanding.

The Bread of Life Received Only Through the Father’s Calling and the Obedience of Faith

Joh 6:64 But there are some of you that believe not. For Jesus knew from the beginning who they were that believed not, and who should betray him.

Joh 6:65 And he said, Therefore said I unto you, that no man can come unto me, except it were given unto him of my Father.

Joh 6:66 From that time many of his disciples went back, and walked no more with him.

Joh 6:67 Then said Jesus unto the twelve, Will you also go away?

Joh 6:68 Then Simon Peter answered him, Lord, to whom shall we go? you have the words of eternal life.

After portraying Himself as the Bread of Life - the spiritual food sent by the Father that, when received, leads to eternal life (John 6:35) - Jesus reveals a lesson about true faith. He says that some among the people who were claiming to follow Him do not believe, and John adds that He knew from the beginning who they were that believed not and who would betray Him (John 6:64).

Then Jesus repeats the foundational truth: no man can come to Him except it be given unto him of the Father (John 6:65). With this, Jesus shows that the Bread of Life is offered to all but received only by the called through faith in His words (Jeremiah 17:10). Many of the followers up to that point turn back and walk no more with Him (John 6:66), proving that just hearing His words does not create the faith and understanding needed to continue following Him (Psalm 111:10).

Then Jesus turns to the called and asks if they too will walk away. But Peter has a good understanding and says, “Lord, to whom shall we go? Thou hast the words of eternal life” (John 6:68). The unhearing and unseeing lack faith and remain outside, even though they hear the same teaching. The called receive the Bread of Life because of the obedience of continued faith (Romans 16:25-27) in the Father who has drawn them and opened their understanding of the Scriptures through His Christ (Luke 24:45).

Only the Called Remained, and Their First Act Was Scriptural Understanding

Act 1:15 And in those days Peter stood up in the midst of the disciples, and said, (the number of names together were about an hundred and twenty,)

Act 1:16 Men and brethren, this scripture must needs have been fulfilled, which the Holy Ghost [Spirit] by the mouth of David spoke before concerning Judas, which was guide to them that took Jesus (Psalm 41:9).

Luke records that the number of disciples gathered in the upper room was only about one hundred and twenty (Acts 1:15). This is the decisive historical witness that, even after Jesus had spoken to multitudes throughout His ministry, only those whom the Father had called and taught remained. The crowds heard Him, but only the called received His words, understood them, and continued with Him.

Then Peter stands up and speaks, and the first words out of his mouth come from understanding of the Scriptures: “This Scripture must needs have been fulfilled” (Acts 1:16). His understanding is not human insight; it is the result of Christ continuing to open understanding of the Scriptures - to the faithful - by the Holy Spirit (1Peter 1:3-12).

The same pattern continued after the Christ had returned to the Father: the unhearing and unseeing fall away, but the called remain faithful, and their first act as the gathered spiritual church is to interpret and apply the Word of God with clarity. The books of the gospel pertaining to the kingdom of God show that Jesus spoke to many, but Acts 1:15,16 show that only those drawn by the Father became receivers of truth, taught by truth, keepers of truth, and teachers of truth.

Joh 17:17 Sanctify them through your truth: your word is truth.

Truth is not truth unless it is the whole truth and nothing but the truth.

Freely, I have received from the word of God; freely, I have given to all who would receive the truth of God.

Farewell,

Servanthood