John 6:68-71 - Yet one of you is a devil

6:68,69

“Lord, to whom shall we go?” As in the synoptics, it is Peter who is not afraid to speak up. It is worth noting that as in the synoptics Peter is at the forefront. The gospel of John is, of course, very different in style and approach to the synoptics, but it is complementary, and is entirely consistent with them. “You have the words of eternal life”. He then goes on to say “we have believed and have come to know that you are the Holy One of God”. Now we also know that their faith had a lot to learn, but God is not looking for our faith to be perfect, though He does work to make our faith more complete. We know, without being able to fully explain, that Jesus is the saviour, and that we have nowhere else to go.

6:70,71

“Did I not choose you? Yet one of you is a devil.” We might think that surely if God chooses something or a certain path, then it will be perfect (in the sense that we would think something perfect). Yet Jesus had purposefully chosen one of the twelve who “was a devil”, who would betray Him. This was all part of God’s plan, an essential part of God’s plan. Obviously to a far lesser degree than with Jesus and Judas, God’s plans for our lives may sometimes include parts that we would never choose for ourselves and are very painful, yet we can always be confident that God has a good purpose in all things.