INTRODUCTION
Billionaires such as Jeff Bezos, Peter Thiel, and Larry Ellison, are all investing hundreds of millions of dollars into longevity science, the study of how to live longer. As CNBC reported” A growing number of tech billionaires have decided they want to use their enormous wealth to try to help humans “cheat death.” While breakthroughs are far from guaranteed, they hope that various medicines, therapies and other life science technologies will enable humans to live well beyond 100 years old and possibly to 200, 300, or even longer. But are their efforts going to benefit humanity as a whole or just an elite few?”
Peter Thiel has poured millions into the Methuselah Foundation, which is a non-profit group working on life extension by advancing tissue engineering and regenerative medicine. He plans to have his body frozen using cyronics once he dies.
When Mark Zuckerburg was asked what big scientific question would he like to answer, he said, “What will enable us to live forever? How do we cure all diseases?”
Tesla’s Elon Musk, doesn’t care about his body — he simply wants his thoughts and brain to live forever via his new company, Neuralink.
Even if the rest of us cannot afford to buy extra years on earth, we want to live forever. Over 80% of Americans believe in life after death.
Rich or poor, we all want to live longer and most of us want to live forever, but how? How can we live forever?
1. JESUS CONFRONTS US WITH LIFE AND DEATH (61-65)
Jesus confronts us with the knowledge of sin (60-61)
Jesus told his audience that they were needy sinners. “You need my blood (52-57) and you need the Father’s drawing (44, 65).” They were confronted with their own sinfulness and helplessness. No one likes hearing about how sinful or helpless they are, or how how dependent they are on the Sovereignty of God. They were offended by their 100% dependence on Christ’s death and the Father’s drawing.
Jesus confronts us without compromise (62-65)
Instead of softening his message when his hearers were offended, he doubled down and told them that this was easy truth compared to what they would yet have to learn. Instead of apologizing he went further with harder truths:
- Predicted heavenly and divine glory for himself (62).
- Underlined their inability and his ability (63)
- Claimed that his Words alone could give life (63)
- Asserted that no amount of their own effort would help (63)
- Warned them that not all of them were true believers (64)
- Repeated his claim that they could not come to him without the Father’s drawing (65)
Jesus confronts us with a choice (66-67)
Many of his disciples stopped following him when they heard these words. He started the day with 5000+ and ended the day with 11 or 12. But instead of asking the leavers to return, he asked the remainers, “Do you want to go away as well?”
CHANGING OUR STORIES WITH GOD’S STORY
Own your deadness and neediness. Jesus knew that the only way to eternal life was to recognize, admit, and confess that we are spiritually dead. We have a choice to believe lies or to believe truth. Lies may give us an easy life but they will result in a hard death and an awful eternity. Truth may be hard to swallow but it results in a much easier death and a blessed eternity. Jesus will not compromise the truth to give us a few days of comfort if it means eternal disaster. Own the truth instead of being offended by the truth.
OWN THE TRUTH
NOT OFFENSE AT THE TRUTH
If I’m dead, how do I get to life?
2. JESUS CONVERTS US FROM DEATH TO LIFE (68-69)
Simon Peter answered him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life, and we have believed, and have come to know, that you are the Holy One of God” (68-69).
Death is Everywhere
“Lord to whom shall we go?” Peter says, “We’ve looked at other possibilities: Pharisees, Sadducees, Romans, Philosophers, Moses, sin, sects, etc. We’ve searched for alternatives but haven’t found any. There is no other viable option. There is no other hope, no other way to live, no other way to life. R. C. Sproul admitted that he was tempted to leave Jesus many times but was kept by these words of Peter, “Where can I go?”
Life is here
“You have the words of eternal life.” We don’t need science, research, billions of dollars, technology, etc. Jesus has the words that give eternal life for free. It’s not for the elite and wealthy but for all who want it. His Words are about eternal life and give eternal life. Believing Christ’s Words will give an immeasurable quantity and quality of life. It’s especially the words about his death that give us life.
Where else can we go, Lord
Where else can we go
You have the words of eternal life
We have believed and have come to know…” Peter was assured, he was confident about who Jesus was and that his words were true. Believing the words brought knowledge of the words and confidence in the words.
“That you are the Holy One of God.” This is language borrowed from Isaiah. He spoke of God’s holiness sixty-two times and calls him “The Holy One of Israel” twenty-six times. This was a massive profession of faith in the deity of Christ.
CHANGING OUR STORY WITH GOD’S STORY
What are your options? I’ve followed a few of these deconversion stories where people who followed Christ for years deconvert, they leave him and give up their faith. They sometimes get an initial burst of elation but if you follow their stories, they never land. In the words of U2, “They still haven’t found what they’re looking for.”
Do you want to live forever? Christ’s Words give life here and hereafter, now and forever. You don’t need the Methuselah Foundation, you need the Messiah Foundation.
CYROGENICS CAN ONLY FREEZE DEAD HEARTS
CHRIST’S CROSS MELTS DEAD HEARTS
Who wouldn’t want this? Sadly, this path to eternal life is not popular.
3. JESUS CAUTIONS US ABOUT DEATH AMONG LIFE (70-71)
Death Fights Life
Jesus had been speaking words of life but there had been increasing resistance to his words throughout the chapter (41, 52, 60, 64, 66). The Devil, the Murderer of souls, was fighting the life Christ was offering to them.
Death Extinguishes life
The devil had taken possession of Judas at this point and Jesus knew that he would betray him to death. The devil hates life, he is obsessed with death and desires death for all, especially the Lifegiver.
CHANGING OUR STORIES WITH GOD’S STORY
Fight for life and fight against death. The pursuit of life must consume us all our days. We need Christ’s Words constantly to keep us alive spiritually as the Murderer is out for us. He even uses the pursuit of a longer earthly life to put off people thinking about eternal life. He’d rather people invest billions in scientific missions than in Gospel Mission. But Jesus knows about the deadly dangers that surround us, and, as here, is out there to defend us and keep us.
Use Christ’s words to give and sustain eternal life here and hereafter. Daily Bible reading, family worship, Bible studies, church worship services, all of them are word-givers and life-givers.
ETERNAL LIFE IS IN A BOOK
NOT A TEST TUBE
SUMMARY
PRAYER: Forever God, give me forever life through your forever Word.
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
1. Give some other examples of people trying to live longer or wanting to life forever
2. How hopeful are you of living forever? What’s the basis of your hope?
3. What’s the best way to help people seek and find eternal life?
4. How would you describe eternal life to someone?
5. Have you considered other options? What made you stick with Jesus?
6. What are you doing to nurture and nourish your eternal life?