By David Ettinger
A Long Day
It was a long day for Jesus. He fed the 5,000, walked on water, taught that He was “the Bread of Life,” witnessed the bitter grumbling resulting from His teaching, and watched as “many of his disciples turned back and no longer followed him” (John 6:66).
The Lord must have been weary and emotionally spent. However, He had business to tend to. He had to make sure He had the devotion of those closest to Him, and therefore asked the 12 disciples: “You do not want to leave too, do you” (v. 67)?

This piercing question produced perhaps the greatest pledge of allegiance uttered in Scripture – a pledge every Christian should repeat as often as memory calls it to mind.
The Pledge
Though Jesus posed the question to all 12, of course it was Peter who replied. He had done so other times without good results (Matthew 26:31-35); this time, he was spot on. To Jesus’ question, “You do not want to leave too, do you?” Peter replied: “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. We have come to believe and to know that you are the Holy One of God” (vv. 68-69).
Do you concur? If so, make it personal; repeat this pledge of allegiance in the first person: “Lord, to whom shall I go? You have the words of eternal life. I have come to believe and to know that you are the Holy One of God.”
I suspect the Lord loved hearing these words then, loves hearing them now, and will never tire of hearing them. Though telling Jesus that you love Him – and sincerely meaning it – is also a wonderful proclamation Jesus never tires of, there is an intellectual element in Peter’s pledge which makes it so powerful!
- In proclaiming to Jesus, “to whom shall I go,” is to tell Him that He alone is the One sent from God the Father; that there is no other.
- To declare that Jesus has “the words of eternal life,” is to confirm that you understand the reason for which He came to Earth, and that you willingly and intentionally accept the free give of salvation He brings.
- To assure that you “have come to believe and to know that [He is] the Holy One of God” is to confess His lordship – that you fully understand and acknowledge that He is God.

No Love Lacking
Perhaps it appears that this pledge lacks love. But remember, Jesus said, “and you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength” (Mark 12:30).
This is a paraphrase of the famous Deuteronomy 6:5: “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might.” Notice how Jesus added the word “mind” to His version. In doing so, He indicated that our devotion to Him should embody all we have: our hearts and souls (emotions), our strength (our physical selves), and our intellects (our minds).
So, yes, Peter’s great pledge of allegiance does include love as well as intellect, and it is exactly what our Lord desires in those He loves. “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. We have come to believe and to know that you are the Holy One of God.”
May we ever pledge our allegiance to our great Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, and may we do so with all of hearts, bodies, and minds!
Bruce
January 28, 2020
Hi David, I love that scripture and I paraphrase it often in prayer because I need Jesus to know that I do understand who He is, that my dependency on Him is total and that I love Him. He deserves that. He is our Lord. And it is one of those verses where you can’t help but have Peter endeared to your heart because Peter is about as down to earth and real as you can get. I love that too. Thank you for reminding us. God’s grace, peace and blessings to you and yours.
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dettinger47
January 28, 2020
Great thoughts, Bruce. Amen.
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Chris Hall
January 28, 2020
Reblogged this on The Sign Of The Cross and commented:
This is an excellent post by David!
I think it’s worth a quick look at the flip side as well. Back in John 6:64 Jesus says that there are some who don’t believe. This together with the verses David mentioned seem to separate those who were following Jesus into those that followed but didn’t actually believe, and those who followed and believed so much that they were willing to make the ‘pledge of allegiance’..
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dettinger47
January 28, 2020
Great points, Chris. I agree!
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Chris Hall
January 28, 2020
Not forgetting Matthew 7:21-23 “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father in heaven. 22 On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, didn’t we prophesy in your name, drive out demons in your name, and do many miracles in your name?’ 23 Then I will announce to them, ‘I never knew you. Depart from me, you lawbreakers!’
Could probably expand this concept with the sheep and the goats as well as the wise and foolish virgins!
How important it is for us to trust and obey His word!
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dettinger47
January 28, 2020
Very true, Chris. Paul could have had this in mind when he wrote: “Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith” (2 Corinthians 13:5).
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Sonrisa (Crissy)
January 28, 2020
Amen 🙏😅
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dettinger47
January 28, 2020
Thank you, Crissy.
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Sonrisa (Crissy)
January 28, 2020
Sorry about the emoji. No idea how it got there .
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dettinger47
January 28, 2020
It looks like emojis are beginning to get a life of their own!
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Sonrisa (Crissy)
January 29, 2020
I think you are correct there
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mrsmariposa2014
January 28, 2020
Amen!
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dettinger47
January 28, 2020
Thank you, Marisa.
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Lesley
January 28, 2020
Wonderful post. I love Peter’s answer.
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dettinger47
January 28, 2020
Thank you, Lesley.
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vicklea
January 28, 2020
❤️❤️❤️
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dettinger47
January 28, 2020
👍
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