More than bread Pt 4 – Where else could we go?
Readings: John 6. 56-69
We’re at the end of John 6 and Jesus’ discussion around his saying ‘I am the bread of life’. And in this discourse he’s been pressing home to those around him that he is to the soul what bread is to the body, among other things, foundational to our spiritual lives and universal in need.
But we’re now at the end. Jesus has been laying down in clear terms who he is, that he has come down from heaven, that he is the one whom they all need, that if they are to live they need to believe in him, put their faith in him and what he will accomplish in his death on the cross and subsequent resurrection. In other words, he’s been preaching the Gospel to them, perhaps not as clearly as we might expect, he’s not directly talking about the cross, it’s slightly veiled, it’s still to come. But nevertheless, it’s the Gospel. And what happens as he reaches the end of the discussion? Some of his disciples say ‘This teaching is difficult; who can accept it?’
Now, it’s important to note that when John says disciples here he isn’t talking about the 12, he’s talking about a much bigger group who are following Jesus, these aren’t just the crowds, the great group of people who loosely follow, who turn up in different places but are very much on the fringe. These are the people who are actively following, actively trying to learn and grow in faithfulness to what he is saying. And a whole bunch of them declare that what Jesus has been saying in this chapter is too difficult and leave.
Do they mean that it’s too complicated, that they don’t understand it? No, that’s not what they mean. Jesus has been really clear, he’s using familiar imagery to ensure that he’s as clear as possible. No, it’s not that they don’t understand, it’s that they can’t accept it. Intellectually they get it, but they won’t accept it, won’t receive it. Some of them are even offended by what Jesus is saying. Again, these aren’t the crowds, these are people who have made the commitment to follow Jesus, and yet this here is now too much. Jesus hasn’t even got to the cost of following him yet, of denying yourself and taking up your cross. Jesus here is talking of coming alive in him, of him sustaining us, but it’s already too much. And they leave, they stop following him.
I’ve said it before but I’ll say it again, if you think that we’d have much more success in our evangelism, or here in our discipleship if Jesus were here, we’d be shocked at the reality. Time and time again people turn away from him, are offended by him, don’t believe him. So we shouldn’t be surprised when it happens to us too in our day.
I wonder if anyone you know has every walked away from the faith, walked away from the church, walked away from Jesus because it’s just too much. There can be all sorts of reasons. And I don’t want to collapse them all into one, that wouldn’t be fair. Some will have walked away for the same reason as these disciples, it’s too much, something about Jesus, about the Gospel has become offensive to them, and they leave. Perhaps they leave for another reason. And doesn’t it just break your heart when that happens? Particularly when it happens out of the blue, a brother or sister Christian just leaves, something has happened and they no longer go about with Jesus. It’s heartbreaking. But it shouldn’t be surprising, it happened to Jesus, when God himself was walking the earth, of course it will happen to the people of God in our day as we await his return. We should pray for them, we should long for them to come back, to return to the fold, we shouldn’t shun them or cast them out, but we shouldn’t be surprised.
We shouldn’t be surprised when people are offended by our faith, offended by Jesus. Because a lot of what Jesus says is offensive if you’re paying attention. He claims that he’s the only way to the Father, the only way to God. That’s a pretty controversial statement. Just in this chapter he’s been claiming to be the only one who has come down from heaven. And on top of that, that if you haven’t put your faith in him, if you’re not being sustained by him, eating and drinking his body and blood, that you’re to all intents and purposes dead. It’s offensive. It’s offensive now, but it was offensive then too, hence these disciples leaving, falling away, it’s too much, more than they can bear.
And Jesus turns to the 12, it’s one of the few times John refers to them as such, he turns to them and says ‘surely you’re not going to leave too’. And it’s not because he’s worried that they will, we’ve just heard that he knows who are his and who will fall away. He’s drawing out a response. And what a response he gets. Peter, speaking as he often does on behalf of the group, he gets up and says ‘Lord, to whom can we go? You have the words of eternal life. We have come to believe and know that you are the Holy One of God.’
What a statement. Where else could we go? Who else could we follow? What else are we to do? Only you speak like this, it’s only your words that we’ve found to be Spirit and life. It’s only your teaching, your preaching that makes sense of all of this. And more than that we believe, no, we know, that you’re the Messiah, the Saviour, the one sent by God, the one who has come from God. Where else could we go?
And there’s this sense that even if some of them are a little offended by what Jesus is saying, even if it is a bit much for them at this point, they still believe, they still have their faith in Jesus, so they’re willing to hold on, to keep going until it does all fall into place, until it does click, until their eyes are fully opened. Because they don’t fully get it yet. When Jesus starts talking about the cross they’ll be unhappy about it, try to talk him down, try to prevent it. They don’t fully get it but they’ve recognised in Jesus that here’s the one worth putting your faith in, so they’ll keep going, keep following, keep trusting even if they’re not fully there yet.
And there’s still that sense for us isn’t there. Where else could we go?
Where have you looked? Perhaps you’ve gone off after other things, whether before you came to faith or detoured down another route for a while during your Christian walk. Where else have you looked for life, for hope? Who else have you looked to?
When Jesus says he is the only way to the Father, when he says that being in him, putting your whole faith and trust in him and what he has done on the cross, is the only way to life, he’s not being arrogant or cruel, he’s simply telling the truth. He really is to our souls what bread is to our bodies, lifegiving, sustaining. And down the ages saints and sinners have found that to be true. Who in both times of joy, and in times of desperation, with hearts full and hearts empty have echoed those words of Peter ‘where else could we go, only you have the words of eternal life’.
And yet in times of joy or desperation, with hearts full or empty, have found these words of Jesus to be true. That he is enough, that he will sustain you. That in him is life and light and hope. That Jesus really is the one in whom we can find life, peace, contentment. That in this person who is both God and man, we find a strength and a sustaining presence which will carry us through it all.
And so to a hungry world the church holds out Jesus. Not as the bread that comes to your table before the main course, an added extra which you can take or leave, but as the foundation of our spiritual diet. The foundation for our whole life. And perhaps today you don’t know this to be true for yourself, perhaps you’re searching, looking for life, scouring about for hope, yet finding none. Only Jesus will satisfy. Only Jesus will truly sustain you both in this life and in the world to come going on into eternity. So how do we get Jesus? This bread that will sustain us forever, it’s gotta cost right?
And yet Jesus has paid it all. Jesus freely gives of himself. Lays down his life so that you can live, empties himself so that you can be filled. His arms are outstretched this morning. And all that he asks is that you acknowledge your hunger and your thirst and come to him to be filled, come to him to be satisfied. That you confess your mess, your brokenness, your sin and come to him for forgiveness, put your whole faith and trust in him and what he has done for you on the cross. How do we get this bread? Jesus freely gives. All we need do is take, take him up on it.
So, my brothers and sisters, whether your faith is firm or wavering, whether you know him for yourself or are still looking, may I invite you as we head into the autumn to hold fast to Jesus, to feed on him, to make him, whether for the first time or once again, the foundation, the bedrock of your life. That you may know him sustaining you, both now, and into eternity.
Amen.