"As a result of this many of his disciples withdrew and were not walking with him anymore." John 6:66
We are all familiar with the fact that Jesus miraculously fed over 5000 attendees of one of his speaking events, with a few small fishes and loaves, so abundantly that there were twelve baskets of leftovers. After this, Jesus went off to pray by himself while his apostles crossed the Sea of Galilee in a boat. Jesus famously joined them by walking out to them on the water (a whole other post). The next day, finding that the Lord and his apostles were no longer there, the crowd got in boats and pursued them until they found them.
At this point, Jesus began to say to the gathered multitude, things that were very difficult to digest. For instance, he informed them that he was the bread of life come down from heaven, that he was sent by God and that he, in fact was the very son of God. As it might be imagined, this did not sit well with the Jewish people who had very strict ideas about God and the Messiah. To them, Jesus did not fit their expectations and therefore could not have been who he claimed. He further pressed his point, thus exasperating them even more, by saying that the bread was his flesh and that, "...unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in yourselves. he who eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day. For my flesh is true food and my blood is true drink." John 6:53-55 Of course those statement sent the people into quite the uproar and many left, refusing to follow him any longer.
Have you ever wondered why people you may have known as some of Christ's most devoted and ardent followers, would suddenly leave him? We have all known folks in our various congregations who suddenly stopped coming. In so doing, personal relationships that you may have enjoyed end up being severed as well. Often times, the reasons why are a mystery. We can see from this passage, however, that this is by no means new. There were many who ceased following Jesus whom they saw, knew and benefitted from, in person!
Of course, every situation is different, but consider the following: though speaking the truth, Jesus chose to put things in such hard to hear terms quite intentionally. You see, when the crowd caught up with him, he said, "Truly, truly, I say to you, you seek me, not because you saw signs but because you ate of the loaves and were filled," John 6:26. This was a scathing indictment! Here he was, the son of God, come to earth to be a sacrifice for the sins of mankind and all they were thinking about were their stomachs!
Beloved, sometimes we just have to let people go. God gave each and every individual free will to choose what they will do, where they will go and whom they will follow. There are many times people will choose the Lord, or even us for that matter, for the purposes of expediency. They will be where they are and do what they do because it suits them in that moment. The reality, however, is that a relationship with God is not a momentary thing. Christianity is not a seasonal pursuit. True faith is not a casual endeavor. Those who do not give themselves wholly to them and for the right reasons, quickly make other choices when things become challenging or their felt needs are no longer met.
It is not here suggested that we do not make appeals. After all, it was Jesus who also said that we should leave the 99 to go after the missing 1. That said, Jesus simply revealed the difference between the wheat and the chaff, the true believers and the dubious, and allowed them to pursue endeavors that were evidently more important to them. Let us consider these things.
Building God's family,
Lee
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