How to Leave Jesus...or Not

[53] So Jesus said to them, 

"Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you....

[60] When many of his disciples heard it, they said, 

"This is a hard saying; who can listen to it?" ...

[66] After this many of his disciples turned back and no longer walked with him. 

[67] So Jesus said to the Twelve, 

"Do you want to go away as well?" 

[68] Simon Peter answered him, 

"Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life, [69] and we have believed, and have come to know, that you are the Holy One of God."  

[Jhn 6:53-69 ESV]

If we had the time this morning to read the entire context of these verses, we would see that in the course of a few verses, Jesus goes from being followed by multitudes to being followed by only a few.

In verses 1-4 we find that the setting is near the Sea of Galilee. The timing is early spring as the Passover feast nears. Jesus feed 5000 men with five loaves and 2 fish with such abundance that 12 baskets full were picked up afterward. The people were so impressed with this that they were ready to coronate him as king on the spot. Jesus gave them the slip. That night, Jesus walks on water across the sea. The next day the crowds find him again and come asking for more bread. The deal they try to make sounded like this:

"Feed us bread like Moses did and we will believe you."

In other words,

"We will follow you as long as it satisfies our flesh."

This is the "deal" that they want Jesus to take. They assume that a man with this kind of power must have political ambition. They make a political calculation that he is so desperate for followers that he will purchase their loyalty with favors. They even quote scripture.  Jesus isn't interested in their offer.

Instead, he makes a spiritual application to a physical event.

When we drop into this passage like we just did in verse 53 it sounds rather gruesome to be honest, but in the context of the Passover feast, Jesus is pointing out to them that his purpose is not merely to sustain them in the wilderness, but to deliver them from a curse of death.

You see, sometimes we lose track of where we are in our walk with God. These people thought they were "okay" spiritually and were in search of the physical blessings of God. What they really needed was to be delivered from the spirit of "Egypt" if you will, from a spirit of carnality, from the bondage of sin.

It was not God's original intention for the Israelites to wander in the wilderness for 40 years. His original plan was for them to escape Egypt, go to Horeb and receive the Law, and then enter the Promised Land. It was because of disbelief that they failed to enter. As a result they spent 40 years in the wilderness simply existing, waiting for the doubters to die.

It is not God’s will for us to wander aimlessly in our walk with him either. Too often believers get stuck somewhere between being “delivered from Egypt” and entering a victorious Christian life.

For several verses Jesus tries to correct their theology. Then, when it becomes apparent that Jesus isn't going to feed them loaves and fish again, they start to complain.

• They complained.
•  They doubted.
•  They left.

The Crowd Left when Jesus' message did not align with their desire for carnal fulfillment. The crowd left because Jesus turned their attention from the temporal to the eternal. Up until this time Jesus has healed them and fed them. The crowd is happy to follow Jesus and enjoy the benefits that accompany him, but when the hard truths are revealed, they leave.

Many of the disciples left when the crowd left.

Just this week I heard someone say, “people follow people.” There is a difference in loving Jesus and loving the idea of Jesus. There is something appealing about rallying around a unifying force. When the crowd left, it stopped being fun. The entertainment value dropped. The prestige diminished. The disciples first grumbled, then they left.

Then Jesus looked at the Twelve and asked if they would leave also. The answer of the inner circle is instructive. Peter says, “Lord, to whom shall we go?...” Now in all fairness, there are plenty of places to go.

• These men could return to sea.
• They could join a political movement.
• They could go join the Essenes in the wilderness.
• They could go join the Roman Army for that matter.

But they didn't. The problem with all of these options is that they had already been close to Jesus and they knew that Jesus had “the words of eternal life.”  The difference between the crowd, the casual disciples and the twelve is that the twelve had spent time alone with Jesus. They ate with him. Slept outside in the dark with him. In short, the way they knew him is because they spent time with him.

You see, it is possible to “kinda, sorta” follow Jesus without ever really getting close to him. You are inside the fence of the Tabernacle, so to speak, but you get stuck somewhere between the brazen altar and the laver. You never move on into the Holy Place. You never gain access to the deep things of God. When you are out here it is still easy to be enticed by the things of the world, but when you enter the holy place you can see yourself in the reflection of his glory.

In the Holy Place you:

• Smell the sweetness of prayer.
• You are enticed by the showbread of his word.
• You are illuminated by the light of his Spirit.

And then, once you enter the Holy of Holies, you learn to rest in the shadow of the Almighty.

The question today is are you:

• a member of the crowd
• a casual disciple
• one of those close to Jesus

You may not really know right now, but when the hard time comes, you will know. Here is a little grain of wisdom: don’t wait until the hard time arrives to prepare for the hard time. You prepare beforehand. You prepare alone with Jesus.

God Bless.

You Can Do More Than You Think You Can

Ever had a day that just wouldn't end? So did Jesus.

Recorded in the gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke and John) is an account of one of the longest days in the Life of our Savior and his disciples. This day is so significant that it is recorded in all four gospels. Each writer illuminates different facets of the story, but it is the same story. It is a day of triumph and sorrow. It is a day of hunger and abundance. It is a day in which a little failure might have been seen as a big relief.

Here is the background to this very long day:

 John the Baptist is in prison...

    At this point in his ministry, Jesus popularity is growing, but his cousin John has been imprisoned  for several months by the local head honcho, Herod Antipas. In his prison on the shores of the Dead Sea, John has heard great things about Jesus from his disciples. Just days before this day John had sent two of his disciples to Jesus asking him to verify that he was in fact the Messiah, and they had returned to confirm this truth to John.

 Jesus' own disciples are on their way back to him...  

   Before we can really appreciate this day, we must also know that Jesus had recently sent his disciples on an evangelistic mission around the towns and villages of Galilee. This is the day they would return.

How the long day begins...

Notice of John’s death…and Herod’s interest

    As dawn breaks on this day, Jesus is awakened perhaps by the running feet of John’s disciples. John has been beheaded and his corpse mistreated. Furthermore, Herod is interested in Jesus now. John’s imprisonment had taken place about seventy miles due south of where Jesus was. It is possible John's disciples with the question did not make it back to the prison before his execution.  Jesus begins to grieve for his forerunner.

News of successful evangelism...

   Just then his own disciples arrive with joyous news about the success of their missionary foray. Stories of evangelistic preaching and miracles abound. They decide to make breakfast. 

Then, the crowds arrive. They are pounding on the door. They are crowding in.

Solitude sought...

   Jesus commands that they row out of town to a stretch of abandoned shoreline. The crowds figure them out and beat them to the location.

Extemporaneous ministry...

    Jesus teaches and heals the multitude all day long.

Hunger and exhaustion...

    As evening approaches the disciples plead with the Lord to send the crowds away that they may go buy food. Luke records it by saying, “And when the day began to wear away…” Luke 9:12.

Vision-less disciples and catering...

    Jesus then tells his cadre of miracle working evangelist, “You feed them”… and they grab their wallets in dismay. (I’m paraphrasing here) “Lord it would take $20,000 to feed this bunch. We don’t have that kind of cash.”

    One disciple, Andrew, finds a boy with five biscuits and a couple of  sardines. Whatever the disciples planned to eat on their original picnic outing is now missing.

    Jesus blesses and multiplies the loaves and fish.

    The disciples now get to play waiter to 5000+ people.

    Then they get to play busboy to 5000+ people. They collect 12 baskets of leftovers.

Bed is an hour away...

    Jesus then commands his disciples to make a five mile journey in their ship while he dismisses the crowd. The disciples leave.

The kingmaker crowd...

    The crowd turns kingmaker and wants to force Jesus to be king. He retreats up the mountain to pray.

Jesus sees the disciples toiling on the lake as the sun goes down...

    As dark settles in Jesus can see the disciples a good distance from shore battling a head wind. He prays all night while they toil in the sea.

Jesus bails them out at dawn...

    Sometime between 3am and 6am he walks past them on the sea. They get scared. Jesus calls out. Peter gets bold. With the Lord’s permission he walks on water, then sinks, then walks back to the boat just in time to get off again.

And then it all starts all over again

   The disciples beach the boat as day breaks and the crowds begin to form again as the locals realize who has shown up. Later in the day, the folks from yesterday will show up as well.

Lesson we can learn from this very long day:

1. Perfection is the enemy of ministry. God did not call us to be perfect. He called us to be obedient. We cannot make the ministry failure-proof and be effective.
2. When the Vision is from the Lord, money is of no consequence. Jesus can turn a sack lunch into a catered fish fry.
3. Leftovers taste pretty good at 3am. I am quite certain that the disciples didn’t make it to the far shore with twelve baskets of fish and bread. The memory of the miraculous will sustain us in when battle headwinds.
4. Sometimes we row against the head wind. Just because we are battling the headwinds doesn’t mean Jesus isn’t watching. He is on the mountain interceding on our behalf.
5. Jesus calls “come” to the bleary eyed and exhausted. You will not be pretty in the hour of your greatest faith, and your not likely to walk on water when you are thinking straight.
6. Its okay to approach the work of the Lord with a plan, but once contact is made minister to the needs that present themselves. Jesus can “mess up” your day anytime he wants.
7.  The end is only the beginning. They returned for rest only to find the real work beginning. Your job in the kingdom of God may change, but it never ends.
8. You can do more than you think you can.

"I firmly believe that any man's finest hour, his greatest fulfillment to all he holds dear, is that moment when he has worked his heart out in a good cause and lies exhausted on the field of battle - victorious!" -Vince Lombardi

[If you want to read about Jesus' "very long day"  you can do so in these passages in the Bible Matthew 14, Mark 6:30-37, Luke 9, John 6]

Kids? Now? Say it ain't so...

Mark 10:14  But when Jesus saw [it], he was much displeased, and said unto them, Suffer the little children to come unto me, and forbid them not: for of such is the kingdom of God.

Face it. Kids can be miserable little buggers at times. Not because they are bad, but just because they are kids. The fact is, bringing kids to Christ can sometimes involve a little suffering, a little inconvenience, on our part.

Here in this account in Mark’s Gospel, the disciples had enjoyed basking in the reflected glow of a great Teacher all day, and now, finally, they had there time to talk to Jesus. Suddenly they found themselves baby-sitting the primary class.

Have you ever noticed how easy it is for us to get “too big for our britches”? Too self-important? Jesus had to remind them of the true nature of the Kingdom and the importance of simple faith.

These children were not brought by theologians looking to have them filled with great teaching, they were brought by parents seeking Jesus’ touch on their little ones. Remarkably, the disciples rebuked them for this!

If Jesus ever gave his disciples the stink-eye, I expect this was the time, for he was “much displeased”.

I realize ministering to kids can be exhausting. I know sometimes it seems like no matter what you do, they don’t hear a word you say. There are times we’d much rather be involved in adult conversation than cleaning the crayon scribbles off of the short tables.

Here’s the thing. To follow Jesus example doesn’t mean we have to carry around a Sunday School lesson in our pocket all of the time. It does mean, however, that we are ever ready to touch their hearts with his love. God has a special place in his heart for children. A kind word, a hug, and a little bragging can do more to cement a kid into the Kingdom of God that a dozen Sunday School lessons.

The greatest blessings God ever bestowed on anyone in the Bible was children:

-God’s promise to Eve about redemption involved a child.
-God’s blessing on Abram was all about a miracle child.
-In dozens (if not hundreds) of places in the Bible that God is pronouncing blessing on someone, that blessing involves children!
-God so values children (who are by nature weak) that to oppress the fatherless insures the swift wrath of God.

The disciples had appointed themselves the “gate keepers” for Jesus. Jesus had had to spend a good deal of time that day dealing with Pharisees. Now either:
1. they didn’t have the guts to turn the Pharisees away, or
2. they enjoyed watching Jesus “smoke” them in argument.

At the end of the day their attempt was to keep these children at bay, because they found the timing inconvenient, but guess what.  The Lord has little concern for our convenience. 

In the armies of this world, Generals do not ask enlisted men if action is convenient for them. They give orders, and orders are carried out. For Jesus the cross was not convenient, but he set aside his will to do the will of the Father.

So yes, the kids you teach on Sunday, the pint sized menaces next door, and the kids you love dearly all have one thing in common. They need to experience the touch of Jesus in their lives, for he loves them dearly.

Will you lead them to him?