On hearing it, many of his disciples said, “This is a hard teaching. Who can accept it?” John 6.60
Shortly after this, many of those who had been following Jesus, many of his disciples, turned back and left him. It was only the day before that 5000 people had shared a simple meal Jesus had provided for them. And they continued to follow him until he told them that they would have to eat his flesh and drink his blood if they were to have eternal life. We don’t know what turned all those disciples away. Perhaps they were looking for something else; perhaps they didn’t like the way Jesus talked about Moses; perhaps they didn’t have the courage to continue with Jesus when it became clear that his life was under threat. If the Jews were looking for ways to take the life of Jesus when so many were following him, what chance did his followers have? Perhaps they didn’t like the way Jesus confronted them; he was challenging them to choose between himself and their traditions.
I grew up with a very different picture of Jesus from the picture John presents in his Gospel. The Jesus I was told about was only ever “nice”. I never heard about his uncompromising strength. I never learned that he knew he was under threat long before the night of the “Last Supper”. I never heard that Jesus love for his Father and for those the Father had given him would drive him on to taking his throne on a rough wooden cross. The “pastel coloured” Jesus I grew up with had been wrapped up in religious humbug. But the Jesus John describes is a man who resists all the trappings of religion, all the religious gamesmanship that men invent so that they can ignore God. The Jesus that John introduces is resolute in doing what he was sent to do. He wouldn’t be defended or turned away from his mission.
“Put your sword away! Shall I not drink the cup the Father has given me?” John 18.11
What are you discovering about Jesus?
