To Whom Shall We Go?

When many of his disciples heard it, they said, “This is a hard saying; who can listen to it?” But Jesus, knowing in himself that his disciples were grumbling about this, said to them, “Do you take offense at this? Then what if you were to see the Son of Man ascending to where he was before? It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh is no help at all. The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life. But there are some of you who do not believe.” (For Jesus knew from the beginning who those were who did not believe, and who it was who would betray him.) And he said, “This is why I told you that no one can come to me unless it is granted him by the Father.” After this many of his disciples turned back and no longer walked with him. So Jesus said to the Twelve, “Do you want to go away as well?” Simon Peter answered him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life, and we have believed, and have come to know, that you are the Holy One of God.” (John 6:60-69 ESV). I have been very fortunate to have pastored one of the kindest churches I have ever known for the last five years. They were supportive, encouraging, and always very complimentary of my preaching. While that is an incredible gift to be given, I know there were perhaps some times that were average at best. In fact, Mary and I have an agreement that she will always be as honest as possible about my preaching. I usually ask, “On a scale of 1 to 10, how was it?” There have been those times when she has given me less than stellar numbers! I suppose I should be glad that there are also times when she has given me 8’s and 9’s rather than focus on the 3’s and 4’s! All of us want to hear a preacher who captivates our interest and teaches us some encouraging principle from the Scripture. All churches want an individual who is able to draw people into the church. Strangely that would eliminate Jesus. His preaching repulsed a lot more people than it ever attracted. Our reading today shows us a glimpse of the way many viewed the preaching of Jesus. “This teaching is difficult; who can accept it?” said the disciples. John says that Jesus’ words about eating his flesh and blood drove people away: “Because of this many of his disciples turned back and no longer went about with him.” Jesus didn’t coax people into the kingdom. His sermons, whether the subject was bread and wine, flesh and blood, money and power, always provoked people to murmur: “This teaching is difficult; who can accept it?” Little wonder Jesus’ most frequent benediction, at the end of his sermons, was: “Will you also go away?” Jesus is like a magnet. One pole attracts, the other repels. On the one hand: “This is a hard saying.” On the other hand: “Lord, to whom can we go? You have the words of eternal life.” Churches want to attract people. But do we ever repel anyone? What does it say about a church if nobody ever walks away, murmuring, “This teaching is difficult”? I hope that we would be careful to balance our grace-giving with truth-telling. My experience is that will sometimes result in a “low score” for our preaching. However, I am encouraged that the truth, however, difficult, will set us free; and, freedom is really the goal. That is where we may find the abundance of life Jesus died to give us.