Jesus Offended People … and He knew He would.

John 6

47 Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me hath everlasting life.

48 I am that bread of life.

49 Your fathers did eat manna in the wilderness, and are dead.

50 This is the bread which cometh down from heaven, that a man may eat thereof, and not die.

51 I am the living bread which came down from heaven: if any man eat of this bread, he shall live for ever: and the bread that I will give is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world.

52 The Jews therefore strove among themselves, saying, How can this man give us his flesh to eat?

53 Then Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink his blood, ye have no life in you.

54 Whoso eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, hath eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day.

55 For my flesh is meat indeed, and my blood is drink indeed.

56 He that eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, dwelleth in me, and I in him.

57 As the living Father hath sent me, and I live by the Father: so he that eateth me, even he shall live by me.

58 This is that bread which came down from heaven: not as your fathers did eat manna, and are dead: he that eateth of this bread shall live for ever.

59 These things said he in the synagogue, as he taught in Capernaum.

60 Many therefore of his disciples, when they had heard this, said, This is an hard saying; who can hear it?

61 When Jesus knew in himself that his disciples murmured at it, he said unto them, Doth this offend you?

62 What and if ye shall see the Son of man ascend up where he was before?

63 It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life.

64 But there are some of you that believe not. For Jesus knew from the beginning who they were that believed not, and who should betray him.

65 And he said, Therefore said I unto you, that no man can come unto me, except it were given unto him of my Father.

66 From that time many of his disciples went back, and walked no more with him.

67 Then said Jesus unto the twelve, Will ye also go away?

68 Then Simon Peter answered him, Lord, to whom shall we go? thou hast the words of eternal life.

69 And we believe and are sure that thou art that Christ, the Son of the living God.

70 Jesus answered them, Have not I chosen you twelve, and one of you is a devil?

71 He spake of Judas Iscariot the son of Simon: for he it was that should betray him, being one of the twelve.

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It’s so interesting to follow the footsteps of Jesus as He carried out His ministry while on this earth. I’m constantly amazed, and encouraged, by Jesus’ forthright actions and verbal responses as He interacts with those He comes into contact.

Jesus didn’t allow Himself to get swept up in the questions and accusations that were regularly cast upon Him. Rather, He always cut through those distractions with direct responses which addressed the heart of the matter at hand. Jesus always managed to navigate the opposition and antagonism which constantly threatened to diminish and destroy Him.

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As I read through the Gospels it appears to me that Jesus, in part, purposely pushed the boundaries of societal and religious norms as a means to open conversations that would expose the opposition against Him.

Some examples …

*He heals the man with the withered hand on the Sabbath. Jesus could have waited a day, right?

*He allows His disciples to “pluck the ears of corn, and to eat” as they walked through the fields on the Sabbath. Were they that starved?

*He delivers a woman on the Sabbath that “had a spirit of infirmity eighteen years, and was bowed together, and could in no wise lift up herself” and was “bound by Satan” himself. It makes sense to apply immediate deliverance but … it did cause the ruler of the synagogue to lash out in indignation against Jesus. Interestingly Jesus responds by calling him a “hypocrite.” I can hear the tongues wag after that comment.

*He allows His disciples to eat with “defiled hands.” Why not just have His disciples follow the “properly prescribed” method of hand washing so as not to offend anyone?

And then, in the passage before us:

*Jesus lays out some hard and complex teaching that He knows is going to stir up a hornet’s nest of controversy and yet — He goes ahead anyway.

Personally, I love every bit of it. It’s so instructive as I see the level of Jesus’ love for people. He spoke the truth regardless of the personal fall-out and consequences He might undergo. In the end though it did cost Him His life … as likewise it did for John the Baptist.

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One take away from this is:

Jesus purposely did not make it easy for people to come to Him based solely on the externals of His ministry. He knew people can easily turn fickle. Rather, He always sought to reach the hearts of the people by presenting the truth of who He was and what it really meant to be His disciple. Such as in Luke 9:23 when He exclaims: “ If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me.”

However, with that said ——

Jesus wasn’t purposefully pushing people away either. Instead, He knew people needed to have the soil of their hearts prepared if productive germination was to take place. To attract people just for the sake of attracting people wasn’t His long term goal.

And so, rather than making easy disciples that would later falter and fall away into eternal damnation, He risked being misunderstood and accused of offending people so the seed of the Gospel could eventually take root in its proper season. And, He knew His teachings would live on long after His death and resurrection.

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So here’s what I’m saying …

I’m saying perhaps we do more damage than good when we make the pathway to salvation too easy, too user-friendly.

The way to salvation is both difficult and easy. It’s difficult for those trying to enter in on their own terms. It’s easy for those that surrender themselves at the foot of the Cross in abject humility through confession and repentance of sin. That’s the main message of John Bunyan’s monumental book: The Pilgrim's Progress from This World, to That Which Is to Come.

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We’re told in verse 66:  From that time many of his disciples went back, and walked no more with him.

But I do wonder if, and want to believe that, after His exit from this life, some of those disciples would have a quickening moment in which it all finally “clicked” and they would finally turn to Christ for salvation. Sometimes it just takes … time.

We can be content, and rest assured, that the seeds we plant in the hearts and lives of those we come in contact with will have the potential to take root and bear fruit unto eternal life. Our responsibility is to be true to the message of the Cross and leave the results in the hands of God.

And …

I have a sneaky feeling that if we adopt more of Jesus’ “methodology” of offending people we just might actually reap a greater and more enduring harvest … just like He continues to do even after these many centuries.

People are more likely to recognize and admit their need for Christ when confronted with the hard honest loving truth of God’s Word, not the soft-peddled, no cost, disingenuous, distasteful, unappealing slop that’s often peddled in the name of Jesus.

As Paul says in 2 Corinthians 2 —

14 Now thanks be unto God, which always causeth us to triumph in Christ, and maketh manifest the savour of his knowledge by us in every place.

15 For we are unto God a sweet savour of Christ, in them that are saved, and in them that perish:

16 To the one we are the savour of death unto death; and to the other the savour of life unto life. And who is sufficient for these things?

17 For we are not as MANY, which corrupt the word of God: but as of sincerity, but as of God, in the sight of God speak we in Christ.

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I’ll close with this passage from Matthew 7 for you to ponder. Notice the emphasis on a lack of easy-believism.

13 Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat:

14 Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.

15 Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves.

16 Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles?

17 Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit.

18 A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit.

19 Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire.

20 Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them.

21 Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.

22 Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works?

23 And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.