Pastor Tom Johnson, August 22, 2021
There are several causes of Jesus losing followers in our reading from John 6. Jesus offers his body and blood as bread and drink. He says that our faith is a work of God, that God gives us faith. And he says he is the source of truth and life. Some are offended. Jesus’ teachings are too strange and difficult. So many turn away. To whom do they go? Do they go to a synagogue or community of faith to search the Scriptures to see if what Jesus taught is true? Do they find a teacher who says more palatable things? Or do they stop searching for truth altogether?
What is a little unsettling to me is that Jesus is not surprised. Nor does he make an effort to compromise his teaching to suit his hearers. He will not change his message. He challenges the remaining twelve disciples by asking them, “Do you also wish to go away?” Well, do we? Have we ever been so turned off by Jesus’ teachings, the Christian faith, or a particular church tradition that we have considered calling it quits?
Apparently, in the United States, along with many western nations, we have. Church attendance continues to fall— rapidly. George Barna’s research shows that in the last ten years alone there has been a drop of women from nearly 50% attending worship weekly to 33%. This study was published pre-pandemic. Since the pandemic, numbers have dropped across the board for obvious reasons. We are not alone in our numbers not coming back as strongly as they were before the pandemic. But now, the delta variant of Covid-19 threatens to keep our numbers low. As you may suspect, there is something bigger happening in our culture and our churches. There are no doubt some who are offended by the teachings of Jesus. But perhaps it is more often the case that people are offended by the followers of Jesus or the preachers of Jesus and not Jesus himself. Have we accurately presented Jesus by our love, our actions, and our words? Are they rejecting Christ or are people rejecting Christians? How accurately have we presented Jesus to those around us? Is it possible that people have rejected our flawed concept of who Jesus is? What kind of Jesus do people in our culture think we believe in—a judgmental, finger-pointing teacher? That is not the Jesus of Scripture. He is the friend of sinners.
Maybe it is the mystery of the bread and the wine and that we confess it to be the Body and Blood of Jesus. Perhaps it is the profound doctrine of God’s foreknowledge and his supreme reign over our hearts and minds. Or is it the hypocrisy of the Church? Is it the lack of love and judgment we find in our communities of faith? This is a call for us to be faithful ambassadors of Christ’s Kingdom—to faithfully teach, preach, and live out our lives so that people who come across our paths have a true encounter with Jesus. We do not boast of the uniqueness of Jesus in arrogance like we invented it or are just smart enough to understand it. We find joy in the uniqueness of Jesus that humbles us, transcends human comprehension, and puts awe and gratitude in our hearts.
Following Jesus is a sacred trust. He gives us room for our individual stories. He gives us freedom to question, explore, and consider the claims of Jesus of Nazareth. That is why it is such a sacred and awesome responsibility that we have as the Church to faithfully communicate the Gospel. As Jesus himself said: “To whom much is given, much is required” (Luke 12:48). And what a privilege and joy we have when we help someone else to encounter God’s amazing grace!
Jesus does not panic in this text even though most of his followers decide to go their separate ways. By turning to the twelve and asking them if they want to go too, he is giving them space and time to make their journey their own. He gives them, and us, freedom to explore and struggle on our own. “Do you also wish to go away?” Peter answers, “To whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.”
There are plenty of paths out there where we have to work hard to earn God’s attention and love. There are a myriad of paths to self-actualization. There are as many religions as there are people in this world. But there is only one Jesus—one true and living God. There is only one personal relationship that we have with God and God has with us. It is wholly unique and special to God. Peter says, “To whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. We have come to believe and know that you are the Holy One of God” Only Jesus’ teaching, life, death, and resurrection gives us a clear understanding of God’s grace and eternal life. Jesus alone conquers death, sin, and evil through the Cross and the empty grave.
To whom shall we go, indeed. Peter will later boldly confess to his persecutors, “There is no other name under heaven given by which we are saved” (Acts 4:12). We go to each other as God’s people to mutually console each other in God’s grace and forgiveness in the name of Jesus. We gather under the reading, singing, and faithful preaching of God’s Word to encounter Jesus. We go to the Altar to receive Jesus’ Body and Blood with the bread and the wine. We go out to tell the world. We go out to live our Christian lives and vocations. We do not preach ourselves but Christ and that there is no other. He alone is the Friend of sinners and Savior of the world. He alone assures us of eternal life.
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