Offense Taken

Offense Taken

John 6:60-71

November 5, 2023

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Introduction:

We are closing the book on John 6 today. In order to do this, we need to review where we came from. John 6:1-15 Jesus feeds the 5 K people and shortly after in John 6:16-21 He walks on water. In John 6:22-34. From 22-71, we see our Lord thin the crowd with hard sayings.

In John 6:26-34 He calls the crowd fickle and claims absolute authority over eternal life “For on Him God the Father has set His seal.” In John 6:35 Jesus says, “I am the bread of life” and what was offensive to the crowd, was that He came down from heaven. This truly offended the Jews, maybe not us. What offends us today we find in verses 37, 39, 44, 65, and verse 70. The results of these hard sayings are as real then as they are today. These truths cause some to loose their minds while others have a totally different response

ANNALOGY: A Grenade in Dullas international airport. Has anyone seen someone freak out for absolutely no reason only to find out that they were totally wrong? I like to explain these hard things because He wrote these to break down our pride and create a little desperation in our spiritual lives. This desperation has a unique effect on three different types of people.

Today, Jesus’s message causes open defection, an attraction for impostors, desperate determination, and a call to true belief in the Holy One of God

BODY:

1. The message causes defection (John 6:60-65)

60 When many of his disciples heard it, they said, “This is a hard saying; who can listen to it?”[1]

This is so important. The NASB starts verse 60 with “Therefore”, NKJV starts verse 60 with “Then” and the ESV starts verse 60 with “when”. This is very important to keep in mind. The distance between 59 and 60 is not more than a breath between two words. The truths of “no one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him… and “Unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you.” Is literally, a breath between two words. It is no wonder that the crowd immediately asked the question of who can listen to this.

This was a great question that the “disciples” asked. The question “This is a hard saying; who can listen to it” is reasonable to ask in this situation and we ask it today. We need to remember that when John the Apostle (the author) wrote this, he was looking at a large crowd of followers (disciples). Not just the 12. No doubt these were people who had been following Jesus for some time. Many had seen him feed thousands, heal many, eat fish and crackers with, and heard His messages. These people had “experienced” the living bread and now, when they heard these hard sayings, ask a reasonable question.

The word “hard sayings” skleros: violent; strong; harsh and demanding. To fully understand the weight of this word:

Acts 26:14

And when we had all fallen to the ground, I heard a voice saying to me in the Hebrew language, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me? It is hard for you to kick against the goads.[2]

The same word skleros is used there. Imagine an ox/cow kicking against a sharp object that is used to make it move. The concept is the harder you kick or resist the more painful it becomes. The animal will move sooner or later. The word “hard” is used the same way. It is “unyielding” or “not received without discomfort”. These are hard sayings and cause the animal and us and the crowd to move. Unfortunately, the movement for the people was that they “grumbled”.

The Lord recognized the grumbling and said something that is amazing and easily missed in English. He asks them “Do you take offense at this? The language there actually implies that Jesus had “trapped them in.” Imagine being drug into court and the opposing attorney lays traps for you as you try to defend yourself. Jesus just trapped them when He asked how you could take offense to this when no offense was given.

Think about a sinless Being (Christ) who says nothing to cause pain or hurt. He is saying, you don’t have the right to be offended because offense was not given. Oh, but it was taken. At times, especially in a church, We simply don’t like what was done or said. We may feel insulted when no one has insulted us. We are a sensitive people, and we take offense even when it is not given.

There were many reasons for the obvious crowd reaction. I wish we could fully understand the tone of our Lord in His response. He asks a rhetorical question in response to the offended crowd. He says:

“Do you take offense at this? Then what if you were to see the Son of Man ascending to where He was before?”

Some commentators say that He was being sarcastic. While others are saying that He was being direct and the implication is simple, He wanted them to remember who He was. Divine. Stop being offended and recognize He had every right to speak the truth. Today, we would do very well to remember that these words in red were spoken by the one who did conquer death, did ascend in the clouds, now sits in His Glory, and has the power to judge the living and the dead.

I found myself asking, what was it that offended His listeners and us today. I wrote down just a couple thoughts but the list is in no way exhaustive.

a. Jesus was demanding a true commitment. “Unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in you.” (vs 53) To take food within your body is the most committed of relationships. It becomes a part of you and you it. It enters your bloodstream and gives you energy. It changes how you act and function. Jesus is demanding that level of commitment.

b. Jesus was claiming exclusive control over salvation: “All that the Father gives ME will come to Me, and who ever comes to Me I will never cast out.”. No one else controls the action of salvation but the Father and the Son. This challenged a culture that claimed that since they were of Abraham, they were naturally in. It also challenges a culture that has set us as the central controlling mechanism of our own salvation.

c. Jesus was saying that not everyone is “called” or “drawn”: 44 No one can (means ability) come to me unless (a condition is met) the Father who sent me draws him. And I will raise him up on the last day[3] This offended them as it does us. What do you mean not all roads lead to heaven? Doesn’t everyone get in? No, it is a hard saying and it offended them as it does us today.

Because of the reaction of the crowd then and now, there is a natural response. That natural response is from the flesh. There are those who just walk away and stop up their ears:

“Zech 7:11- Made their hearts diamond hard so that they do not hear the truths of the Lord”

Or, there is the next type of response, the impostor who does not truly believe but likes the show.

2. The message causes impostors (John 6:64, 70)

These are some marks of the imposer who loves the things of God but are not truly saved:

i. They are attracted by the crowd 20,000 people who love the energy of the crowd. (Megachurch)

ii. They are attracted by the popular cause of the day that always fades: Rockstar pastors/worship pastors that have record deals/ the light shows

iii. They are fascinated with the supernatural. Fairy dust and angelology.

iv. They only think of the Earthly benefits. Name it and claim it, prosperity gospel.

v. They like the comfort in numbers. They have a fear of missing out.

If this is what MBC offered, we would be a huge church of false disciples. Numbers would flow in just to create an entire body of false impostors of Christ.

Church, this is what breaks my heart and I suppose what keeps me awake at night. There are people who are comfortable resting in one of these categories. It is awesome what God is doing in MBC. A new church in a small town preaching and teaching God’s Word. It is amazing for sure. This is why we have to be in a constant state of reform to make sure our minds, hearts and spirits are in line with what Jesus is teaching.

Mathew 7:21-23 is the scariest verse in all of the Bible. And, it should rub us to make sure we know Him and more importantly, HE knows us.

21 “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. 22 On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ 23 And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’[4]

Impostors want to be WITH/Not IN.

It is interesting to look at this crowd of people whom Jesus is talking to. They smelled Him, tasted Him, saw Him, heard Him, touched Him. All five senses were covered and still rejected what He was saying to them. So, logical question; They had all 5 and how did it work out for them? = the Flesh does NOTHING and completely proves His point.

The crowd is one thing, but let’s skip down to the last statement that has had many believers wondering, how in the world could Judas be with and not in? Jesus knew it as well. Look at vs 70 “Did I not choose you, the twelve? And yet one of you is a devil”

Is it possible to come to church your entire life, be around the things of God and still not believe? Yes! Even Judas had been chosen for his part in the redemptive plan. Judas had even seen Jesus just walk on water, Peter walk on water and taken part in many of the inner circle conversations and yet, still did not get it. The reason, it has to be the Spirit that gives life, we cannot.

Vs 63 “It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh is no help at all.”

Jesus echo’s a previous conversation when he clearly tells Nicodemus:

John 3:6

“6 That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit[5]

This is proof positive that the salvation of the Lord is Monogeristic. Meaning, it all starts with Him. We can’t and wont do it. Our belief is a result of what He did, not the other way around.

There is an equal “list” that opposes the impostor. It is found in our next point.

3. The message received causes desperate determination (John 6:67-69)

36 One of the Pharisees asked him to eat with him, and he went into the Pharisee’s house and reclined at table. 37 And behold, a woman of the city, who was a sinner, when she learned that he was reclining at table in the Pharisee’s house, brought an alabaster flask of ointment, 38 and standing behind him at his feet, weeping, she began to wet his feet with her tears and wiped them with the hair of her head and kissed his feet and anointed them with the ointment.

Church, when was the last time your sin caused an emotional response? How many tears would it take to “WASH” a grown man’s feet? When was the last time you shed a tear at the gravity and cost of your sin? When was the last time you so much as swallowed hard over your rebellion from the Lamb of God?

Believer, do you approach your sin like her because, honestly there are so few people I know who understand the gravity of their sin. We like to think that we are the hero of this story, but most of us fit in the category of the Pharisee.

When a person comes to understand that to be made righteous by God, there is an awareness of utter and complete desperation for that righteousness.

When the Spirit gives life, belief is the result. (vs 63, 67, 68)

(vs 63) “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.”

How quick do we gloss over this statement? Today I would argue that our main issue is familiarity. How many weeks have I preached that Jesus has the words of eternal life. Yet, when I read those words how many have latched onto the weight of it? Even I, as I was preparing for this sermon, I gloss over that and forget to weigh the fact that I must lean on the fact that He alone has the words of life.

The man or woman who can recognize the gravity of their sin recognizes the fact that nothing in the world can compare to the amount of Grace given by a loving savior to offer the words that answer the problem of sin. The oceans of grace shelled out on the heart of the sinner is tangible and real to the heart of the believer. It should still shock us. It should still amaze us. It should still stir us to continual repentance and appreciation.

To the lost, to the one who these words seem crazy, the result is sad but obvious. The leave Him. They allow their ears to be stopped. But look what Jesus says to His 12:

Vs 67: “Do you want to go away as well?

The ESV says Do you want, the NASB says “You do not want to leave also, do you?” and the NKJV says “Do you also want to go away?”

Listen to the tone of the text. It was a sincere question offering them an out. He knew that for the disciples these were hard sayings yet, is still allowing them to exercise their faith. The question was designed to offer them an out, yet through this simple question, we see the most amazing result of such truths:

Peter’s response is desperate and personal:

Vs 68: 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[6]

Peter spoke, unknowingly for the 12 by:

1. Recognized that Christ alone held the ONLY place for the words of eternal life: notice, TO WHOM shall we go. All three of my translations say “whom”. Not where, but “whom”. This speaks to the personal position of who he is referring to. Christ was the “who” who had eternal life.

2. Peter confesses his and the 12’s beliefs AND knowledge. Look, as believers, we are not called to turn our brains off. We come to faith through the knowledge taught and the Spirit then teaches in spirit. But, his response to this hard saying is the response of a regenerate (spirit filled) heart.

3. Peter did not fully get what he was getting ready to say but when He called Christ the “Holy One of God” he was referencing no less than 15 direct OT titles for Christ! His claim was huge! It was nothing short of amazing what he did there. It is as strong as his proclamation in

Matthew 16:16,17

“You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” 17 And Jesus answered him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven[7]

Just like in Matthew, Christ says something that seals where this understanding comes from:

John 6: 70: “Did I not choose you, the twelve?” Before we give Peter too much credit, that understanding of who Jesus is, comes from the Spirit. Notice who chose who? The 12 were all that were left. Jesus went from thousands to 12 and even one of the 12 was a “devil”. This is not what you would call a profitable building campaign. Rather the quickest way to destroy an earthly ministry.

I love how raw Peter’s response is. He was a sinner, fully aware of his sin yet fully aware that Christ was the only way to life. Notice, that Peter did NOT say he fully understood what Jesus was saying, he just was desperate for what those words did in his heart. Those words provided life eternal. He trusted in them and the One who owned them, Christ.

The application of John chapter 6 is now before us. It is my hope and dream that we all take this next step as a result of our study in John 6.

4. Follow the Words of Christ.

If I listen, I am not offended: If respond correctly to these words, it’s not offensive.

If I truly listen, in my spirit to the words of the spirit, I am not offended. Matter of fact, I have read this text over and over to prepare. I have listened to the Words of Christ and when I read this, I am NOT offended. I would argue that the bulk of you are not as well. Why? Because we know what these words say.

If I know, I am sold out for Him: Nothing else will do.

If I know what these words say, I’m sold out for the One who delivered them. Nothing else will do! Look, if I want to buy a KTM 300 xc-w, I have no problem telling the sales, guy, look man, I know more then you, I know I want it and you can’t talk me off it. No one can talk me out of what Jesus said. It’s in red and in my heart.

If I believe, I’ll go where those words lead no matter the direction: If it says, He chose, He chose. If it says he draws, He draws.

Finally, if I have listened and am not offended and if I know and am sold out for His Words, I am going to believe. Meaning, I may not be able to tell you why He chooses to do it the way He does. Why he calls some and others their ears are closed. Why would He call me? I have no clue, I would not have. Why he chooses to use evil in the world to accomplish His plan, I can’t answer. But, all I know is this, In Him is eternal life. And that is where I am going. That desperation for life eternal leads me.

If we have heard, are sold out, and believe, I trust that His plan is good enough for me and my family and I choose to go wherever He leads because that is the location of eternal life.

I have no problem when I hear from brothers and sisters when they say, “I struggled understanding election, calling, drawing.” That is 100% okay! A lot of us may. And, it is okay to say, “God, I don’t get it, but please teach me.” God, in His mercy, patiently teaches. Look at how loving and patient Jesus was with His obstinate disciples. A simple reading of the Gospels will show you how patiently Jesus taught, and re-taught His disciples. Did He cast them out for asking? NO! He says

“All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never cast out.”

There are no dumb questions for our Lord. Here is my point. FOLLOW THE WORDS OF CHRIST for eternal life. They are the direction for salvation. They alone hold the keys to justification between a sinner like you and me to a Holy and perfect God.

THE UNBELIEVERS ASIDE:

Maybe you are still confused as to who Christ is. Listen carefully. The distance between you and a holy God is vast. Your sin separates you from a perfect and righteous God. He, knowing you are incapable of paying that mentality, has given the payment if full for your rebellion. In Christ Jesus, God sacrificially sent His perfect representation to earth to pay for your sin. He did not have to, yet He did.

Christ, was born perfect, lived perfect, died on an instrument of death for sinners eternally past and eternally future. He alone offers the only way to justify the wrath of a Holy God intended for sinners onto Himself. This mercy is unjust. It is crazy but yet offered to you. Now, believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and be saved.

CONCLUSION: