Sermon Tone Analysis

“When many of his disciples heard [Jesus’ describing Himself as ‘the Bread of Life’], 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.’ Jesus answered them, ‘Did I not choose you, the Twelve?

And yet one of you is a devil.’

He spoke of Judas the son of Simon Iscariot, for he, one of the Twelve, was going to betray him.”

[1]

“Do you want to go away as well?”

No man will have served long in the pastorate before he is compelled to ask this question of congregants.

If the minister remains focused on honouring Christ and obeying His Word, he will eventually offend all.

It cannot be otherwise since the man of God will himself be offended as he grapples with obedience to the Master.

He reads the Word and is rebuked for his own perfidy to the Master.

Because he is a fallen being, the man of God must always struggle against his fallen nature, as is true for all people.

The closer he walks to the Saviour, the more he will be offended by his very nature.

If the man of God was not appointed by the Head of the Church, he would quit his work.

However, he has been appointed and he will serve until released because he is appointed.

Serving a congregation is one of the most challenging tasks any man will ever assume.

Candidly, a man must either be ignorant of what is expected, or he must be somewhat unbalanced to enter into the task of serving Christ’s people if he has not received divine appointment.

Balancing the conflicting expectations and, yes, even the demands of multiple people—people with different interests and with different priorities—is an impossible task.

Superficially, it will often appear that for the congregation progress is defined as one step forward and two steps back.

In part, this arises from the nature of fallen mankind.

The sixty-sixth verse of the text is transitional; that verse informs the reader, “After this many of his disciples turned back and no longer walked with him.”

Fame is fleeting; it is an axiom of service that the preacher must beware those who praise him most loudly.

The man who rejoiced at the pastor’s arrival will be the first to insist that it is time for him to pack up and leave.

Growing out of this is another truth worthy of consideration: The preacher who imagines that he is responsible to make people like him will lead a miserable life.

What was true in the life of the Master during the days of His flesh is equally true for His servants.

Jesus warned His servants, “If [people] kept my word, they will also keep yours” [JOHN 15:20b].

Then, He said that people will act this way because they do not know Him [see JOHN 15:21].

That is stunning!

During my service before the Lord I have witnessed more “backdoor revivals” than I care to remember.

Most such negative situations result in growth ultimately if the congregation can rest in the Lord.

Such responses by those who profess to love Christ and to love His people lie in the fallen condition of mankind—there will always be those within the congregation who have a better idea, or who second-guess pastoral decisions.

The Master Himself warned His servants, “Woe to you, when all people speak well of you, for so their fathers did to the false prophets” [LUKE 6:26].

I know it can be distressing whenever people grow disgruntled and leave the fellowship.

Let me show you something that I picked up listening to a fine expositor of the Word.[2] As the first church passed through the earliest days as they are described in Doctor Luke’s account, I want you to take note of the cycles.

In ACTS 1:12-26, the church is focused on quality.

They are selecting someone to take Judas’ place and they are focused on prayer as they wait for the promise of the coming Spirit.

In ACTS 2:1-41, the congregation experiences quantitative growth.

The Spirit is poured out and about three thousand are added to the congregation on that one day.

Again, in ACTS 2:42-47 the church is focused on quality as the congregation focuses on ministering to one another.

In ACTS 3:1-4:22 we see the church again experiencing quantity as the Spirit works in power, adding thousands to the assembly.

In ACTS 4:23-5:11 the church again focuses on quality—the believers are learning to stand firm in the face of trials, they are learning how to serve one another and as God purifies through removing those who dishonour Him.

Then, in ACTS 5:12-42 we again witness the church experiencing quantity as we read “Every day, in the temple and from house to house, they did not cease teaching and preaching that the Christ is Jesus” [ACTS 5:42].

Then, in ACTS 6:1-6 the congregation again focuses on quality as they select the first deacons.

You see, then, the cycles of church progress as revealed in this book.

What was true of that first congregation remains true of churches to this day—quality followed by quantity followed by quality followed by quantity.

Consolidation followed by progress—this is the pattern by which our Lord has worked among the churches.

It will prove to be the history of this congregation as well, provided we don’t allow our fears or our personal desires to shove the Spirit of God aside.

We don't want to be the church with the most people; we want to be the church with people most pleasing to God.

There is always a degree of discontent for the natural mind in the manner in which the church moves.

We each imagine that we know what an ideal situation for our church should be.

Similarly, in the assembly of the Lord we each hold an ideal of what the church will be and how the elders must direct the affairs of the congregation.

Tragically, some among the professed saints of God are prepared to destroy the congregation if they don’t get their way; if they don’t think they can get away with destroying the church, they are quite prepared to quit serving.

How can such a thing happen?

What could ever cause believers and attendees to cease serving and flee the fellowship to which they previously avowed devotion?

Undoubtedly there are many reasons why people abandon their commitments and deny the vows they made when uniting with the assembly—and those fleeing are each capable of justifying his or her actions.

Still, there are some generalisations that will address the vast majority of cases of abandonment.

Bear in mind that we are speaking of those we have accepted as fellow believers.

Because they no longer are walking in concord with us, we do not count them as enemies.

We count those individuals who have deserted the flock as friends; we do not consign them to the ranks of unbelievers.

For some congregants, friendships cloud the understanding; hence, reasons given for ceasing serving are suspect at best.

Other believers, driven by a herd instinct will prove unsteady in their commitment to the teaching of the Word—they are easily stampeded.

These timid saints flee at the first note of disappointment as they bleat out their sad condition, all the while reflecting immaturity that inevitably leads to a life marked by rash, ill-considered and foolish decisions.

Still other individuals affiliated with the congregation have commitment neither to Christ nor to His people—their choices reveal that their primary commitment is to their own interests.

Individuals such as Timothy are rare even among the faithful.

You will remember that Paul commended him, “I have no one like him, who will be genuinely concerned for your welfare” [PHILIPPIANS 2:20].

Paul continued by commending the young minister, “They all seek their own interests, not those of Jesus Christ.

But you know Timothy’s proven worth, how as a son with a father he has served with me in the gospel” [PHILIPPIANS 2:21, 22].

This brings us back to the passage that serves as our text for this study.

We will focus on Jesus’ response to a number of disciples who chose to leave off following Him.

The account if found in John’s Gospel.

Turn in your Bibles to JOHN 6:60-71 for the biblical account of this time in the ministry of the Master.

*JESUS’ RESPONSE TO THOSE WHO LEAVE* — “When many of his disciples heard [Jesus describing Himself as ‘the Bread of Life’], 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.’”

In light of contemporary ministry models, Jesus’ response to those who turned aside is astonishing.

His response was no response at all! Congregations appear to have had it drummed into their heads that the elders are responsible to soothe the aggrieved feelings of every disgruntled congregant, initiating a dialogue and making whatever concessions may be required to assuage whatever anger attendees may be feeling.

After all, the feelings of those whom the minister serves are paramount.

This is what we are taught from earliest days.

It is driven home from kindergarten to graduate school that feelings trump responsibility every time.

Let’s see if we can get a handle on what happened.

Jesus had fed about five thousand people with a little lad’s meal.

The miracle not only left the crowd sated, but the leftovers when gathered filled twelve baskets.

It was a notable miracle—so much so that the crowd determined that they would make Him king.

That way, they would always have bread and fish to eat without having to work for the food.

It seemed so perfect!

However, Jesus left the crowd and withdrew to the mountain in order to be by Himself.

Later, after it was dark He slipped away, walking across the Sea of Galilee following His disciples who had departed in a boat.

Realising that He had slipped away, the crowd hurried around the sea to the other side where they again found Jesus.

When the crowd found Jesus, they questioned why He had left without giving them a chance to compel Him to become king, only to receive the classic response, “Truly, truly, I say to you, you are seeking me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate your fill of the loaves.