John 6:62-71

Convict the Comfortable and Comfort the Convicted

“Then many of Jesus’ own disciples who heard him said, ‘This is a very hard message to take. Who can really listen to it?’ But Jesus, sensing in himself that even his own disciples were grumbling about his message, said to them, ‘Does what I am saying offend you? Then what will you do when you see the Son of Man ascending to where he was before? The Spirit is the Life-giving reality; the flesh (unaided human nature) is absolutely useless. The words that I have spoken to you are Spirit and are Life. But there are some of you who are not believing at all.’ (You see, Jesus had known from the beginning that there are some people who are not believing and that there is one person in particular who is even going to turn him in.) Then he was adding, ‘That’s why I have told you that no one can ever even come to me unless this coming shall have been given to that person by my Father.’ At this point, many of his disciples came out from behind him and never walked around with him again.”

-60-What offends even his own followers?

-the declaration that he comes down from heaven

-The I am (allusion to God)?

-The eat my flesh.

-imagine someone said all of that to a crowd today? Many of his disciples said -whoa, this is really hard to deal with.

-Jesus has the courage to be honest even if it is too much for people.

(harder to believe than not to)

-Sometimes Jesus gospel when it is fully and truly laid out loses people. Even people that we all thought were real Christians (even people that might say - yea I’m still a christian).

-It is not just outsiders who will be offended by jesus. Jesus should offend you.

-You should be offended by Jesus.

-Jesus is offensive

-either you are 100% in line with what Jesus believes (and yes christians we should want that) or he should be offended you.

-you might think you got them all figured out and love everything jesus says. Unless you have completely emptied yourself and shared in his sufferings of the cross unless you have done that then jesus is offensive.

Or you are pretending he isn’t offensive. I do that. I’m a christian I know i have to agree with everything jesus says and does. But i haven’t given up many luxuries -I’m not seeking to know christ alone and him crucified (iid say I’m not offended when jesus does that-im inspired and inspired when others surrender their lives to him - But really - i am offended - that life is beneath me. that life would mean taking away from the life I currently enjoy

- submitting ot jesus as the great I am and walking in his ways- of course that offends -i know it offends me because i don’t really do it all that well

-eating his flesh - being so united with him that we are all part of one body - of course that offends me - i show it offends me by the fact that i dont do it - pursuing intimacy with god and one another in the church - that’s offensive scary stuff to our nature.

Image bearers - who are sinner and run and hide - so, even when follow ejsus, we will be offended because we have two natures fighting with in us.

(the cross offends 2Peter 2:7-8, I Corinthians 1:18)

“Whose flesh is Jesus talking about here?” When the Word became flesh, that enfleshed Word can do almost anything at all. Jesus is speaking here of all other flesh—unaided human nature—which is absolutely impotent in the things of God. Jesus himself admitted in his recent fifth-chapter Witness Sermonette that without the Spirit quickening even Jesus’ own words, Jesus too is not credible (5:31). So Jesus is not speaking against his own incarnated, assumed, Spirit-given flesh in our verse. He is speaking against human ability in the department of God. We human beings are much weaker and more fallible than we can ever appreciate. Faith in Jesus Christ leads believers to a very sober estimate of human nature, of human capabilities, and of themselves.

there is a coming to Jesus when it all makes sense. That following of jesus is doomed. We see many turn back. Even after seeing the miracles and the signs and wonders. The path is too difficult.

There is a coming to jesus that says, “yup. this is hard. Yup that bit over there was really confusing. That bit over there wasn’t confusing but actaully really offensive to me and how I want to live. Its offensive because I don’t want to be seen as someone who believe that or who cares about that. Caring about that so much might make it really awkward for me to live in this world. YUP this is so hard that I’m not sure I wanna keep follwing you - BUT where else could I go you have the words of life.

I think, and I don’t know this but I think that most committed followers of Jesus reach that fork in the road somewhere in their lives. Where they think - oh boy I’m not sure i wanna do this but I know its LIFE. I absolutely love these words from his disciples that stick with him - It resonates so much with me. Its committing to the continued leap of faith. It rememebers the promises and power of God. It casts one self on God and it a commitment to Jesus the person more than our own understanding. it is to trust in the lord with all one’s hard and to not lean on one’s own understanding. That is where we gotta get to in following jesus - Until they its like Jesus is pitching himself to you - yes, i love that jesus, yest i love that you did that. Oh o idon’t like that Jesus. I’ll ignore that bit shape my faith around the things Jesus says that I like.

Where you really gotta get to experience a life of faith in jesus is to the point where you say -oh i don’t like that. that offends me. BUt I trust you more than my own understanding.

Paul Lamontagne story - I had friend who was coming to believe in jesus and leave athiesm in his 30s. He was talking to a leader in our church who had come to faith in his 30s and was now in his 60s. So the younger man asked the older man about how he can trust Jesus, the word of God and the scriptures to be reliable. The older man said - as I read the scriptures and look at Jesus - i found myself moved and inspired and believeing 90% of what Jesus said. I began to believe. As I’ve continued to follow Jesus it grew a bit more to 95% - over time my understanding changed and I agreed with jesus and the words of God. I still don’t believe it all. Or i don’t believe it all easily. Some of it still offends me. Some of it I still don’t get. But he’s been so faithful to me and he has proven himself to be so full of grace and truth to me through the years that I’ve said- I trust that Jesus is right and either I don’t understand or I am wrong. And I trust that eventually I will come to agree with Jesus in this life or in the life to come.

When he said that I thought yes. Yes. We can be honest and say lord I don’t understand. Jesus this is hard. jesus this is offensive. But I trust you more than my own understand. This is hard and wierd and scarby BUT You have shown me life - where else can i go to find the life that you give.

If you follow jesus you will come to that place and have to make some decisions. It is the place we all need to get to -and I pray that when you are in the place you will be able to say the same words as the disciples who stay with jesus.

The message of the Evangelist’s “at this point,” I think, is that Jesus’ sola-gratia (divine-sovereignty) teaching that even our human coming to Jesus is the gift of the Father’s divine coming to us, was the last straw for these frustrated “disciples.” They didn’t like Jesus’ self-centeredness (his solus Christus); they probably didn’t like Jesus’ too easy promises (sola fide); and now we learn that they didn’t like his giving all the credit to God the Father for individuals coming to Christ (sola gratia).

This whole spiritual activity of vivifying the flesh reaches its climax in the Resurrection and Ascension of the Son of Man.… In itself flesh is flesh and it profiteth nothing for life or salvation, but, if penetrated by the Spirit of God, [flesh] becomes both vivified and vivifying. This is the Gospel, and this is the Christian religion.”

‘If you take hold of My words, you have [the Spirit].’ Perhaps you are tempted to ask,” Luther continued, ‘Where will I find the Spirit?’ The reply is: ‘Hold to My words and speech. If you do that, you have the Spirit.’ Thus the words are [S]pirit in him who preaches and teaches, and also in him who hears and believes. A man is spirit in proportion to how much he adheres to the Word. On the other hand, he is flesh in proportion to his flesh and unbelief.… This is one thing [especially] to note: the Spirit must not be sought elsewhere than in and by the words which Christ speaks.”

“The regular gathering for Worship with (1) Scripture Reading, (2) Preaching, and (3) Meal Celebration is surely the most important element of Christian sense experience and of consciousness-building in early church history. Worship service should lead to world service, and then world service must always lead back to worship service or else world service loses its depth and direction and becomes mere activism.”

“Simon Peter answered him, ‘Lord, to whom shall we go?’ ” It can often comfort troubled, even doubting disciples—and this is all of us from time to time—to appreciate Peter’s present question, which simply translated means, “Lord, the alternatives are not good.” If the Crucified-Risen Jesus is not God’s Word to the world, please, anyone, give us a more credible word. Look around. Test the alternative answers to the world’s major questions, and we, too, will come to Peter’s perfectly put question and affirmation: “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of deep, lasting Life, and we have come to believe and so to know that you are the Holy One of God.” Every single human being is a believer in something(s) or someone. Is there a more credible person in world history than Jesus of Nazareth?