HARD WORDS
Just today, I came across an opinion about Jesus that is somewhat common, but also a bit odd—someone who is “not at all Christian” nevertheless “likes Jesus.” Even though this way of thinking is fairly widespread, it’s still a little perplexing. The core of Jesus’s teaching was to believe in Him, to follow Him, and to know that He and God the Father are one. To like His teaching, but not be a Christian, does seem somewhat strange.
But then I realized, this is nothing new. This sort of shallow, at-a-distance approval of Jesus also happened during His time. People often liked a thing or two Jesus said or did, but when He would later speak to them in ways that they didn’t like, then they scorned Him.
Once, a crowd of several thousand was miraculously fed when Jesus multiplied five loaves and two fish—filling their bellies with “as much as they wanted.” Then, overnight, Jesus crossed the Sea of Galilee. In the morning, the crowd circled the lake, searching until they found Him again. They had come near to Him once already, finding graciousness and wonder. But they were now to find that coming near to Jesus also means coming near to truth. On that second day, He taught them:
“I am the bread of life. If anyone eats from this bread, he will live forever. The bread which I will give for the life of the world is My flesh. The one who eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day.” -Jesus
This time, rather than giving them miraculous bread again, Jesus taught them that He is “the true bread from heaven.” Having shown them His compassionate care and His ability to meet their physical needs, He turns to their spiritual needs. But the talk of drinking His blood and eating His flesh was not well received:
“This statement is very unpleasant; who can listen to it?” -many disciples
This hard word offended them and made them stumble. John tells us the final outcome:
“As a result of this many of His disciples left, and would no longer walk with Him.” -John
Up to this point, they all “liked Jesus.” But, they hadn’t yet experienced any difficulty in following Jesus. Just as soon as He said something they couldn’t immediately understand or appreciate, many left Him. (You may recall that Jesus Himself said that some people would, at first, receive His word with great joy, but then fall away right when trouble comes.)
Now, none of us have a perfectly upright heart, and none of us have a perfect understanding of life and truth. So, since Jesus is the embodiment of life and truth, eventually each one of us will be tripped up by Him. He’ll eventually ask something of us that we will reject. Maybe it’s, “Forgive your parents.” Maybe it’s, “Stop stealing.” Maybe it’s, “Control your tongue.” Maybe it’s, “Sell all your possessions.” Unless we are already holy and righteous when we come to Jesus, He will sooner or later tell us what we don’t want to hear. Truth is often like that—hard to take.
What do we do when this moment comes? When the clear command of Jesus is “very unpleasant,” do we stop walking with Him? It all hinges on whether we believe He knows what is best for us, or whether we believe that we know what’s best for us. And similarly, do we want to hear the truth—or do we only want to hear pleasant things?
After many in the crowd departed, Jesus spoke with His twelve hand-picked disciples (Peter, John, Matthew, and the rest). He asks them:
“Do you want to go away as well?” -Jesus
What a question! None of the twelve appears to have any idea what Jesus meant about eating His flesh and drinking His blood. But, did they go away as well? No:
“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.” -Peter
Peter has come to know that Jesus is from God, and that the message of eternal life is not mere words. So, Peter does not have to understand—he might even be very unsettled by what Jesus says! But that’s not enough to get him to leave. The words of life are here, in Jesus, Peter’s Lord and Master, and Peter knows it. For Peter, there is nowhere else to go, no one else to go to—the words of Jesus are eternal words, living words.
“The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and are life.” -Jesus
The flimsy Jesus that everyone “likes” is not the Jesus of the Bible. Jesus spoke a great many words declaring that the human race (every one of us) is lost, blind, sick and broken. Spiritually, ethically, and morally, the judgment of Jesus is that humanity is sinful and incapable of its own salvation or restoration. If Jesus is crazy or wrong, it’s really weird to like Him. But if Jesus is neither crazy nor wrong, then we will ultimately have to face all the unflattering things He has said about us.
“Blessed is anyone who does not take offense at Me.” -Jesus