The Hard Sayings

Have you ever thought about the "hard sayings" of Jesus?Many of Jesus' teachings are easy to swallow; others not so easy! Teachings such as God is loving or God is forgiving are attractive to everyone who reads them (John 3:16).

In Jesus day many were attracted to the moral beauty and life-changing power of Jesus' teachings. But what about the harder sayings and the claims which Jesus made about himself. Let's take a look at just a few of these teachings. What about Jesus' teaching to "go the extra mile" or to "turn the other cheek"? What about his command to "love your enemies" and to "do good to those who mistreat you"? Those are easy to understand, but hard to live out. They are hard sayings. What do you think might have been the hardest saying of Jesus?

In John 6, the crowd ran into another hard saying of Jesus. This time it was a claim about himself. Jesus had been teaching about manna from heaven and the bread of life. Hours earlier he had worked one of the greatest miracles anyone had ever witnessed -- the feeding of the 5,000 plus. Then Jesus said something which caused many who were following him to scratch their heads.

"I tell you the truth, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day. For my flesh is real food and my blood is real drink. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me, and I in him. Just as the living Father sent me and I live because of the Father, so the one who feeds on me will live because of me. This is the bread that came down from heaven. Your forefathers ate manna and died, but he who feeds on this bread will live forever." (John 6:53-58)

John adds these words, "On hearing it, many of his disciples said, "This is a hard teaching. Who can accept it?" And then in one of the saddest verses in the Bible, John reports, "From this time many of his disciples turned back and no longer followed him." (John 6:66)

Have you ever thought about what it would take for you to turn away from following Jesus? Many in Jesus day followed him because of his miracles and their own personal agendas. Not unlike us today. John makes it clear that by John 6 Jesus has become popular and the crowd hopes Jesus will fulfill their expectation for a Messiah. What was it about Jesus' words in John 6:53-58 that turned them away from Jesus?

The Jews of Jesus' day were looking for a human Messiah form the line of David. They were hoping for a conquering warrior who would set up his throne in Jerusalem and rule Judea much as David had ruled. God had a different plan and Jesus was the fulfillment of that plan. You see the Jews knew exactly what Jesus was saying. He was claiming to be a divine Messiah, not just a Jew from Nazareth.

This claim was very hard to accept for many Jews and many folks today. But that, in a nutshell, is the teaching of Jesus in the gospels. He is manna from heaven; God himself come down to save humanity.

Many were unwilling to believe, but many others believed and followed Jesus. What do you really believe about Jesus? Is he just a good man? A great prophet? Or could he be the One he claimed to be--God in human form?

Join us Sunday at New Life as we take a look at the hard sayings of Jesus. See you at the ARC at 10:15. It will be worth your time.

Pastor Tom