Spirit & Life

Thanks, Barbara. One of the things that people often find encouraging about being a member of JPC is how many of us come along each Sunday. And we don’t come because our pews are so incredibly comfy! There’s that thing about JPC pews, many of us know what it is but it largely remains unmentioned: it’s when the dear person behind you inadvertently places a Bible, well, right in your back and you don’t want to do something un-British like politely mentioning it. So you just twitch or shake a bit. We come together because we want to hear from Jesus together. But, imagine with me you came along to church next week and there were half the number of people here as there are this morning. And then you came back the week after that and there were even fewer people…and so, it continued. How would you feel? We see in our verses this morning that this is exactly what Jesus experienced. We aren’t given the numbers only that many who had followed Jesus turned back and no longer walked with him.

That’s enough imagining, now think about your life. If you’re a Christian, how many people have you known who have seemed so enthusiastic about Jesus, wanting to live for him, wanting to know more about him, only to one day turn around and walk away from him? How did that make you feel? How do we make sense of it? That’s a big question. Jesus is going to help us as we grapple with it. So, before we go any further, let’s pray:

Heavenly Father, as we come to your word this morning, please help us make better sense of unbelief, and show us what is means to truly believe in you. For Jesus’ sake, Amen.

Well, do have John 6.60-71 open in front of you, and you can find that on page 892 in the Bibles where you’re sat.

1. Jesus’ hard teaching causes offense to some but gives life to others (John 6.60-66)

John 6.60:

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

And, as we saw last week, astonishingly that reaction sums up the majority response to Jesus in this chapter. Jesus’ teaching isn’t hard to understand. It’s hard to accept. It’s too much. It’s harsh. Last week was the Jewish leaders’ reaction, but here it’s his disciples - not the twelve disciples, but the wider group who have been following Jesus and trusting in his teaching. But now they can’t tolerate it. Why? Because Jesus has said that he is the bread that came from heaven...The bread of life and that trusting in his death will be what’s needed to have real, meaningful, satisfying life now and eternal life to come. And that was a double claim: both to be God and to be the only way into relationship with to God. And that offended the people who heard it - just like it does today because people don’t like being told there’s a God who can rescue them and rule over them. They don’t think they need Jesus’ rescue and they definitely don’t want his rule. And the exclusive nature of Jesus’ claim doesn’t sit well with our pluralistic and individualistic society. Jesus knows what’s going on in the hearts of his disciples. Here’s how he responds (John 6.61-62):

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?

So earlier in John’s gospel we read about another time Jesus will “ascend” or be “lifted up” – when he is lifted up to die on the cross. And throughout the gospels Jesus makes clear that his death, resurrection and ascension aren’t separate things, they’re different but connected parts of one work. So being “lifted up” on the cross was the way that Jesus would be “lifted up” or ascend to heaven. So, I think Jesus is saying to his disciples “If you’re offended by what I’m saying now...What are you going to think when you see me on the cross? That’s my way of dealing with sin and also my way of proving that all I have been saying is true...I really did come from heaven, and via the cross, I’ll go back there...Will it offend you even more? Or will it show you how I really am the bread of life?” Jesus is saying how people respond to what he will do (what’s he’s done for us) on the cross, that’s what really matters. Which is what we’ve got to show people as we explain the gospel to them. Jesus continues (John 6.63-66):

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, (John 6.63), Only God himself, through his Spirit, can bring spiritual life. And the flesh (which means earthly understanding and earthly life) is no help at all because without God’s work, none of us can give spiritual life. We can’t give it to ourselves. We can’t give it to others. Jesus says his words are spirit and life – they are the words of God that can transform people. Listen to Jesus’ words: trust him to deal with your sin, follow him as Lord, and his Spirit will transform you now and for eternity. That’s why Jesus came! It’s why the gospel is good news! But (John 6.64) there’s a contrast here:

…But there are some of you who do not believe...

A good while back one of our church family brought a friend he’d talked to a lot about Jesus along to church for one of our invitation services aimed at helping folk take a look at what Christians believe. So I caught up him later in the week and asked him how his friend had found it. And he said “Oh he stormed out of the service and said he won’t be back...He was angry with me, and he was really offended by the sermon, and the idea that there was anything wrong with his life and that he really needed Jesus”. And I was saddened by that, because nobody here wants anyone to storm out of our services. We want you to stick with us, and if you have questions to ask them. And I was saddened because I know it’s discouraging when a friend reacts that way to the gospel. Months and months down the track someone else told me how a friend he’d helped encourage to come to church had recently become a Christian. And he explained how significant and clarifying that very same invitation service had been to his friend. Same service. But that’s not the point. Same words from the Bible. Same words from Jesus. Same message from him. For some they bring life. For others they cause offense and unbelief. And, whilst we respect their decision, it is sad when people seem enthusiastic about Jesus, wanting to find out more about him but after a few weeks, or months, they just don’t want to know. And it’s devastating when it happens with people we really care for. In our passage our writer John is making it very clear to us – Jesus isn’t surprised by this reaction, he isn’t taken aback because he knows what people are thinking, he hasn’t lost control. He knows people will listen to his marvellous, life-giving, words and receive for themselves eternal life! And yet, (John 6.64) Jesus says:

“But there are some of you who do not believe...”

He knows even before it’s happened that some people will not believe. And you can’t read John’s gospel and conclude that the problem is Jesus, as if his words aren’t up to scratch, as if he can’t back them up, as if they aren’t really true. Think about what these people have seen up to this point? Astonishing teaching, life-transforming miracles, a boy’s packed lunch multiplied to feed thousands. The problem is not Jesus and his words. The problem is with those who hear them. The problem is with us. Because there’s something deep within us that doesn’t want Jesus to rule over our lives. We don’t listen. Because, by nature, we don’t want to. It’s because of people’s hard hearts that we get to John 6.66. That’s why Jesus reminds them of what he’d said previously (John 6.65):

And he said, “This is why I told you that no one can come to me unless it is granted him by the Father.”

He saying “Remember what I told you? Nobody can come to me unless my Father God does that work in them…Now you really need to hold onto that”. And so do we because this truth reminds us that it’s not about us. It’s Jesus’ gospel. It is not ours. He is King. We are not. God the Father grants people to come to Jesus. We do not. It is the Holy Spirit who gives life. Not us. People reject Jesus, and in turn, sometimes they reject us. As one writer put it:

Signing up to Team Jesus in AD 50 resulted in the same cultural rejection as it does now.[Stephen McAlpine, Being the Bad Guys: How to Live for Jesus in a World That Says You Shouldn't]

So, if you’re here this morning and you wouldn’t call yourself a Christian – you need to know this. Jesus and his words provoke controversy. They are at odds with the world and what it believes. But the problem is the world. It isn’t Jesus. It’s a hard teaching. But it’s the one, true, teaching that gives you eternal life. So, the question isn’t “can you afford to follow Jesus?” It’s “Can you afford not to?” It’s been like this from the very beginning. For those of us who follow Jesus, it’s sad when enthusiasm for Jesus wilts in people we know and care for, and they go back to the life they had before. But Jesus says to us “I know. I see it. I’m not surprised by it”. He says “Only I can bring people to faith. You can’t”. And he says “Trust me. And don’t give up. Because whilst some will not believe, many will and many do…” And that is the power of the gospel at work in the world. So let’s not change the message. Jesus’ words are spirit and life – they are the true words of God that can transform lives forever. Change Jesus’ message and we rob people of that. Let’s not give up. Because the same words that cause offense to some give life to others. And our second point really brings this home. So, secondly and lastly:

2. Jesus’ hard teaching means we should choose to stick with him (John 6.66-71)

And this is really a brief mini-point, as we round off this passage and this series. Reading from John 6.66-69:

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.”

Can you imagine the scene here? A few people at the back of the crowd slip off, almost unnoticed…but then some more peel away from the front…then more and more decide they’ve heard enough…and they aren’t leaving in ones or twos anymore, slowly but surely, many turn their back on Jesus – they walk away and they don’t come back. How many are left? Then Jesus turns to the twelve disciples, his closest followers. And he says (John 6.67):

“Do you want to go away as well?”

Jesus knows that’s a danger and temptation for any follower of him. He knows it’s hard for us to keep going when people turn their backs on him. He knows it’s harder when the church feels small, irrelevant, marginalised in society. And he’s saying “I know all of this, and I’m in control of it, keep going! Choose to stick with me despite it”. Simon Peter, as always, is the first to speak his mind. He might not have understood all of what Jesus has been saying. And at this stage he has a much muddier, half-baked at best, understanding of what he says he believes than he will after Jesus’ death and resurrection. But he has seen and heard enough. He believes that Jesus’ words are true. Jesus is the saviour he has been waiting for – the Holy One of God. The disciples’ faith is far from perfect. Peter will go on to deny even knowing Jesus. Yet, despite many others walking away they will choose to stick with him - all but one (John 6.70-71):

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.

Jesus chose the twelve disciples. They didn’t choose him. They weren’t superior. And he chose one, Judas, who would betray him and hand him over to die on a cross, a brutal death, one captured so vividly in that Old Testament reading from Isaiah (Isaiah 53.1-12). But the irony was that on the cross he would pay for our great betrayal: our personal rejection of him and his good and loving rule. Jesus is pressing home the very deliberate contrast here. And John is drawing our attention to it. In the end, it’s either stay with Jesus: stick with him and keep following him no matter what. Or it’s betray Jesus: walk away from him and reject his words which are spirit and life. Which will it be for you? And I want to say, I really hope you come back next week. Let’s pray:

Heavenly Father, we praise you for your Son, the Lord Jesus, the bread of life. Thank you that his words are spirit and life. Grant each of us here living, eternal, faith in him, and in your mercy, protect us and those we care for from choosing unbelief. Help us, we pray, to choose to stick with Jesus. For his sake we ask it, Amen.