The sixth chapter of John is interesting for many reasons. We see crowds that keep following Jesus wherever he goes, because they saw his miraculous signs as he healed the sick. Jesus has just fed a large crowd of 5,000 men, plus women and children. When the people saw him do this miraculous sign, they exclaimed, “Surely, he is the Prophet we have been expecting!
His response? “You seek Me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate of the loaves and were filled”
What does this tell us? BLESS ME! Meet my daily needs and I will love you for life…
Jesus knew they were hooked on the blessing, and whatever way you hook an audience is the same way you have to keep an audience. They would follow him anywhere as long as he met their physical needs – until the next big sugar daddy (Anti Christ) comes along and promises something that sounds even better.
So what does Jesus do next? Does he coddle them and say “of course, I live only to bless you”? Not quite… Instead he gives them a hard saying, telling them that unless they eat his flesh and drink his blood, they cannot have eternal life! Seeing the reaction of the crowd, his disciples begin to caution him by essentially saying “DUDE, that’s a hard pill to swallow”!
Does Jesus then slink back into a position of meekness? No, he gets even bolder by asking them “Does this cause you to stumble?” and then he reminds them that it is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing.
What do you think happens?
Ironically it tells us in chapter 6, verse 66 (666) – “At this point many of his disciples turned away and deserted him”.
67 Then Jesus turned to the Twelve and asked, “Are you also going to leave?”
68 Simon Peter replied, “Lord, to whom would we go? You have the words that give eternal life. 69 We believe, and we know you are the Holy One of God.”
In a recent survey, the Liberty Counsel (li.org) noted that 1/3 of Americans have stopped attending church since 2020
Why do you think people would rather have a sign from God than they would to receive a word from God?
They have not been taught to seek His face, only His blessing. When they no longer feel physically blessed, they move on.
I know some of you may argue that perhaps a good portion of the 1/3 that dropped have continued to join services online. Perhaps. But I will say this, there is a reason why we come together physically. Jesus tells us that where 2 or more are gathered, He is there in their midst. I’m not here to split hairs over the concept of gathering physically verses gathering remotely, and I don’t want to bring condemnation on those who can join no other way. But can you deny the physical power felt among us believers when we assemble in person? Satan knows that unity is victory, and he knows that when he is able to divide us by keeping us from gathering, not only does he have a chance to defeat us, he also has a chance to defeat the community.
Let’s not give him that chance. Let us choose now to worship God both in Spirit (including all the feel good stuff that we love) AND in Truth (including all the hard stuff that would cause the normal person to turn away).
Alabastersky 
Hmm, I hesitate to call someone “normal” who would turn away! 😉
Perhaps a better term would be an “earthly-minded” person.
God created us for Himself, and finding our place in Him should be the “normal.” Admittedly, it is often NOT, as Jesus’ apostles observed so many of His disciples turning away. But how can refusing LIFE or the “words that give Eternal Life” be “normal”? I suppose only in a fallen world where good is called evil and evil called good.
❤️&🙏, c.a.
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That’s a really great point, CA! I love the corrected perspective, thank you! ❤️
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