As I begin, I’m reminded of my pastor’s words yesterday. He warned us to beware of the preacher who keeps preaching on the same sin because chances are, the preacher is still struggling with the sin and his preaching is simply self-medication. So before I go any further with this post, I am wrestling with what I’m about to write and this is simply an open reflection as I ponder my next steps.
In John 6 Jesus was teaching on how the Jews needed to eat of His flesh and drink of His blood or they had no life in them. As a result of this teaching, many of his disciples turned away and followed Him no longer. They cited that his teachings were too difficult to listen to any longer.
As I read this story several years ago, I got a mental picture of how this thing played out that day. Jesus…addressing the people in parables; teaching in that same authority that earlier stirred the hearts of the people; miracles taking place as people are healed and delivered out of oppression; the disciples in the crowd excited about what is taking place before them…being a part of a movement that is drawing momentum as the crowds grow…..and then, He says that thing about eating my flesh and drinking my blood….
Momentum slams into the wall…air rushes out of sails…people grumble and complain as they leave.
As the Twelve stand interspersed in the crowd, people around begin to leave. The Twelve watch as more and more abandon their place until there comes a point it’s just the Twelve who remain. “What happened?” This thing was going places and just like that, it fizzled out…
Maybe it’s just my take here, but it appears Jesus is almost sarcastic with the Twelve when he says, “You want to leave too?” It’s Peter’s response that speaks so loudly to my heart. He simply says, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have words of eternal life.” Couple this with Peter’s words in Matthew 19:27 where he tells the Lord that the disciples have left everything to follow Him and you have Twelve guys standing there before the Lord with no Plan B while many others are abandoning ship.
In my processing of this situation, I come to a conclusion that the many who left really never “followed” in the first place. Maybe they were bored, maybe curious…maybe the bandwagon was driving through so they jumped on…but it seems to me, they had something to go back to, and when it was no longer fun or hip to be a part of this movement, they simply said we’re outta here and they went back to their lives.
So the open reflection…the pondering…it leads me to the question: “Which are you?” Are you a “follower” or simply a curious on-looker? Do you have a Plan “B”? Have you jumped in completely…or are you still walking around the edge testing the water with your toes? Those are my questions for me but you can borrow them if you’d like.