John 6:60-71…
Do you take offense at this? Jesus wasn’t watered down, simply trying to please the people; He was pleasing His Father and proving He was the Messiah. He knew that some would not believe, and that is why He was telling them 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. Many people start out in the Christian life just fine for a season, but then they drop out of sight and nobody seems to know what happened to them. Oh yes, we know where they live and work and play, but they don’t seem to be following Jesus, and are making excuses when we press them on the issue. They won’t submit to the fact that the Triumphal Procession (2 Corinthians 2:14-16) might include physical, mental, financial problems on account of Christ, and they walk the other way. They couldn’t handle difficult doctrine and they have stopped hearing Jesus. Oh sure, they might come and see Him at times, but it is on their own agenda, in their comfort zone, at their own convenience. Following Him came with a price that they were unwilling to pay.
Do you want to go away as well? Who are we listening to? We see here that for most it is the false teaching of the world (Mark 4:18-19 / 1 John 2:16), the flesh (Mark 4:16-17 / 1 Peter 2:11), and the devil (Mark 4:15 / 1 Peter 5:8) that are doing the talking and being listened to. The world feeds it, the devil enflames it, the flesh indulges it. People follow their feelings, away from Jesus.
We have believed…And yet one of you is a devil. In the walk with Jesus, you can’t really know that “we will follow”, it must be that you say “I” will follow, because you can only account for yourself. Many who are following now and who may even seem to be closer to Jesus than you, many of these may not be there at the end. The loss of loved ones, the knowledge that personal relationships may and will suffer is the one place where most “disciples” put down their cross and walk away from Jesus. Will personal relationships cause you to walk away from the one personal relationship that matters above all others (Matthew 10:37 / Luke 14:26)?
Are you following Him? Will problems, persecution, pain, poverty, prison, or personal relationships cause you to go away? Will you stay with Jesus or be like Judas? What happens at the crossroad proves if you’re real.
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