The Crowds and the True Disciples
Encountering Jesus (in the Gospel of John) • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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Introduction:
Introduction:
Encounters with Jesus
Learning about Jesus
Encountering Jesus for ourselves
Tonight we are going to be looking at a very interesting story
It’s not Jesus encountering someone one-on-one
We’re going to see Jesus encountering a large group of people
Some are true followers
Some are just in the crowd
But we see that Jesus draws a line
He doesn’t accommodate to the crowd
And we see that many of them leave Jesus
So today we are going to look at what it means to encounter Jesus when things get difficult and hard to understand
We’ll see that some people, when faced with this—walk away
And others press in deeper trust and faith
So let’s get to the story
I want to briefly look at 2 groups reactions to Jesus’s difficult teaching:
We have to look at the teaching
We Will See Some People Desert Jesus
We Will See Why the Disciples Stayed
The Difficult Teaching
The Difficult Teaching
The Context—John 6:
Jesus feeds the 5,000 (MIRACLE)
After a long day—Jesus and his disciples crossed the Sea of Galilee (walking on water)
The crowd wakes up the next day and notices they are gone
So they get boats and went across to follow Jesus
John 6:25 (CSB)
When they found him on the other side of the sea, they said to him, “Rabbi, when did you get here?”
John 6:26 (CSB)
Jesus answered, “Truly I tell you, you are looking for me, not because you saw the signs, but because you ate the loaves and were filled.
He then says “But don’t be so concerned about perishable things like food. Spend your energy seeking the eternal life that the Son of Man can give you.” (NLT)
They want bread—He wants to give them eternal life
But then they tell him
John 6:30–31 (CSB)
“What sign, then, are you going to do so that we may see and believe you?” they asked. “What are you going to perform? Our ancestors ate the manna in the wilderness, just as it is written: He gave them bread from heaven to eat.”
and Jesus takes their example and shows then how it points to him
John 6:35 (CSB)
“I am the bread of life,” Jesus told them. “No one who comes to me will ever be hungry, and no one who believes in me will ever be thirsty again.
They want a miracle
They want bread again
But Jesus is trying to show them that a miracle won’t satisfy (THEY JUST SAW HIM FEED THE 5,000)
But he has something else, something far greater
He has the bread of life—that will satisfy eternally
And the crowd is confused at this point
John 6:52 (CSB)
At that, the Jews argued among themselves, “How can this man give us his flesh to eat?”
and Jesus doubles down
John 6:54–56 (CSB)
The one who eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day, because my flesh is true food and my blood is true drink. The one who eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me, and I in him.
If you are familiar with this story it might seem unsurprising
But put yourself in their shoes for a second
What the heck is Jesus saying
You must eat my flesh and drink my blood if you want eternal life
Even for the disciples—this is head scratching
Not only is this teaching confusing—
When you get what he’s saying—it’s hard to swallow
In a sense, I think this is what Jesus is saying:
You’ve followed me all this way—to see me perform a miracle
You’ve come here so that I can do something for you—so I can give you some more bread to eat
Well, I’m not going to entertain you—or give you food that will leave you hungry
I want to solve the hunger that lies underneath
Hes asking:
Do you want me for who I am and the life I came to give you?
Or do you want me for what I can do for you?
Are you following me?
Or are you simply impressed by me?
And each of us have to answer this question
This is what separates a disciple from a face in the crowd
Am I willing to follow Jesus when theres no miracle for me?
Am I willing to press into Jesus when it doesn’t make sense?
Is Jesus the source of life for me?—The reason I get up—the reason I do what I do?
Jesus isn’t afraid to ask the hard questions
He’s not scared to question our motives
But when He does this, it is very uncomfortable
And we see two different outcomes:
Crowds Desert Jesus
Crowds Desert Jesus
For some people, and encounter with Jesus is a decision to leave him
John 6:60–61 (CSB)
Therefore, when many of his disciples heard this, they said, “This teaching is hard. Who can accept it?”
Jesus, knowing in himself that his disciples were grumbling about this, asked them, “Does this offend you?
John 6:66 (CSB)
From that moment many of his disciples turned back and no longer accompanied him.
I’ve known plenty of people that have walked away from Jesus because his teachings are hard
Teachings on bearing your cross—I don’t want to
Teachings on sexual immorality—I want to do what I want
Teachings on loving your enemies/forgiveness—That is too difficult
Or asking Jesus for a miracle only for him to answer “No, that’s not why I’ve come”
Following Jesus is not easy
And as you grow up I’m sure you’ll see this:
People might be faces in the crowd, familiar with Jesus
But as soon as he stops working according to their agenda, they don’t want him
They care more about what Jesus can do for them, and not about who he is
They want a genie, not a God
And as much as I wish this isn’t true, it is
We are talking about encounters with Jesus…
Some people’s encounter with Jesus is walking away from him
He demands too much—and they aren’t willing to commit
2/3rds of High School Students that attend Church stop attending after High School
But this doesn’t seem to phase Jesus
He’s not afraid of saying the difficult things
Because Jesus is more concerned with the quality of his disciples than the quantity
He knew 12 solid disciples could accomplish more than a crowd of followers
Success for Jesus is not how we define success
He doesn’t try to please the crowds
He is not afraid to speak things that are confrontational
But with this hard teaching, some fall off
But the one’s who remain are strengthened
They go on to lead the church and do amazing things
(Youth Ministry)
Let’s look at the rest of the story:
The Ones Who Stay
The Ones Who Stay
John 6:66–71 (CSB)
From that moment many of his disciples turned back and no longer accompanied him. So Jesus said to the Twelve, “You don’t want to go away too, do you?”
Simon Peter answered, “Lord, to whom will we go? You have the words of eternal life. We have come to believe and know that you are the Holy One of God.”
Jesus replied to them, “Didn’t I choose you, the Twelve? Yet one of you is a devil.” He was referring to Judas, Simon Iscariot’s son, one of the Twelve, because he was going to betray him.
This is one of my favorite portions of scripture in the whole Bible
Even though the crowds are leaving disappointed
Peter stands firm
Not because he is brave—but because he realizes he has no other options
To whom will we go? You have the words of eternal life.
I just want to say this:
We might all come to Jesus for different reasons
Your parents
You are overwhelmed with guilt
You want to live a good life
But If you want to stay with Jesus, we all do it with the same reason
It’s because we have been satisfied with Jesus in a way that cannot come from anywhere else
Like the Psalmist says,
We have tasted and seen that the Lord is good
And anywhere else we try to satisfy—it can’t compare
~Ramen in Japan~
I can say this for myself:
Anything can come—and I will not desert Jesus
Because I know there is no other alternative
Where else would I go?
All of the evidence can be stacked against God
But I still wouldn’t let go
I think this goes back to the first week in this series—are we putting God in a box?
If we place God in a box—when God behaves outside of our expectations we start to question if he is real
But we have to surrender to God—We have to admit that we are a creation—and God is our creator
Look the disciples were confused at what Jesus did and what he had to say
But they didn’t follow him because He had all of the right answers or even because he made their lives easier
They followed Jesus because he changed their lives
And guys, if you are here and you feel like you are just a face in the crowd
You don’t know why you’re here, you don’t really know Jesus
I am inviting you to press in
To receive eternal life—not just when you die
But to taste the eternal life that Jesus brings today
That you would be someone who is transformed by the love of Jesus
And if you want to talk about this life—come talk to us
Let’s pray
Discussion Questions:
Discussion Questions:
What is an aspect of following Jesus that you find difficult?
Why do you think people walk away from following Jesus?
Have you ever been completely satisfied with Jesus?—What is that like?
