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Word from Scotland
by Sandy Shaw
We are reading and studying and even meditating upon these profound words of Jesus Christ in John Chapter 6. They are not to be rushed through and hurriedly dealt with. This is Almighty God talking to us and with us.
In verse 52, the Jews become argumentative, and they begin to ask, “How can He give us His flesh to eat?” They just dismissed what Jesus Christ was saying. Jesus speaks here not only about eating flesh, but drinking blood.
This was anathema to the Jew. This was offensive to the Jew.
What Jesus is saying is – I have got to die, and then you can eat and drink, and John did. Jesus is emphasising life – and being spiritually alive – and living.
If you want a full life, then come to Jesus. God has life to give, and as we are nourished by Christ we receive the life of God.
Verse 60 – We can’t take this. He has lost us. This is a hard teaching. Oh, they should have listened and allowed their mind to be stretched.
As Christians, and as disciples of Jesus Christ, we cannot live on children’s addresses, or on short snappy catchy sermons.
We cannot live on spiritual sweeties and crisps – not in the physical and certainly not in the spiritual.
Jesus, just tell us stories and just give us nice parables, and just do miracles. Oh, we like these. None of this difficult stuff!
It was only yesterday they had wanted to make him KING!
After this teaching, Jesus lost 5,000 men who just wanted bread, and who just wanted Jesus to do things for them.
Jesus knew what was happening and He asks, “Does this offend you?” Do you find this offensive? I have only spoken about coming down from heaven. Will you believe me when I begin to speak about ascending and returning? My words are spirit and life. Work at it. Stay with me. Hold on. But the difficulties were too much for some.
Jesus sounds disappointed, and discouraged. He appears to be deeply emotional. He says to the twelve, “You do not want to leave too do you?” Do you want to lift your membership lines too?
Verse 68 – Peter says that we have no alternative. We have nobody else to go to. It wasn’t a great compliment but it was true.
One day they did desert Him and they ran away, but when they did that they found they had nobody to go to, HE came to them!
As Peter talked his faith grew a little and blossomed. You have the words of eternal life. We believe and know that you are the Holy One of God.
You believe first, and then you know. That is the order. Many would like it to be the other way round. No. You believe first, and then you know with such assurance and certainty.
Jesus has one further hard thing to say at the end of this challenging section.
Peter, you are not speaking for everyone.
If there is anything worse than people leaving you, it must be a traitor who decides to stay – someone who can’t be trusted – someone who is not going to be loyal – who goes behind your back and speaks about you and tells on you.
That is what Judas did.
In one morning Jesus Christ lost over 5,000 people, but He realised he could do more with eleven who believed, than with thousands who just wanted to use Him for what they could get.
It was through these eleven that the Church of Jesus Christ was launched and began to grow.
The risen and living Jesus continues to look for similar people – those who believe and know – and who will stay with Christ, and abide, and remain.
Alexander 'Sandy' Shaw is pastor of Nairn Christian Fellowship in Nairn, Scotland. Nairn is 17 miles east of Inverness - on the Moray Firth Coast - not far from the Loch Ness Monster!
Gifted as a Biblical teacher, Sandy is firmly committed to making sure that his teachings are firmly grounded in the Word.
Sandy has a weekly radio talk which can be heard via the Internet on Saturday at 11:40am, New Orleans time, at wsho.com.
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