Where shall we go, You have the words of eternal life?

Jesus had just told the crowds something they could not possibly have understood. We understand it now, this side of the cross, but they had no chance of understanding it then, and they found it offensive. “This is a hard saying” they said and left (John 6:60,66). It seems to me that at some level it was intended to be offensive, designed to expose the religious spirit. He does that you know, as it separates the sheep from the goats, Those who are truly seeking God, and those who were not!

The verse at the head of this post was Peter’s reply to what happened next, Jesus asking the disciples if they too would go away (John 6:67). Reading between the lines Peter was saying “Lord we don’t have a clue what You’re saying here, but what we do know is that when You speak, the words You speak bring life, and we have learned to trust You even when we don’t understand.

It’s much the same today, both inside and outside the church. We all have our gods, our idols be it science, or intellect, or our little group. We tend to think that have it right and everyone else has it wrong, and then Jesus comes along and messes the whole thing up. How dare He? I have come to realize, we don’t really understand the Scriptures until at some level we have sympathy with those who got offended with Jesus. I mean, in this case, what was this man talking about? It seems to me that if I am not careful, the religious spirit can live in me, and more than likely in you too. When we don’t understand, or we don’t like it, it’s far too easy to be offended.

Father, some of the things You do are decidedly odd, and what You require, if it were anyone else, would be unreasonable. Do we really need to take up our cross every day and follow You? But Your ways are the ways of life, and too often my way is the way of death (Proverbs 14:12). If You are not Lord of all, then You are not Lord at all. So I choose You again this morning Lord, and in doing so I choose life. In Jesus Name Amen