Walking away from Jesus or throwing yourself on him

Good morning, everyone.

If you're a visitor, an outline of what I'll be saying is on the bag of a sheet you got handed when you came in the door this morning.

So it might help you.

If you're a visitor, it might help you understand my accent.

So in the psychology of human behavior, there's a term called denialism, or it's a process of constantly denying.

And it reflects just that.

It's a choice, a person's choice to deny reality.

It's a powerful tool people use to protect against ideas that challenge us deeply or even to avoid an uncomfortable truth.

So at a very small level, we use it regularly in relationships.

I don't know if you're like me, you find yourself attempting to defend some indefensible behavior.

Some indefensible statement.

Something you know deep down was just wrong.

But we find ourselves in denialism.

Trying to avoid, the aim of that is to avoid the awkward, painful truth.

We've just messed up really badly.

But denialism is right through society.

It happens at bigger pictures.

So denialism we often find associated with self-interest.

So for example, those who are climate change denialists are often those directly connected to the coal, gas, or timber industries.

And so you can see that denialism is driven by perhaps a fear of losing money or power.

Denialism at a big picture is also driven by issues of personal validation and identity.

So at a big picture level, those who deny the Holocaust are often ultra-right-wing neo-Nazi types.

It would threaten their whole reason for existence.

Or again, closer to home, research shows this sort of thing for men.

The research shows that men apparently don't change lines when they're in the supermarket waiting for the checkout.

They'll observe one line perhaps going faster than their line, but they'll not change.

Whereas women will apparently.

Why not?

Well, it's denialism.

Because men in changing lines would have to admit to themselves they'd pick the wrong line to start with.

It's a funny example, but it's denialism.

How powerful it can be.

Friends, I want to use that word to move us into the passage this morning.

Denialism is a common response to Jesus.

And we see that very much in this passage before this morning.

So we're opening at chapter 6, verse 6 to 71.

Let me recap the last three weeks.

We've been working on this chapter 6 for three weeks now.

Four weeks, actually.

And back at the start, in the miracle of the feeding, Jesus demonstrates clearly his ability to provide, provide miraculously for the physical needs of his people by feeding a crowd in excess of 5,000 from a little boy's lunchbox.

In response, the people love the immediate practical benefits that they can see coming from Jesus as a result of that miracle.

And they're convinced that he's the great deliverer they had been waiting for.

The new Moses who would implement their agenda for salvation.

Who would free them from the Romans and establish Israel once again as the dominant nation in the world.

But Jesus pushes them to think in deeper spiritual categories of the heart.

He pushes them to understand that in their innermost being, they have a hunger, a deep spiritual hunger for life and satisfaction that only he can satisfy.

And that he will satisfy as they come to him, as they see him like the essential ingredient of life, like bread and water.

And as they come and feed on him with an urgency and a passion and a confidence.

He says to them, look, I'm far, far better than physical manna.

You look to physical manna, he says to the Jews, you look to physical manna as the gold standard of God's provision for his people.

Well, let me tell you, I'm far, far better than anything manna could offer you.

I'll give you better satisfaction.

I'll give you salvation that lasts.

I'll give you life eternal.

I'm God's gift of bread from heaven, says Jesus.

Sent to give real, spiritual, satisfied, eternal life.

Now, when we hear that sort of stuff, we think, what's not to like about that?

What's not to like about what Jesus offers?

Satisfaction of deep hunger and thirst, which we all know is there.

It drives us to cravings of all sorts as we seek to satisfy it.

What's not to like about a guarantee of life and everlasting, never ending?

What's not to like about the promise of intimate, guilt-free relationship with God?

Which in our innermost being we sense we're meant to enjoy.

What's not to like about that?

Who wouldn't want this from Jesus?

Well, lots, apparently.

The actual response in verse 60 through to 71?

Large numbers hear all of that and walk away from Jesus.

Large numbers walk away from Jesus.

And the context is important here.

These verses actually represent the end of Jesus' public ministry in Galilee.

And guess what?

But it ends in hostility and rejection, as did his ministry in Judea,

if you track back to the end of chapter 3 and chapter 4.

But there's something different about this rejection.

It's much more personally confronting.

Because this rejection comes after an extended period of very clear teaching and offer by Jesus.

And it comes from those, verse 60, those who are called disciples.

And I take it that means a reference to those in the group who apparently had actually given up their jobs,

full of such excitement and anticipation of Jesus' deliverer and saviour and king,

and what he was going to do with them and for them.

They'd given up their jobs and they were actually following him around for a period of time.

Now, they come to a conclusion about Jesus that makes them pack up their swags and go back home.

Mass defection came from where?

Well, it came from excitement, giving way to outrage.

If you look at verse 60 and 61.

When many of his disciples heard it, they said, this is a hard.

The word there is actually outrageous or offensive.

It's a very, very strong word.

This is outrageously offensive.

So much so, it says, not that we can accept it, but who can even listen to it?

It's the picture of them closing their ears, covering their ears, saying, this is so outrageously offensive to us.

We can't even bear to listen to the guy anymore, let alone respond to him positively.

And so the grumbling, as mentioned there in verse 61.

We saw that last week and talked about it a fair bit last week.

The grumbling, that sort of simmering, gut-dwelling hostility, now erupts.

Overflows into outrage and offence at both Jesus and his teaching.

Jesus' response, verse 62.

Seems not the way to win friends and influence people.

He hasn't obviously been to the right courses.

What does Jesus do?

He promises them more offence.

Think that offends you?

Well, says Jesus, listen up.

Look out for what's ahead.

Now, it's not exactly clear what verse 62 refers to, except that it's the source of even greater offence.

Most likely, I think it's a reference to his approaching death, resurrection, and ascension,

because that's the pathway to him being king and savior.

And that was even more offensive to the Jews, that Messiah should actually be killed.

And so, verse 66.

After this, many of his disciples turned back and no longer walked with him.

They became so angry, so disillusioned, so disappointed with what they had heard from the lips of Jesus,

given what they expected to hear from the lips of Jesus,

that they just said, this is rubbish.

We're out of here.

So the decision to walk away from Jesus, as we've seen right through each week as we've been looking at chapter 6,

is a very knowing decision.

And Jesus identifies the trip point for their outrage and exposes it in verse 63.

It is the spirit who gives life, says Jesus.

The flesh or human agency or human means, human ability, is of no avail.

The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life.

But there are some among you who do not believe.

And so, the cause of walking away from Jesus, when you drill down through the outrage,

is laid open before them.

There's no wriggle room.

Yes, they're walking away from Jesus,

but Jesus wants them to understand why they're walking away from him.

It's a clash of agendas.

I talked about that last week and the week before.

So the crowd were happy to accept Jesus as God's Savior and King,

as long as he worked to their agenda,

what God's Savior and King would look like and what he would do.

But when they realized that Jesus was pushing a very different agenda

for him as God's Savior and King,

they became outraged.

This isn't what we signed up for.

This is nonsense.

So they walked away.

And let me spell out again, as I've done in previous weeks.

See, it comes down to this.

According to Jesus,

salvation or acceptance with God,

relationship with him and enjoyment of the good life forever,

is not an outside-in practice,

as the Jews believed it to be.

On the contrary, says Jesus,

salvation is an inside-out work of God's Spirit.

And it's inseparably tied

to believing and accepting the words of Jesus.

And so the two agendas part company.

It was not, says Jesus,

salvation was not, says Jesus,

an entitlement that came to them because they were God's special people.

It was not a process they could apply and control and work towards

using their own physical resources.

On the contrary, says Jesus,

it was a spiritual gift,

something he would give them,

something that they could not and would not and did not merit for themselves.

It was grace,

not performance.

And so the agendas part company.

And God would not happily accept them,

says Jesus,

on the basis of your religious actions,

sacrifices and prayers and tithing and keeping the law of Moses,

observing religious festivals and celebrations.

No, says Jesus,

God will only accept you on the basis of my merit,

which he identifies earlier as his death,

foreshadows earlier as his death,

for forgiveness and God's work of the spirit renewing them.

And so the agendas part company.

And the agendas part company

to such an extent that explains

self-satisfied rejection of Jesus.

He says,

your deep spiritual hunger will only be satisfied through feeding on me.

their denialism

was a choice

to continue their own pathway

to satisfy their spiritual hunger.

It was a clash of agendas.

Now notice here

that at no point does it suggest

they were giving up their commitment to God.

They continued to be very religious people.

But it was religion

and commitment to God

in their terms,

on their agenda.

With God's agenda

through Jesus rejected.

And friends,

the scandal of Jesus,

the scandal of the gospel

is still causing outrage.

We see it.

We see it.

We see it weekly.

People continue to come to Jesus

with a tremendous anticipation

and excitement about life.

only to walk away again

so often

when they actually start

to comprehend

what it is that Jesus is offering

and that it's significantly different

to what they think

Jesus is going to give them.

And their denialism cuts in.

They opt for

their self-satisfied

rejection of Jesus

and their pursuit

of satisfying of their own hunger

in different ways.

And so denialism means

that people still choose

the deeply ingrained,

the comfortable pathway of religion.

We see that everywhere.

We even see it

in church communities like this.

And it's driven

by self-righteousness.

It's driven by

self-salvation strategies

because it's a determination

to keep salvation in control,

in our control,

in our own hands.

Tim Keller says

that if you're a religious person,

then he says

you're so full of pride,

this is a very,

very powerful statement

if you're a religious person,

you're so full of pride,

which is self-righteousness,

that you will do the right thing

before God

so that you actually

don't need God.

So you're not in any sense

indebted to God.

what he means by that is

that relationship with God

is worked in such a way

that it's not about

the need for mercy

and the need for forgiveness.

It's not about the gift

of new life by the Spirit

and a thankful response

to all of that.

No, it's a contract.

God, I have done

this for you

and I need you to understand

what I've done for you

so that in turn, God,

you will do this for me.

It's a contract.

It doesn't actually need

relationship with God.

It doesn't have

an urgent dependency.

It's almost an agreement

between equals.

Self-righteousness thrives

on denialism

because when we do good,

we feel good

and the denialism is there

because every day,

even though we're doing good,

we know jolly well

that we cannot consistently

meet our own standard

of goodness.

And so,

in reality,

we're actually secretly

crushed

by a sense of failure,

a sense of fear,

a sense of guilt.

I haven't quite got it

good enough

to be in relationship

with God

and yet our denialism,

our self-righteousness,

will actually override that.

And we continue to ride

the roller coaster

of despair.

Then go to Jesus

for true freedom,

true security,

true satisfaction,

true life.

You know as well

as I do

the drive within us.

Keller says

self-righteousness,

pride,

the drive within us

to have religious actions

that we can bring

before God,

convinced

because of them

that we'll be more

loved by God,

more accepted

by Him.

You know what we

trot out.

I believed.

I believed.

I believed.

I believed.

I was baptized.

I'm a big fan

of taking Lord's Supper.

I read my Bible

every day.

I pray regularly.

I go to church

every week.

I'm engaged

in evangelism.

I'm a church member

and so on and so on.

But this is

spiritual pride

rising up

and imposing

our physical

salvation categories

of self-gratification

and happiness.

and at different

points we see

those coming out,

don't we?

That we impose

our categories

of salvation

on the expectation

that salvation

means health

and wealth,

success

and relationships,

having lots of

things and being

happy.

It's the

contractual thing.

We've done this

for you, Lord,

and we expect you

to do this for us.

We expect you

to do this for us.

So denialism

is alive and well

among us

because deep down

we have the sense

that those things

just won't cut it

with God

because God's

standard of holiness

is just way beyond

those things.

but we ride

the roller coaster.

That's pretty

confronting stuff,

isn't it?

Well, friends,

let me tell you

equally confronting

is the challenge

of throwing yourself

on Jesus.

It's a different

sort of confronting

but equally confronting

and that's what

the disciples

were challenged

to do by Jesus

or as a result

of being challenged

by Jesus.

Verse 67,

you think

when all this

has gone through

you think

we're reading this

we're not even

part of it.

Our minds

are still

reeling that

people would

walk away

from Jesus

and what do we

get?

Verse 67

said to the 12

as it were

if you want

the last

of the last

but what

are you blokes?

Do you want

to go away too?

Simon Peter

answered

Lord

to whom

would we go?

To whom

would we go?

Because you

have the words

of eternal life.

Peter

speaks to the 12

and there's

something confronting

but something

comforting about

these words

because immediately

they see that

while a majority

may walk away

others believe

precisely as

Jesus said

it would be.

they too

had made

a personal

life defining

decision

like everybody

else in the crowd

had made.

They too

had decided

on the same

evidence

they had decided

based on the

same teaching

as others

who had

defected

but their

life defining

decision was

belief

to move

towards Jesus

to throw

themselves

on Jesus

to whom

shall we

go?

Jesus

we recognize

you are

God

is effectively

what Peter

is saying

uniquely

holy

and to be

honored

as Lord

and Savior

we believe

and come to

know that you

are the

holy one

of God

Jesus

we understand

and are

confident

that you

alone

are the

source

of true

life

as you

said

you

are

having

seen

and heard

and been

taught

by Jesus

for Peter

speaking

with half

of these

twelve

walking away

was unthinkable

walking away

would be

to commit

spiritual

suicide

now notice

Peter's

awareness

of how

he came

to this

conclusion

about

Jesus

Simon

Peter

answered him

Lord

to whom

shall we

go

you have

the words

of eternal

life

notice

verse

six

nine

we have

believed

and have

come to

know

does that

strike you

as unusual

sort of

back to

front

the way

our

modern

scientific

world

would

push

you

the

believing

comes

before

the

knowing

it

started

with

believing

the process

of

coming

to

the

conclusion

started

with

believing

believing

as their

eyes

actually

observed

Jesus

doing

miraculous

things

which

they

knew

that

only

God

could

do

making

wine

from

water

healing

a

child

who

was

as

good

as

dead

without

even

seeing

the

child

giving

instant

mobility

to

a

paraplegic

of

38

years

feeding

a crowd

of over

5,000

from a

children's

lunchbox

these

were

things

that their

eyes

saw

and their

brains

told them

only

God

could

do

to

believe

the

starting

point

my

friends

for

certainty

and

spiritual

things

in the

matter

of life

and

salvation

is not

outrage

and

denial

but

believing

believing

why

because

the

evidence

and the

words

that go

along

with

evidence

are

compelling

even

though

it

severely

challenges

what

they had

always

believed

these

twelve

were

no

more

clued

up

about

what

Jesus

was

on

about

than

the

rest

of

the

crowd

but

having

seen

with

their

eyes

having

understood

what

they

saw

with

their

eyes

as

being

something

only

God

could

do

and

then

hearing

the

teaching

and

went

along

with

it

even

though

they

were

clueless

about

the

spiritual

depth

of

it

they

still

were

pushed

towards

belief

and

believing

leads

to

knowing

so

saying

was a

big

help

towards

their

conclusion

about

Jesus

but

ultimately

it

was the

hearing

and

accepting

of the

words

of

Jesus

the

words

of

eternal

life

as

Peter

calls

them

here

it

was

ultimately

the

words

and

the

teaching

that

sealed

the

deal

for

these

guys

observing

the

things

that

Jesus

did

convinced

them

that

he

was

authentically

God

and

so

being

authentically

God

automatically

his

words

deserved

to be

believed

they

came

with

authority

unique

authority

and

while

they

couldn't

be

understood

necessarily

they

at

least

deserved

the

attitude

of

believing

and

so

having

seen

Jesus

do

signs

or

miracles

Peter

had

no

hesitation

in

believing

the

words

of

explanation

that

followed

even

though

at

points

the

things

that

Peter

heard

and

understood

were

as

offensive

to

him

as

they

were

to

others

in

the

crowd

remember

Peter's

response

when he

fully

understood

that

Jesus

was

going

to

sacrifice

himself

he

was

furious

not

in my

watch

you

want

Jesus

so

ultimately

my

friends

at a

bigger

picture

if you

look at

the

structure

of

John's

gospel

ultimately

these

twelve

are an

illustration

of the

very

reason

John

is

writing

his

biography

so

that

contemplating

the

evidence

you will

believe

that

Jesus

is

the

God

the

giver

of

life

but

at

a

micro

picture

these

guys

in

throwing

themselves

on

Jesus

have

come

to

experience

personally

that

what

Jesus

had

promised

them

throughout

this

passage

eternal

life

they

were

proof

of the

drawing

power

of

God

they

were

proof

of the

renewing

power

of the

Holy

Spirit

they

were

not

more

clever

more

insightful

than

others

in the

crowd

they

had

been

taught

by

God

as

Jesus

said

last

week

if we

looked at

those

earlier

verses

quoting

from

Isaiah

that

all

God's

children

will

ultimately

need

to be

taught

by

God

evidence

of being

taught

by

God

properly

is

that

they

come

to

Jesus

the

drawing

power

of

God

the

renewing

power

of

the

Holy

Spirit

is

shown

in the

response

of these

guys

and the

outcome

hungry

embracing

of

Jesus

hungry

embracing

of

Jesus

they

had

come

to

know

that

Jesus

was

the

one

they

hangered

for

as

Jesus

had

told

them

he

was

the

one

they

hangered

for

they

had

come

to

see

in

Jesus

the

one

in

whom

satisfaction

and

life

was

to

be

found

for

them

there

was

no

alternative

to

whom

else

would

we

go

where

else

would

we

go

there

was

no

way

back

Jesus

you

are

all

we

need

which

is

what

Jesus

was

saying

right

through

I

am

all

you

need

Jesus

you

are

all

we

desire

there

was

no

authentic

alternative

savior

on offer

so they

throw

themselves

upon

the

mercy

and

grace

of

Jesus

my

friends

it

was

not

just

that

they

didn't

walk

away

with

the

rest

of

the

crowd

but

that

they

positively

embraced

Jesus

and

Judas

is

a

real

evidence

and

a

foil

for

this

I

think

there's

lots

more

can be

said

about

this

and

people

argue

endlessly

about

the

theology

of it

but

I

just

want

to

use

Judas

in

the

story

as

a

foil

of

showing

that

the

disciples

had

to

not

just

walk

away

but

they

had

to

positively

embrace

Jesus

because

at

the

end

of

the

day

Judas

was

one

in their

midst

who

didn't

walk

away

from

Jesus

openly

but

nor

did

he

come

to

Jesus

and

throw

himself

in

Jesus

there's

unbelief

right at

the heart

of this

believing

community

and man

that's a

scary

thought

as I

look around

here this

morning

being

being part

of a

community

of those

who

believe

being

in

close

proximity

in

Jesus

being

in

close

contact

with

his

word

stating

openly

and

identifying

with

others

who

believe

in

Jesus

is

never

enough

there

needs

to be

a

recognition

of

deep

spiritual

need

or

hunger

and an

embracing

of

Jesus

personally

and deeply

feeding

on him

as the

terminology

of last

week

feeding

on it

as the

satisfaction

of your

hunger

my friends

hungry

embracing

is very

very

challenging

verses 68

and verse 69

hungry

embracing

is equally

confronting

and challenging

as walking

away from

Jesus

because

you see

embracing

Jesus

means

giving

up

our

agendas

and

that's

really

hard

for us

to

do

it

means

believing

that

Jesus

is

God's

king

and

savior

sent

into

the

world

that

Jesus

is

the

only

way

to

acceptance

with

God

and

life

that

salvation

is a

spiritual

reality

received

from

Christ

alone

as a

gift

of

grace

and

that's

hard

to keep

believing

that

when

our

agenda

says

well

look

now

surely

we've got

something

we can

bring to

the

table

salvation

means

entrusting

your

salvation

entirely

to

God

giving

up

any

thought

of

controlling

or

being

entitled

to

relationship

with

God

on the

basis

of

your

own

understanding

your

abilities

your

desires

your

religious

actions

and

that's

really

hard

to keep

focused

on

isn't

it

when

our

agenda

says

well

actually

I

actually

think

I'm

a

basically

good

person

certainly

compared

to

others

that I

look

at

in the

wider

world

friends

throwing

yourself

in

Jesus

means

staying

true

to

him

even

when

from

within

the

community

believers

we

bear

the

hurt

and the

cost

of

those

who

secretly

betrayed

Jesus

by their

life

and their

actions

and their

practices

and that's

a real

cost

isn't it

because we

look around

we see

these

things

and we

think

maybe the

gospel

doesn't

work at

all

but my

friends

when we

see that

we see

evidence

the gospel

is working

exactly as

Jesus said

it would

work

some

will walk

away

some

should

walk

away

have

walked

away

theologically

and

emotionally

from

Jesus

but still

stay

in the

community

and some

can't

walk

away

there's

nowhere

else

to go

so this

is a

real

turning

point

in the

biography

of

Jesus

written

by

John

John

proves

a

genuine

consideration

of

evidence

from a

believing

attitude

prepared

to go

where the

evidence

takes

you

asking

that the

Lord

actually

might

reveal

truth

to

you

will

result

in

belief

and

life

if you're

a person

here this

morning

who thinks

well

it seems

so

out there

I want

to get

a hold

of this

but I

haven't

been able

to get

a hold

of it

maybe

that's

what you're

missing

maybe you

need to

look at

this process

of how

you come

to the

evidence

that runs

counter to

what we

tend to

believe

in our

scientific

world

we say

and we're

told

and we're

taught

we need

to

know

something

and be

sure of

its

truth

before we

believe

in it

well

God

reverses

the

order

and

challenges

you this

morning

to do

the same

in your

mind

reverse

the

order

come to

God's

word

believing

because it

is God's

word

and come

to God's

word

believing

as the

first step

in walking

towards

Jesus

because the

alternative is to walk

away from it

let me pray

Lord help us to

Lord help us to

understand your

word

it's confronting

at both

levels

it's confronting

for those

Lord who've

walked away

and it's

confronting for

those who

like us

say we want

to walk

towards you

and throw

ourselves

on you

help us

Lord to

throw

ourselves

on you

and your

agenda

for us

not imposing

or insisting

our agenda

over yours

in Jesus

name I

pray

Amen