Questions From Jesus #7: Will You Go Away?

[Preached April 6, 2008; Based on John 6: 60-69]

Words of Meditation – “Integrity should be a minimum requirement in Christians, but the second most valuable quality is loyalty.” [Larry Burkett, Great Is Thy Faithfulness, (October 20)]

Well, this is a first for me – I’m quoting someone with my same surname.

John C. Purdy, no know relation, has written a book called, Returning God's Call: The Challenge of Christian Living. He suggests a new metaphor for the Christian life. Instead of "a soldier in God's army," "a traveler along the Christian way," or even "a member of Christ's body," he recommends: "Hearers of the Call." A hearer of the call is one who has heard, and keeps hearing, a persistent summons to belief and action.

He remembers playing hide and seek with his friends. Inevitably, his front door would open and his mother's voice would call, "John, time to come in!" But Purdy said, "I would go on with hide and seek as though nothing had happened. And to anybody passing by, I looked no different from my playmates." "But, "I was different. I had been called - in; everything was changed.” (Dr. Hal Brady, "What Are You Looking For?", Barnabas Lindars, The New Century Bible Commentary, pg 112; John Purdy, Returning God's Call; The Challenge of Christian Living, pp. 7,9.)

"Hearers of the Call" – the disciples heard and responded to Jesus' call. The answer to that call does not mean a once and for all event. We always have a choice. Jesus asks, "Do you wish to go away?"

Our Scripture lesson today opened with, "When many of His disciples heard it, they said, ‘This teaching is difficult; who can accept it?’” (60) So what was causing them to struggle?  Jesus had been teaching His followers about who He was.

• Jesus multiplied the loaves and the fishes to feed the crowd. He might have been a bit harsh as he suggested they were following Him only because their immediate hunger needs were being met.

• Then there was an interchange about Moses giving manna in the desert. Jesus reminded them that it was not Moses who gave the bread, but the Heavenly Father. They said, "Sir, give us this bread always".

• Then Jesus made that amazing claim: "I am the Bread of Life. Whoever comes to Me will never be hungry and whoever believes in Me will never be thirsty." (35) That was okay but he closed the discussion, saying "Those who eat my flesh and drink my blood have eternal life, and I will raise them up on the last day... This is the bread that came down from Heaven, not like that which your ancestors ate, they died. But the one who eats this bread will live forever." (verses 54, 58) Jesus was saying, “I am the sign you are looking for.”

Is it any wonder that the crowd found those words hard to accept? It’s one thing to compare Jesus with bread, but, "Those who eat my flesh and drink my blood have eternal life.” Yuk!  Jesus meant that if anyone was going to have eternal life they were going to have to accept and submit to Him fully.

The call to discipleship is a difficult call; a call that demands making Jesus Master and following Him is the #1 priority of one's life. In that day, some turned back, so Jesus used this event to cause the twelve to consider their own commitment. "Do you also wish to go away?" This is the final question in our series of questions Jesus asked in the Gospel of John. As for the other questions, this question is relevant for us also.

Now, you’ll have to admit that there is a temptation to go away. Some of us have been discipleship dropouts. Certainly all of us see around us those who have dropped out. They once followed Jesus; they once knew a meaningful life in the community of faith, but not any longer. Something happened that pulled them away. I read of a preacher who said: About one-third of the members of his church stood behind everything the Church did; about two-thirds just stood behind. There is the temptation to drop out.

1.      Some folks drop out of our church because it is changing or growing too rapidly. Why can’t it stay the same? The world is changing so much; why can’t the church be constant amidst the changes?  Well, there is a temptation to want that, but really – only God is the same yesterday, today, and forever. The church is not the Savior, but rather, it is the community of those in relationship with the Savior. It must remain a hospital for the sick. The sick must come to Christ for healing to begin!

2.      Others may be tempted to drop out of the church because it reaches out to people who are different from us. All of us need to think clearly about this because Jesus calls us to be involved with people where they are. And if we continue with Christ, we'll need to go with Him into a lot of places we might not want to go and be involved in issues where we are not comfortable.

3.      Still others say they have problems with the church because it talks too much about money. There is a cartoon in which two men are standing out in front of a church wearing nothing but their underwear. One says to the other, "That's the most effective sermon on money I've ever heard."

Jesus talked about money as much as He talked about anything else, and much more than He talked about most things. Jesus said that where our money is, there our heart will be also... he is interested in the heart. So we need to keep these things in perspective. I'm simply making the point that there is the temptation to go away.

Let me suggest two other reasons people become discipleship dropouts.

4.   The first big reason is the uniqueness of Jesus’ claims – he claimed to be the bread of life, the only way to the Father. Oprah Winfrey is really attacking this claim. It’s just too exclusive for her. Jesus talked about denying ourselves, giving unto the least of these, taking up a cross, becoming humble, living clean and holy lives. So, because of the uniqueness of Jesus' claims and the demands He makes of us, people are tempted to drop out.

5.      Another big reason they drop out is crowd mentality. If surrounding culture is going in a particular direction that is against Christ and His Church, they find it very hard to swim upstream. In case you haven’t noticed, the media is not “Christ-friendly.” No matter where we are in our discipleship, the temptation to go away is very real.

So Jesus presses the question, "Will you also go away?” I’ve thought about whether Jesus was speaking of leaving the group of disciples or leaving him personally. In our day, we tend to think that we can leave the church but maintain our relationship with Jesus. Well, at that time, if you left the group that was following Jesus, you left Jesus as well.  That’s why Peter's response was so emotional. I can imagine tears in Peter's eyes as he shifted nervously from one foot to the other. "Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. We believe and know that you are the Holy One of God.” (68-69)

 

Today, in contrast to the time of our text, there are many local fellowships of Christians, but I’m still not so sure that if one is separated from the church, he/she can maintain a strong relationship with Jesus. I couldn’t when I tried. If you are a “hearer of the call,” then you know Christ is calling you to join others in discipleship. Do you find yourself or do you know someone who is “outside playing even though they have heard God call them?”

Others had left, but Peter was determined. One essential mark of discipleship is determination, especially when a child dies or one’s spouse leaves or even when you get a bad diagnosis. Determination is even necessary when the powers that be decide it’s time for a pastoral change.

I’ve already heard it a dozen times, “That’s the one thing I hate about the Methodist Church – that they move our pastors too much!” You’ve heard it, haven’t you – or perhaps said it? Actually, this is such an important lesson for all of us. Life is temporary. Relationships with others are precious; make the most of them. When we submit to God, we are no longer in control. Make the most of each day. Pastors are needed for all size churches and must be prepared to lead larger churches – it is a reality.

Yes, determination is essential for discipleship, but it also takes discipline.

This is Final Four weekend – college basketball’s top event!  Mike Krzyzewski became the Head Coach of men’s basketball at Duke University in 1980. By his third year, he was being booed in his own gym. On March 11, 1983 the Duke Blue Devils suffered their worst defeat in school history, a 109-66 loss to Virginia.

As he sat with his assistant coaches that night, someone suggested they recruit new players. "Absolutely not." He pushed forward a sheet of paper with five names on it - four of them freshmen players from the night's debacle. "This will be our squad next year," he said. "Losing doesn't make you a loser unless you think you're a loser. I'm not quitting on these kids."

An assistant coach offered a toast: "Here's to forgetting tonight ever happened." Krzyzewski picked up his iced tea and looked around the table. "Here's to never forgetting," he said.

Those battered freshmen went on to win an NCAA record 37 games as seniors in the 1985-86 season, losing the national title by just three points. (John Feinstein, "A Winner's Secret, Reader's Digest, January 1992, pp 49-50)

Never forget that defeat is possible. People do walk away from the church and walk away from Christ.  Let me ask you, where else can we go?

It's a haunting question. "Will you also go away?" Will you find a reason to leave – any reason?  Have you heard the call? Do you keep hearing the persistent summons to belief and action?