The story we have read together today is surprising in many ways. The way Jesus handles this situation is confusing, because some of the things Jesus are saying are upsetting his followers, and it seems that he does not make it easier, but harder for them. Our natural instinct is to take down any barriers in people’s way and help them get past those barriers. If someone finds something hard to understand we want to explain it. If someone finds something difficult we want to make it easier. If there is something in their way we want to move it. And certainly this is what we would expect of Jesus. But what is surprising is that this is not what Jesus does. Instead of making it easier to believe, he seems to make it harder. Instead of opening a door, he seems to erect a barrier. Earlier in the chapter Jesus has fed the multitudes. They follow him because they have experienced the miracle. They believe in him. It is the perfect opportunity for Jesus to add to the number of his disciples. They appear to be on his side. But Jesus says to them, “I tell you the truth, you are looking for me, not because you saw miraculous signs but because you ate the loaves and had your fill. Do not work for food that spoils, but for food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you” (John 6:26-27).
He begins gently. He has healed them and fed them, but now he points them beyond the satisfaction of their physical needs to their eternal, spiritual needs. He promises to give them the bread of life of which he is speaking. But this is not the kind of bread they were thinking about. Jesus said, “The bread of God is he who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.” They respond by saying, “Sir, from now on give us this bread” (John 6:33-34). They still do not understand what he means, and he explains that he is the bread he is talking about, “I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will never go hungry, and he who believes in me will never be thirsty” (John 6:35). But they do not understand the metaphor and are offended. It says they, “began to grumble about him because he said, ‘I am the bread that came down from heaven’” (John 6:41).
If they are upset by what he is saying, maybe it is time to move onto something else, but he not only repeats what he said, but adds to the offense. He says, “I am the bread of life. Your forefathers ate the manna in the desert, yet they died. But here is the bread that comes down from heaven, which a man may eat and not die. I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. This bread is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world” (John 6:48-51).
At this point you have to understand that the Jews had very strict dietary laws. There were Kosher foods and foods they would never think of eating. Pork was one meat they would never eat, and if they did they would be unclean. And cannibalism, well, that was in another category altogether. So when he said that the bread he was talking about was his flesh, it offended them greatly. “How can this man give us his flesh to eat?,” they said. Now this would be a good time to soft-pedal it. But Jesus makes it worse by saying: “I tell you the truth, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last dy. For my flesh is real food and my blood is real drink. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me, and I in him” (John 6:53-56). I think you would have had to actually be a part of that culture, and be in that crowd at the time, to realize the provocative impact this had on the people there. If you read this in the original language of the New Testament you realize that Jesus makes things even worse by a change of verbs. When earlier he talks of “eating his flesh” he uses the simple word for “eat” (esthio). But then in verses 54 onward, he uses the verb trogo, which not only means “to eat”, but in the sense of “to chew, gnaw or crunch”. They were already offended and he makes his statement even more offensive. At this, the Bible says that the people said to each other, “This is a hard teaching. Who can accept it?” And many of his disciples turned back and no longer followed him.
The question is, why would Jesus do that? He obviously knew that he was offending them and creating misunderstanding. He lost many disciples. The loyalty of the twelve apostles is even questionable at this point, for he says to them, “You don’t want to leave too, do you?”
Why did Jesus erect barriers to people’s faith in him instead of removing barriers? Instead of opening a door, he seems to shut it in their face. And this is not the only place in the Gospels where this happens. I believe that Jesus did this because he was interested in something more than superficial faith. He was not looking for numbers, as so many today do, he was looking for true disciples. It is all too easy to live in the shallows. It is all too easy to want God to meet your needs and provide for you, and never consider what is really important and what he really desires to do for you and in you.
The point is that Jesus often erects a barriers so that we are compelled to lean the ladder of faith against them, in order to scale them rather than go around them. He will take the chance that we will be offended and leave, rather than leave us in the shallows. We have to move to the place of real faith and true discipleship. If we are never going to really enter in, what difference does it make? Our offense and unbelief are the signs of our unwillingness to exercise faith, enter in and develop in our spiritual growth.
Life is full of these barriers. I know many people who are offended at God. They are mad at him and even turn away. Life has not turned out the way they think it should for them. They do not put the ladder of faith up against the barrier they face. They never emerge from the shallows. I have had a lot of good friends over the years who have been scandalized by God. In fact, the Greek word for “offend” is skandalidzo - “to scandalize or cause to stumble.” For some it is a serious financial setback. For others is an serious illness of their own or a loved one, a death, an estranged relationship or failed marriage. For some it is unanswered prayer. Still others look at tragedies which occur and ask, “Where was God? How could he let this happen?” These feelings are understandable, but it is still a barrier which must be scaled if we are to find our way. It will take naked faith. Sometimes it seems that God is hidden or absent. Some of the great saints of history describe their experiences as “the dark night of the soul.” It is like being in the middle of winter when it seems like everything is dead, and even though Spring may be on its way, life is hidden. It is hard to remember the blossoms and fruit of the past, and even more difficult to imagine them in the future. But faith brings the Spring.
So there are many barriers and reasons that people become offended at God, and rather than scale the barrier in faith, they sit and mope in front of it. It is not easy to follow God, and we should not pretend it is. The way of God is often hard. In the end, we see that it is better and easier than not following God, but at the time it is often a great barrier. The question is, will we collapse or continue? Will we give up or go on? Will we have faith or fall down in despair? Will the ladder of faith go up, or will we think it is impossible and useless? When faced with being offended at God and barriers that seem impossible, we have to come to the place where Peter came. When Jesus said to the twelve “You do not want to leave too, do you?” Simon Peter answered him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life” (John 6:67-68). We might be tempted to leave until we realize there is nowhere else to go. Jesus asked, “when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the earth?” (Luke 18:8).
Karl Barth talks about God promising Abraham a bright future and a son as an heir, but Abraham is nearly 100-years-old and Sarah’ womb is dead. The promise seems so impossible that both Abraham and Sarah laugh at God. It is ridiculous, beyond all experience and reason. But they believe God, and when the son comes they name him Yitsak, Isaac, which means laughter. Barth says, “Faith ... grips reason by the throat and strangles the beast.”
The point is that the barrier is there for a purpose. Once the ladder of faith is scaled, we reach a new height. Once we climb, we get out of the shallows and out of the shadows. Faith becomes more than just a list of things we believe. We move beyond just spouting slogans and cliches. New vistas and horizons arise that we did not think were possible. We see, that with the help of God, we are capable of things of which we never knew we were capable. We will never know what we could have achieved, or what we could have become, unless we press on and climb these obstacles. All of us will face barriers. The question is what will we do when faced with them. Will we sit down and give up and get mad, or will we put the ladder of faith against the barrier and begin our climb?
I often think of God leading the people of Israel out of Egypt. It was an exciting time, full of the promises of God. But it was also a dangerous and difficult time, full of the threats of Pharaoh, and the tests and trials of faith of what it meant to follow God. God had announced his love for them and his desire to free them from their slavery. They always thought that was what they wanted. But there were barriers to their freedom that they had to climb which at times it looked impossible. The task masters increased their work load. There was the Red Sea. There was the Sinai wilderness. There was bickering among the people. There was a lack of food and water. So as they faced these things, they decided that maybe slavery was not so bad after all, and they rebelled and made plans to head back to Egypt. The Israelites said to Moses, “If only we had died by the LORD’s hand in Egypt! There we sat around pots of meat and ate all the food we wanted, but you have brought us out into this desert to starve this entire assembly to death’” (Exodus 16:2-3).
And then they faced the challenge of entering the land that God was promising. There were great blessings and abundance there, but there were also barriers. There were people who were fierce warriors and giants. Again they rebelled. It was a land flowing with milk and honey, but the Bible says, “Then they despised the pleasant land; they did not believe his promise. They grumbled in their tents and did not obey the LORD” (Psalm 106:24-25). Great blessings and opportunities were before them, but they stayed in their tents depressed. It is the way we often face barriers isn’t it? The exciting possibilities of the future are darkened by the difficulties of the present. It is just easier to sit and be angry and depressed than it is to trust.
One of the biblical characters who faced serious barriers was Job of the Old Testament. Everything that could go wrong went wrong with Job. The opening of the book lists all the things that went wrong. Enemies come and carry off his wealth in livestock and kill his servants. Natural disasters occur and his children are killed. He is ruined financially and robbed of his family. But Job’s response to these horrific tragedies surprises us. When he was told what happened, the Bible says, “At this, Job got up and tore his robe and shaved his head. Then he fell to the ground in worship and said: ‘Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked I will depart. The LORD gave and the LORD has taken away; may the name of the LORD be praised.’ In all this, Job did not sin by charging God with wrongdoing” (Job 1:20-22).
The final blow comes when Job is struck with a devastating illness himself. Boils and sores cover his body. Scripture says, “His wife said to him, ‘Are you still holding on to your integrity? Curse God and die!’ But Job said, ‘Shall we accept good from God, and not trouble?’” (Job 2:9-10 ). His friends abuse him verbally and accuse him of secret sins as the reason for his miserable demise. He had every reason to be angry at life, other people and at God. But in the end, he overcomes the barriers to faith. He says, “Though he slay me, yet I will trust him” (Job 13:15, KJV).
One of the great examples of someone who has overcome unbelievable barriers is Nick Vujicic. In 1982, Nick was born with tetra-amelia syndrome, a rare genetic disorder, which means he has no arms or legs. He does have two small feet attached to his torso. Growing up, Nick struggled emotionally and physically to accept his condition. But today as a follower of Christ, Nick has what he calls “a ridiculously good life.” He has a motor boat and loves to fish and swim. He is married to a beautiful young woman.
Nick writes: “When I’m asked how I can claim a ridiculously good life when I have no arms or legs, [people] assume I’m suffering from what I lack. They inspect my body and wonder how I could possibly give my life to God, who allowed me to be born without limbs. Others have attempted to soothe me by saying that God has all the answers and then when I’m in heaven I will find out his intentions. Instead, I choose to live by what the Bible says, which is that God is the answer today, yesterday, and always.
When people read about my life or witness me living it, they are prone to congratulate me for being victorious over my disabilities. I tell them that my victory came in surrender. It comes every day when I acknowledge that I can’t do this on my own, so I say to God, ‘I give it to you!’ Once I yielded, the Lord took my pain and turned it into something good... He gave my life meaning when no one and nothing else could provide it. [And] if God can take someone like me, someone without arms and legs, and use me as his hands and feet, he can use anybody. It’s not about ability. The only thing God needs from you is a willing heart.”
See: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gc4HGQHgeFE
Rodney J. Buchanan
Amity United Methodist Church
April 28, 2013
rodbuchanan2000@yahoo.com
