Anyone who follows politics and elections has seen dramatic shifts in public opinion. One week a candidate may be at the top of the polls. The next week he starts to fall. Then the week after he is at the bottom of the field. This is just one common example of how quickly the public can go from having a favorable opinion of a person, product, or position to having an unfavorable opinion. When we study the gospel of John, we also see this type of shift in the public’s opinion of Jesus.
After Jesus performed a miracle and fed five thousand people (John 6:1-14), this great crowd He had attracted turned into – at least for a moment – a group of zealous followers. He was so popular with the people at this time that “they were intending to come and take Him by force and make Him king” (John 6:15). At this point in time, these people were willing to risk their own lives and fight in a revolution against the mighty army of the Roman empire in order to place Jesus on the throne. Though their concept of the Lord’s kingdom was flawed, their zeal and determination was certainly commendable.
Unfortunately, this crowd’s zeal was short-lived. By the end of this same chapter, John recorded that “many of His disciples withdrew and were not walking with Him anymore” (John 6:66). In fact, at the end of John’s gospel, not only was the crowd no longer willing to fight the Romans in order to make Jesus their king, the people became enemies to Jesus in support of Rome. When the Roman governor Pilate presented Jesus to the crowd, they cried out, “Away with Him, away with Him, crucify Him!” Pilate asked, “Shall I crucify your King?” The chief priests answered, “We have no king but Caesar” (John 19:15).
The crucifixion of Christ shows what an angry mob and an evil government can do to their chosen enemy. The descent from public approval to being a pariah can happen for a number of reasons. But in the case of Jesus, there was one factor that changed public opinion so quickly – His message in John 6.
What was it about Jesus’ message that turned people away so quickly? We are not going to consider His whole sermon in great detail here, but it basically came down to the fact that Jesus’ message was too demanding for the people.
Jesus said, “I am the living bread that came down out of heaven; if anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever; and the bread also which I will give for the life of the world is My flesh” (John 6:51). The Jews then began to ask, “How can this man give us His flesh to eat?” (John 6:52). In response to this question, Jesus stated, “He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day” (John 6:54).
On the surface, it may have appeared that Jesus was advocating some form of cannibalism. If He was, then certainly His words would have been difficult. Many thought they were: “Therefore many of His disciples, when they heard this said, ‘This is a difficult statement; who can listen to it?’” (John 6:60).
However, it was not at this point that the people left. Jesus first tried to correct any misunderstanding they may have had: “Does this cause you to stumble? What then if you see the Son of Man ascending to where He was before? It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing; the words that I have spoken to you are spirit and are life” (John 6:61-63).
Jesus was not talking about the crowds consuming His flesh, but consuming His word! Just as physical food sustains life, produces growth, and maintains strength, the word of God does the same things for our spiritual lives. Peter acknowledged that Jesus had “words of eternal life” (John 6:68). Paul told the Ephesian elders, “The word of His grace…is able to build you up and to give you the inheritance” (Acts 20:32). In writing to the church at Ephesus, Paul said, “Be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might. Put on the full armor of God…” (Ephesians 6:10-11). He then listed the pieces of this armor – loins girded with truth, breastplate of righteousness, feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace, shield of faith, helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit which was the word of God (Ephesians 6:14-17). All of these either refer to the word of God (truth, gospel, word) or a quality that is derived from the word (righteousness, faith, salvation). Jesus’ words are what give us spiritual and eternal life. In answering one of Satan’s temptations, Jesus said, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God’” (Matthew 4:4).
When Jesus explained that He was actually talking about His words that the people were to live by, this was when they turned back. This is demanding; but remember what Jesus said elsewhere: “For the gate is small and the way is narrow that leads to life, and there are few who find it” (Matthew 7:14).
Just as the crowd did in John 6, many will turn away from Jesus today. It is demanding to follow the Scriptures as our exclusive source of “teaching… reproof… correction… [and] training in righteousness” (2 Timothy 3:16). It is demanding to do the duty of a disciple and “observe all that [Jesus] commanded” (Matthew 28:20). It is demanding to “do in word or deed…all in the name of the Lord Jesus” (Colossians 3:17). It is demanding to “retain the standard of sound words” (2 Timothy 1:13). But this is what the Lord expects of us.
Jesus has the “words of eternal life” (John 6:68). These words may not always be convenient or popular or easy. But we must believe and obey them if we want to follow Him and gain eternal life.
