Day 45 – Where Would We Go?

Read:  John 6:60-71; Psalm 73

The crowd is slowly dwindling as one by one people walk away from Jesus. His teaching was simply too radical. "The bread from heaven sent by God"? Who talks like that? But, there had been those miracles: the bread and fish that had miraculously multiplied to feed 5,000 people, the unexplained crossing of the Sea of Galilee. On the one hand, Jesus performed signs that indicated He might be the One. On the other, He made comments that were simply too hard to swallow. "Eat my flesh and drink my blood"? That was over the line. It was time to leave. The crowd had heard enough.

As the crowd was dissipating, Jesus turned to His disciples and said, "You don't want to leave too, do you?" Now that was a tough question. Perhaps it was time to get back to the fishing boat. Maybe Matthew could return to his old job at the tax collector's booth. Nathanael's spot under the fig tree was certainly still available. And Judas? Well, any company in Judea would be lucky to have a faithful and trusted bookkeeper like Judas. Maybe it was time.

With the question barely out of Jesus’ mouth and before anyone else had time to respond, Peter blurted out, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. We have come to believe and to know that you are the Holy One of God” (John 6:68-69).

Peter was never at a loss for words. Before anyone else could untie his tongue, Peter was always jumping in with bold answers. On one occasion, when Jesus asked the disciples who they thought He was, the other disciples stammered. Peter boldly stated, “You are the Christ, the Son of the Living God!”

Another time, when discussing the sacrifices necessary to be part of the kingdom, Peter boldly said, “We have left all we had to follow you!” It was true. There had been a lot of sacrifices. Each of the twelve had walked away from something. Peter, Andrew, James and John had left their fathers’ fishing businesses. Matthew abandoned his tax booth. Peter had a wife and house he left behind. Everyone had paid a price to follow Jesus. Now Jesus was asking if it had been worth it. Peter’s answer was an emphatic, “Yes!” echoing the psalmist who wrote, “Whom have I in heaven but you? And earth has nothing I desire besides you. My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever” (Psalm 73:25-26).

When we reach the point of total dependence on Jesus, we realize there is nowhere else to go. Nothing can be trusted to last forever, but Jesus says He will never leave nor forsake us. Jobs will come and go, and our possessions will one day belong to someone else. Friends and family always leave. Either by choice or by death, the result is still the same. Even our bodies will eventually fail. There is only one place to turn if it is eternal life we seek. His name is Jesus, and "there is no other name under heaven by which to be saved" (Acts 4:12).

This is a hard teaching and many part company with Jesus because of it. Our pluralistic society has no problem with a moralistic Jesus, who teaches love and peace and maintains His proper place among the pantheon of self-help gods. But when Jesus begins placing demands and making exclusive claims, many walk away. With their departure, Jesus turns to those of us left standing around and asks, "You don't want to leave too, do you?"

Well, do you?

Holy One of God,

Whom have I in heaven but You, Lord? Earth has nothing that compares to You. Where would I go if not to You, Jesus? My stuff will turn to dust, and my body will decay, but You are eternal, and Your Words bring life.

Amen