Rejection part 1
Who is Jesus? part 67 – John 6:25-34
I spend some of my time on social media. It has been really helpful to me in keeping in touch with people I have not seen in a while or have moved on. Most of my contacts I have met in real life, even those I met first online. A trend I have seen is that some people get angry at seeing the truth. If you gently point out the error of a false argument instead of fact checking they get abusive. They would rather remain believing a comfortable lie which reenforces their prejudice than believe an uncomfortable truth.
John’s Gospel chapter 6 shows how Jesus spoke the truth and lost his following.
25 When they found him on the other side of the sea, they said to him, “Rabbi, when did you come here?” 26 Jesus answered them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, you are seeking me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate your fill of the loaves. 27 Do not labour for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give to you. For on him God the Father has set his seal.” 28 Then they said to him, “What must we do, to be doing the works of God?” 29 Jesus answered them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent.” 30 So they said to him, “Then what sign do you do, that we may see and believe you? What work do you perform? 31 Our fathers ate the manna in the wilderness; as it is written, ‘He gave them bread from heaven to eat.’” 32 Jesus then said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, it was not Moses who gave you the bread from heaven, but my Father gives you the true bread from heaven. 33 For the bread of God is he who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.” 34 They said to him, “Sir, give us this bread always.”
John 6:25-34 ESVUK
The people were looking to Jesus. Even in a storm their dedication to him was so great that they still searched. This is great, right. You will know people from their fruits, said Jesus in Matthew 7:16. The people are so keen that when they found Jesus he should commend them for their diligence. But that didn’t happen, that’s what I expected to happen, what I wanted to happen when I approached this story with ignoring what I’d learnt in church. Jesus is surprising, he does something completely different, that no one was expecting.
It has been mentioned several times in John’s gospel that the people are following jesus because they want to see a sign, and that’s fine. Jesus accepts the sign seekers, they might go on to listen to what he says and believe in him like Nicodemas had done. Jesus is fine with people looking for miracles. These people are not looking for a sign. They are looking for a free lunch and Jesus is not in the catering business. They are asking for a sign, but they have already seen a sign. Is that not enough? Apparently not.
They say there is no such thing as a free lunch, meaning that it is impossible to get something for nothing. The people Jesus is speaking to have literally had a free lunch. There were no conditions to receiving the bread and fish in the feeding of the 5,000, Jesus fed them because they were hungry. Was Jesus being ungracious? After all he had done a great thing and the people excited and want more. All he does is rebuke them for having wrong motivation.
The people have has a free lunch and are wanting more free lunches. Straight after feeding the 5,000 the people wanted to make Jesus king, but Jesus was not that kind of king who overthrows enemies with force. He was not the same as any other worldly king.
It reminds me of a type of image coming out of the US, of Jesus holding an assault rife, (Google it, there are plenty of them). These images show a total misunderstanding of Jesus and his mission, they are the opposite of Jesus shown in the Gospel – he made sure people would not force him into that role. That is what happens when we try to make Jesus fit into a mould of our making.
The people’s first response to Jesus’ rebuke was to ask, “What must we do, to be doing the works of God?” They have the mindset that good works get you into God’s good books. Jesus’ reply is, “This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent.” There are good works, but these come after we believe in Jesus. Saint Paul put it like this:
8 For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, 9 not a result of works, so that no one may boast. 10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.
Ephesians 2:8-10
The people’s second response to Jesus’ rebuke was to remind him of God feeding the Israelites in the desert daily for 40 years. Manna, a bread that would not last until the next day. Jesus is talking about God giving something that will last. Moses was only God’s agent. Jesus was telling them that the real spiritual nourishment was standing in front of them.
Jesus is a king, a different kind of kind, and there was, and still is, a new Exodus taking place with Jesus leading it. This king wears a crown not of gold, but of thorns.
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Making an ass of myself 