Being a real Christian isn’t easy. You do not want to leave too, do you?

Becoming a Christian is easy.  You know – say the sinner’s prayer and voila, you’re a Christian.  Or so we’re often told.  But, saying “I’m a Christian”, or being told, “You’re a Christian” – does that really make someone a “real” Christian?  No, it doesn’t.  Being a real Christian isn’t easy.  Especially not that easy.  It takes a lot more than just some words.  Many who start off on the path to becoming believers end up leaving that path.  At one point, Jesus even asked His closest followers, You do not want to leave too, do you? 

Check out the passage below.  Five thousand men, plus women and children, crossed a lake by boat to hear Jesus speak.  He had just done the miracle of feeding the 5,000 the day before.  People wanted to hear and see more from Him.  And then this happened:

Jesus the Bread of Life

Jn 6:25 When they found him on the other side of the lake, they asked him, “Rabbi, when did you get here?”

Jn 6:26 Jesus answered, “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. 27 Do not work for food that spoils, but for food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. On him God the Father has placed his seal of approval.”

Let’s take what happened in this exchange all the way back to 2 Chronicles, in the Old Testament.  The scene is this:

Solomon’s Prayer of Dedication

6:12-40 pp — 1Ki 8:22-53
6:41-42 pp — Ps 132:8-10

2Ch 6:12 Then Solomon stood before the altar of the LORD in front of the whole assembly of Israel and spread out his hands. 13 Now he had made a bronze platform, five cubits long, five cubits wide and three cubits high, and had placed it in the center of the outer court. He stood on the platform and then knelt down before the whole assembly of Israel and spread out his hands toward heaven. 14 He said:

“O LORD, God of Israel, there is no God like you in heaven or on earth—you who keep your covenant of love with your servants who continue wholeheartedly in your way. 15 You have kept your promise to your servant David my father; with your mouth you have promised and with your hand you have fulfilled it—as it is today.

So Solomon is praying before the assembly of Israel, just after the Ark of the Covenant ha been brought to the new Temple in Jerusalem.  It’s the prayer before the dedication of the temple.  That prayer continues with this passage:

2Ch 6:28 “When famine or plague comes to the land, or blight or mildew, locusts or grasshoppers, or when enemies besiege them in any of their cities, whatever disaster or disease may come, 29 and when a prayer or plea is made by any of your people Israel—each one aware of his afflictions and pains, and spreading out his hands toward this temple— 30 then hear from heaven, your dwelling place. Forgive, and deal with each man according to all he does, since you know his heart (for you alone know the hearts of men), 31 so that they will fear you and walk in your ways all the time they live in the land you gave our fathers.”

Forgive, and deal with each man according to all he does, since you know his heart (for you alone know the hearts of men).

It’s not about what we say.  It’s about what’s in our hearts.  That’s why Jesus responds to a simple question, “when did you get here“, with “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.”  Jesus knew what was in their hearts, and dealt with them accordingly. 

Jesus gave them a warning.  A stern one – absolutely.  It was needed.  It was given out of love. And then, Jesus told them what to do: “Do not work for food that spoils, but for food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you“.  What He said wasn’t as easy as saying a few words.  It required belief.  Real belief.  Not just saying that we believe.  

We also see evidence of the need for belief in this passage:

The Healing of a Boy With an Evil Spirit

Mk 9:14 When they came to the other disciples, they saw a large crowd around them and the teachers of the law arguing with them. 15 As soon as all the people saw Jesus, they were overwhelmed with wonder and ran to greet him.

Mk 9:16 “What are you arguing with them about?” he asked.

Mk 9:17 A man in the crowd answered, “Teacher, I brought you my son, who is possessed by a spirit that has robbed him of speech. 18 Whenever it seizes him, it throws him to the ground. He foams at the mouth, gnashes his teeth and becomes rigid. I asked your disciples to drive out the spirit, but they could not.”

Mk 9:19 “O unbelieving generation,” Jesus replied, “how long shall I stay with you? How long shall I put up with you? Bring the boy to me.”

Notice – Jesus is telling the people they don’t really believe.

Mk 9:20 So they brought him. When the spirit saw Jesus, it immediately threw the boy into a convulsion. He fell to the ground and rolled around, foaming at the mouth.

Mk 9:21 Jesus asked the boy’s father, “How long has he been like this?”
“From childhood,” he answered. 22 “It has often thrown him into fire or water to kill him. But if you can do anything, take pity on us and help us.”

Mk 9:23 “ ‘If you can’?” said Jesus. “Everything is possible for him who believes.”

Since the father said, “if you can“, we can tell that in his heart – he didn’t really believe.  Not completely, anyway.  Jesus was right about that.

Mk 9:24 Immediately the boy’s father exclaimed, “I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!”

Here we see the father saying that although he does believe, he needs help with his unbelief.  The father is acknowledging a disconnect between the words coming out of his mouth and the thought in his heart.  And he asks for help from the only one who can give that help – Jesus. 

When we continue with the original passage from John, notice the response from the crowd is very different from the response by this boy’s father.

But first, let’s finish off the passage about Jesus healing this boy. 

Mk 9:25 When Jesus saw that a crowd was running to the scene, he rebuked the evil spirit. “You deaf and mute spirit,” he said, “I command you, come out of him and never enter him again.”

Mk 9:26 The spirit shrieked, convulsed him violently and came out. The boy looked so much like a corpse that many said, “He’s dead.” 27 But Jesus took him by the hand and lifted him to his feet, and he stood up.

Mk 9:28 After Jesus had gone indoors, his disciples asked him privately, “Why couldn’t we drive it out?”

Mk 9:29 He replied, “This kind can come out only by prayer.’” 

Although the word here is prayer – there’s more implied by that word than we may at first think.  Following is an excellent description of what happened, very much in keeping with both the events and the way the words would have been interpreted by someone at that time:

Power Comes from Faith (Mark 9:14–29)

The Christian life is “a land of hills and valleys” (Deut. 11:11). In one day, a disciple can move from the glory of heaven to the attacks of hell. When our Lord and His three friends returned to the other nine disciples, they found them involved in a dual problem: they were unable to deliver a boy from demonic control, and the scribes were debating with them and perhaps even taunting them because of their failure. As always, it was Jesus who stepped in to solve the problem.

The boy was both deaf and dumb (Mark 9:17, 25), and the demon was doing his best to destroy him. Imagine what it would be like for that father to try to care for the boy and protect him! Jesus had given His disciples authority to cast out demons (Mark 6:7, 13), and yet their ministry to the boy was ineffective. No wonder the Lord was grieved with them! How often He must be grieved with us when we fail to use the spiritual resources He has graciously given to His people!

Since the disciples had failed, the desperate father was not even sure that Jesus could succeed; hence his statement, “If you can do anything” (Mark 9:22, NASB). However, the father was honest enough to admit his own unbelief and to ask the Lord to help him and his son. Jesus did cast out the demon and restore the boy to his father.

The main lesson of this miracle is the power of faith to overcome the enemy (Mark 9:19, 23–24; and see Matt. 17:20). Why had the nine disciples failed? Because they had been careless in their personal spiritual walk and had neglected prayer and fasting (Mark 9:29). The authority that Jesus had given them was effective only if exercised by faith, but faith must be cultivated through spiritual discipline and devotion. It may be that the absence of their Lord, or His taking the three disciples with Him and leaving them behind, had dampened their spiritual fervor and diminished their faith. Not only did their failure embarrass them, but it also robbed the Lord of glory and gave the enemy opportunity to criticize. It is our faith in Him that glorifies God (Rom. 4:20).  ¹Wiersbe, W. W. (1996). The Bible exposition commentary (Vol. 1, pp. 141–142). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.

Just as words alone don’t make us Christian – neither do words alone constitute a prayer.  It may appear so to us and to others around us.  But God knows what’s in our hearts.  And however it happens, even demons know whether or not our prayers are just words, or whether there is true faith behind them.  And in the same way, one has to assume the demons also know whether our professions of being a Christian are real or not. 

In both cases, the (the demons) appear to act according to what’s in our hearts, not what’s in our words.  Having said that though, I’m not saying they can actually read our hearts.  After all, remember what Solomon said in his prayer – for you alone know the hearts of men.  We cannot see what’s in the spiritual realm, but there may very well be some indication as to whether or not God has accepted our words and prayers as being from the heart – or has rejected them as mere words.

Jn 6:28 Then they asked him, “What must we do to do the works God requires?”

Jn 6:29 Jesus answered, “The work of God is this: to believe in the one he has sent.”

OK – this sounds a little bit harder than saying some words.  But still – does it really mean we only have to believe in?

If we read the KJV translation, it says “to believe on” – not “to believe in“.

What’s going on here?  What does believe on even mean?  We’d better look into the Greek word that gets translated as either “on” or “in”.

1519 εἰς [eis /ice/] prep. A primary preposition; TDNT 2:420; TDNTA 211; GK 1650; 1773 occurrences; AV translates as “into” 573 times, “to” 281 times, “unto” 207 times, “for” 140 times, “in” 138 times, “on” 58 times, “toward” 29 times, “against” 26 times, and translated miscellaneously 321 times. 1 into, unto, to, towards, for, among. Additional Information: Wigram’s frequency count is 1770 not 1773. “For” (as used in Acts 2:38 “for the forgiveness …”) could have two meanings. If you saw a poster saying “Jesse James wanted for robbery”, “for” could mean Jesse is wanted so he can commit a robbery, or is wanted because he has committed a robbery. The later sense is the correct one. So too in this passage, the word “for” signifies an action in the past. Otherwise, it would violate the entire tenor of the NT teaching on salvation by grace and not by works.  ²Strong, J. (1995). Enhanced Strong’s Lexicon. Woodside Bible Fellowship.

Looks like it’s got a lot of different ways to translate.  Most generally, it’s a preposition.  For those who don’t quite remember grammar rules, that means it is a word governing, and usually preceding, a noun or pronoun and expressing a relation to another word or element in the clause, as in “the man on the platform,” “she arrived after dinner”.

The noun would be Jesus.  The related word would be believe.  So, this word is supposed to express a relationship between Jesus and belief.  Our belief.  But what it is saying about our belief – as it relates to Jesus?  The answer to that question, I believe, is found in the next verse.

Jn 6:30 So they asked him, “What miraculous sign then will you give that we may see it and believe you? What will you do? 31 Our forefathers ate the manna in the desert; as it is written: ‘He gave them bread from heaven to eat.’’”

that we may see it and believe you.  The response from the people wasn’t about believing in Jesus.  It was about believing Jesus.

However – I need to make a further explanation here.  I’ve written about this difference before.  The way I interpret those words today – “believe in” versus “believe” – I view believing in as the lesser of the two.  To me, believing in means that there’s some sort of faith, but not that much.  On the other hand, I view believing as having enough faith to have actions result from that belief.

Apparently that’s not the way it gets explained, by at least some very famous and influential Christians.  So once again, it’s not the words – but what’s in the interpretation.  And in this case, it’s what’s in the heart and the actions that result from them.  Here’s something from Charles Spurgeon that views the words differently from me – but expresses the same interpretation of the events that take place from whatever we happen to call believing” and “believing in“.

There were two sorts of believers, and on these I will speak a while.

The first “believed on him”: these are the right kind. What is it to believe on Christ? It means not only to accept what he says as true, and to believe that he is the Messiah and the Son of God, but trustfully to rest in him. To believe on him is to take him as the ground of our hopes, as our Saviour, upon whom we depend for salvation. When we believe in him or on him, we accept him as God sets him forth; and we make use of him by trusting on him to do for us what God has appointed him to do. This trusting on Jesus is saving faith. “As many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name.” “He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life.” To believe him may be a very different thing from believing on him. Such belief may fall far short of saving faith. To believe on him means heartily to give yourself up to him, and to follow him as the way, the truth, and the life to you. Rejecting all rival confidences, the heart leans on Jesus all its weight, and leaves with him all its burdens. Believing in him, we repose all our concerns, for time and for eternity, in his hands. To believe on him is also to believe implicitly. We believe all that he may yet say. We accept not only what he says which we can fully understand, but that which as yet is dark to us. We so believe in him that we go with him in all his teachings, be they what they may. We not only go as far as he has hitherto revealed himself to us, but we are prepared to go as much farther as he pleases. What he says is truth to us, on the sole evidence that he says it. We believe in Jesus, not because we judge that what he says can be endorsed by our understanding (though that is, indeed, the case), but because he says it. Our Lord’s word is reason enough for us. The ipse dixit of the Son of God suffices us, even if all men deny his assertions. He has said it, and he is the truth itself. We believe on him; Son of God and Son of man, living, dying, risen again, ascended into the heavens, we trust him. He is our infallible prophet, and our omniscient teacher. We rest ourselves wholly on him. That is saving faith. Oh, that it may be said of this congregation, “Many believed on him”!

There are some things in the link above that I disagree with, should you choose to follow it.  However, I do like the way he approached scripture.  Here’s something he said in one of his sermons on free will or predestiny.  

“It has been my earnest endeavor ever since I have preached the Word, never to keep back a single doctrine which I believe to be taught of God. It is time that we had done with the old and rusty systems that have so long curbed the freeness of religious speech. The Arminian trembles to go an inch beyond Arminius or Wesley, and many a Calvinist refers to John Gill or John Calvin as any ultimate authority. It is time that the systems were broken up, and that there was sufficient grace in all our hearts to believe everything taught in God’s Word, whether it was taught by either of these men or not.… If God teaches it, it is enough. If it is not in the Word, away with it! Away with it! But if it be in the Word, agreeable or disagreeable, systematic or disorderly, I believe it.”

If you’d like, you can read my view on that topic in the problem of Either/Or: Free Will vs Predestiny .

Anyway – back on topic.  Looking at the original Greek for the two verses in question, we find some additional words in what Jesus said, as opposed to how the people responded.  It looks like I need to go back and clean up some wording on a previous article.  The context and the meaning doesn’t change – but the wording probably will. 

Regardless, the point is the same.  The people want to do something less than what Jesus is telling them they need to do.  The belief the people want to have may fall far short of saving faith.  This is something that really concerns me.  We seem to make it so easy to be saved (allegedly saved).  But are we doing a disservice by saying  it’s so easy?  Further, are we setting people up to not be saved at all, because what Jesus is really saying means heartily to give yourself up to him, and to follow him as the way, the truth, and the life to you.  That’s a far cry from, say the sinners prayer and you’ve got your ticket to Heaven.

It really does bother me.  I guess that’s why my writing tends to come out the way it does.  Like a warning that maybe we believe with our mouths, convince ourselves that our actions are proof of that belief – but that our hearts are in a very different place.

I also think that’s the message Jesus was trying to give the people in what He just said.  He knew before they spoke where their hearts were.  There was a harshness in His reply that would not have been warranted if their hearts were in the right place.  And the harshness not only continues in this passage – it get even more difficult. 

Jn 6:32 Jesus said to them, “I tell you the truth, it is not Moses who has given you the bread from heaven, but it is my Father who 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.”

Verse 32 should cause us go to back and examine verse 31.  Verse 31 says He gave them bread from heaven to eat.  We see “He” capitalized, and most likely assume it means God gave the people the bread from Heaven.  Most English translations say the same thing.  Truth is, there’s no Greek word that’s actually translated into “He”.  “He” is assumed from the context.  It’s also the case that He is capitalized because it’s the first word in a sentence.  That makes it impossible to really know whether the translator meant He was representing Moses or God.

And this is where it gets really interesting.  When we read that verse, and assume “He” is God – we are actually correct, as far as what happened in the desert.  However – it’s not correct, as far as what was said by the people to Jesus.  It can’t be.

It they had actually said that God (He) gave them the bread from Heaven, then there would be no reason for Jesus to say what He did in verse 32.  I tell you the truth, it is not Moses who has given you the bread from heaven is correcting what the people had just said.  More than that, when Jesus says “I tell you the truth“, He is strongly correcting something with what follows those words.  It’s always something of great importance.

In this case, Jesus seems to be correcting two things.  First – that the bread came from God, not from Moses.  Second, that the kind of bread Jesus is talking about, the true bread from Heaven, isn’t actually bread in the sense they are thinking.  Jesus is saying that, in fact, the true bread from Heaven is Himself. 

In this case, it’s the New Living Translation that actually seems to have the most understandable translation:

31 After all, our ancestors ate manna while they journeyed through the wilderness! The Scriptures say, ‘Moses gave them bread from heaven to eat.’”
32 Jesus said, “I tell you the truth, Moses didn’t give you bread from heaven. My Father did. And now he offers you the true bread from heaven. 33 The true bread of God is the one who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.”  ³Tyndale House Publishers. (2013). Holy Bible: New Living Translation (Jn 6:31–33). Carol Stream, IL: Tyndale House Publishers.

Jn 6:34 “Sir,” they said, “from now on give us this bread.”

They got it.  They want that bread.  

But wait.  Did they really get it?

Actually – no, they didn’t.  From now on (or always in many other translations) tells us they didn’t get it.  They’re still in the daily manna from Heaven mode.  It would seem that they also didn’t really make the connection to true bread of God is the one who comes down from heaven.  There are two things they’ve missed.  First – that Jesus said He is the true bread.  Second, that if they think they’re going to literally eat that bread like they did the manna, then they’ll literally be eating Him.

These misconceptions are about to be cleared up.

Jn 6:35 Then Jesus declared, “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. 36 But as I told you, you have seen me and still you do not believe. 37 All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never drive away. 38 For I have come down from heaven not to do my will but to do the will of him who sent me. 39 And this is the will of him who sent me, that I shall lose none of all that he has given me, but raise them up at the last day. 40 For my Father’s will is that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in him shall have eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day.”

Well, that should certainly clear things up, right?  It’s all very straightforward.  And very different from literally eating anything.

However, there is that one worrisome sentence.  But as I told you, you have seen me and still you do not believe.

Jn 6:41 At this the Jews began to grumble about him because he said, “I am the bread that came down from heaven.” 42 They said, “Is this not Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How can he now say, ‘I came down from heaven’?”

I guess we know something about why they don’t believe.  It’s more than just the fact that they aren’t really hearing what Jesus is saying.  They can’t believe that this person they “know” could possibly be saying these things.  

Jn 6:43 “Stop grumbling among yourselves,” Jesus answered. 44 “No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him, and I will raise him up at the last day. 45 It is written in the Prophets: ‘They will all be taught by God.’ Everyone who listens to the Father and learns from him comes to me. 46 No one has seen the Father except the one who is from God; only he has seen the Father. 47 I tell you the truth, he who believes has everlasting life. 48 I am the bread of life. 49 Your forefathers ate the manna in the desert, yet they died. 50 But here is the bread that comes down from heaven, which a man may eat and not die. 51 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.”

Jesus tells them to stop complaining – and then tries again to deliver His message.  Part of it is another I tell you the truth statement.  This time, it’s – he who believes has everlasting life.  And then Jesus proceeds to talk about eating His flesh.

Jn 6:52 Then the Jews began to argue sharply among themselves, “How can this man give us his flesh to eat?”

Finally!  They heard, at least literally, what Jesus said.  And yet, they still don’t get it.

Jn 6:53 Jesus said to them, “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. 54 Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day. 55 For my flesh is real food and my blood is real drink. 56 Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me, and I in him. 57 Just as the living Father sent me and I live because of the Father, so the one who feeds on me will live because of me. 58 This is the bread that came down from heaven. Your forefathers ate manna and died, but he who feeds on this bread will live forever.” 59 He said this while teaching in the synagogue in Capernaum.

Yet another attempt by Jesus to explain what He’s talking about.  And yet another instance of words falling on deaf ears.  Ears that cannot hear.

Worse yet, we find out just how awful it is that these ears are deaf.  He said this while teaching in the synagogue in Capernaum.  If it had just been a bunch of people – that’s one thing.  But this was in the synagogue.  This was a place where something should have been recognized by at least some of those present.

One more thing before we move on.  Jesus will soon ask if what He said was offensive to the people.  There is also a reference, which they would maybe not have been able to make yet, in what Jesus was saying.  In John’s Gospel, we read that John the Baptist referred to Jesus as “the Lamb of God“.  When the Last Supper occurs on the day of the Passover celebration, the references to blood and bread should have / would have brought back remembrance of what the Passover was all about.  

Invitation to the Thirsty

Isa 55:1 “Come, all you who are thirsty,
come to the waters;
and you who have no money,
come, buy and eat!
Come, buy wine and milk
without money and without cost.

Isa 55:2 Why spend money on what is not bread,
and your labor on what does not satisfy?
Listen, listen to me, and eat what is good,
and your soul will delight in the richest of fare.

Isa 55:3 Give ear and come to me;
hear me, that your soul may live.
I will make an everlasting covenant with you,
my faithful love promised to David.

Isa 55:4 See, I have made him a witness to the peoples,
a leader and commander of the peoples.

And yet – they showed no sign of recognizing any of it.

I can’t help but wonder how many of them that heard Jesus speak that day remembered this passage – after His death on the cross.

The Suffering and Glory of the Servant

Isa 52:13 See, my servant will act wisely;
he will be raised and lifted up and highly exalted.

Isa 52:14 Just as there were many who were appalled at him—
his appearance was so disfigured beyond that of any man
and his form marred beyond human likeness—

Isa 52:15 so will he sprinkle many nations,
and kings will shut their mouths because of him.
For what they were not told, they will see,
and what they have not heard, they will understand.

Isa 53:1 Who has believed our message
and to whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed?

Isa 53:2 He grew up before him like a tender shoot,
and like a root out of dry ground.
He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him,
nothing in his appearance that we should desire him.

Isa 53:3 He was despised and rejected by men,
a man of sorrows, and familiar with suffering.
Like one from whom men hide their faces
he was despised, and we esteemed him not.

Isa 53:4 Surely he took up our infirmities
and carried our sorrows,
yet we considered him stricken by God,
smitten by him, and afflicted.

Isa 53:5 But he was pierced for our transgressions,
he was crushed for our iniquities;
the punishment that brought us peace was upon him,
and by his wounds we are healed.

Isa 53:6 We all, like sheep, have gone astray,
each of us has turned to his own way;
and the LORD has laid on him
the iniquity of us all.

Isa 53:7 He was oppressed and afflicted,
yet he did not open his mouth;
he was led like a lamb to the slaughter,
and as a sheep before her shearers is silent,
so he did not open his mouth.

Isa 53:8 By oppression and judgment he was taken away.
And who can speak of his descendants?
For he was cut off from the land of the living;
for the transgression of my people he was stricken.

Isa 53:9 He was assigned a grave with the wicked,
and with the rich in his death,
though he had done no violence,
nor was any deceit in his mouth.

Isa 53:10 Yet it was the LORD’S will to crush him and cause him to suffer,
and though the LORD makes his life a guilt offering,
he will see his offspring and prolong his days,
and the will of the LORD will prosper in his hand.

Isa 53:11 After the suffering of his soul,
he will see the light of life and be satisfied;
by his knowledge my righteous servant will justify many,
and he will bear their iniquities.

Isa 53:12 Therefore I will give him a portion among the great,
and he will divide the spoils with the strong,
because he poured out his life unto death,
and was numbered with the transgressors.
For he bore the sin of many,
and made intercession for the transgressors.

Things like this are why it’s so important to read the Old Testament.  And to understand it.  Just taking someone’s word that the New Testament fulfills Old Testament prophecy is one thing.  But to read it – put it all together – and realize that these things were written by different people, with 700 years between the time of the prophecy and its fulfillment – that’s a whole other thing.

But, Jesus was still very much alive.  And His message was very much not understood.  And so this happens:

Many Disciples Desert Jesus

Jn 6:60 On hearing it, many of his disciples said, “This is a hard teaching. Who can accept it?”

Jn 6:61 Aware that his disciples were grumbling about this, Jesus said to them, “Does this offend you? 62 What if you see the Son of Man ascend to where he was before! 63 The Spirit gives life; the flesh counts for nothing. The words I have spoken to you are spirit and they are life. 64 Yet there are some of you who do not believe.” For Jesus had known from the beginning which of them did not believe and who would betray him. 65 He went on to say, “This is why I told you that no one can come to me unless the Father has enabled him.”

Jn 6:66 From this time many of his disciples turned back and no longer followed him.

No, they didn’t understand.  So many of them left.  And it wasn’t the twelve that we’re talking about here – they come up next.  This was after what may have been Jesus’ largest crowd – 5,000 men plus women and children.  They loved the show.  They loved the free food.  But when it came right down to it – they left. 

Being a real Christian isn’t easy.  It’s hard to understand.  Impossible, without the Holy Spirit.  And even then, it’s hard to follow, because so many of the people we know won’t follow.

Next, Jesus asks those closest to Him – the twelve.

Jn 6:67 “You do not want to leave too, do you?” Jesus asked the Twelve.

Jn 6:68 Simon Peter answered him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. 69 We believe and know that you are the Holy One of God.”

Peter got it.  At least, Peter got enough of it to stay with Jesus

Conclusion

Way back at the beginning of the article – you read this:

Becoming a Christian is easy.  You know – say the sinner’s prayer and voila, you’re a Christian.  Or so we’re often told.  But, saying “I’m a Christian”, or being told, “You’re a Christian” – does that really make someone a “real” Christian?  No, it doesn’t.  Being a real Christian isn’t easy.  Especially not that easy.  It takes a lot more than just some words.  Many who start off on the path to becoming believers end up leaving that path.  At one point, Jesus even asked His closest followers, You do not want to leave too, do you? 

At the end of passage from John, we also read that many disciples left Jesus after what he said.  In case you’re not aware, if you’re a Christian – you’re a disciple of Jesus.  Here’s what the word meant in Jesus’ time:

Disciple. Someone who follows another person or another way of life and who submits himself to the discipline (teaching) of that leader or way. In the Bible the term “disciple” is found almost exclusively in the Gospels and the Book of Acts, the only exceptions being Isaiah 8:16 and less directly Isaiah 50:4 and 54:13, where the same Hebrew word is translated “learned” and “taught,” respectively. Yet clearly wherever there is a teacher and those taught, the idea of discipleship is present.  ⁴Helm, P. (1988). Disciple. In Baker encyclopedia of the Bible (Vol. 1, p. 629). Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Book House.

That’s a whole lot of people that the Bible calls disciples.  And they left Jesus.  As I said – being a real Christian – a true follower of Jesus – isn’t easy.  It’s more than just some words.  A lot more.  And many who start off on the path to follow Jesus will not stay on that path.

Jesus even asked His closest followers, You do not want to leave too, do you? 

Peter said, 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.

What if Jesus asked you – You do not want to leave too, do you?

Please – don’t leave.  Even if you think you have someplace else to go, it’s nothing compared to what Jesus offers for following Him.

 

Footnotes

• 1
  Wiersbe, W. W. (1996). The Bible exposition commentary (Vol. 1, pp. 141–142). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.
• 2
  Strong, J. (1995). Enhanced Strong’s Lexicon. Woodside Bible Fellowship.
• 3
  Tyndale House Publishers. (2013). Holy Bible: New Living Translation (Jn 6:31–33). Carol Stream, IL: Tyndale House Publishers.
• 4
  Helm, P. (1988). Disciple. In Baker encyclopedia of the Bible (Vol. 1, p. 629). Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Book House.