John 6

John 6 provides an interesting contrast to the story of the Samaritan woman at the well. When Jesus talks to the woman at the well, he promises her that if she drinks the water he gives, she will never thirst anymore. In John 6, Jesus feeds 5000 people, but the next day they're hungry again. So naturally they come back looking for more. Jesus' response in verses 26-27 struck me:

When they found him on the other side of the sea, they said to him, “Rabbi, when did you come here?” 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.

I'll be honest, a large portion of of why I am a Christian is because I "ate my fill of the loaves". What I mean is that I believe because of the different ways I've seen God care for my earthly needs. I don't think Jesus is condemning this, but he does want us to realize that there's more out there. If the Church was just a place for people to get their earthly needs met, it may as well just be a book club. What makes Christianity special is that it offers the only convincing hope in this world of eternal life. We have to work never to lose sight of that goal. As Jesus puts it in verse 28:

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."

When we finally realize to stop focusing on the material benefits and focus on what is eternal, this can be hard. One criticism of the Church is that "I like that they help, but I wish they weren't so obsessed with converting people. What makes them think they're so holy when they're just like us?" Even Jesus (who is the SON OF GOD) faced the accusation that he shouldn't claim to be something special. In verse 41-42:

So the Jews grumbled about him, because he said, “I am the bread that came down from heaven.” They said, “Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How does he now say, ‘I have come down from heaven’?”

I suspect that that people would have been a lot happier with Jesus if he had been content just to do miracles and not go around claiming to be something special. But at the same time, Jesus' mission on this earth wasn't just about feeding people, it was about saving them. And no number of loaves of bread was going to accomplish that.

Notice that even Jesus' disciples are put-off by the content of his message. In verse 60:

On hearing it, many of his disciples said, "This is a hard teaching. Who can accept it?"

How often do we complain when something seems "too hard" to understand. I really like Peter's reaction, though, when Jesus asks if Peter wants to quit because of the hardness. In verses 67-69:

"You do not want to leave too, do you?" Jesus asked the Twelve.

Simon Peter answered him, "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."

A saying I've been hearing a lot recently is "I won't let what I don't understand keep me from doing what I do understand". I think this is something Peter really gets. The fact is he doesn't understand everything that Jesus says (remember this is the same Peter who tries to prevent Jesus from going to the cross). Nonetheless, Peter is "stuck" with Jesus, because he's seen enough of Jesus' message to know that he has no other options.

There is no better place to be stuck than to be stuck on God. He won't always make sense, but he will always be there for you. And only he has the ability to grant eternal life.