May 11, 2022
The crowds had gathered - because the show that Jesus offered was exciting! But with the explanation, the crowd began to thin. You, too, have a choice. How will you respond? (John 6:60-71, Matthew 16:13-20, Mark 8:27-30, Luke 9:18-21)
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Welcome to Walking in the Word, the biblical teaching arm of the Women World Leaders’ Podcast. My name is Julie Jenkins, and I’m thrilled that you have joined me for our systematic walk through the Bible.
If you are signed up to receive our Voice of Truth magazine, you should have received the 2nd quarter edition this past week! Although I work on the magazine nearly every day, it is always such a sweet surprise to open my mailbox and see it! A Voice of Truth subscription is free within the continental United States…and we also offer a free digital version for those of you who are not in the United States of for those who prefer to read on your digital device. If you don’t yet receive the magazine, visit our website at womenworldleaders.com where you can subscribe and download this issue or any back issues. There are so many articles I love in Voice of Truth, but one that is near and dear to my heart is Holy Hush by Deborah Watson. Holy Hush is an allegorical story that actually began in the January 2021 edition of Voice of Truth. There are only 3 more installments of this story of young Rebeka…and let me tell you, it is hitting the good part! If you need to catch up, you can “binge read” the story by downloading each edition of the magazine. Trust me, it will be worth it. And as the managing editor of Voice of Truth, I already know the end of the story…and I can tell you that you won’t want to miss it!
Well…back to the podcast! On this, our Wednesday edition of the Women World Leaders Podcast, we are currently walking through the gospels chronologically as we ask the Holy Spirit to reveal to us what He wants us to know today. Today we will be looking at John 6:60-71, Matthew 16:13-20, Mark 8:27-30, and Luke 9:18-21. Before we begin, let’s pray…
Dear Most Holy God…we thank you as always for meeting us where we are. God, we know that you see each of us and you love each of us with a pure love that we can’t begin to comprehend. But God…we are here to say that we love you back, and we want to grow and learn from you. Please open our minds and hearts today that we can understand what you have to teach us. In Jesus’ name, I pray. Amen.
When we left off with our last teaching from the gospels, Jesus taught the difficult to understand truth that He is the Bread of Life – sent from heaven. You may recall that the crowds gathering around Jesus had been growing bigger and bigger – that was primarily because of what Jesus did – He healed the sick and He fed the masses. He drove out demons. But now He has begun to not just do, but to tell who He is – and His revelation, as we will see, begins to drive people away. Suddenly being a follower of Jesus is not just all fun and games, but it requires something.
If you are familiar with the Christian faith, you know that what Jesus offers us – life eternal with God – is a FREE gift. That is, it is not something we can earn. But eternal life with God doesn’t just float down on us like rain in a storm. To receive our free gift, we are required to choose to receive it.
Jesus said He was the Bread of Life – but that bread must be chosen from the world’s smorgasbord that is on laid out in front of us. We must choose the Bread of Life and ingest it into our lives in order to reap its benefits.
That seems simple. It seems like we would be ridiculous to not accept the stipulation that God requires.
Here…you can have this house…but you need to take these keys and unlock the door…oh gosh, no, that’s too much work.
Here…you can have this car…but you have to get in and drive it. … oh, I don’t think so, my foot kind of hurts.
HERE is your perfect husband…but you have to show up at the altar. … You know…I have something more important to do today. I think I need to clean my house.
Jesus has done all the hard work and He is offering us all the rewards. Jesus came down from heaven to live with us – but we have to listen to His teaching. Jesus gave Himself up that we might live, but we have to choose to believe. Jesus promises to guide and lead and love us – but we have to let Him. We have to choose Jesus as Lord to receive the gift of eternal life.
The people had flocked to Jesus, to receive what He had to offer, but when it came to them trusting that He was the bread from heaven, following His teaching, and relying on Him for their very eternity – they were out.
John 6:60 begins…
60 Many of his disciples said, “This is very hard to understand. How can anyone accept it?”
61 Jesus was aware that his disciples were complaining, so he said to them, “Does this offend you? 62 Then what will you think if you see the Son of Man ascend to heaven again? 63 The Spirit alone gives eternal life. Human effort accomplishes nothing. And the very words I have spoken to you are spirit and life. 64 But some of you do not believe me.” (For Jesus knew from the beginning which ones didn’t believe, and he knew who would betray him.) 65 Then he said, “That is why I said that people can’t come to me unless the Father gives them to me.”
66 At this point many of his disciples turned away and deserted him. 67 Then Jesus turned to the Twelve and asked, “Are you also going to leave?”
68 Simon Peter replied, “Lord, to whom would we go? You have the words that give eternal life. 69 We believe, and we know you are the Holy One of God.[a]”
Many say that Peter was impetuous – he acted without thought or care. But I would argue that Peter was true to himself. Peter had a heart that was as deep as a well – he loved, he cared, and he strived to do right, but one thing was sure, he was always true to himself. He said what was on his mind and he learned and he grew.
Peter answered Jesus’ question of whether they were going to leave by saying “Lord, to whom would we go?” Have you ever felt like that?
I have had ups and downs in life, like we all have. There are times I’ve felt so beat up by life that I just drive or walk, simply not knowing what else to do. Without fail, God reminds me that He is there. I think of the words of Psalm 139:7-12, which say…
I can never escape from your Spirit!
I can never get away from your
presence!
8 If I go up to heaven, you are
there;
if I go down to the grave,[a] you
are there.
9 If I ride the wings of the
morning,
if I dwell by the farthest oceans,
10 even there your hand will guide
me,
and your strength will support me.
11 I could ask the darkness to
hide me
and the light around me to become
night—
12 but
even in darkness I cannot hide from you.
The truth is, that Jesus’ teachings CAN be difficult. His is a free gift, for certain, but it is still a gift we must choose. We must choose to believe that Jesus is Lord, we must put our own selves aside as we surrender to His glory, we must fall with trust into His arms. And if we let the world and the devil’s thoughts infiltrate our minds, we will allow those simple choices to morph into what looks like an insurmountable mountain. But it is an illusion! What looks like an insurmountable mountain is really a mirage that, by simply holding Jesus’ hand, we can walk right through.
In Matthew 16:15, Jesus asks the disciples…
“Who do you say I am?”
16 Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah,[b] the Son of the living God.”
17 Jesus replied, “You are blessed, Simon son of John,[c] because my Father in heaven has revealed this to you. You did not learn this from any human being.
God the Father has YOU in His sights – He is waiting to reveal Himself to you. He has something to teach you that no human being could ever teach you. Jesus continued speaking to Peter…
18 Now I say to you that you are Peter (which means ‘rock’),[d] and upon this rock I will build my church, and all the powers of hell[e] will not conquer it. 19 And I will give you the keys of the Kingdom of Heaven. Whatever you forbid[f] on earth will be forbidden in heaven, and whatever you permit[g] on earth will be permitted in heaven.”
Jesus continued speaking to Peter…and Peter CHOSE to listen! Jesus called Peter the rock…and gave him a mission to build the church. But Peter had to follow in faith.
Jesus offers Himself to each of us. And He offers each of us a mission on earth. And WE have the choice – to turn away, like the crowd, or to listen and obey in faith.
Jesus isn’t a rainstorm – His blessings don’t automatically soak whoever happens to be around. We, even as God’s children, have to choose to hold out our hands and catch the raindrops.
Jesus drew the crowd in…but when it came their turn hold their hands out to receive the Bread of Life, they turned and walked away. Perhaps they figured that ANY price was too high of a price to pay. Perhaps they were blinded by the mirage of the seemingly insurmountable mountain ahead of them. Or perhaps they just didn’t’ want to be bothered.
Only the twelve stuck around…and Jesus then warns that even one of them, Judas, would betray Jesus…choosing the world and himself over the God who created him, pursued him, and would die in order to spend eternity with him.
If you are having trouble choosing God today, ask yourself the question, where else could I possibly go? Who else could ever love you as much as Jesus? Who else has the power to give you eternal life and to lead you, guide you, strengthen you, and protect you today? Who else can bring you unbridled joy? Who else will hold you as you weep and then promises to dry your tears? Who else has a mission for your life and will walk with you through any mountain as you fulfill that mission?
Jesus Himself is our gift. But we must choose that gift and give up ourselves to follow Him. Trust me. Every step is worth it!
Dear Most Holy God…we cannot run from your presence…and for that we thank you! Thank you for pursuing us to the ends of the earth. And for goodness sake, help us stop running! God, you yearn to hold our hands and walk with us, to guide us, to lead us, giving us your wisdom, protection, strength, and joy. Today we look to you. We trust you. And we give you our lives. In Jesus’ name, I pray. Amen.