An interesting string of events are documented in John 6, starting somewhere around verse 47. Jesus is speaking in the synagogue at Capernaum, and He is telling the people there that He is the real Bread of heaven, the Bread of Life. He says that whoever eats of His flesh (bread) and drinks of his blood will dwell continually in Him and He in them. Well, this isn't the first time that He has said something that has made the Jewish leaders angry, but this time, His words upset more than the usual crowd. In verse 60 it says this: When His disciples heard this, many of them said, This is a hard and difficult and strange saying (an offensive and unbearable message). Who can stand to hear it? [Who can be expected to listen to such teaching?] Some of His disciples - men who had left behind their old ways of life to follow Him, and dedicate their lives to Him - were offended by what He was saying.
Jesus responds to them: But Jesus, knowing within Himself that His disciples were complaining and protesting and grumbling about it, said to them: Is this a stumbling block and an offense to you? [Does this upset and displease and shock and scandalize you?] He goes on to explain that what He is speaking of is of the spirit, not of the flesh.
The disciples were offended because they did not understand what He was teaching. The Bible, in fact, specifically tells us that those of the world cannot understand the things of the Spirit. Because they didn't understand, they allowed the spirit of offense to enter into them, ultimately driving them away from their walk with Jesus. Verse 66 tells us this: After this, many of His disciples drew back (returned to their old associations) and no longer accompanied Him.
Then Jesus asks His original twelve disciples, 'Do you too desire to leave Me?' Simon Peter answered, Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words (the message) of eternal life. And we have learned to believe and trust, and [more] we have come to know [surely] that You are the Holy One of God, the Christ (the Anointed One), the Son of the living God.
In our walk with Jesus, we may come across things that we don't like, things that offend us, things that we do not understand. At these points, we will have to choose our direction. We can either turn back to our old associations and no longer accompany Him (walk with Him), or we can stay at His side, believe in Him and trust in Him.
We often talk about our 'walk' with God. Well, a walk implies steady forward movement. Forward progress will, at times, require us to press past obstacles or to pick ourselves up when we stumble or fall. Like He did with Peter (when Peter tried to walk on water), if we ask for help, Jesus will grab us and help us back to our feet. He may even slow the pace at times, or pause for a brief rest when we are weary. But ultimately, the walk must continue, we must get up and make continued forward progress. Throughout this process, He will never make us stay. We walk with Him because we choose to, and we can choose to walk away, or sit down and camp, at any time.
When stumbling blocks do come into our path, we will be in a stronger position to press past them when we know Him, as Peter described - 'we have come to know surely that You are...the Son of God.' I doubt that Peter understood, or was even comfortable with what Jesus was teaching in the synagogue that day. Jesus' death and resurrection had not yet taken place, so the disciples did not have a frame of reference to understand what He was speaking about. But Peter (and the others) stayed at His side because he knew Him and knew Who He was.
Jeremiah 17: 7-8 - [Most] blessed is the man who believes in, trusts in, and relies on the Lord, and whose hope and confidence the Lord is. For he shall be like a tree planted by the waters that spreads out its roots by the river; and it shall not see and fear when heat comes; but its leaf shall be green. It shall not be anxious and full of care in the year of drought, nor shall it cease yielding fruit.
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