No turning back!

From this time many of his disciples turned back and no longer followed him. “You don’t want to go too, do you?” asked Jesus. Simon Peter answered him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life”… John 6:66-68

Whereabouts in the four Gospels do we see Jesus at his most human?

As Christians we believe in his divinity – he is God in the flesh. But he is also fully human, a real man, yet without sin. So, putting the question again: at what points in his earthly life do we see his humanity most clearly?

One obvious answer is: at the cross. Nailed up to die, feeling abandoned not only by his disciples, but even by his heavenly father – utterly alone, how agonisingly human is that?

Or you might think of the day he sat by the well and talked with the woman who came to draw water: John 4:6 tells us that he was “tired from the journey”. Or, of course, of Jesus as a baby – needing to be fed and kept clean like any other baby. You might also think of the time he told his disciples quite plainly that he was ignorant of the time of his return: “about that day or hour no-one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father” (Matthew 24:36).

I am sure there are other examples too that spring to mind.

But there’s an incident described for us in John 6 which always strikes me personally as being really quite touching in the way it portrays the man Jesus.

He has been teaching the crowds, and opening up in particular the theme of himself as “the bread of life”. Some of his hearers start to get  uncomfortable: this is a bit more than they can take! And then, to make it even worse, Jesus tells them that not only must they “eat his flesh” but also “drink his blood”.

This really is too much. And so, John tells us, “From this time many of his disciples turned back and no longer followed him” (verse 66). Can you picture them shuffling off, gravely shaking their heads? That, of course, is sad. But the really touching moment, for me at any rate, is when he turns to “the Twelve” and asks them plainly, “You don’t want to leave too, do you?” (verse 67).

I don’t think he’s exactly pleading with them, but it’s a bit like that. As if to say: “Look, you may have had second thoughts since that day by the Sea of Galilee, when I called you to leave your nets and follow me. Well, if that is so, I don’t want to hold you against your will – you’ve seen all these people decide to turn back from following me, so if you feel you must do the same, well, here’s your opportunity”.

And what happens? Simon Peter acts as spokesman for the Twelve – dear, good Simon Peter! – and says a very beautiful thing: “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life…” (verse 68). So simple! So honest! So humble! Words which, I’m sure, must have thrilled Jesus’ heart.

Have you ever felt like “turning back” from following Jesus?

When I was a teenage Christian there was a song we sang with great gusto: “I have decided to follow Jesus [repeat]. No turning back! No turning back!” And then the second verse: “Though none go with me, I still will follow. No turning back! No turning back!”

Oh, how sure we were! How confident. Well, I don’t know what happened to everyone in our group – but I do know that there were some, sadly, who did indeed “turn back”.

Next time I hope to return to this theme and ask the question, Why is it that followers of Jesus sometimes go back on their allegiance to him?

But for the moment I want to dwell a little on Peter’s words, just in case – who knows? - any of us are wavering in our faith and wondering if we can continue.

“Lord,” he said, “to whom shall we go?”

To whom indeed!

It’s a plain fact that you can’t turn away from something – or someone – without also turning to something or someone. So if we decide to turn away from Jesus, who or what are we going to turn to instead? Hinduism? Mohammed? The Buddha? Atheism? Materialism? Karl Marx? Pleasure-seeking? Or perhaps no -ism at all, but just the grey uniformity of an ultimately meaningless life?

I mean no disrespect, of course, to sincere adherents of the creeds I have mentioned. But if we do indeed decide to turn back, there is a question we must face: Is there really anybody better than Jesus? If so, who?

Does anybody else “have the words of eternal life”? Has anyone else come among us as God in the flesh? Has anyone else offered to God the only sacrifice that can deal with our sins and set us free from that slavery? Has anyone else conquered death and invited us to share in that supreme victory?

If anyone is indeed thinking of turning back, I can only say: Please, please, think very, very deeply – and pray really hard first!

Who else is there to go to?

Father, I think of those who used to walk with me in Christ, but who for various reasons have turned back. Please send your Spirit to work afresh in their hearts – and please help me, Lord, weak as I am, to stay with you till that day when I see Jesus face to face. Amen.