This coming Lord’s Day our preaching text will be John 6:60-71. We come to the close of the “Bread of Life Discourse”, and unless we really slow down to picture what is happening in the closing verses of John 6 we venture to miss the magnitude of this event. The things Jesus says in this chapter are some of the most striking, powerful and clear words that we have in the Bible, explaining who he is and what he’s come to do. It’s hard to know exactly how many people were there to begin with, in that synagogue in Capernaum, where Jesus reveals that he is the bread of life. We know that there were five-thousand men across the sea that experienced the feeding miracle, which translates into somewhere around twenty-thousand people (men, women and children included). We also know that this crowd traveled across the sea to find Jesus, which they did in Capernaum. So, it is possible that this discourse began with somewhere in the neighborhood of twenty-thousand people. Why is that relevant or important? Because, by the time Jesus finishes what he has to say, there are only twelve left. We go from a mass feeding to a mass exodus. What is it that creates such a drastic response? Why would all these people, many of whom seemed very excited about Jesus up and leave? What is it today that so many people find off-putting about the Church and Christianity? Sure, in many cases the attitude and actions of Christians are what is off-putting. But, I think we all know that there is something more to it. There is something that goes beyond the surface, and that is what we encounter in our text. There is an edge, upon which a person is compelled to follow Jesus Christ or reject him. Over the course of time, from this text to this very day that edge has not changed. May we, by God’s grace and mercy, say with Peter, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life and we have come to know and believe that you are the Holy One of God”.
Sermon Title: “The Dividing Edge of Jesus’ Words”
Sermon Text: John 6:60-71
Meditation Passage: Romans 8:1-11
Call To Worship: Isaiah 43:1-7
Benediction: Ephesians 1:17-21
Songs For Sunday:
To God Be The Glory
Holy Spirit Living Breath Of God
A Couple of Reminders for this Week:
- Monthly Prayer Service on Wednesday at 6:30 PM
- On Sunday morning at 9:30 AM (Sunday School hour), Josh Caruso and Richard Boswell will begin teaching a new series through the books of 1 and 2 Timothy.