Too Close to Turn Around
66. From this time many of His Disciples turned back and no longer followed Him.
67. “You do not want to leave too, do you?” Jesus asked the Twelve.
68. Simon Peter answered Him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the Words of eternal life.”
69. “We have come to believe and to know that You are the Holy One of God.”
John 6:66-69
How Close are You?
To grow means to change and to change means to embrace challenges. It is that part of embracing challenges that determines those who will continue to move forward in their faith and those who will choose to turn back. Many realize that life is not easy and it will be filled with tremendous obstacles and trials. A man named Job gave this observation. Job 14:1. Man that is born of a woman is of few days and full of trouble. Life’s trials are inescapable and point to one thing that is certain. We all need God’s strength.
It is always advisable to check how close are we in our walk with God. The tragedy of distancing ourselves from Christ will only cause pain and heartache. Believers should ask themselves some blunt questions regarding their spiritual walk. “Am I listening to the things that God has to say or the things of the world around me?” “When God speaks – do I quickly obey?” “Is my love for Jesus greater than my love for the things of this life?” It is only when we ask these personal questions that we will be able to gauge how close we truly are in our relationship with the Savior.
There were multitudes of people following the Lord. A great crowd of people started following Jesus when they saw Him heal those with leprosy. Many more joined the following when they learned that he caused the lame to walk. Our Lord had passed through Samaria and gathered a following after the woman at the well invited them to “come see a Man that has told me all things … is not this the Christ?” There were thousands who were following Jesus, but how many of them would go all the way with the Lord?
Jesus started teaching on some very deep topics on Who He was and affirmed that the Father had sent Him as the True Bread from Heaven. At that point, some started to ask questions and began to doubt what He was saying. They had watched as Jesus performed the miracle of feeding the five thousand with two fish and five loaves. But they closed their minds when Jesus said to them, “I Am the Bread of Life.” They took offense with those statements and began to ask, “isn’t this the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know?” They could digest the miracle but they had problems keeping the truth down. They enjoyed the signs and wonders that Jesus performed but when He began to explain why He did the miracles and Who He was, they began to shake their heads in disapproval.
In the same way that the people murmured against Moses in the wilderness, these followers began to complain about the things that Jesus spoke. The hard statement came when Jesus announced to the crowds, “Truly, truly, I say to you, except you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His Blood, you have no life in you” … “whoever eats My Flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day.” Hearing those words sent shock waves through the crowd and the Bible states that many of His Disciples turned back and no longer followed Him. Those followers had grown close to the Lord but evidently they were not close enough and ended up walking away from the Prince of Life.
That is why it is so critical to examine our walk and know that we are keeping step with the Savior. It is absolutely crucial to trust the things that He is saying even when we don’t fully understand. We must check to see if we are close enough so that there is not some seed of doubt that would cause us to turn back. Are you close enough?
The interesting thing is that many will endure the heavy trials of life and then fall apart when the small struggles come along. It is as if we place our dependence on the Lord for the big stuff but then attempt to handle everything else on our own. We will draw close to the Lord when the storm is raging but then drift from Him when the waves are not as treacherous. “I’ve got it,” becomes the famous last words for many who have lost hope, lost their direction, and lost their willpower to trust God. If people are not careful, they will even blame God for the things that they allow. It all boils down to one question: how close are you to God?
It should come as no surprise that whenever we allow the world, or people, or wealth, or even attitudes to come between us and God, the outcome will not be good. At all cost, we must keep our focus on the Goodness of God. The Psalmist recognized this critical principle when he wrote, “I would have fainted (lost hope) unless I had believed to see the Goodness of the Lord in the land of the living … wait I say, on the Lord.” With that warning, let us take a serious look at why we need to stay close to the Lord. It is my observation that those who maintain their focus on God will be able to endure any storm that life may send their way. Then we must explore the gradual steps of separation that can develop if we are not walking close to the Lord.
Why Folks Get Offended?
Jesus knew that the Disciples were murmuring about His statement so He asked them, does this offend you? He went on to explain that what He was saying was Spirit and Life … the flesh profits nothing, it is the Spirit that quickens. It is obvious that the first sign of turning back from the Lord takes place in the heart. While their heart could hold on to the miracles and the wonderful works of Christ, those same hearts had problems and would not accept the Word of Christ. They were offended and even as Jesus was speaking to them, they would not change. Here is evidence of how their own understanding of Jewish kosher laws took precedence over the Word of God. Their own understanding of what was right and what was wrong had blocked the Message of Life.
What are the causes of offense for believers today? For starters, some people will convince themselves that it is hard to be a Christian. That very statement is filled with self-doubt and has set limits as to how much they will take as they live for God. As soon as the trouble comes because they are Christians, they will turn back and follow Jesus no more. As long as things go their way, they are good. But as soon as persecution comes, rather than counting it all joy, they count themselves out.
What are some of the causes of offense today? Is it not when people love to go along with the crowd and whatever the crowd does, they will do also. Some people are heavily influenced by the actions of others. No doubt, some of the crowd that turned back from following Jesus did so because some husband said to his wife, “we’re gonna leave.” So the wife went along with the husband. The children went along with the parents or vice versa. In other words, some folk will watch the reaction of other folks. We all need to realize that when the judgement comes, it will be based on what each person does individually. On that day, every soul must stand for themselves.
What are some of the causes of offense? Why do people turn back from following the Lord? Some do it because they were never committed in the first place. John 6:64, Jesus said, “but there are some of you that do not believe.” For He knew from the beginning who they were that believed not and who should betray Him. Judas had not believed in the Lord but he followed the Lord as if he was a true Disciple. Judas was a great pretender. Like many today, that attitude focuses on believing on the Lord for personal benefit. Judas believed but his faith was not saving faith. It was faith that attempted to take advantage of the goodness of the Lord. It is a relationship with Christ for one’s own gain. He was the thief from the beginning and would often take money from the bag to satisfy his own interest. Here is yet another reason for asking the important question of whether we are close to the Lord. Am I only following Jesus for the good things? If so, what will happen when the struggles of life come? What will happen when I obtain enough of those good things and I lose interest in God? While many would not like to admit it, we all have a hard time accepting hardships and also dealing with prosperity. Are you close enough?
The Scriptures teach us that we should rejoice when we are persecuted because of our faith. But we don’t really rejoice, we would rather choose to regret it. The Bible tells us to count it all joy when we fall into various trials, but we don’t count it all joy do we? We usually count it as a waste of time. The Bible tells us to trust God when we are being tested, but we would rather not take the test at all. Our fairy tale faith that is only looking for good things to happen, can often cause us to be offended with God when He does not give us what we want and when we want it.
So Jesus asked a final question, “will you also walk away?” Those five words are filled with warnings and with blessings. Let us take a look at the warnings and then we will recognize the blessings in the warning.
Staying Close
The mere fact that Jesus turned to the twelve Disciples and asked the question, meant that the thought had occurred to them. You do not want to leave too, do you? The best way to face temptation is to admit that we are weak. The Word of Jesus was not a license for them to leave but a reason to hold on. Here is the first warning: God does not want you to walk away from Him. The words, “will you” is a warning for you to draw close to the Lord during those doubtful times. Then you will start hearing Him speak versus simply hearing the voice of your challenges.
The second warning is found in the word “leave.” What does that mean? To depart has such a ring of finality. To leave means to disregard all of the good things and to allow misfortune and misunderstanding to end it all. The other Disciples threw away everything else all for the simple reason that they refused to come to Jesus and ask for a clear understanding of what He meant. They were not hearing it, so they chose to walk away from everything that could give them life. Before you leave, it is good to know what you are leaving and Who you are leaving. Peter spoke up and said, “Lord, where do we go?” Man, that was right on time. Yet, those words were not prompted by Peter, but by the Holy Spirit that led him to say it. The Holy Spirit is always there with the truth. He reminds you that if you give up on God, you have given up on everything. That is the warning.
The third warning is in the word “also.” Here is the indication of joining with the others who had turned away into darkness. Also means to go along with another way or another movement. In the height of the Civil Rights Movement, there was much opposition to the marches for freedom and justice. Government officials were against the young Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and the protestors. Some even threatened to block their way and even kill them if they attempted to “march on.” Rather than giving in to them and joining the “also” group of quitters, the Civil Rights leaders would sing rallying songs and spirituals to encourage them. One such song was “I Won’t Let Nobody Turn Me Around.” It was more than a protest song. It was a spiritual reminder to them that they had come this far by faith. They had come this far and others were weary and turning back. They had come this far and they were not about to turn around. When they arrived at the State Capital in the Alabama march, they were chanting that song to the dismay of those who said, “they wouldn’t get there.” The warning to us who walk by faith is that we should never allow the “also” group to get in the way of our trusting God.
Now we turn to the blessings in Jesus Words. Our Lord asked, “Will you also go away?” Whenever the Lord asks a question, if you don’t know the answer, He will give you the answer from His Word. The first blessing in Jesus question is the Lord stops us before we commit the act. In other words, before they could walk away, He asked them to think about the implications. The first is obvious – You know Who I Am. You will be walking away from the Shepherd of your Soul. You will be walking away from the Truth. You will be walking away from the Lord of Glory. You will be walking away from the Mighty God Who has brought you this far. There was another implication – You know what I mean to you. What will you do when you get sick? I Am Jehovah Rapha – your Healer. What will you do when you can’t find rest? I Am Jehovah Shalom – your Peace. What will you do on the dark days of heavy trials. I Am your Light and your Salvation. The question was a blessing – because it made them stop and take an inventory. That’s when they realized they were too close to the Lord to turn around.
The second blessing in Jesus’ Words had to do with direction. Jesus was asking them, if you go away do you know your way. Later, one of them named Thomas would ask, “Lord, we do not know where we are going and how can we know the Way?” The blessing is that Jesus is the Only Way. Jesus is the Truth and He is the Life. There is only One Way to get to Heaven. You will not get there in a space craft. There is no railway that can take you to Heaven’s Gates. No ship has sailed the seas and arrived at that haven of Rest. Jesus was literally letting the Disciples know, I AM the Way. That is when Peter said, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the Words of eternal life.” For that reason, we should all recognize that even when we are tested because of our faith, we still follow Jesus because we have an appointed destination called Heaven. We are too close to Heaven to turn around.
The third blessing in Jesus’ Words had to do with protection. People without Christ are not protected. Walking away from Jesus is far worse than canceling your insurance policy. The company would only pay up to the limits of the policy anyway. When you walk away from Christ, you have canceled His Grace, His Goodness, His Power, His Wisdom, His Joy, His Deliverance, and His Fellowship. Peter and the other Disciples realized that no one could provide for them like Jesus. Their statement of faith was also a strong resolution to keep on trusting in the Lord and to let nothing turn them around. We have come to believe and to know that You are the Holy One of God. They remembered that their walk was a walk of faith. That faith demanded that they place their complete trust in God’s Power.
In conclusion, life will often bring us to the borders of our own abilities. There will be frustrations and doubt that will try to convince you that giving up is your only option. But just remember that Christ is standing there with you and to lead you past those doubting moments into a stronger walk with Him. You are too close to the Lord to turn around now.
As you get older, you may be tempted to tell yourself that getting older is boring and that you need to live recklessly before passing off the scene. That is a trick of the devil to tempt you to turn back. In those moments of temptation remember that God Almighty has kept you and has blessed you with so many things to be grateful for. Remember also that the Lord saved you from sin and that old age should never be a reason to go back to that empty way of living. As the old folks would say, “keep on pressing on and don’t let nothing turn you around.”
Lastly, remember that turning back is an attempt to go back in time. That is literally impossible and utterly a waste of God’s time and yours. The past can never be repeated and every attempt to do so will bring destruction and disappointment. We have come this far by faith, leaning on the Lord. Faith is all about going forward to our destiny in Christ. He has so willed for us to be with Him in Glory and to sit in His Father’s Throne. If this life is only temporary anyway, my best choice is to go with Jesus all the way. You and I are closer to Heaven than we even realize. The best news is that we get to enjoy the trip because we are walking with the Lord every step of the way.