The Hard Sayings of Jesus

IN 1742 CHARLES WESLEY WROTE THE WORDS to a hymn titled "Gentle Jesus, Meek and Mild." It thoughtfully expressed Wesley's desire to simply and completely follow Jesus. But over the years, I've heard people quote the title of that hymn as a way of expressing a rather simplistic view of Jesus: that he was some kind of sissy who walked around making fluffy moral statements that could be memorized in Sunday school or etched onto Hummel figures. Gentle Jesus, meek and mild- isn't that nice?

I hate to burst anyone's bubble, but that's not at all what Charles Wesley had in mind, and it's certainly not representative of the things Jesus said in his teaching ministry. For sure, Jesus said some wonderful and encouraging things, as we've been exploring in our journey through the Bible. But as we're about to discover in our next five readings, Jesus also made many statements that were very difficult to understand. In fact, at one point in his ministry, people were so turned off by his teaching that they said, "This is a hard saying; who can listen to it?" (John 6:60 RSV), and they deserted him in droves.

Sometimes Jesus said obscure things; they were difficult to understand. Other times he said challenging things; they were difficult to obey. The five statements we'll be covering contain some from both categories:

• "Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life."
• "Whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will never be forgiven; he is guilty of an eternal sin."
• "You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it."
• "This is how my heavenly Father will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother from your heart."
• "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me."

If you are intrigued by this line of study, I suggest you get a copy of Hard Sayings of Jesus by F. F. Bruce (InterVarsity Press), which covers seventy of the most challenging statements Jesus ever made. But for now, five will do, so let's get going.

Soul Food

PRAY: "My soul will be satisfied as with the richest of foods; with singing lips my mouth will praise you" (Psalm 63:5).

READ: John 6:25-71

REFLECT: "Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life" (v. 54).

What a strange comment! It sounds like Jesus has some wacky ideas about cannibalism. No wonder the disciples were confused and offended (vv. 60-61); their hero seems to have lost his marbles. "Couldn't you just rephrase that a little?" And no wonder the religious leaders are outraged; in addition to the disgusting image of eating human flesh, the law of Moses contained specific regulations about not consuming blood or even meat with blood in it (Leviticus 17:13-14).

But in fact, this is one of the most important statements Jesus ever made. To fully understand it, we must step back and look at the context. Jesus has just finished miraculously feeding thousands of people John 6:1-15). The problem is that no one seems to understand the point of the miracle (v. 26). Most thought Jesus just liked giving out free food. Pretty cool. In fact, Jesus fed the people to demonstrate that he was the source of eternal life (v. 27). But from this point on in the dialogue, Jesus and his listeners are on two separate tracks: they are thinking of temporal realities (food) while he is thinking of spiritual realities (eternal life).

And that's the clue we need to understand what Jesus meant by his perplexing statement (vv. 53-54). He's not talking about physically eating his flesh and drinking his blood. Rather, he's talking about his spiritual union with his followers. Those who truly put their faith and trust in Jesus are united with God (v. 57) and receive eternal life (v. 40). Unfortunately, the more he explains, the more divergent the separate tracks become. His listeners are looking backward to manna in the desert. Jesus is looking forward to what he would do on the cross.

Today, we have an opportunity to ponder this spiritual truth whenever we take communion. The bread and wine are reminders of Jesus' sacrifice for us and are "to be for your people the Body and Blood of your Son, the holy food of new and unending life in him" (Book of Common Prayer).

APPLY: Do you ever feel united with Jesus? When? What thoughts go through your mind as you prepare to take Communion?

PRAY: Lord, please help me draw closer to you, and please open my eyes to the spiritual realities of the world I live in.