"Misguided Expectations" (John 6:52-71)

Prelude

Why do people walk away? Why is it that even we are sometimes tempted to walk away from Jesus? I know some people get hurt. Sometimes people say they are only walking away from the church, and not God (and we can perhaps understand why) – but this can’t really be so in reality – because to follow Jesus means being a connected part of his body … the local church. People try to go it alone, but this usually leads to either failure or error … or both.

We read, “Because of this many of his disciples turned back and no longer went about with him” (John 6:66). We should note that, apart from Judas (who betrayed Jesus), this wasn’t members of the main “Twelve”, but still these were those who had connected with Jesus to some degree, and then changed their minds.

Why do people walk away? Why might we, under certain circumstances, walk away? I don’t think this just happens in the moment – there is a lot happening, or more so … NOT happening, in the lead-up. I want to examine what the “this” is here (v 66). Because of ‘what’ … is the question. It can’t just be disappointment – you can’t really be disappointed with Jesus, can you! That is, unless you have the wrong expectations of Jesus (to begin with)! Do we have misguided expectations around Jesus?!? Have we NOT properly considered what following Jesus actually means?

We hear the call. We sense the possibility of faith. We accept Jesus. What do we expect to happen next? What do you think you’ll get out of this? Now … that’s the wrong question – and likely leads to misguided expectations! It’s NOT so much what Jesus wants to give us, but rather what Jesus wants to BE for us!!

Introduction

[I’m just going to throw all this out there, and see how it lands for you.] As we read through the whole of John chapter 6, we sense the major problem. People were coming to Jesus simply for what they could get from him. And they weren’t easily satisfied; and they weren’t able to discern the deeper meanings of what Jesus was doing for them (and in their midst). When you are only focussed inwardly on your own needs, to the exclusion of others, you can’t see the bigger picture – it is just blocked from view.

And when you don’t get this foundation right – when you don’t get Jesus in the right perspective – when you aren’t able to see the bigger picture of God’s Kingdom reign – then anyone in this position is likely to eventually fall away … when certain circumstances arise. We must see beyond the quick fix … to a total life transformation – from the old life to the new creation. “[God] wants to penetrate the dark corners of our inner lives and deal with the thoughts and attitudes of our hearts – to transform us into a people who radiate his beauty and grace” (Nancy Guthrie).

It is NO good to want Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross to apply to us, while we ignore the harder parts of his teaching. Those that walked away that day (in John’s account), would have been happy with an abstract sacrificial act that legally dismissed their sin. But they were NOT willing or able to … “eat of Jesus’ flesh and drink of his blood” (v 54) – which meant consuming all of who Jesus is, identifying fully with Jesus’ life, adopting his teaching, following him in spirit and in truth, and replicating his brand of sacrificial service. We have to pursue a relationship with the “Bread of Life” (6:35), and that in turn changes everything.

Because we love and follow Jesus above all else, even his hardest teachings become possible, even loving our enemies. I have been reading Ernest Gordon’s book “Miracle on the River Kwai”, largely about his torturous experiences in Japanese run prisoner-of-war camps, and how Gordon, upon his remarkable conversion, had to work out how he could love his enemies. How could he look at his Japanese guards in a different way (that would be more consistent with Jesus’ teaching), while many of his believing comrades were understandably struggling with this? For, to not take all of Jesus on board, including his hard teachings, would put at risk … staying true and moving forward.

Text

As I said earlier, in John 6, we see people who are never satisfied, unless their immediate physical needs are met. Having been present at the feeding of the five thousand, they still wanted more signs, leaving Jesus to conclude that they were only really interested in the bread and fish for their own immediate satisfaction (perhaps even motivated by greed for more even beyond their need). Earlier, they wanted to forcibly make Jesus king, simply for their own personal and political advantage (6:15). They had NOT moved their imagination on … from physical bread over to spiritual bread, and from Jesus the physical person, to Jesus – the Son of God.

And so, these people were caught in the trap of their misguided expectations! And, as we have said, so can people today. In this time of ultra-individualism, of what’s in it for me – if we are not careful in the way we share the Gospel, we can sort of enable (ongoing) individualism rather than challenging it. We can sort of play into … the ‘what’s in it for me’ thing … for expediency sake (to get a result), rather than painting a far more biblical and communal picture.

Left in an individualistic mindset, people expect things like: material blessing, continual proof of God being real, healing on demand, personal advantage, independence with no accountability, and an easy-ride – but these are misguided expectations, that can lead to disappointment, and in turn … to people walking away. Some motivations, then and now, have proved to be shallow.

1. People think their material situation will necessarily improve (6:26), when really it is the things of the Spirit they should be concentrating on. The bread people received when the five thousand were fed was meant to indicate that Jesus was the bread of life – eternal life – life in all its fullness. The spiritual significance of this bread needs to be properly interpreted. Even God’s radical act of grace itself, seen in Jesus dying on a cross, is NOT simply for our satisfaction. This is an act of grace that is supposed to lead to a different world, to a richer experience of community – to new creation on a grand corporate scale!

2. People think they need to see particular, more spectacular and ongoing ‘signs’ (6:30) to prove God, when we have already experienced enough blessing, and should just live by faith. Faith is not really ‘faith’, if it all has to be spelt out! The Hebrews (11:1) definition of faith is best – “Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen”. People in Jesus’ day had already seen enough ‘signs’ to ably identify that Jesus was the Son of God – they had just witnessed a small amount of fish and bread … feed at least five thousand people. What more should we need! Were they so forgetful? Were they really just plain close-minded? It’s often just a matter of opening our eyes, and looking beyond. We have already seen God operating in changed lives, and bringing diverse groups of people together … living and serving in unified ways. To need proof all the time is a misguided expectation, leading to disappointment!

3. Many only sought Jesus because he healed the sick (6:2); but Jesus always wanted to downplay this because people were NOT properly interpreting the ‘signs’. "Don't tell anyone", Jesus often said. Some people think that Jesus will always necessarily heal them physically, when clearly God only acts according to His own will – which naturally accords perfectly with his best intentions and purposes for the collective Kingdom. As elusive as this is, as hard as this is – we have to come to understand that sometimes we have to find a way through our difficulties and less-than-ideal situations, while growing closer to the One who understands perfectly what it means to suffer.

4. People think, as they did in his own time, that Jesus would change the political landscape to their own advantage, to make life easier for them; when Jesus was fully focussed on a spiritual kingdom (whereby his followers would live with integrity and the sort of heightened ethics that would make an accumulative difference for good in the face of the world as it is). This was still the thinking around the ‘Palm Sunday’ procession (Luke 19:37-38) when they were hailing a ‘king’ – yet when these misguided expectations were dashed, the conversation changed to “Crucify Him” (Luke 23:21). This is similar to those who walk away from Jesus today … sometimes with deep antipathy.

5. People think that they are basically okay and can remain independent, maybe just needing the name of Jesus, but NOT necessarily the life of Jesus. We don’t easily see the darkness of our soul, nor our need for ongoing mercy, that we are broken and lost (v 53). Some people don’t see their need of community – a new community of brothers and sisters … through which we gain encouragement, learn our purpose, utilise our gifts and reach our potential. So, when the misguided expectation of individual self-reliance fails them … people walk away!

6. People think that, having accepted Jesus, everything should be plain and easy (v 60), yet Jesus taught in parables, and demonstrated truth with ‘signs’ – demanding that we think and observe deeply, and be open and ready to allow God’s Spirit to lead our understanding. Because there were some, and one notable disciple in particular (i.e. Judas) that wanted everything wrapped up in a neat easy bundle (handed to them on a plate) – when this was NOT going to be the case (v 66) … they dropped away (like dead flies), and Judas would actually betray Jesus (v 71). That there was “complaining” or grumbling afoot (refer v 61), suggests that desertion is not far away. Perhaps the evangelists are sometimes at fault, when they make it all sound so easy (especially in the emotion of the moment), or when they emphasise the personal to the exclusion of the relational or communal.

Sad Outcomes

So, if we’re coming to Jesus for what we want, or what we’ll get out of it – we’re coming with the wrong attitude. And, we’ll likely fall away. Haven’t we seen this many times before. Someone comes into the proximity of Jesus because they want a quick fix, physical improvement, a new partner, more money, a better job – and when they don’t get it they fall away. And it’s so hard to get them back, because their mindset is just in the wrong place. Maybe they have been deceived? Maybe they have been set-up for failure … because they have been promised too much or the wrong sort of things (to begin with). Maybe … we have failed them!? We would have to confess … that sometimes our presentation of the Gospel has been too simplistic. We have to be careful what we promise!

I reflect with great sorrow on people I know who have drifted away after a promising start, knowing that humble repentance and a spiritual transformation was NOT really what they were looking for. And when placed in the context of true worship and spiritual community – there is sometimes too great a contrast to hide (and so there should be). The real and true invitation is to accept Jesus as saviour, friend and master, and then to take that back into the cut and thrust of life come what may. And that should be enough – because all our burdens, and all our sin, and all our baggage, and all our hurt … can be lifted off us … as we embrace that (beautiful) mercy coming down to us from the cross on which Jesus died.

Proper Expectations

How do we bring back those who have walked away? Often it will be an endless and fruitless task to try to repair what has been in the past. We will never be able to make up for or heal the complexity of what has gone wrong for different people – the various ways in which they have been disappointed! We need to present something new – something that is working for us (all of us) here and now. People who have walked away, need a completely new version of what it is to accept and follow Jesus – a very biblical vision, and a vision that they can readily and broadly interpret as being effective. And, we need to gently love them. 

As we talked about two weeks ago, when we pray “Give us this day our daily bread”, Jesus doesn’t actually give us physical bread – for Jesus is the bread. What is on offer is more of him. For Jesus said, “I am the bread of life – whoever comes to me will never be hungry” (John 6:35). It’s all about experiencing him, and being fully alive because we know him. And, such an act of sacrifice as Jesus brought to all humanity - brings service to the very heart of true Christianity. The only real expectation we should have is a relationship with Jesus, that grows each day, such that:

1. we are ‘shifting’; that we are gradually becoming, in following his example, more like Jesus;
2. we are becoming more able, through forgiving one another and becoming encouragers, to form the sort of relational community that God already is … and created us to be; and,
3. we are becoming effective witnesses that draw other people in … toward an authentic experience of Jesus (like we are currently experiencing).

We have choice and responsibility here. Those who are patient through difficulty, doubt, despair or derision, and who are open to see what there is to see – then the Holy Spirit will bring the understanding that is needed. A willingness to wait upon God, unlike those who were impatient for spectacular ‘signs’, displays the right motivation, and the sort of enquiring and faithful attitude that will last the distance.

In John’s Gospel, the nouns for ‘faith’ or ‘belief’ are never used; only the verb is used … ‘believe’ – suggesting something very active – ‘believing’, or as Robert Kysar puts it, “a dynamic becoming”. In this sort of relationship, where each know the other well, there is NO coming-and-going due to any displeasure, but rather a settled and resolute decision for Jesus – who is, after all, the “Holy One of God” (v 69).

Conclusion

Eternal life, especially as it is presented in John’s Gospel, is simply about doing life … with Jesus in your corner – well, actually … with Jesus in the centre of the ring. Many had sadly walked away, so Jesus, with compassion and great hope, said to his disciples, “Do you also wish to go away?” (v 67). In reply, Peter was spot on, even though he didn’t know totally the depth of what he was saying.

Peter said, “You have the words of eternal life” … there is NO other place to go, and NO other person to see (v 68). It is all about hanging on to Jesus – who has the words of eternal life in every syllable he speaks and in every action he takes. And, despite Peter’s failures, in knowing this to be true – Peter was able to make it all the way. He had decided to follow Jesus – no turning back, no turning back! Amen!