Things They Said to Jesus
September 1, 2024
David Collins
John 6:14-68
Have you ever sabotaged yourself? Thrown a wrench into the gears of your own success? Lots of people do it. I sure have!
I’m afraid of both failure and success. How does that work? I don’t know! But I’m just as scared of change as I am of things staying the same. Should I be telling you this? I don’t know! I’m also just as scared of secrets as I am of being known.
Fear of failure and success combine really well together actually. Like peanut butter and chocolate. You’d think they’d be opposed, but the oils and flavors really compliment each other. On the one hand, you want to avoid disappointing others and yourself if you try and fail, so if you don’t really try then you can’t really fail, right? But if you do succeed, your reward is…more work! The better you do, the more people expect from you! So eventually you’ll succeed to the point where you really have no idea what you’re doing at all, and everyone will find out that you’ve been faking it the whole time and have no idea what you’re doing and never did.
Should I be telling you this? Is this a mistake? AM I DOING IT RIGHT NOW?
And scene.
This was all just an illustration. Not at all a glimpse into the fact that I’m a mess. And yet, here I am, in front of all of you, interpreting the word of God and offering wise counsel. And also, don’t worry. Megan’s here.
But we all do that to some extent, right? Engage in a little self-sabotage? Whether it’s from low self-esteem, because when you don’t like yourself you don’t trust other people when it seems like they do! Or from perfectionism, where if anything is less than perfect it’s a failure, so you find ways to give up early. Or maybe from the trauma of the past, and you don’t know why you do what you do, but you notice that you keep on doing it and are scared to find out why. Or maybe there are people in your life whom you are scared you’d have to leave behind, or wouldn’t understand, so you find little ways to make sure things keep reverting to the mean.
When we self-sabotage, we’re usually not aware of what we did until after it’s done. We don’t usually plan it out ahead of time.
But what if I told you that even Jesus did something that might look like self-sabotage to us?
Today, we’re going to look at a time that Jesus seemed to do exactly that. And it led to our final “thing they said to Jesus.”
Our story comes from the gospel of John today, chapter six, which begins with the feeding of the five thousand. Jesus performed that amazing miracle, everyone had a full belly, and the community was buzzing with excitement.
Jesus had pulled off what has now become an art and a science in modern day America. In church planting circles, they call it a launch. Right here in Orlando, they have a conference every year called Catalyst, where aspiring church planters meet up with potential angel investors and pitch their start-up plans to get funding so that they can lead the next mega-church. The process works if you work it. And a part of it is throwing incredible events where thousands of people get exposed to your church brand. There’s a whole playbook. One option is to drop a hundred thousand easter eggs from a helicopter. I’d actually like to see that. And I know that Vanessa would love to do it.
The feeding of the 5000 was kind of like that. But without a huge budget because Jesus. He taught for hours and the people listened. And then he pulled off a huge miracle and fed everyone there. The movement had begun. He was already famous, but now he was a star.
John tells us that
6:14 When the people saw the sign that he had done, they began to say, ‘This is indeed the prophet who is to come into the world.’
What a launch! Starting with 5000? If Jesus played his cards right, he’d be up to 20,000 in a month, and a 100,000 by the end of the year. All he had to do was just top this event with something even more spectacular. It couldn’t just be a bigger version of what he just did though. Maybe sports themed? But Jesus didn’t do what any modern strategist might suggest. Instead, He did something completely unexpected. Let’s look at what he does.
15 When Jesus realized that they were about to come and take him by force to make him king, he withdrew again to the mountain by himself.
That is not what they teach in the workshops. Withdrawing quietly is not a great strategic move.
6:22 The next day the crowd … 6:24 …went to Capernaum looking for Jesus.
25 When they found him on the other side of the lake, they said to him, ‘Rabbi, when did you come here?’
He might have sabotaged himself the first time, but here was his second chance.
26 Jesus answered them, ‘Very truly, I tell you, you are looking for me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate your fill of the loaves.
Notice how Jesus shifts the conversation. The crowd is focused on their immediate needs, but Jesus is leading them to something deeper, something eternal. This isn’t self-sabotage—it’s a lesson in priorities. And now Jesus and the crowd start having a conversation on two levels. Jesus tries as hard as he can to get them to see things from his perspective but they just keep angling for what they want.
27 Do not work for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures for eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. For it is on him that God the Father has set his seal.’
28 Then they said to him, ‘What must we do to perform the works of God?’
29 Jesus answered them, ‘This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent.’
30 So they said to him, ‘What sign are you going to give us then, so that we may see it and believe you? What work are you performing?
31 Our ancestors ate the manna in the wilderness; as it is written, “He gave them bread from heaven to eat.”’
Hint hint. We even brought the little kid from yesterday! Make with the the bread and fish! They’re still stuck on yesterday’s miracle, aren’t they? They’re looking for more of the same, and missing the point.
32 Then Jesus said to them, ‘Very truly, I tell you, it was not Moses who gave you the bread from heaven, but it is my Father who gives you the true bread from heaven.
33 For the bread of God is that which comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.’
34 They said to him, ‘Sir, give us this bread always.’
And there they are, hands outstretched, waiting for Jesus to give them their blessings. But they’ve misunderstood the entire lesson. They came all this way. They listened to what he had to say. Now he owed them something, right? Isn’t that how this whole faith thing is supposed to work?
When you participate in a worship service, or pray, or do something good, you get tokens that you then put into the God vending machine to get what you want. That’s how it works right? Quid pro quo?
After all, Jesus needs a big fanbase in order to be successful, and his fans need a celebrity leader who does what they expect him to do. That’s the social contract right? That’s how you become successful. Give the people what they want.
Give us this bread always.
A lot of people think that’s what church is supposed to be. Give the people what they expect every time they show up. That’s how you build a following. That’s how you build a brand.
Give me this bread always, or else we will go somewhere else.
If Jesus had really cared about success, he would have just done the miracle again, or at the very least told the people something to keep them on the hook. Something ambiguous enough that he didn’t feel like a big phony, but that also would keep them from going somewhere else.
But Jesus doesn’t do that. Instead he makes his teaching even more explicit, so that no one can still just hear what they want to hear.
35 Jesus said to them, ‘I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.
41 Then the Jews began to complain about him because he said, ‘I am the bread that came down from heaven.’
42 They were saying, ‘Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How can he now say, “I have come down from heaven”?’
…
And then Jesus says this:
50 This is the bread that comes down from heaven, so that one may eat of it and not die. 51 I am the living bread that came down from heaven. Whoever eats of this bread will live for ever; and the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh.’
52 The Jews then disputed among themselves, saying, ‘How can this man give us his flesh to eat?’
53 So Jesus said to them, ‘Very truly, I tell you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you.
54 Those who eat my flesh and drink my blood have eternal life, and I will raise them up on the last day;
55 for my flesh is true food and my blood is true drink.
60 When many of his disciples heard it, they said, ‘This teaching is difficult; who can accept it?’
61 But Jesus, being aware that his disciples were complaining about it, said to them, ‘Does this offend you?
62 Then what if you were to see the Son of Man ascending to where he was before?
63 It is the spirit that gives life; the flesh is useless. The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life.
64 But among you there are some who do not believe.’ For Jesus knew from the first who were the ones that did not believe, and who was the one that would betray him.
65 And he said, ‘For this reason I have told you that no one can come to me unless it is granted by the Father.’
66 Because of this many of his disciples turned back and no longer went about with him.
One sermon took Jesus’ follower count down from over 5000 all the way back down to 12. Would you have stayed?
67 So Jesus asked the twelve, ‘Do you also wish to go away?’
And here’s our final thing they said to Jesus. It’s so good I can’t believe that it’s Simon Peter who says it and not Jesus himself.
68 Simon Peter answered him, ‘Lord, to whom can we go? You have the words of eternal life. 69 We have come to believe and know that you are the Holy One of God.’
To whom can we go?
Simon Peter and the rest of the disciples may not have liked his sermon any more than the rest of the people who left, but instead of listening to their feeling of being offended, instead of putting their own ego and expectations in the drivers’ seat, they took a step back and ask this incredibly insightful and important question.
To whom shall we go?
This is the question that we need to ask ourselves when we’re about to sabotage ourselves and especially before we sabotage our life of faith.
How often do we let our own feelings or fears drive us away from what really matters?
So many of the reasons that we self sabotage are just little ego triggers, or even little lizard brain triggers, that produce an emotional response in us, and we aren’t even fully aware that we’ve done what we’ve done until it feels like it’s too late. It never is. But we continue to self-sabotage by thinking consistency will help us.
So something doesn’t feel right, so we just take off.
That’s why when most people leave a church, they don’t go find another one. Or when someone blows up their life, it’s often just to live in the ashes.
But what if we paused? What if, instead of reacting, we asked ourselves this simple but profound question:
To whom shall I go?
Because our options are not unlimited, are they? We are limited by our experience, our history, and our language. Our options are narrowed down by our social circle, our education, and our economic means. We are sold the idea that we can do anything and be any one, but that’s really just to get us to buy soda.
We’d like to think if we leave one community we can just go join another, but the reality is that we’ll do it as an outsider. We’d like to think if we just move states, that will fix us, but the reality is that we bring ourselves with us wherever we go.
This is why Peter’s question is so powerful. It’s not just about where we go physically—it’s about where we place our trust, our hope, our faith, knowing that we can’t ever see the whole picture.
We all doubt. It’s a normal part of life and of faith. And some people just follow their doubts to nowhere in particular.
But when you doubt, what if you asked: If not Jesus, who? If not Christianity, what? To whom can I go?
As human beings, we have this incredible ability to question and doubt just about anything. Some people can’t help it, as they have the condition of paranoia, but we’ve all got the ability.
We can question anything and anyone. And we think that every question has a satisfying answer. But they don’t.
Questions often complicate things. But considering the options simplifies them. Considering the options brings clarity.
Peter knew that the answer to his doubt wasn’t in finding another teacher, or new answers, but pulling in closer to the one he already had.
The truth is that we don’t have unlimited options. The people who left Jesus that day found out that there was no one else like Jesus, and there never would be. Because they listened most loudly to their own feelings and expectations, they missed out on the greatest opportunity people have ever had.
They DISAGREED and so they left in a huff, only to find out that they missed the greatest opportunity they would ever have.
It’s easy to point out the faults in things and in people. And fun! But it’s much harder, impossible even, to find people and communities, without faults. Part of thinks if we just remove everything questionable or objectionable that whatever we are left with will be perfect. But usually, there’s just nothing left but bones.
So rather than seeing the faults, or paying attention only to the things that offend you…consider your actual options.
Maybe that’s what Jesus did here. He knew the deal with the numbers game. If you chase them, you’ll never catch them because there’s always one more.
But Jesus wasn’t chasing numbers. He was chasing hearts. And He knew that the only way to truly reach the people he could actually reach, was to speak the truth unambiguously and unapologetically, even when it was hard to hear. Especially when it was hard to hear.
Even Jesus didn’t have unlimited options. He couldn’t go back to square one.
He had two real options here. He could either make himself beholden to a crowd, or he could pour into the few people who actually wanted to be there. There was no secret third option. He chose the right one, and it led us to where we are today.
What got us here was a hundred generations of women and men just like Peter, who could have left when they disagreed, or when being a true disciple become a liability, or when they doubted or didn’t get the blessing they thought was coming. But they stayed instead. They trust their unknown future to their known God. They followed Jesus even and especially when he led them places they hadn’t planned to go, and to people they didn’t necessarily care for at first.
They learned that it’s not following if you’re going someplace you were going to go any way. It’s only following when you’re not the one in the lead. And it’s only discipleship when the one you’re following is the only one worth following: Jesus Christ.
There should be no fear of failure here. And no fear of success. The only fear should be the fear of losing sight of Jesus, the fear of letting him get too far ahead and losing him from view. To whom shall we go? There is no one else worth following.
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