WEBVTT 00:00:18.220 --> 00:00:21.280 They followed him because he had filled their 00:00:21.280 --> 00:00:25.620 stomachs, multiplied loaves, passed out fish 00:00:25.620 --> 00:00:27.600 like it was a Saturday fish fry and everyone 00:00:27.600 --> 00:00:31.179 was kin. They followed him because it was magic, 00:00:31.339 --> 00:00:36.840 because it was easy, because it was free. But 00:00:36.840 --> 00:00:39.899 what happens the next day? What happens after 00:00:39.899 --> 00:00:43.780 the bread? When the baskets are empty and the 00:00:43.780 --> 00:00:48.280 miracle's over, what kind of Jesus are you looking 00:00:48.280 --> 00:00:53.179 for? Today, we walk with the ones who turned 00:00:53.179 --> 00:00:56.399 back, the ones who didn't get what they came 00:00:56.399 --> 00:01:00.390 for. The ones who heard Jesus say something so 00:01:00.390 --> 00:01:05.989 strange, so offensive, so unmarketable, that 00:01:05.989 --> 00:01:08.290 they just packed up their questions and went 00:01:08.290 --> 00:01:12.629 home. We also walked with the ones who stayed. 00:01:14.090 --> 00:01:16.569 This episode's not about loaves and fishes. It's 00:01:16.569 --> 00:01:19.189 about the line you draw in the dust. It's about 00:01:19.189 --> 00:01:21.629 what happens when your faith runs out of reasons, 00:01:21.890 --> 00:01:26.129 but you keep walking anyway. When the crowd thins. 00:01:27.599 --> 00:01:30.560 When the signs stop, when he looks you in the 00:01:30.560 --> 00:01:36.939 eye and asks, you going to leave too? If you've 00:01:36.939 --> 00:01:39.599 ever been there at the end of your rope but not 00:01:39.599 --> 00:01:42.540 quite willing to let go, pull up a chair. You're 00:01:42.540 --> 00:01:46.239 in good company. This is the Semi -Seminarian 00:01:46.239 --> 00:01:49.260 Podcast. I'm Pastor Jim, and today we're stepping 00:01:49.260 --> 00:01:52.659 into one of the most haunting, most honest moments 00:01:52.659 --> 00:01:56.909 in all of the Gospels. If this hits something 00:01:56.909 --> 00:02:00.310 deep in you, if it echoes that quiet little ache 00:02:00.310 --> 00:02:02.689 that you carry around, like a question maybe 00:02:02.689 --> 00:02:06.329 you're too scared to say out loud, do me a kindness. 00:02:07.409 --> 00:02:10.129 Share this with someone who's maybe there too. 00:02:10.810 --> 00:02:14.090 Or like it. Follow the show. Leave a comment 00:02:14.090 --> 00:02:15.750 where you're listening from. Something. Just 00:02:15.750 --> 00:02:17.849 let us know you're still in the room with us. 00:02:18.610 --> 00:02:22.189 Because there's grace here. Even after the baskets 00:02:22.189 --> 00:02:26.819 are empty. Especially then. I'll see you on the 00:02:26.819 --> 00:02:36.139 other side. Hey, I'm going to get started, okay? 00:02:38.180 --> 00:02:42.520 So we were just talking about Bible study and 00:02:42.520 --> 00:02:47.659 sermons and stuff. And tonight, I want to open 00:02:47.659 --> 00:02:49.919 up by saying I don't want us tonight to look 00:02:49.919 --> 00:02:53.000 at this. By the way, tonight's story is in John 00:02:53.000 --> 00:02:57.629 6, if you want to follow along. I don't want 00:02:57.629 --> 00:02:59.750 us to think of this as much as a Bible study 00:02:59.750 --> 00:03:04.569 as just a story we're going to listen to. Because 00:03:04.569 --> 00:03:07.789 I think that sometimes with regard to the Bible, 00:03:07.949 --> 00:03:13.009 when we run across hard teachings in the Bible, 00:03:13.610 --> 00:03:17.770 sometimes, at least this is my perspective, sometimes 00:03:17.770 --> 00:03:22.759 I just want to run by those harsh passages. hard 00:03:22.759 --> 00:03:25.520 teachings, because sometimes I just want to pretend 00:03:25.520 --> 00:03:29.039 I didn't just read that, because I don't want 00:03:29.039 --> 00:03:31.520 to face the implications of the truth in that 00:03:31.520 --> 00:03:33.960 sentence or that verse, right? But I know it's 00:03:33.960 --> 00:03:36.259 true, but I don't want to think about that right 00:03:36.259 --> 00:03:41.099 now. Tonight's story is one of those stories 00:03:41.099 --> 00:03:45.639 that for a lot of people, when trying to put 00:03:45.639 --> 00:03:49.000 a fine point on what's happening in this passage, 00:03:49.199 --> 00:03:53.330 it makes people squirm sometimes. Because we 00:03:53.330 --> 00:03:55.610 don't see a lot of this kind of thing happening 00:03:55.610 --> 00:04:00.129 elsewhere in the Bible. So rather than just rush 00:04:00.129 --> 00:04:03.430 by it and act like it doesn't exist, let's actually 00:04:03.430 --> 00:04:08.229 put our sandals on, right? And let's walk through 00:04:08.229 --> 00:04:12.030 this story step by step. Let's treat it like 00:04:12.030 --> 00:04:16.810 a story. Let's put ourselves in that place, in 00:04:16.810 --> 00:04:21.649 that moment. And let's weigh. the words of scripture 00:04:21.649 --> 00:04:26.410 for ourselves, if you'll play along. So let's 00:04:26.410 --> 00:04:31.430 walk a while, slow and quiet, in the back of 00:04:31.430 --> 00:04:38.389 the crowd. The sun is just starting to lift the 00:04:38.389 --> 00:04:44.370 lake mist off into golden skies. The early morning 00:04:44.370 --> 00:04:48.209 still smells like fish grease and yesterday's 00:04:48.209 --> 00:04:52.529 miracle. Folks are rubbing sleep from their eyes, 00:04:52.629 --> 00:04:57.149 brushing breadcrumbs from their cloaks, whispering 00:04:57.149 --> 00:05:02.889 about how Jesus had vanished in the night. Some 00:05:02.889 --> 00:05:11.149 are hopeful. Some are hungry. And some are confused. 00:05:13.050 --> 00:05:18.389 We were there, you and me. We saw him blessed. 00:05:19.050 --> 00:05:22.790 Break it. Hand it out till everybody had more 00:05:22.790 --> 00:05:27.689 than they needed. We saw the leftovers. Twelve 00:05:27.689 --> 00:05:31.149 baskets full. A miracle that you could bag up 00:05:31.149 --> 00:05:35.050 and take home. But now, the baskets are empty. 00:05:35.769 --> 00:05:39.529 Crowd is restless. And we're walking towards 00:05:39.529 --> 00:05:43.029 Capernaum. Not just geographically, but also 00:05:43.029 --> 00:05:46.920 spiritually, emotionally. Unsure if... What we 00:05:46.920 --> 00:05:53.899 felt yesterday is still true today. Because after 00:05:53.899 --> 00:05:57.139 the bread, after the miracle, comes the question. 00:05:58.500 --> 00:06:01.360 Not when the crowd was full, not when the baskets 00:06:01.360 --> 00:06:04.740 overflowed, but when the miracle fades and the 00:06:04.740 --> 00:06:09.699 message gets hard. That's where faith is tested. 00:06:11.079 --> 00:06:13.699 That's when you find out who's following because 00:06:13.699 --> 00:06:17.220 they believe. And those who are following because 00:06:17.220 --> 00:06:23.060 they're hungry, let's walk with them. Let's feel 00:06:23.060 --> 00:06:27.819 the tension. Hey, let's hear Jesus out. And like 00:06:27.819 --> 00:06:30.720 I'd mentioned, let's not rush past the moment 00:06:30.720 --> 00:06:35.279 where a bunch of them in the crowd turned around 00:06:35.279 --> 00:06:41.100 and walked the other way. Because signs feed 00:06:41.100 --> 00:06:46.189 curiosity, but sacrifice feeds faith. And what 00:06:46.189 --> 00:06:51.290 Jesus is about to say to the crowd is about to 00:06:51.290 --> 00:06:57.110 thin it out. Somewhere in the back, a mother's 00:06:57.110 --> 00:07:00.089 clutching a child to her chest, eyes scanning 00:07:00.089 --> 00:07:02.750 the shore for Jesus like she's looking for medicine. 00:07:03.509 --> 00:07:07.050 Her baby didn't eat yesterday. She's hoping that 00:07:07.050 --> 00:07:10.949 the prophet brings some bread again today. Beside 00:07:10.949 --> 00:07:13.050 her, a fisherman who gave up his boat last week 00:07:13.050 --> 00:07:15.420 to follow the movement. now wondering what this 00:07:15.420 --> 00:07:18.420 is going to cost him. Another night with no haul, 00:07:18.500 --> 00:07:24.680 no fish to trade. His wife said, sure about this? 00:07:24.779 --> 00:07:27.100 And kissed his forehead like it might be the 00:07:27.100 --> 00:07:31.240 last time. This crowd isn't just made up of spectators. 00:07:31.300 --> 00:07:33.300 They're made up of real folks, just like you 00:07:33.300 --> 00:07:37.819 and me. Broken, tired, aching folks. And they 00:07:37.819 --> 00:07:40.339 didn't come to debate theology. Some came to 00:07:40.339 --> 00:07:43.160 survive. Some came because they were desperate. 00:07:43.259 --> 00:07:46.819 Some came because something in them whispered, 00:07:46.839 --> 00:07:52.879 he might be the one. And Jesus sees all of it. 00:07:53.600 --> 00:07:58.420 He always does. So I'm in John 6. Let's read 00:07:58.420 --> 00:08:01.879 some scripture here. Here's verse 30. What sign 00:08:01.879 --> 00:08:05.779 then are you going to do so that we may see and 00:08:05.779 --> 00:08:11.939 believe you? And we glance around stunned. As 00:08:11.939 --> 00:08:15.120 if yesterday's miracle with the bread and the 00:08:15.120 --> 00:08:20.279 fish was a fluke. As if feeding 5 ,000 people 00:08:20.279 --> 00:08:23.779 was just an appetizer. Then they, the crowd, 00:08:23.860 --> 00:08:28.920 bring up Moses. As if the memory of manna in 00:08:28.920 --> 00:08:32.360 the wilderness somehow outweighs the fresh breadcrumbs 00:08:32.360 --> 00:08:37.320 still clinging to their own cloaks. But Jesus 00:08:37.320 --> 00:08:42.019 doesn't bite. He tells them straight. It wasn't 00:08:42.019 --> 00:08:45.659 Moses that gave you that bread. It was my father. 00:08:46.320 --> 00:08:54.940 And now, the bread is here. Verse 35, I am the 00:08:54.940 --> 00:08:58.179 bread of life. No one who comes to me will ever 00:08:58.179 --> 00:09:01.299 be hungry, and no one who believes in me will 00:09:01.299 --> 00:09:05.539 ever be thirsty again. We're standing there and 00:09:05.539 --> 00:09:09.559 we shift our weight. Someone behind us clears 00:09:09.559 --> 00:09:13.240 their throat. The edge of belief is now getting 00:09:13.240 --> 00:09:17.179 sharp. He's not just offering sustenance. He's 00:09:17.179 --> 00:09:23.899 offering himself. But it seems like the more 00:09:23.899 --> 00:09:28.740 he explains this to us, the more it's going to 00:09:28.740 --> 00:09:33.730 cost. Jesus isn't sugarcoating the gospel here. 00:09:33.809 --> 00:09:37.889 He's sharpening it. He's moving from metaphor 00:09:37.889 --> 00:09:42.210 to flesh and blood, from bread to body. Verse 00:09:42.210 --> 00:09:46.990 53, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man 00:09:46.990 --> 00:09:53.529 and drink his blood, you do not have life in 00:09:53.529 --> 00:09:58.289 yourself. And at those words, you could have 00:09:58.289 --> 00:10:03.409 heard a sandal drop. Someone in the crowd whispers, 00:10:03.669 --> 00:10:11.309 did he say flesh? Someone else mutters, that's 00:10:11.309 --> 00:10:17.009 not kosher. Another voice trembling now, this 00:10:17.009 --> 00:10:23.789 teaching is hard. Who can accept it? We feel 00:10:23.789 --> 00:10:27.809 it in our chest. The crowd that once pressed 00:10:27.809 --> 00:10:32.769 in to touch him is now pulling back. edging backward 00:10:32.769 --> 00:10:37.750 towards the shoreline, making excuses. Because 00:10:37.750 --> 00:10:42.570 miracles are easy to follow. But blood? Blood's 00:10:42.570 --> 00:10:49.750 personal. Jesus keeps going. Verse 56. The one 00:10:49.750 --> 00:10:53.230 who eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains 00:10:53.230 --> 00:10:58.509 in me and I in him. This isn't about feeding 00:10:58.509 --> 00:11:02.539 the hungry anymore. It's about union. It's about 00:11:02.539 --> 00:11:07.379 covenant. It's about taking Jesus so deep into 00:11:07.379 --> 00:11:12.320 you, it becomes a part of your bones. And for 00:11:12.320 --> 00:11:20.059 many, that is too much. We see them start to 00:11:20.059 --> 00:11:25.440 leave, one by one, then small clusters. A whole 00:11:25.440 --> 00:11:28.480 movement beginning to unravel like the frayed 00:11:28.480 --> 00:11:34.470 end of a rope. And they're not angry. They're 00:11:34.470 --> 00:11:39.230 disappointed. Because he didn't give them what 00:11:39.230 --> 00:11:45.409 they wanted. And honestly, part of us wants to 00:11:45.409 --> 00:11:49.809 follow with them. Because this isn't the Jesus 00:11:49.809 --> 00:11:53.909 we signed up for either. We like the crowds. 00:11:54.110 --> 00:11:57.590 We like the bread. We like the stories. But this, 00:11:57.690 --> 00:12:03.120 flesh and blood? Total surrender? Too close. 00:12:03.559 --> 00:12:13.740 Too costly. Too real. And he turns, not to the 00:12:13.740 --> 00:12:20.559 crowd, but to us. To the ones still standing 00:12:20.559 --> 00:12:25.340 there in stunned silence. And he doesn't beg. 00:12:26.039 --> 00:12:30.139 He doesn't soften the edges. He looks you in 00:12:30.139 --> 00:12:34.259 the eye and says, you don't want to go away too, 00:12:34.480 --> 00:12:42.720 do you? That question echoed down the shoreline. 00:12:44.639 --> 00:12:51.340 You don't want to go away too, do you? And Peter, 00:12:51.460 --> 00:12:55.970 God bless him, doesn't give a sermon. But I think 00:12:55.970 --> 00:12:58.590 he speaks what the rest of us can't seem to find 00:12:58.590 --> 00:13:05.129 words for, verses 68 and 69. Lord, to whom would 00:13:05.129 --> 00:13:11.169 we go? You have the words of eternal life. We 00:13:11.169 --> 00:13:17.009 have come to believe and know that you are the 00:13:17.009 --> 00:13:21.570 Holy One of God. He doesn't say he understands 00:13:21.570 --> 00:13:27.720 it. He doesn't say he's not scared. He's just 00:13:27.720 --> 00:13:34.840 saying, where else could we possibly go? Because 00:13:34.840 --> 00:13:40.419 even if the teaching is hard, even if the road 00:13:40.419 --> 00:13:47.659 is narrow, even when the crowd is gone, we will 00:13:47.659 --> 00:13:52.360 still believe. Because we've tasted the bread 00:13:52.360 --> 00:13:56.919 and we've seen the man. And there is nowhere 00:13:56.919 --> 00:14:06.100 or nobody else that smells like life. So what 00:14:06.100 --> 00:14:12.899 now? We've walked the shoreline. Heard the hard 00:14:12.899 --> 00:14:18.899 words. Watch the crowd scatter. We felt the sting 00:14:18.899 --> 00:14:22.340 of the question. You don't want to go away too, 00:14:22.480 --> 00:14:26.600 do you? And we've whispered with Peter the only 00:14:26.600 --> 00:14:30.440 answer we've got, Lord, to whom should we go? 00:14:32.460 --> 00:14:38.600 But, friends, it's our turn to live it, not just 00:14:38.600 --> 00:14:44.440 read it. To walk back into our Tuesday mornings. 00:14:45.279 --> 00:14:50.000 With that same empty basket faith. To choose 00:14:50.000 --> 00:14:53.460 bread that doesn't perish when really what we 00:14:53.460 --> 00:14:58.340 want is fast food comfort. To stay at the table 00:14:58.340 --> 00:15:02.259 when the meal feels mysterious and the cost feels 00:15:02.259 --> 00:15:10.000 high. Because faith, real, sweaty, ache in the 00:15:10.000 --> 00:15:15.820 bones faith, doesn't get measured. by how loud 00:15:15.820 --> 00:15:20.179 we sing on the hillside, how closely we follow 00:15:20.179 --> 00:15:24.019 when the crowd thins, the teaching cuts deep. 00:15:26.379 --> 00:15:32.059 So here's the truth. If you're still here, still 00:15:32.059 --> 00:15:35.360 hungry for something more, still holding your 00:15:35.360 --> 00:15:37.980 place in the circle even after the magic fades, 00:15:38.259 --> 00:15:45.289 you're not failing, you're following. And Jesus 00:15:45.289 --> 00:15:52.389 sees you. So come on. Let's keep walking. Let's 00:15:52.389 --> 00:15:58.610 keep listening. Let's stay after the bread. Sometimes 00:15:58.610 --> 00:16:01.649 what you really need is not a miracle, but a 00:16:01.649 --> 00:16:06.529 memory. Not a new sign, but a sacred scar. Not 00:16:06.529 --> 00:16:11.269 a crown, but a crust of bread. And when you're 00:16:11.269 --> 00:16:15.580 too tired to shout Hosanna, And all you can whisper 00:16:15.580 --> 00:16:22.059 is, I'm still here. Jesus breaks the bread again. 00:16:23.159 --> 00:16:27.279 He doesn't just multiply the loaves. He multiplies 00:16:27.279 --> 00:16:30.899 the mercy. And he sits down beside you, looks 00:16:30.899 --> 00:16:36.000 you in the eye and says, take, eat. This is the 00:16:36.000 --> 00:16:39.980 kind of faith that does not fill stadiums, but 00:16:39.980 --> 00:16:45.649 it does fill your soul. So here we stand, after 00:16:45.649 --> 00:16:49.389 the bread, after the crowd, after the comfort. 00:16:50.710 --> 00:16:55.149 And we have to decide. Do we follow because he 00:16:55.149 --> 00:16:59.389 fills us? Or do we follow because he is the fullness? 00:17:00.529 --> 00:17:04.690 The line's been drawn. The table's been set and 00:17:04.690 --> 00:17:08.430 the invitation still stands. Eat, drink, live. 00:17:09.269 --> 00:17:14.180 It won't be easy. It will cost you more than 00:17:14.180 --> 00:17:17.859 you thought. But it will also give you so much 00:17:17.859 --> 00:17:23.819 more than you can imagine. And Jesus is still 00:17:23.819 --> 00:17:30.240 looking us in the eye. Still asking. You don't 00:17:30.240 --> 00:17:38.339 want to go away too, do you? And maybe all we 00:17:38.339 --> 00:17:44.599 can say. It's all that really needs saying. Lord, 00:17:44.660 --> 00:17:50.019 to whom would we go? And that, my friends, is 00:17:50.019 --> 00:18:03.859 enough. Amen? Amen. Thanks, guys. Some of them 00:18:03.859 --> 00:18:08.859 walked away. Some of them stayed. And you? You're 00:18:08.859 --> 00:18:11.920 still listening. And you know what? That might 00:18:11.920 --> 00:18:16.140 be the truest thing about you. Because this faith 00:18:16.140 --> 00:18:19.279 that we're talking about, it's not always clean. 00:18:20.019 --> 00:18:24.980 It's not always clear. Sometimes, sometimes it 00:18:24.980 --> 00:18:27.259 sounds like blood and flesh and hard teachings 00:18:27.259 --> 00:18:31.819 and no easy answers. Sometimes, sometimes it 00:18:31.819 --> 00:18:36.339 sounds like silence. But still, you didn't walk 00:18:36.339 --> 00:18:41.069 away. You stayed. Not because it made sense, 00:18:41.170 --> 00:18:44.369 but because something in you still hopes he is 00:18:44.369 --> 00:18:49.410 who he says he is. So before you go, before you 00:18:49.410 --> 00:18:51.910 turn off the app and head back into your day, 00:18:52.029 --> 00:18:56.789 I want you to carry something with you. Not a 00:18:56.789 --> 00:19:02.170 sermon, not a miracle, just a question. To whom 00:19:02.170 --> 00:19:06.809 shall we go? The question isn't an altar call, 00:19:06.930 --> 00:19:09.789 it's not a billboard slogan, it's... It's what 00:19:09.789 --> 00:19:11.589 your soul whispers in the middle of the night 00:19:11.589 --> 00:19:13.789 when everything else has just come up short. 00:19:15.150 --> 00:19:17.529 It's the sacred ache of the ones who know there's 00:19:17.529 --> 00:19:22.109 nowhere else to turn. And if this episode stirred 00:19:22.109 --> 00:19:24.529 something in you, I hope you'll pass it on, share 00:19:24.529 --> 00:19:27.170 it. Drop a line in the comments, please. Tell 00:19:27.170 --> 00:19:28.710 me where you're listening from, whether it's 00:19:28.710 --> 00:19:31.410 the kitchen table, the cab of a truck, the back 00:19:31.410 --> 00:19:35.329 pew of a church. Maybe it's a place you're not 00:19:35.329 --> 00:19:39.880 sure you even belong anymore. Let this be a little 00:19:39.880 --> 00:19:44.519 campfire on the trail. A place to sit. A voice 00:19:44.519 --> 00:19:49.019 that still believes. Because grace didn't stop 00:19:49.019 --> 00:19:52.519 when the bread ran out. Sometimes, that's when 00:19:52.519 --> 00:19:57.640 it starts. And if you are asking yourself that 00:19:57.640 --> 00:20:00.099 old question, to whom shall we go, just know 00:20:00.099 --> 00:20:06.859 this. You ain't alone. And the answer? Might 00:20:06.859 --> 00:20:11.720 be waiting right where you are. I'll see you 00:20:11.720 --> 00:20:12.180 next time.