God intended life to be beautiful. At creation he declared it all good. But sin happened and separated us from God. But Jesus came to restore life to us. He came to give us abundant life. Life overflowing with God’ s love and goodness.
1 Surprisingly Scandalous Now Message – Know How to? asks these questions; Have you ever been offended by a statement? How did you feel? Did you ever wonder why you were offended? Were your sensibilities hurt? Did you lose control of your temper? composure? Said things you ultimately regretted?
In retrospect, were you better off by taking offence or not? Do you have the skills to ward off offences and stay in control and be a winner?
1 Surprisingly Scandalous Now Message- Know How to? post will look at the message that erupted in great offence. It will show you how to overcome offences. And you will learn valuable lessons that lead to your ultimate success.
The path to success in life is making right choices every day. That is, living in victory over offences and keeping your mind on things that are true, pure, honest, lovely and good to report (Phil. 4:8). And rejecting thoughts that cause you and others to feel diminished.
Table of Contents
1 Surprisingly Scandalous Now Message- Know How to? The Message
Most assuredly, Jesus was looking towards his Passion when he delivered this message. It evoked great antagonism among many of his followers. They thought it was a scandalous statement. As a result, many stopped following him and his ministry.
So what was the message that generated such strong reaction! Here are his words.
Jesus said,
“I tell you the truth, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you cannot have eternal life within you. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day. For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink. Anyone who eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me, and I in him. I live because of the living Father who sent me; in the same way, anyone who feeds on me will live because of me” (Jn. 6:53-57).
Jesus was using vivid symbolic language to convey spiritual truths. He was not talking about drinking his physical blood but the spiritual significance of his body and blood.
The bread represents Jesus’ flesh that he instructs us to eat. Of course, he was using metaphoric language. He was highlighting the spiritual reality of us believing and living in union with him.
1 Surprisingly Scandalous Now Message- Know How to? The Offence
As was stated earlier, this statement brought on the ire of many of his followers in the crowds that thronged him. They were offended by his words. And many stopped following him. They said, “This is a hard saying, who can understand it?” (Jn. 6:60-66).
What a sad epitaph! They forsook the one who is life. And the only life giver. Without him there is no eternal life. It is the greatest gift we can ever receive.
Was this about cannibalism? Absolutely no!
He wanted to elevate their understanding to know that we are not only physical. But we are also spirit persons!
He used the physical things that we know such as eating, drinking and work. To convey to us the spiritual realities that we do not know.
The right order in our thinking should be that we are spirit persons who live in a body. And we have a soul. As we strive to nourish our bodies daily. So must we also be vigilant in nurturing our spirit.
While physical food is the nourishment for the body. Not so for the spirit. A person is the nourishment for the spirit. And Jesus is that person. He is the only one who can sustain our spirit.
Did they think he was talking about cannibalism? Maybe. No one can be certain.
But what’s certain is they misunderstood his words. And they did not believe he was who he claimed to be. That is the Son of God who came down from heaven. They thought that he was referring to physically eating his body and drinking his blood. When instead he was talking about spiritual realities. He wanted to shift their focus from the physical to the spiritual. They needed to understand that the spiritual is just as real as the physical. And the spiritual is eternal (2 Cor. 4:18).
Jesus’ words are just as relevant today, as it was when he lived on earth! It was the message then. It is the same message now. A now word. Timeless and enduring. “The words of God endures forever” (1 Pet. 1:25). 1 NOW IRRESISTIBLE NEWS; KNOW HOW TO?
The Context
Surely, Jesus had a reason for giving his message at the time. This happened after Jesus miraculously fed 5000 people (Mat. 14:13-21). So, the multitudes continued to follow him expecting another meal. But Jesus wanted to divert their attention to another matter – the spiritual.
He wanted them to understand that meeting their physical needs was not a problem. And they could understand since they witnessed his miraculous powers. But he wanted them to know that they had spiritual needs too. They needed to pay attention to this important area of their lives.
Jesus by his foreknowledge informed them that their focus was only on the physical. But they also needed to seek sustenance for their spirit “food that endures to eternal life” (Jn. 6:27).In other Scriptures he said, “people shall not live by bread alone but by every word that comes from the mouth of God” (Mat. 4:4).
Still at another time he told them, “Do not work for food that perishes, but for the food that lasts for eternal life” (Jn. 6:27). Jesus continues to contrast the physical and the spiritual. And the temporal and the eternal. His intention was to draw people’s gaze from the earthly so that they would gain an eternal perspective.
And before his death, he instituted the Lord’s Supper as he celebrated the Passover meal with his disciples. He inaugurated the New Covenant at this supper. Listen to him, “Then he took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, “Drink from it, all of you. For this is my blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many for the remission of sins (Mat. 26:27-29).
This image depicts Jesus instituting the Lord’s Supper and telling his disciples about the New Covenant in his blood. The wine represented his blood.
Of a fact, he frequently made the point of contrasting the physical and the spiritual. He used the physical to illuminate spiritual realities. So that people would believe and understand that the spiritual is just as real as the physical. The only difference is that the physical is visible to us now and the spiritual invisible. “What is seen, is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal” (2 Cor. 4:18). This will change in the future. As both will become visible.pastorrick.org
The greatest gift in the Bible is eternal life in Christ Jesus. Eternal life was costly to the Father. He did not keep back his own son, but gave him up to die so that we would have eternal life. If God did this, surely he will give us all other things (Rm. 8:32).
Know How to List
Here is a list that shows how to overcome offences and learn lessons for success:
- Identity: Identify who is speaking; this means you need to determine their character and ability. For instance, Jesus is the way, the truth and the life. Jesus cannot lie.
- Motive. Determine the motivation of the speaker. Does the speaker want to communicate truth? or is the person deceptive? As for Jesus, his motive was pure. He loved the people as he loves us. Shortly after he gave this message, he was about to give his life for them and for us. There was no guile found in him (1 Pet. 2:22-25). Which means he was without deceit, free from cunning, did not engage in hypocrisy, and dishonesty in thought nor deed.
- Benefit: Is the message beneficial? or is it harmful? Will it lead to your success? or lead to your downfall? Jesus’ messages are always beneficial. Jesus came to give life in abundance. Life that overflows with joy, peace and God’s abundant riches.
- Promises: Are the promises in the message, reliable? Many products make truth claims that are false. When you check them out, they do not deliver. But that’s not the case with Jesus. All the promises in the Bible are true. The words of God must come to pass. They are based on God’s holy character. He esteems his word and name above all else (Ps. 138:2). That’s the reason why he can be trusted to fulfill his promises. The greatest promise is eternal life. That is life, love and fellowship with God forever.
The Response
Most definitely, Jesus’ reputation was circulating among the multitudes. His fame travelled throughout the region. They heard that he was working miracles, healing the sick and feeding the crowds (Mat. 9:31). These are all good works that should have convinced his followers to believe him. Surely, they and their friends and families benefited, as we can see in these examples (Mk, 2:3-11;Jn. 9:1-7; Mk. 7:24-30).
Yet even after they ate and were filled, they choose not to believe. They were so fixated on the physical that they were unwilling to entertain another perspective.
Yet not all lacked spiritual insight. When Jesus asked the 12 who comprised his inner circle whether or not they were going to walk away too. One spoke up and said, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life” (Jn. 6:68-69).
What about our response to his now message? After we have carried out the test and determined that he is credible, will we believe? or will we stop following as some of them did? or not begin to follow at all?
It is noteworthy that we do ourselves great harm when we get offended by the message and refuse to believe. Our unbelief does not change the reality of the message. It is true whether or not we believe. Its credibility is not based on our belief system. It is based on God’s character and integrity. So because it is true we choose to believe it.
Let us believe, trust and abide in Jesus. Let us agree that he has the words that give eternal life. It is to our success in this present life. And in world to come-the eternal kingdom. For God has given us eternal life. This life is in Jesus (1 Jn. 5:11).
Conclusion
In conclusion, we see how easy it is to become offended. Often it is based on misunderstanding. Some of Jesus’ followers in the crowds were offended by his message. They thought it was scandalous. They took his words literally. However he was using metaphors to represent spiritual realities.
His message was to impart spiritual truths. But more importantly, to orient our minds to the fact that we are not only physical. But also spiritual. We are spirit persons who live in a body. And we have a soul. As we nourish the body in like manner the spirit must be sustained.
But while the body is nourished with physical food, not the spirit. Jesus alone is the nourishment for the spirit.
Also, we realize that we need to do discern a speaker’s identity and motive. Then we can, determine if the message is beneficial and whether or not the promises are true. In this way we can attest to the trustworthiness and credibility of the one who is speaking.
In the case of Jesus, he came with the gift of abundant life to offer us. He wanted to elevate our thinking and understanding from the earthly to the heavenly. And from the temporal to the eternal. He frequently referred to himself – his flesh, body and blood so that we would understand that everything we need for a successful life is found in him.
We have ample evidence in the Bible to certify his credibility. Once we can verify that he is reliable, then we can accept his now message. Our acceptance of his message is what the Bible calls faith. His message is beneficial to our temporal and eternal success.
