In John chapter 6 Jesus called himself "the bread of life," and he said, "The one
who comes to me never hungers, and the one who believes in me will never thirst
again." (verse 35) The Jews began to complain because of this (verse 41), and
Jesus went on to say, "Most assuredly I tell you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son
of Man, and drink his blood, you have no life in yourselves." (verse 53) "Therefore
when many of his disciples heard it, they said, 'This is a hard saying; who can listen
to it?' " (John 6:60) In what sense was the Lord's word "hard?" The Greek word
translated "hard" is skleros, and in this context it means difficult or uncompromising.
Jesus taught many things that were unpleasant or hard to take! Let's notice some
of the unpleasant teachings of Jesus and look at why they were unpleasant.
"Hate one's own father and mother and wife and children and brothers
and sisters and even their own life." (Luke 14:26) Those were the words of
Jesus to the crowds that accompanied him. The Greek word translated "hate" is
miseo. In this context it means to disregard, to refuse preferential treatment, to love
less. Jesus' followers must have single-minded loyalty for the Master, and nothing
is to be allowed to get in the way of faithful discipleship! Why is this a "hard"
saying? Because it involves one of the strongest obstacles in the path of truth, and
that obstacle is human emotions. Most people will not place Jesus before their own
parents, siblings, spouse, and their own selves. And they think of the command to
do so as repulsive. If a person desires to be the Lord's disciple, they must be
prepared to reject anyone and anything that stands between them and following
the Lord.
"No one comes to the Father except through me." (John 14:6) Contextually,
Jesus had told the apostles that he was going to prepare a place for them. He told
them they know the way where he is going. "Thomas said to him, 'Lord, we do
not know where you are going; how are we able to know the way?' " It was then
that Jesus said, "I am the way and the truth and the life; no one comes to
the Father except through me." Why is this a "hard" saying? Because of the
exclusivity of the Lord's words. Jesus is the only person through whom people
can gain access to the Father. We cannot come to the Father through Mary the
mother of Jesus, or through the pope of Rome, or through the apostle Peter. In
today's religious circles people do not like to think in terms of exclusion. It doesn't
fit well with the ecumenical and politically correct thinking of the majority. Most
people consider phrases like "no one comes except through me" to be bigoted
and arrogant. It is neither, it is a true statement! Jesus said so.
"Not everyone who says to me Lord, Lord will enter into the kingdom
of heaven." (Matthew 7:21) Those words are among the concluding part of
Jesus' famous teaching on the mountain. Why is this a "hard" saying? Contrary to
popular opinion, Jesus states that mere lip service, or making a "profession" of
religion is not sufficient to gain entrance into the kingdom of heaven. A person
must do the Father's will to enter the kingdom of heaven. If one must do the
Father's will, then works of obedience are essential to entering the kingdom of
heaven, and since works of obedience are essential, a person is not saved by
faith alone, grace alone, love alone, or anything else alone. Most of the religious
world will never accept this saying because it is difficult. It is difficult because it
contradicts what they have always been taught, and human tradition, even when
wrong, is like the talons of an eagle in a fish. It is hard to break the grip of human
tradition. It is also difficult to accept because in their mind, it indicts some within
their family and the so-called good people of the world. Their "gut" reaction is
often outrage. Even though Jesus said what he said, their human emotions
refuse to let them yield to the Lord. The Lord's unpleasant words make them
react as Pharaoh did when Yahweh sent Moses to him. Hardening of heart
occurs.
"Whoever divorces his wife except for sexual immorality, and marries
another, commits adultery." (Matthew 19:9) In this context, the Lord is
responding to the question posed by the Pharisees, " 'Is it lawful for a man to
divorce his wife for every reason?' " (Matthew 19:3) The Lord in essence
answered "No." Why is this a "hard" saying? Because it goes against the popular
tide of moral looseness with regard to marriage and divorce. The Lord implies
there is one basis for divorcing a spouse and marrying another, and that is upon
the ground of sexual immorality committed by the person who will be divorced.
It is reported statistically that one half of all marriages end in divorce. When
Hollywood celebrities, sports' figures, politicians, legal authorities, and the rich
and famous marry and divorce "on the whim," they are only hurting themselves,
for they cannot mock God. (Galatians 6:7) Human emotions weigh heavily on
issues like this. People would rather stay with someone they "love" even though
they have no right to them, than to "love" God and abandon unlawful marriage
relationships.
"Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life." (Matthew 6:25)
The phrase "do not worry" is an imperative. Jesus' disciples are told to stop
worrying. This is another difficult saying of Jesus. Why? Because nearly every
person I have ever known worried about life, health, clothing, or something they
considered a necessity but were lacking. A person has no more right to worry
about such things than they do to commit adultery, steal, murder, or blaspheme.
Why do most people worry? Because they doubt God's ability to deliver them
out of life's dungeon, or they have convinced themselves that worry helps the
situation. The fact is, worry causes stress and stress causes bodily ailments that
can lead to death! Noah didn't worry about the flood. Abraham didn't worry
about whether God would provide the sacrifice. David didn't worry about
Goliath. Paul did not worry about his incarceration and impending death. Each
of them believed God. (Hebrews 11;13:5-6) May we learn from the hard
sayings of Jesus.
R. Daly
Copyright 2013
who comes to me never hungers, and the one who believes in me will never thirst
again." (verse 35) The Jews began to complain because of this (verse 41), and
Jesus went on to say, "Most assuredly I tell you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son
of Man, and drink his blood, you have no life in yourselves." (verse 53) "Therefore
when many of his disciples heard it, they said, 'This is a hard saying; who can listen
to it?' " (John 6:60) In what sense was the Lord's word "hard?" The Greek word
translated "hard" is skleros, and in this context it means difficult or uncompromising.
Jesus taught many things that were unpleasant or hard to take! Let's notice some
of the unpleasant teachings of Jesus and look at why they were unpleasant.
"Hate one's own father and mother and wife and children and brothers
and sisters and even their own life." (Luke 14:26) Those were the words of
Jesus to the crowds that accompanied him. The Greek word translated "hate" is
miseo. In this context it means to disregard, to refuse preferential treatment, to love
less. Jesus' followers must have single-minded loyalty for the Master, and nothing
is to be allowed to get in the way of faithful discipleship! Why is this a "hard"
saying? Because it involves one of the strongest obstacles in the path of truth, and
that obstacle is human emotions. Most people will not place Jesus before their own
parents, siblings, spouse, and their own selves. And they think of the command to
do so as repulsive. If a person desires to be the Lord's disciple, they must be
prepared to reject anyone and anything that stands between them and following
the Lord.
"No one comes to the Father except through me." (John 14:6) Contextually,
Jesus had told the apostles that he was going to prepare a place for them. He told
them they know the way where he is going. "Thomas said to him, 'Lord, we do
not know where you are going; how are we able to know the way?' " It was then
that Jesus said, "I am the way and the truth and the life; no one comes to
the Father except through me." Why is this a "hard" saying? Because of the
exclusivity of the Lord's words. Jesus is the only person through whom people
can gain access to the Father. We cannot come to the Father through Mary the
mother of Jesus, or through the pope of Rome, or through the apostle Peter. In
today's religious circles people do not like to think in terms of exclusion. It doesn't
fit well with the ecumenical and politically correct thinking of the majority. Most
people consider phrases like "no one comes except through me" to be bigoted
and arrogant. It is neither, it is a true statement! Jesus said so.
"Not everyone who says to me Lord, Lord will enter into the kingdom
of heaven." (Matthew 7:21) Those words are among the concluding part of
Jesus' famous teaching on the mountain. Why is this a "hard" saying? Contrary to
popular opinion, Jesus states that mere lip service, or making a "profession" of
religion is not sufficient to gain entrance into the kingdom of heaven. A person
must do the Father's will to enter the kingdom of heaven. If one must do the
Father's will, then works of obedience are essential to entering the kingdom of
heaven, and since works of obedience are essential, a person is not saved by
faith alone, grace alone, love alone, or anything else alone. Most of the religious
world will never accept this saying because it is difficult. It is difficult because it
contradicts what they have always been taught, and human tradition, even when
wrong, is like the talons of an eagle in a fish. It is hard to break the grip of human
tradition. It is also difficult to accept because in their mind, it indicts some within
their family and the so-called good people of the world. Their "gut" reaction is
often outrage. Even though Jesus said what he said, their human emotions
refuse to let them yield to the Lord. The Lord's unpleasant words make them
react as Pharaoh did when Yahweh sent Moses to him. Hardening of heart
occurs.
"Whoever divorces his wife except for sexual immorality, and marries
another, commits adultery." (Matthew 19:9) In this context, the Lord is
responding to the question posed by the Pharisees, " 'Is it lawful for a man to
divorce his wife for every reason?' " (Matthew 19:3) The Lord in essence
answered "No." Why is this a "hard" saying? Because it goes against the popular
tide of moral looseness with regard to marriage and divorce. The Lord implies
there is one basis for divorcing a spouse and marrying another, and that is upon
the ground of sexual immorality committed by the person who will be divorced.
It is reported statistically that one half of all marriages end in divorce. When
Hollywood celebrities, sports' figures, politicians, legal authorities, and the rich
and famous marry and divorce "on the whim," they are only hurting themselves,
for they cannot mock God. (Galatians 6:7) Human emotions weigh heavily on
issues like this. People would rather stay with someone they "love" even though
they have no right to them, than to "love" God and abandon unlawful marriage
relationships.
"Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life." (Matthew 6:25)
The phrase "do not worry" is an imperative. Jesus' disciples are told to stop
worrying. This is another difficult saying of Jesus. Why? Because nearly every
person I have ever known worried about life, health, clothing, or something they
considered a necessity but were lacking. A person has no more right to worry
about such things than they do to commit adultery, steal, murder, or blaspheme.
Why do most people worry? Because they doubt God's ability to deliver them
out of life's dungeon, or they have convinced themselves that worry helps the
situation. The fact is, worry causes stress and stress causes bodily ailments that
can lead to death! Noah didn't worry about the flood. Abraham didn't worry
about whether God would provide the sacrifice. David didn't worry about
Goliath. Paul did not worry about his incarceration and impending death. Each
of them believed God. (Hebrews 11;13:5-6) May we learn from the hard
sayings of Jesus.
R. Daly
Copyright 2013
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