In John 6, where the miracle of Jesus’ feeding the 5,000 is recorded, more than just food for the body was offered. Those who sought Him out the following day heard the great lesson on how Jesus was the bread of heaven, and what following Him really meant. More than His being just a bread Messiah, able to provide for their physical needs, Jesus came to offer Himself for the sins of the world, to offer life through His sacrifice. He pointed out the need for Him and His will to be an integral part of who we are, illustrated in the words, “feed on my flesh and drink my blood” (John 6:54).
Unable to discern the spiritual application of these words, many of the crowds left, believing Jesus was advocating some barbaric ritual. The larger body of disciples following Jesus was just as confused by His words. They responded, “This is a hard saying; who can listen to it?” (6:60). When Jesus explained to them He was speaking of spiritual principles (6:63), it was still hard for them to hear, to grasp and understand, so much so that many stopped following Jesus (6:66), leaving only the 12 when it was all over.
What made this teaching hard was their lack of spiritual insight, their inability to understand the spiritual principle Jesus was emphasizing, and thus their inability, and even a lack of desire, to follow what Jesus had said. This is not the only statement of Jesus and Scripture that could be labeled as hard. Many find Jesus’ statement to believe and be immersed (Mark 16:16) to be hard as well, not because it is difficult to understand, but because it goes against their preconceived ideas. The abundance of testimony Scripture offers to its necessity is virtually ignored or explained [meager, flawed attempts thereat] away, despite Peter clearly saying immersion and salvation are integrally connected (1 Peter 3:21).
It is not just those who have failed to obey the Gospel that can find some of the will of God hard. The desire to please oneself has caused the teaching of Scripture on singing praises to God to be hard, as instruments are being added in some congregations. Observing the Lord’s Supper only on the first day of the week, the role of women in the leadership of the church and other matters of faith are hard for some as well. Even for those who are not influenced by such changes, some of the Bible’s teaching about Christian living can be hard. Faithful attendance in worship, giving as one has been prospered, personal holiness and other aspects of daily Christian living can be hard when the heart is not devoted to the Lord. Jesus said, “If you love me, you will keep my commandments” (John 14:15). If we have truly given ourselves to the Lord, then will wanting to live for Him be a hard thing to do?
One thing that will truly be hard to hear is this saying of our Lord: “And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness’” (Matthew 7:23). As hard as those words will be to hear, those to whom they are spoken will have no choice but to be forever separated from Him, though Jesus said His yoke is easy and His burden is light (Matthew 11:30). We each should ask ourselves which is the harder saying of Jesus, to live for him today or live without him for eternity.
