Offended By Jesus Series

Can you remember a time when you were truly offended? I’ll be 53 later this year, and I was recently asked if I’d like the “senior discount” at a nearby restaurant. After I noted all my grey hair, the waitress really recovered well when she said, “Well, you don’t have wrinkles on your face.”

Have you ever offended anyone? One of the church members is a public school teacher, and she overheard some children in her school commenting about her. They said, “She’s been through a lot.” Her husband said, “I’m ‘the lot’ she’s been through.”

More and more people are offended on social media these days. Yes, seemingly, everyone is triggered. Your breath can offend. Your smell can offend. But did you know Jesus can offend?

We continue our series in the gospel of John. I invite you to find your Bibles and find John 6 with me. At the conclusion of this message, you will be invited to come forward to take the Lord’s Supper.

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I want to answer one question this morning: How Do You Know if You are a Genuine Believer?

Today’s Scripture

“When many of his disciples heard it, they said, ‘This is a hard saying; who can listen to it?’ But Jesus, knowing in himself that his disciples were grumbling about this, said to them, ‘Do you take offense at this? Then what if you were to see the Son of Man ascending to where he was before? It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh is no help at all. The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life. But there are some of you who do not believe.’ (For Jesus knew from the beginning who those were who did not believe, and who it was who would betray him.) And he said, ‘This is why I told you that no one can come to me unless it is granted him by the Father.’

After this many of his disciples turned back and no longer walked with him. So Jesus said to the twelve, ‘Do you want to go away as well?’ Simon Peter answered him, ‘Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life, and we have believed, and have come to know, that you are the Holy One of God.’ Jesus answered them, ‘Did I not choose you, the twelve? And yet one of you is a devil.’ He spoke of Judas the son of Simon Iscariot, for he, one of the twelve, was going to betray him” (John 6:60-71).

1. Followers, Not Fans

“When many of his disciples heard it, they said, ‘This is a hard saying; who can listen to it?’” (John 6:60).

These are “Disciples” Who Leave.1

1.1 Disciples?

Don’t be fooled by the word “disciples” in verse 60. Jesus had many fans up until this point. He’s about to distinguish between those who are fans and those who are followers.2 A friend reminded me of something recently. On any given Sunday, there are three kinds of people and not two kinds. There are unbelievers, believers, and those who think they are believers.

The Bible says we are to text and examine ourselves to verify if we are genuine believers, “Examine yourselves, to see whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Or do you not realize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you?—unless indeed you fail to meet the test” (2 Corinthians 13:5)!

Almost everything Jesus says here is to flush out the real disciples. Jesus’ words sift and separate His fans from His followers. Let me show you.

1.2 I’m Offended

The Bible says Jesus has the supernatural ability to know what people were thinking: “knowing in himself that his disciples were grumbling about this” (John 6:61b).

The Greek word “hard” in verse 60 is the word from which we get our word: sclerosis. It’s the same word we use when someone has Multiple Sclerosis. When the people grumbled about Jesus here, they didn’t find His words impossible to understand. After all, He’s not delivering a lecture on mathematical concepts such as sin and cosine in trigonometry. They didn’t complain because Jesus was impossible to understand. No, they complained because Jesus offended them.

1.2.1 Funny

Years ago, I asked a young lady when she was due, only she wasn’t pregnant. I was so embarrassed. To this day, no matter how pregnant a lady looks, I wait until someone confirms she’s having a baby before I say anything. I wish this were the only embarrassing thing I’ve said.

1.2.1 Winston Churchill

Many of you know the name of Winston Churchill, who led England to fend off the Nazis. There was a woman in the House of Commons named Lady Astor, who didn’t care for Churchill. Evidently, the feeling was mutual. Astor allegedly told Churchill, “If I were married to you, I’d put poison in your coffee.” Churchill responded, “If I were married to you, I’d drink it.”3