This Easter Season, What Will We Do with Jesus?

Do you know any “groupies”? We don’t hear the term as much these days, but there have always been folks who were more than avid fans of singers, bands or other types of entertainers. With an almost fanatical obsession, they go out of their way to attend the concerts and performances of their “idols” as often as they can. Perhaps at one time or another you’ve been one of them?

Being in the midst of the Lenten season, with Palm Sunday coming up, followed by Good Friday and Easter, it seems appropriate to give some special consideration to the One who’s the focus of this special season, Jesus Christ. Can you believe He also had His groupies?

 

Almost from the start of His public ministry, Jesus became one of those individuals who attracted devoted fans, some who were genuinely touched by His teachings and others who were simply curious, or wanted to witness firsthand one of the miracles they had heard He was performing. Everywhere people were talking about Him. Whenever they heard reports that Jesus was coming their region, crowds flocked to be near Him. Like lost sheep, they wanted to know who He was, what He had to say, and what He would do. Jesus, we might say, was the hottest ticket in town.

 

But fans can be very fickle, whether they’re following a celebrated entertainer, a sports team, or even politicians. All gung-ho one day, but angry and disenchanted the next. Perhaps you’ve experienced that yourself. The ardor exhibited by many of Jesus’ followers proved short-lived as well. If He failed to meet their expectations or didn’t tell them what they wanted to hear, they turned on Him. 

 

This is why Luke 4:28 tells us, “[they] drove Him out of the town…so that they could throw Him down the cliff.” They tried, but that didn’t happen. The passage goes on, “But He walked right through the crowd and went on His way.” Jesus had avoided what the old TV comedy show “Laugh-In” called, “the flying fickle finger of fate.” He simply moved on to another town.

 

In another of the gospels we read that after Jesus had made some difficult pronouncements, “From this time many of His disciples turned back and no longer followed Him” (John 6:66). In their eyes, Jesus went from hero to zero. Folks can be quite fickle if their ears you do not tickle.

 

“Well, I would never do that!” some might argue defensively. That’s easy to say when things are going well, but what about when things aren’t so good, when we’re confronted with unexpected challenges or adversity in any of its many unpleasant forms. And our prayers seem to go unanswered, as if Jesus doesn’t care. What do we do with Him then?

 

We know from the Scriptures that Jesus proved to be many things: preacher and teacher, prophet, liberator, healer, and restorer. He’s all of that – and much more. He willingly went to the cross, died for our sins, was buried, and then came back to life so He could prove to be our Savior, Redeemer and Lord. In His own words, Jesus demonstrated He is indeed, “the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in Me will live, even though they die” (John 11:25).

 

Sounds like good news, right! But we find a word of caution early in John’s gospel: “Yet to all who received Him, to those who believed in His name, He gave the right to become children of God” (John 1:12). Salvation – forgiveness of our sins, redemption and an eternal relationship with God – can’t be earned. It’s a gift, totally unmerited and undeserved. But there’s one “condition” – this gift must be received. Have we truly done that – received Jesus Christ and believed in His name, not just intellectually but trusting Him with our whole heart? 

 

It’s easy to become satisfied with religion – doing good things and saying the right words – without really letting Jesus to have all of us. But He doesn’t want just part of us. He doesn’t want our “religion.” He wants to have an unending, life-changing relationship with us.

So, the question that confronted the hot-and-cold multitudes of Jesus’ day remains the same question we must answer today: What will we do with Jesus? Are we just fans, or are we true followers?  

Time to Confront the Commitment Problem?

Have you heard the story about the pig and chicken walking past a restaurant that advertised a breakfast special of bacon and eggs? The chicken glances at the sign and swells with pride, but the pig can’t conceal his sadness.

“What’s the matter?” asks the chicken. “Well, you see, for you that sign represents a contribution,” the pig explains. “For me it means total commitment.”

This silly little story highlights a virtue we seem to be losing in our society. Workers increasingly have little or no commitment to their employers, just as employers don’t seem very committed to their workers. The days of 40-year careers with a single company culminating with a gold watch have become about as common as dodo birds. Marriage is in the midst of a commitment crisis as well. With the divorce rate hovering around 50 percent, familiar vows of “better or worse…as long as we both shall live” aren’t worth much more than a grain of salt. 

Young people, growing up in fractured homes, often lack positive examples of what commitment means, so they’re quick to abandon ship when things get tough or something more appealing arises. The head football coach at one major university came under fire recently when he referred to this in discussing the NCAA’s newly created “transfer portal.”

Observing that more than 650 collegiate football players had elected to transfer over the past two years, rather than complete their eligibility at their original school, the coach bemoaned, “We have a problem with our society. We don’t have a problem with our program.” Apparently when the going gets tough, it’s simply time to go elsewhere.

Things don’t seem much different spiritually. These days, it’s more common for churches to grow through “transfer growth” – people moving from one congregation to another – than the addition of people new in their faith. We see people making professions of faith, whether by walking an aisle, raising a hand or being baptized, then drifting away, no longer seen in church – anywhere. 

On several occasions I’ve met with men in discipling relationships, feeling encouraged by their zeal and apparent spiritual growth over weeks or months. Then something came up, perhaps a problem they encountered within the church, or deciding the cost of discipleship was higher than they were willing to pay, and they no longer wanted to meet. Sad, but it happens.

This problem is hardly new. The Old Testament repeatedly tells about commitment issues the ancient Israelites had. One day they were vowing, “You and us, Lord, all the way!” Then the next they started complaining, “God, what have You done for us lately?” And before long they were making golden calves or building altars for false gods. The grass seemed greener on the other side of the tabernacle.

Jesus Christ knew well the fragile commitment levels of His fickle followers. In the Gospel of John, we read that when some of His teachings became difficult, many who had been pursuing Him decided it was time to go home. “From this time many of his disciples turned back and no longer followed him” (John 6:66). They wanted to believe – but only if it was easy. 

We have the tragic example of Judas Iscariot, who decided Jesus wasn’t meeting his expectations. So he betrayed the Lord for 30 pieces of silver. The other 11 disciples weren’t so obvious in their betrayal, but when Jesus was arrested and led off to a mock trial, they dispersed as well. Confronted about whether he was among Jesus’ followers, Peter denied Him – three times.

Have you ever had times when your faith felt weak and you began questioning what you believed? We’ve probably all had moments like that. Commitment to anything long-term is difficult, especially a walk of faith. But its rewards are beyond compare.

King David explained why in one of his most honest psalms: “Trust in the Lord and do good; dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture. Delight yourself in the Lord and he will give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the Lord; trust in him and he will do this: He will make your righteousness shine like the dawn, the justice of your cause like the noonday sun” (Psalm 37:3-6). 

There are times when all hope seems lost and we’re tempted to lose heart, but David advised we should hang in there. The best is yet to come: “Wait for the Lord and keep his way. He will exalt you to inherit the land; when the wicked are cut off, you will see it” (Psalm 37:34).

This hope is anchored in one simple truth. Although we all struggle with commitment, God has no such problem. He makes this promise to each of His children: “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you” (Hebrews 13:5). If we just take time to reflect on the Lord’s total commitment to us, even to the point of going to the cross to atone for our sins, maybe it will become easier to reaffirm our total commitment to Him. We won’t settle for just making a temporary contribution.

The Saddest Verse in the Bible

One of the distinctives about the Bible is its candor, its unvarnished presentation of the failures and foibles of its principal characters. There’s no airbrushing, no whitewashing of even the most important individuals, no accounts told through rose-tinted glasses.

As we read the Scriptures, we encounter many passages about sin, disobedience, rebellion. It starts in the garden of Eden with Adam and Eve, continues with King David’s adultery and murder to cover up his sin, and carries through to the betrayal of Jesus by Judas Iscariot and Peter’s more subtle, but equally grievous betrayal as Jesus was being tried and tortured prior to His crucifixion.

So it’s questionable at best to declare one verse as the saddest in all of the Bible, but nevertheless, I have a nominee. In the 6^thchapter of the Gospel of John, Jesus had just finished making some difficult statements that troubled many of those who had been avidly following Him. Jesus had declared, “I am the bread of life” (v. 35) and “No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him, and I will raise him up at the last day” (v. 44). Not the simplest words to grasp.

These were definitely confounding for many of those listening to Him. “On hearing it, many of his disciples said, ‘This is a hard teaching. Who can accept it?’” (v. 60). Jesus was not at all surprised by their reaction and made no attempt to pacify their perplexity. “…The words I have spoken to you are spirit and they are life. Yet there are some of you who do not believe.’ For Jesus had known from the beginning which of them did not believe and who would betray him. He went on to say, ‘This is why I told you that no one can come to me unless the Father has enabled him’” (vv. 63-65).

Then comes what I regard as the saddest verse in the Bible: “From this time many of his disciples turned back and no longer followed him” (John 6:66).

Imagine having been with Jesus – God in the flesh – for weeks, months, maybe even a year or two, hearing His unfathomable words of wisdom and observing His miraculous works. Blind people given sight, crippled people restored to unaided mobility, lepers having skin turned soft like infants, dead people being raised to life. And then, after hearing Him utter some puzzling pronouncements, turning away and no longer following Him.

Could anything be more heartbreaking than that?

The Scriptures tell us “the mark of the beast” – our spiritual enemy – is 666, so perhaps it’s appropriate that the address for this verse is John 6:66. It must be the work of the evil one to cause one-time followers of Jesus to turn away, forsaking Him and His teachings, upon learning what it fully means to follow Him.

Things aren’t much different today. We probably all know people, even friends or family members, who at one time seemed to be ardent Christ followers. They were attending worship services regularly, going to Bible studies, eagerly sharing their faith, maybe even engaging in vocational Christian ministry. But then, whether gradually or suddenly, their enthusiasm and commitment faded. One day we look up and find, like the folks in Jesus’ day, they had turned back and were no longer following Him.

Perhaps, as Jesus described in His parable of the sower, it’s that “the worries of this life, the deceitfulness of wealth and the desires for other things come in and choke the word, making it unfruitful” (Mark 4:19). This is why discipling – spiritual mentoring – is so vital for the health and growth of believers, not only those new to the faith but also those who have been following Jesus for years. We all need support, encouragement and accountability in our walk with the Lord.

My prayer is that I and those I care about will always be able to say, “For in him we live and move and have our being” (Acts 17:28). Do you know of anyone who seems at risk of turning back and no longer following the Lord? How about you? What can you do to keep that from happening?

May our hearts echo the words of Peter, when Jesus asked His 12 closest disciples if they too wished to leave. Peter replied, "Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life, We believe and know that you are the Holy One of God" (John 6:68-69).