from the crowd to the cross.
I’ve been feeling the weight of things lately. I’m guessing you have too?
There’s so much evil and so many opinions and even more hurting people. There is real pain and fear and brokenness. There are divisions in families and churches and friendships that seem to be growing deeper, and enough finger pointing going around to last a lifetime.
Sometimes I wish I could click my heels together, like Dorothy and her ruby red slippers and make all of the hard stuff go away.
But the world keeps splitting wide open, along with our hearts. And yet. It keeps turning. So I keep making the coffee and changing the diapers and saying the prayers. I keep writing the words and sending the emails and reading the books, laughing and crying and loving and hoping.
I keep turning to the One with all the answers… because I feel a little like Peter when he says,
“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” (John 6:68-69).
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Let’s set the scene to better understand Peter’s response.
Jesus had just finished feeding the 5,000 and walked on water later that evening. The next day, the crowd follows Him, not necessarily because of their faith but in hopes of receiving more food.
Jesus answers them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, you are seeking me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate your fill of the loaves. Do not work for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures to eternal life…” (John 6:26-27).
They ache for the material things but not the spiritual. Jesus offers them truth, but they still don’t get it. They keep asking for manna from heaven, like the Israelites received in the wilderness. After some back and forth, Jesus says, “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst” (verse 35).
The food is temporary. But faith in Christ? That is of eternal significance. Jesus satisfies in a way that temporal things never could.
Jesus goes on to point out how He came down from heaven, but the crowd starts complaining and grumbling. They may have liked the free meals, but they don’t love the message. They want the sustenance without the surrender. the kingdom without the King. the blessings without the Burden-Bearer.
As they grow angrier and more offended at Jesus’s words, many of the people turn away and stop following Jesus altogether (verse 66). That’s when Jesus looks at the Twelve and asks, “Do you want to go away as well?” (verse 67).
And then Peter responds with the honest-to-goodness truth that hits close to home. Where else would I go?
Jesus is the Bread of life. The Light of the world (John 8:12). The Good Shepherd (10:11). The Resurrection and the Life (11:25). The True Vine (15:1). The Way, the Truth, and the Life (14:6). No one else compares to Him. There is nothing on this earth that comes close to competing with Him.
When we look around at a heavy world that wants to be saved but doesn’t want our Savior, may we have the courage to stand our ground and cling to Him.
When we look around at the fear and division and hatred that seems to be growing by the minute, may we find ourselves full of Spirit-filled faithfulness and a peace that passes all understanding.
When we look around and see the rubble of kingdoms built on sand, may we be the ones who stand up and say, “Come join me on this Solid Rock. You will be safe here for all of eternity. Christ is enough, and He is our Only Hope.”
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“Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few.”
The crowd will yearn to catch a glimpse of the miracles, but then turn and declare, “This is a hard saying; who can listen to it?” (verse 60). The same crowd that shouts Hosanna (“Save us”) will plead for His crucifixion. The crowd will be tossed to and fro based on feelings, popularity, and fear.
The crowd cries for help but not for holiness. They refuse to recognize their own sinfulness and selfishness. They stubbornly resist the truth of the Gospel and twist Scripture to their advantage. We’ve seen it throughout Scripture and throughout history.
But still, Christ died for people in those chaotic crowds. I don’t know your story, exactly, but I’m guessing we have all been part of the crowd at one point or another. We have been like Peter, who vowed his allegiance to Christ and then denied Him when it was convenient. We have been like the criminal on the cross, captured in our own sinful deeds. We have been like the people who ached for the physical protection rather than the Healer of souls. We have been like Paul, caught up in self-justified corruption.
Here’s the difference, though: we don’t stay in the crowd. As Christians rescued by the grace of God, we move from conviction to repentance and surrender. We move from the crowd to the cross.
Peter confesses his convictions. The thief on the cross acknowledges his sins and surrenders to the Savior beside Him. Paul stops persecuting and starts preaching. Jesus does not leave His people where we once were, but continues to grow His followers in obedience and holiness—with buckets of grace along the way.
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Let us not be remain part of the fickle and faithless crowd. Let us not hang our hopes on temporary solutions, grow resentful when things get hard, or cower to peer pressure. But let us be faithful followers, full of repentance, obedience, and humility. Let us be radically transformed disciples who hold fast to our Savior of Scripture, no matter the consequences.
After all, where else would we go?