The Saddest Passage in the Bible to Me (John 666)

In this series on the feeding of the 5000, we have discussed the historicity of the event, how it backfired and led to a serious crisis, and how it is connected to the story of Jesus’ temptation by Satan in the desert. I would now like to focus on what I consider the saddest moment in the story of the feeding of the 5000—in fact, potentially the saddest moment in the entire Bible.

Many of Jesus’ Disciples Stop Following Him

John chapter 6 is a loooong chapter! And there is a lot going on—serious life-changing stuff. Jesus saw the hungry crowd following him and decided to do something practical for them. He took a few loaves of bread and a couple of fish and fed them all. I don’t know how he expanded those paltry resources into enough to feed 5000 people—but it worked. The crowd was no longer hungry and there were more leftovers than what he began with.

I wish that had been the end of it, but people in the crowd were mesmerized by the idea of easy, plentiful food. In fact, they wanted to make Jesus king on the spot so he could lead them in a fight against Rome. This, however, was not Jesus’ mission; the Father was leading him to initiate the spiritual kingdom of God—God’s benevolent rule, you might say.

Jesus had to explain that his significance was not in his ability to create bread but that it was he, himself, who was the bread of life from heaven. He used graphic language to make his point clear, but many of his followers were not happy with it.

John 6:66 records the sad result:

From this time many of his disciples turned back and no longer followed him.

How sad indeed. But the worst moment is not yet.

The Scene that Frightened Me and Almost Took My Breath Away

Some years ago, when I was a District Manager for Family Christian Stores, I was asked to deliver a short devotional at the annual managers’ conference. I knew at once what I would talk about because this scenario had occupied me for a while, and it had to do with the feeding of the 5000 in the book of John but is not an issue I have yet mentioned in the series.

Family Christian Stores managers, buyers, and other staff tended to be somewhat conservative in their religious beliefs, though they were not fundamentalist by any means. I was among the most theologically moderate persons in the group.

Some of the employees were what I would call a bit ‘superstitious’ of the number ‘666’ because of its use in the book of Revelation. At the devotion, I mentioned to them that I was not concerned with the number ‘666’; in fact I had used it for years as my code into our company communications system. But the ‘666’ that really affected me was John 6:66,

From this time many of his disciples turned back and no longer followed him.

But an even worse moment followed. It was a scene that frightened me and almost took my breath away. Jesus asked his remaining disciples a pointed and startling question. Tears still come to my eyes when I read it; I am crying right now as I write this:

“You do not want to leave too, do you?” Jesus asked the Twelve.

Lagerfeuer – Wikipedia Commons

I imagine the momentous and tumultuous day is over and Jesus and the twelve are sitting around the open fire at night eating some of the leftovers from earlier in the day. We are all very quiet and just nibbling on our food and listening to the crackling of the flames when suddenly, out of the dark silence, Jesus says:

“You do not want to leave too, do you?”

I am caught off guard; I don’t know what to say. My breath is restricted, my heart tightens, and I begin to sweat. In horror, I realize that I could easily have walked away with the crowd. I also was confused by Jesus’ odd talk of eating his flesh and drinking his blood. Why didn’t I go with them? Why did I stay? The very thought of it shot horror throughout my being.

There was nothing but silence. No one said a word as the flames crackled. Only a big pop from a piece of the burning wood disturbed the heavy silence. Then Peter said softly in the stillness:

Lord, to whom shall we go?

Yes! That was the answer—where would I go? How easily, thoughtlessly, I could have walked away from Jesus today with his other former followers. But, even though I do not yet understand everything about Jesus, I am compelled to agree with Peter:

You have the words of eternal life. We have come to believe and to know that you are the Holy One of God.

Today was a crisis for Jesus, but he made the right decision. It could have been my crisis event as well, and I could easily have made the wrong decision.

Crises Still Continue for Many

Similar crises still occur even now in 2017; there is much we do not understand, and many of us contemplate whether we should continue following Jesus. But I hope that we all can finally agree with Peter:

Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.

Where would you go?

One More Thing

Before we leave the series, there is just one more thing: what is the significance to us of John’s account of feeding of the 5000? There are definitely important lessons for followers of Jesus in his response to the crowd about the bread of life. We will talk about them next time.

In this series: Insights into the Feeding of the 5000

• Yes, Jesus Fed the 5000—But it Backfired Badly!
• The Temptation of Jesus in the Book of John
• Did Satan Really Tempt Jesus in the Desert or is there Another Explanation?
• The Saddest Passage in the Bible to Me (John 666)

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