Truth Hurts

Everyone wants to be popular, right? Well... at the very least, we want to be liked, right? When Jesus first started His ministry, we was very well-liked, especially as He started doing public signs and miracles. I mean, who doesn't like the guy who brings food (or multiplies 5 loaves and 2 fish) to the party? In John 6, we find Jesus at the height of His popularity. A huge crowd had gathered to see Him and hopefully see a miracle. They get their miracle (feeding of the five thousand), and when they find Jesus the next day, He is brutally honest with them.

1. Truth Exposes

- John 6:24-26

- Jesus calls the followers out by exposing why they followed Him. They did want Him as the savior of the world; they wanted Him for His miracles.

- Jesus exposes their motives by speaking truth into their hearts.

- Many people reject Jesus, because He does not meet their expectations.

- A lot of times, we know the real truth about ourselves, but because it's not what we wanted or how we expected it, we leave and reject Jesus.

2. Truth Offends

- John 6:53-63

- The people are turned off by Jesus talking about flesh and blood. It's weird and morbid and probably a little crazy to them.

- Jesus was trying to explain to them that He is the Bread of Life, and that the Bread must be sacrificed on the cross for them to have eternal life. This truth holds the power to eternal life spent with Him.

- But the people didn't want to understand it - it was easier to become offended.

- The stronger He proclaimed the truth, the more offended people became, and He didn’t care. He still did not waver in His truth. He did not let the opinions of what they thought discourage the way He told the truth. 

- The truth is NOT hard to UNDERSTAND - it's hard to ACCEPT.

- Society cares more about acceptance than truth.

- Jesus asks "Does this offend you?" He knows that it's offensive.

- We cannot be afraid to speak the truth of who Jesus is to those around us, even with the risk offending those listening. 

3. Truth Reveals

- John 6:66-69

- Peter recognizes the TRUTH of who Jesus is and recognized Him as Lord. 

- Peter makes an important decision to continue to follow Jesus, even though it’s the least popular thing to do, and he has to put his reputation at stake. 

- Peter recognized the value of spiritual things, more than the material and earthly desires of those who walked away (the words of eternal life).

Choose to share the truth about Jesus, even when it exposes, offends, and reveals.