John 6:25–71. The Worst Evangelistic Sermon of All Time.

26 Feb

Michael Dziedzic
@lazycreekimages

Unsplash.

Why do people reject Jesus when he offers all we need?

Over the years, I’ve heard lots of compelling Bible talks. Clear, great illustrations, compelling logic, all that kind of stuff. Grounded in history. Reliable. I can’t help but accept the truth.

But over the years, I’ve known people who have heard the exact same talks and rejected it all. Maybe you know someone like that? Someone who heard about Jesus as clearly as you heard it, maybe spent years at a church or Christian school, and still decided they didn’t want him. That can be confusing, discouraging, and disorienting.

John 6 helps us because it shows us something surprising: sometimes rejection doesn’t happen because the message was unclear or poorly delivered. In fact, in this chapter, we may be witnessing the least effective evangelistic sermon of all time. Jesus himself does the preaching. And by the end, most of the crowd walks away.

That forces us to ask: why?

1. Their Hunger Is Off-Target (6:25–40)

Just before this conversation, Jesus has miraculously fed thousands of people with bread. The crowd has seen a clear sign of his power, followed him across the lake, and now gathers to hear him speak. When the crowd finally finds Jesus, they ask him when he arrived. But Jesus doesn’t answer their question. Instead, he names their motivation.

“You are looking for me, not because you saw the signs I performed but because you ate the loaves and had your fill” (6:26).

Their hunger is real, but it’s aimed at the wrong thing. It’s off target. They want Jesus as a provider of comfort, security, and solutions, not as the one who gives life with God. They want the benefits of Jesus without trusting Jesus himself.

So Jesus redirects them: “Do not work for food that spoils, but for food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you” (6:27). He’s not dismissing physical needs. He’s revealing that they aren’t our deepest need.

Then he promises that everyone the Father gives him will come to him, and that he will never drive away anyone who does (6:37). Eternal life doesn’t depend on perfect motives or flawless faith, but on coming to Jesus and trusting him.

It’s possible to be very interested in Jesus and still miss him. We can chase Jesus for help without ever trusting him as the one who gives us life with God. The question isn’t whether we’re hungry, but what we’re hungry for. Jesus definitely invites us to bring our needs to him. The problem is that sometimes our perceived needs are way off.

2. His Grace Offends (6:41–59)

In verse 41, the vibe shifts. John tells us that the crowd begins to grumble. That word is deliberate. It echoes Israel grumbling in the wilderness, even while God provided bread from heaven (Exodus 16:2–8). Jesus’ grace has offended them.

What triggers the grumbling is Jesus’ claim about who he is. They say:

“Is this not Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How can he now say, ‘I came down from heaven’?” (6:42)

They think they know where Jesus is from. They think they’ve sussed him out. And that’s why they’re offended. Grace that comes down from heaven is hard to accept when you want a Jesus you can domesticate.

Jesus presses the point further: life with God is not something people achieve by effort or insight. It’s something God gives.

“No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws them” (6:44).

People can only come to Jesus if the Father brings them in. That’s offensive. And the grumbling turns into beef between them:

“Then the Jews began to argue sharply among themselves, ‘How can this man give us his flesh to eat?’” (6:52)

They’re offended. He seems to be advocating cannibalism. He’s not! But they don’t get the bigger point he’s making. Life with God comes only through sharing in Jesus himself, not through curiosity, morality, or religious effort. By talking about eating his flesh and drinking his blood, Jesus is pointing to his bodily death (the flesh) and the blood he sheds at the cross (drinking his blood) as the necessary source of life. They must receive him as the crucified one, not just admire him as a teacher or miracle-worker.

Some Christians—especially Roman Catholics—read this passage as directly referring to the Lord’s Supper (that meal Christians do in church with the bread and wine) because of the strong eating-and-drinking language. But in context, Jesus is talking about coming to him and believing in him as the only way to receive life, long before the meal is ever given (see John 6:35, 40). So really, this passage isn’t about the Lord’s Supper. If anything, the Lord’s Supper is about this passage. The Lord’s Supper is a visible, shared sign that points the church back to receiving Jesus by faith in his death on the cross.

3. His Teaching Is Hard (6:60–71)

By verse 60, even many who had followed Jesus for some time say, “This is a hard teaching. Who can accept it?” (6:60). Many get up and walk off.

What a flop of a sermon. From a numbers perspective, this sermon looks like a disaster. Perhaps the worst evangelistic talk of all time.

Then Jesus turns to the Twelve and asks the question that hangs over the whole chapter: “You do not want to leave too, do you?” (6:67).

His teaching is hard, and it’s tempting to walk away. But Peter answers with a response that captures real faith:

“Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life” (6:68).

Some people walk away because following Jesus feels too confronting or too costly. Others stay, not because they understand everything, but because they know there is nowhere else to find life.

As John tells the story, he wants us to respond like Peter. Yes, Jesus’ teaching is hard to understand. But what other option is there?

Following Jesus doesn’t mean everything will be easy or comfortable. His words will sometimes stretch and confront us, and some will walk away. Christians stay because Jesus alone gives life, even when the crowd thins out.

Final Word

If effectiveness is measured by applause or numbers, John 6 is an epic fail. But if effectiveness is measured by truth, faithfulness, and life, things change dramatically.

People reject Jesus because their hunger is misdirected, his grace offends their pride, and his teaching feels hard to accept. But those who stay do so for one simple reason.

Jesus alone gives the life we truly need.

He is the true bread of life. He never turns away those who come to him. And he promises to raise them up at the last day.

John 6:25-71. Youth Questions.

Pray and Get Going

1. If you asked a friend from school why they don’t follow Jesus, what do you think they’d say?

Look at John 6:25-40

2. How is the crowd’s hunger off target?

3. How do Jesus’ words comfort those who are worried about whether or not they are saved?

Look at 6:41-59

4. Why are the crowd offended?

5. How does God’s grace offend people today?

Look at John 6:60–71

6. Why do some people walk away? Why do some people stay?

7. What do you make of Peter’s verdict in verses 68–69? Can you echo these words and mean them?

Pray and Give Thanks

Please, God, help us trust Jesus even when his teaching is hard. Shape our hunger so we seek the life he gives rather than the things that fade.
Thank you, God, that Jesus is the true bread of life who never turns away. Thank you that you promise to raise up those who come to him at the last day.

John 6:25–71 Kids’ Club Questions

Pray and Get Going

Have you ever been really hungry and just wanted food straight away? What did that feel like?

Read John 6:25–27

25 When they found him on the other side of the lake, they asked him, “Rabbi, when did you get here?”
26 Jesus answered, “Very truly I tell you, you are looking for me, not because you saw the signs I performed but because you ate the loaves and had your fill.
27 Do not work for food that spoils, but for food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you.”

2. Why are the crowd looking for Jesus? What do they really want?

3. What does Jesus say is more important than food?

Read John 6:35

35 Then Jesus declared, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.”

4. What do you think Jesus means when he says, “I am the bread of life”?

5. How is Jesus better than normal food?

Read John 6:60–61, 66–69

60 On hearing it, many of his disciples said, “This is a hard teaching. Who can accept it?”
61 Aware that his disciples were grumbling about this, Jesus said to them, “Does this offend you?”
66 From this time many of his disciples turned back and no longer followed him.
67 “You do not want to leave too, do you?” Jesus asked the Twelve.
68 Simon Peter answered him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.
69 We have come to believe and to know that you are the Holy One of God.”

6. What do some people do when Jesus’ teaching is hard?

7. What does Peter say about Jesus? Why does he stay?

8. If Jesus is the bread of life, how should we respond to him this week?