“From that moment many of His disciples turned back and
no longer accompanied Him.” (John 6:66)
Jesus had
more than the 12 disciples. He called
the 12 disciples “apostles,” but there were many other disciples. Judging from
the crowds that attended His teaching and healing events, the number of
disciples was significant. A significant
number of these decided that they would no longer follow Him when they heard
His statements about being the bread of life, superior to manna, and about
eating His flesh and drinking His blood.
They obviously did not comprehend what He was talking about. He also said that no one could come to Him
unless granted by the Father.
Here’s what
we learn from this verse: Jesus was
unwilling to compromise the truth. As
much as He wanted to reach people and gain disciples, He absolutely refused to
compromise truth. He was even willing to
let them go away rather than compromise the truth.
Those who
are committed to Jesus as His disciples definitely want to reach people with
the gospel. The eternity of the lost
depends on it. There is, however, a line
of truth beyond which we must not go.
The practice of “accommodation” of the truth should not be followed. Explanation, yes, and clarification, yes, but
the practice of accommodation communicates that the truth is not that important,
that it is just relative and not absolute.
We must by all means reach the lost with the gospel, but not by
compromising truth.
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