After a bout of hard teaching, when Jesus affirmed to those closest to him that he was indeed sent from God, and was the only way to God, and they must eat his flesh and drink his blood—offensive language especially to Jews—a number of his followers left.

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

I don’t often think of this period in the ministry of Jesus. Crowds surrounded Jesus constantly, listening to him and considering his words. Some folks found Jesus compelling, others not so much. But here formed a pivotal moment. Jesus shared stark truth, and many of his closest followers walked away. The call to commitment, the radical nature of Jesus, turned their stomachs.

Today people use the term deconstruction to describe their path away from Jesus. I hear the word used as people talk about leaving the faith over issues of the church, and over church people’s attitudes towards politics or race or gender or sexuality—any number of issues. Deconstruction serves as a hip word for leaving, what older generations called apostasy.

People turned from Jesus in Galilee, and people turn from Jesus today. I’ve watched people turn from Jesus all my years of ministry. To stay and wrestle with the hard truths of Jesus, to endure the strictures of his teaching, to hash through confusing Bible passages takes commitment and resolve.

I notice that those who de-construct rarely re-construct. I don’t know why, I cannot speak for them. But I have the feeling that they’ve wanted to leave for awhile, and using the cover of deconstruction makes it seem like someone else’s fault. And perhaps it was. I understand the challenges of faith and the urge to walk away. I hope and pray they return to Jesus.

But I resonate with the words of Peter when Jesus asked him, You do not want to leave too, do you? Peter replied, Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. We have come to believe and to know that you are the Holy One of God.

As for me, I can’t walk away—there’s nowhere else to go.

John 6 in week forty-four of reading the Bible cover to cover

Photo by Nick Jio