“‘whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise them up at the last day. For my flesh is real food and my blood is real drink. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me, and I in them. Just as the living Father sent me and I live because of the Father, so the one who feeds on me will live because of me. This is the bread that came down from heaven. Your ancestors ate manna and died, but whoever feeds on this bread will live forever.’ He said this while teaching in the synagogue in Capernaum.

On hearing it, many of his disciples said, ‘This is a hard teaching. Who can accept it?’” (John 6:54-60)

Jesus was teaching His followers when He dropped this bomb on them. How strange would these words have sounded if we were in the crowd that day without the full knowledge of the bible? No doubt because of these strange words, “many of the followers left Jesus” on that day. And while we understand these words from Jesus as a metaphor, for those in the crowd the message was simply too hard to accept. Leading to the point that I wanted to make, which is that even today, many people are leaving the path of Jesus because of “hard teaching.” There are bible verses that are still leaving some readers to ask “who can accept this?” For some its Genesis chapter 1, for others its Jesus’ teaching on “loving your enemy,” or showing mercy. But Jesus’ radical teaching is still stretching people in 2024. But through the Holy Spirit and revelation of God’s plan, we can have faith. Those who left Jesus that day didn’t understand His words or the consequences of their choice. But today we do. So read the word – spend time with it – wrestle with its meaning, and try to understand its application in your life. After all, the creator of the universe said these things for a reason.