Dr. Barclay with Something to Think About - THE FEW

THE FEW

In John 6, we read these words spoken by Jesus:

No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him;

Therefore anyone who has heard and learned from the Father comes to Me. 

(John 6:44,45)

From that time many of His disciples went back and walked with Him no more. 

(John 6:66)

In Acts1, we are told that in the upper room Peter stood in the midst of the disciples and… 

…the number of names was about a hundred and twenty… 

(Acts 1:15)

During His ministry, Jesus spoke to thousands of people who seemed enthusiastic enough to, at least on one occasion, want to make Him their king.

…Jesus perceived that they were about to come 

and take Him by force to make Him king…

(John 6:15)

They had been so taken with His miracles, and what was happening, that it seemed they would follow forever but, in reality, it seems they were more enthralled by what Jesus could do for them than for who Jesus in fact was. And when they determined that He was not there just to do their bidding many left.

And so it is still today. There are many who have apparently heard but have not learned from the Father. Even though the Gospel can be preached in all the world, there seems to be few at present who learn from it. This goes along with what we are told will develop as time goes on. Even though technology makes if easier to spread the Good News, there seems to be fewer and fewer people accepting and learning it. As it states in 2 Thessalonians:

 

Let no one deceive you…

for that Day will not come unless the falling away comes first… 

(2 Thessalonians 2:3)

And that falling away certainly seems to be happening at present. An article in the Globe and Mail more than 17 years ago pointed out that church attendance had dropped from 60 percent in 1945 to 21 percent in 2005; with one university student admitting that:

“I don’t know the Bible.”* 

If people can hear about the Father through all means of technology but don’t learn about the Father then are they among those who don’t come to Jesus or…

…[turn] back and walk with Him no more. 

(John 6:66)

And, is this also in part why we are told… 

…narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, 

and there are few who find it[?] 

(Matthew 7:14)

For there are apparently many who have heard but have not 

…learned from the Father… 

(John 6:45) 

As a result, and as Jesus Himself said:

…many will come in My name…

and will deceive many.

(Matthew 24:5) 

Apparently motivated by Satan who…

…deceives the whole world… 

(Revelation 12:9)

When Jesus did not provide for the people exactly what they wanted, they apparently did not learn what they needed to know about Him and so walked away. How many of us today still hear but do not learn, so that only a few are left?

It is something to think about.

*Friesen, Joe. “The Bible is no longer considered part of the conversation.” Global and Mail, Apr 10, 2009. https://www.theglobeandmail.com/incoming/the-bible-is-no-longer-considered-part-of-the-conversation/article1196374/