I haven't posted on this blog for a long time. I think its time to change that. 

Unless noted, all Bible references are from the New Living Testament version of the Bible)

I was reading John 6 today.

This is where Jesus fed the five thousand (probably closer to ten thousand, when we include women and children) with five barley loaves and two fish. The crowd was so amazed at this miracle and his teachings that they tried to make Jesus their king, but Jesus slipped away into the hills.

The disciples waited for Jesus, but by nightfall he didn’t come back, so they got in their boat and sailed across the lake. A storm came up, and they were terrified, but Jesus walked to them on the storm-tossed waters, saying “Don’t be afraid! I am here!”.  Then he stepped into the boat, and the winds died down. The disciples were amazed, and everyone arrived safely at the other side of the lake.

The next day the crowds went back to where Jesus had fed them. Jesus and the disciples were gone, so they got into their own boats and sailed across the lake looking for Jesus. Finally, they found him.  

Seeing the crowd, and knowing why they came, Jesus told them, “You want to be with me because I fed you, not because you understood the miraculous signs.” (John 6:26)

Feeding the crowd was not the point of “why” Jesus performed a miracle and fed them. He fed them because they were hungry and he had compassion for them, true. But the miracle was in the manner that they were fed, a miracle that highlighted God’s provision. It was a miracle highlighting the promise that God will provide for the cares of this world that naturally need attending to.

Then Jesus said something that I think he said many times during his ministry. “Don’t be so concerned about perishable things like food. Spend your energy seeking the eternal life that the Son of Man can give you. For God the Father has given me the seal of his approval.” (John 6:27)

(Jesus says something very similar in Matthew 6, in his Sermon on the Mount. “So, don’t worry about these things, saying ‘What will we eat? What will we drink? What will we wear?’  (which is what the crowd in John 6 was thinking about and wanting from Jesus). These things dominate the thoughts of unbelievers, but your Heavenly Father already knows all your needs. Seek the Kingdom of God first, above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need.” (Matthew 6:31-33) I think Jesus taught this teaching often.)

Back to John 6. Then the crowd replied to Jesus, “We want to perform God’s works, too. What should we do?” (John 6:28)

You see, the crowd still didn’t understand what Jesus was saying. They wanted to do God’s work, to have God’s power, to keep themselves fed, and to provide for their own needs. They asked to “perform” God’s works, to be able to perform miracles like Jesus so they could save themselves, but they didn’t understand what God really wanted for them. God wanted to save them. All God wants is our hearts.

And Jesus knew their hearts, just as he knows our hearts. So, Jesus told them not what they wanted to hear, but what they needed to hear. What we all need to hear.

“This is the only work God wants from you: Believe in the one he has sent.” (John 6:29)

Other versions of the Bible quote this phrase in different ways.

“The work of God is this: to believe in the one he has sent.” New International Version

“What God wants you to do is to believe in the one he sent.” Good News Translation (US)

“This is what God requires, that you believe in him who God sent.” Common English Bible

“This is the work of God: that you believe [adhere to, trust in, rely on, and have faith] in the one whom he has sent.” Amplified Bible

This is the heart of why I’m writing today.

I think sometimes we make being a Christian too complicated.

Jesus just wants us to believe in him. Believe that he was a real person, a real character in world history, and that he was serious about what he taught and who he said he was. I think we need to keep it simple, and focus on Jesus, the one who was God and was sent by God.

We’ve developed complex systems of theology and written expansive confessions on what we are supposed to believe about God, Jesus, the Holy Spirit, faith, heaven and hell, evangelism, marriage, baptism, confession and communion, and so many other things.

Different denominations have different beliefs and different doctrines that they teach to their parishioners.

I can get very confusing and distracting.

But here’s the kicker for me: nobody completely agrees with any one doctrine. No one I’ve ever met agrees with or believes every word of a written confession, no matter which one it may be. Doctrines and confessions can be helpful as we think about God and try to know Jesus and God better, but they are not the way to salvation.

We all experience faith in different, personal ways. All of us bring our life experiences, education, fears, joys, passions and pains, and so much more, to our faith.

Doctrines and confessions can get complicated and can leave us wondering if we have a “true faith” or believe in the right things. It can also leave us worried and unsettled that we might be believing the wrongs things.

But nobody knows exactly what the right doctrine is, or all the right things we are supposed to believe.

But Jesus tells the crowd that the work of God and the only thing he requires is, simply, that we believe in Jesus, that he was sent by God for the good of us all.

Jesus didn’t tell the crowd that God wants them to believe the right things. They were taught all sorts of things about God that they were told to believe in that led them in the wrong direction. You and I are told all sorts of things to believe about God, too, and they sometimes lead us in the wrong direction.

But Jesus alone IS the right thing to believe in. Jesus alone is truth and good doctrine.

Jesus said this about himself, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me. If you had really known me, you would know who my Father is. From now on, you do know him and have seen him!” (John 14:6)

When it comes to ‘believing the right things’, when Jesus was talking to some Jewish leaders who knew the Hebrew Bible backward and forwards and were questioning Jesus about his claims that he was the Son of God, he said to them, “You search the Scriptures because you think they give you eternal life. But the Scriptures point to me! You refuse to come to me to receive this life.” (John 5:39)

Jesus just asks us to believe in him, a real person who lived, died, and was raised from the dead, and is still alive. And he asks us to believe in the One who sent him.

That’s it. That’s the start of it all. Because Jesus changes everything. 

Elsewhere Jesus told the crowds “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy to bear, and the burden I give you is light.” (Matthew 11:28-30)

That invitation doesn’t sound all that complicated.

We start with Jesus. We remain in Jesus. We stay with Jesus and take on his yoke. We learn about Jesus, who he was, what he taught, how he lived, and what he commands those that follow him to do. It’s not an abstract exercise.  It’s a real-world, real-life experience, friendship, and relationship with the living Son of God.

Believing in Jesus and following him, truly taking his yoke upon ourselves and letting him teach us, is really all God wants from us. Because if we do that, we will be changed and transformed to be more like Jesus, for our good and for the good of everyone around us.

Jesus IS the good news. Jesus IS the gospel. In Jesus we find life.