Day Seventy-Six -- Look how the whole world has gone after him!

John 6:1 to John 15:17

The Jesus we meet in John's gospel is definitely no shrinking violet.  This is a view of Jesus as a self-assured Messiah who acts and speaks so powerfully that people are naturally forced to take sides.  There is no neutral ground, no time to ponder, no middle position from which to consider the options.  This Jesus has a singleness of purpose and although he has surrounded himself with disciples, we hear very little from or about them.   They will have their role to play later, but for now they are pretty much just along for the ride.  The great "I AM", in repetitive first person singular, is on the stage:

     "I am the bread of life." (6:35)
     "I am the bread that came down from heaven." (6:41)
     "I am the living bread that came down from heaven." (6:51)
     "I am the light of the world." (8:12)
     "I am the gate for the sheep." (10:7)
     "I am the good shepherd." (10:11)
     "I am the the resurrection and the life." (11:25)
     "I am the way and the truth and the life." (14:6)
     "I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener." (15:1)
     "I am the vine; you are the branches." (15:5)

There is a choice to be made, and the time to make it is now.