The first
Album I bought as a child was Bill Cosby.
In the Album Bill says that although his father was a brilliant man, he confused Bill. His story was that from the age of 1 to 7 he
thought his name was “Jesus Christ”.
He
would walk into a room and trip over the carpet and his dad would say, “Jesus
Christ, can’t you walk.” He would be sitting at the table and reach for some
bread. The water glass would be in the
way so Bill would just knock it over. His
father would say, “Jesus Christ, clean the water up.”
This illustrates how loosely we use the name of Jesus.
Compared to the language many of us hear in the work place every
day, this is very mild. However, it begs the question, “Who
is Jesus Christ?” Why is his name so common? What do we mean by using it as a swear word?
I hear interesting theories concerning this question. Some say He was a great teacher, others say
He was a prophet, and others that He was the Son of God. Some do not know much about Him beyond the
use of His name as a swear word.
There are
many teachers, and a couple of names that are well recognized. The names Buddha and Mohammad are two names
that are recognized around the world.
These, of course, are names of two individuals who are recognized as
founders of major world religions. There
are a number of different religions. There
are Eastern religions such as Buddhism and Hinduism. And, there are Islam and Judaism that have
come from the same roots as Christianity.
The United
States was started by those who wished to worship God as they saw fit and as a
result all these religions are welcome and free to worship as they see fit in
our country today. I have friends that
practice these different religions and definitely believe in the need to be
tolerant of others with beliefs that differ from my own.
My purpose is not to compare or to try and argue against these other religions. My purpose here is to consider who Jesus Christ is. Rather than considering who others say he is, I think the best place to start is with who he said he was. I guess I am changing the question to: "Who did Jesus claim he was?"
John was a
close friend and follower of Jesus. He
wrote an account of the life of Jesus. In his account, the book of John, in chapter 14 John tells of the events surrounding the night that Jesus was arrested and tried. When Jesus is calming the fears of His closest
friends, he tells them not to be
troubled but to believe in God and to believe in Him. He
makes the statement that in His Father’s home is more than enough room and that
He is going to prepare a place for them.
Then He makes the statement, “you know the way to where I am going.” One
of these close friends who was listening was named Thomas. Thomas was a practical man and tended to look
at the facts of the situation. So when
Jesus said, “You know the way to where I am going.” (John 14:4, NLT) Thomas was
the one who jumped in and said, “No, we don’t know, Lord. We have no idea where
you are going, so how can we know the way?” (John 14:5, NLT)
Jesus’
response to Thomas is a cornerstone of Christian thought and teaching. He said, “I am the way,
the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me.”
(John 14:6, NLT)
What exactly was Jesus saying?
First, He
says, “I am the way.” What did He
mean by saying this?
John was a
Hebrew but he was writing in Greek. Here
in this place our English translators have chosen to use the word way. The original word was the word road. Jesus uses a definite article, “the
road.” The definite article means that
Jesus was not claiming to be a road, as in one among many but the road as in the only road.
He follows this by saying, “I am the Truth.” Now truth is
admittedly a bit trickier to define than road.
According to the dictionary I used, in ancient Greek culture, truth was
synonymous with reality as opposed to illusion.[i] Jesus was in effect saying, “I am reality.”
There is a
tendency to say in our present day that what is true for you may not
necessarily be true for me. This kind of
relativity works in some situations, but in the real world it is best not to
cross the street in front of a moving bus.
If you will allow the analogy Jesus is saying, “I am the bus. I am what
is real.”
To make the point even more clear Jesus says, “I am the life.”
Here, again, the word used for life is unique and important. It points to all life, whether physical or
spiritual throughout the universe. Jesus
is claiming to be the source of all life.
Having made
three astounding claims in one sentence Jesus gives the conclusion. He says, “No one can
come to the Father except through me.” (John 14:6, NLT)
We understand
Jesus to be referring to God when He says “the Father.” And here he is very
direct and very exclusive. He says, “No
one can come to the Father except through me.”
I have heard
much about inclusive thinking. It is
said that in the west we like to think of either/or. If one thing is true, a contradicting statement cannot be true at the same time. You cannot be both up and down at the same time. I
have also heard it explained that in an Eastern way of thinking there is a
both/and approach, an ability to embrace to seemingly opposed truths at the
same time. In the up and down illustration, there may be some sense in which both may be true at the same time.
Jesus and
John were both Hebrews, which means they came from an eastern culture. I lived
in Japan for over 10 years, and became proficient in the language, but I do not
make any claims to be an authority on Eastern philosophy or the mindset. However, I do know that in the East as well
as the West, we do not call anybody who makes such outrageous claims as Jesus
made a great teacher. No need to be nice
to me and say He was a great teacher and then tell me that all roads lead to
God. If all roads lead to God then Jesus
was either a great liar, a complete lunatic or at the very least sorely misled.
Let me ask
you a question. Why is it that no other
religious leader's name is used as a swear word?
Who do you
think Jesus is?
If what He
said is true, this is the most important question you will ever be asked. Because He said, “I am the way, the truth,
and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me.” (John 14:6,
NLT)
Do you
wonder what path you should be on? Jesus
says He is the path. Do you ever wonder
what truth is? Jesus says He is the
truth. Do you want to be alive, truly
alive? Jesus says He is life.
[i]Web.
24 Sep 2013. <http://helpsbible.com>.