John 14:1-11 "Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me. 2 In my Father's house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? 3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also. 4 And you know the way to where I am going." 5 Thomas said to him, "Lord, we do not know where you are going. How can we know the way?" 6 Jesus said to him, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. 7 If you had known me, you would have known my Father also. From now on you do know him and have seen him." 8 Philip said to him, "Lord, show us the Father, and it is enough for us." 9 Jesus said to him, "Have I been with you so long, and you still do not know me, Philip? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, 'Show us the Father'? 10 Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words that I say to you I do not speak on my own authority, but the Father who dwells in me does his works. 11 Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father is in me, or else believe on account of the works themselves.
When we go out for Sunday Afternoon Evangelism, one of the first questions we like to ask people is what they think about Jesus. Most are taken slightly aback by the question. A usual response goes something like this: "What do you mean by 'what do I think about him?'" This may be be due to the fact that they don't often think about Him at all, or because the question isn't something they want to talk about. It's not a confusing question. Though, that is definitely the vibe you would get if you went out with us even one time. However, re-framed, the question is readily answered. For example, "What do you think out the President, the situation in Ukraine, the weather?" The difference is in the name of Jesus. His name will forever be the difference.
One of the major reasons for this reaction is evidenced in the reaction to our follow up question: "In John 14:6, Jesus claims to be the way, the truth, and the life... no one can get to the Father, Heaven, except through Him. What do you think about this claim?" If we take this verse seriously, which I admittedly do not always do, it should cause some serious thought. He is claiming to be...everything.
Today, I want to focus in on His claim to be THE WAY. He leaves no room for variants. To our western minds that want to have control and choices, this is highly offensive. Throwing that mindset aside, however, should it offend? If there are 15 million roads and everyone in the world is forced to travel by one of them, but all of them ended in a fiery pit except one, is it offensive to be told which one is the right path...the only road that leads to safety instead of destruction? Of course not. But still, we don't like this. We want the power of choice because we're trained to make our own decisions about everything...all the time. Pick your style, pick your friends, pick your college, pick your career, pick your spouse, pick your toys, pick your food preference, pick your nose... it's all up to you! But is it? Is our choice the ultimate standard? I sure hope not...since those standards would then be widely variant and subject to more changes than a potty-training toddler. A standard is something by which all else can and should be measured. Only something fully right can live up to this. Who, other than God, could possibly meet that criterion?
Quotes for Thought
"Jesus not only points to the solution; He is the solution. Other religions of the world offer a way to return to God’s favor by religiosity, good works, or self-effort. The problem with this approach is that it uses the same strategy to try to get us out of our sin problem that caused us to get into our sin problem in the first place–going our own way! Self-effort can never get us back into a right standing with God."- Afshin Ziafat
"Why does Jesus say He’s the only way? Because no one else is coming for you. There is no other God who loves you and passionately pursues you and longs to forgive you of your sin and heal you of your brokenness."– Erwin McManus
"I don’t respect people who don’t proselytize, [who] believe that there is a heaven and hell and people could be going to hell (or not getting eternal life or whatever) and you think that, well it’s not really worth telling them this because it would make it socially awkward. And atheists who think that people should not proselytize–”Just leave me alone, keep your religion to yourself” … How much do you have to hate somebody to not proselytize? How much do you have to hate somebody to believe that everlasting life is possible and not tell them that?" –Penn Jillette
Ponder, pray, and propagate your perceptions.
Upchurch
(PS-As always, feel free to comment below... in the section that reads "Post a Comment")
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