It’s Friday…His Claim is Exclusive

Jesus made a scandalous claim. No one would have complained if He had simply taught about God. No one would have been upset if He simply presented His take on the Scriptures. But He went much further. He presented Himself. He didn’t simply propose a way to God, He proposed Himself as the unique entrance into knowing who God is. That is the scandal of Jesus’ claim, and that’s what got Him crucified by a broad coalition of Jewish leaders, Roman authorities, and a mob mentality.

“I Am The Way and The Truth and The Life. No one comes to The Father except through Me.” (John 14:6)

These words of Jesus are a huge stumbling block to those who don’t follow Him. The exclusiveness of His claim contradicts the spirit of our age. People want an advisor, not a Lord. They want a mentor, not a Master. The prevailing mood of our culture is to accept some of the truth of Jesus without accepting His unique claims of divinity. Yes, people appreciate Jesus the philosopher but avoid Jesus The King of all creation at all costs. It’s simply too demanding to follow one Lord to the exclusion of all others.

But doesn’t this worldview seep into the perspective of those who claim to follow Him as well? Most followers know, theologically, we must reject such a compromising view of the Savior. But in practice, what do we really think? How many lords do we really have? Most of us could probably identify rivals to Jesus to whom we sometimes bow. A career? A political perspective? A relationship? A lifestyle? A philosophy? We daily consume information from a variety of sources, many of which tell us another way, another truth, another life. We try to ignore them, but sometimes we accommodate them. We let many sources direct us, when in reality there’s only one Truth – Jesus Himself. His Claim Is Exclusive, and we hesitate to narrow ourselves to Him alone. But that’s what He insists on. He is the ONLY way.

Have a scandalous weekend. Make it better by worshiping The LORD with those who know personally there is no other, and who do not hide this Truth and reality from their words and actions.

All For Jesus – Nothing More, Nothing Less, Nothing Else.

“He who is the blessed and only Sovereign, The King of kings and Lord of lords, who alone has immortality, who dwells in unapproachable light, whom no one has ever seen or can see, to Him be honor and eternal dominion. Amen.” (1 Timothy 6:15b-16)