May 19

John 10

At a Bible study I once asked people to write down one question they would like to ask God. Here is one response:  "While I myself want to admit you're the only true God, I still don't want make my friends upset by saying this. Why can't we just let everyone choose what they want to believe?"

 

As Christ followers we are being sent this message daily. "Can't you tone it down a bit; you are upsetting the social order by your radical claims of the exclusivity of Jesus."

 

In John 10 we observe that this radical talk of exclusivity created a riot 2000 years ago. The context of this conversation is the celebration of Hanukkah. In the Temple area, a space large enough to hold 100,000 worshipers, Jesus addresses the most important issue in all of history. "How long will you keep us in suspense? If you are the Christ, tell us plainly." There it is. This issue divides and upsets the social order both then and now. And what is Jesus' response? "I and the Father are one." Can there be any misunderstanding of what Jesus meant? This is the clearest statement of Jesus' divinity he ever made.  There can be no mistake about what he meant. The Jews understood exactly what he meant because they picked up stones to kill him for the crime of blasphemy. This claim is unmistakable; it is undeniable; it is as clear as the nose in front of your face.

  

In a post-modern world we are told that no one has the right to claim to be God. Yet the radical Jesus of the Bible does just that. "I and the Father are one" was a claim made by Jesus. It was never made by Buddha, Mohammed, Confucius or any other religious leader.  This claim is nothing less than a scandal. These words rattle the cages of every post modern person. People squirm when they hear this exclusivity.

 

We ought to squirm because either Jesus was right or he was wrong. Those are the only choices.

 

I believe when Jesus was telling us of his "oneness" he was not uttering these words out of arrogance but out of great compassion. I believe that given the undeniable miracles, the authority of his words, and the sinless life he lived, we would be fools for doubting this claim. And if this claim is true, then Jesus' appearance on this planet and the sacrificial giving of his life for us is the greatest, most significant act ever done in the history of mankind.

 

Sorry, I can't keep quiet. I need to tell the whole world.

 

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"Multiplying leaders to change the world"