November 6

We had a great celebration last night of the Bible Reading Team. Start praying about people you could ask to join us on the journey next year. Our final get together will be Wednesday Dec 30 at 7:00.

November 6, 2009

Shaking the Cages

We live in a postmodern world. The idea of religious tolerance is the credo of our day. The world says to Christ followers, “Can’t you tone it down a bit; you are upsetting the social order by your radical claims of the exclusivity of Jesus.” Well we see today that this is not limited to just 2009, this radical talk started riots 2000 years ago. It is the celebration of Hanukkah and Jesus has appeared in the temple area. An area that was large enough to hold 100,000 worshipers. So this has the potential of initiating a massive riot.

Then the issue, the most important issue of all of history is raised. “How long will you keep us in suspense? If you are the Christ, tell us plainly.” There it is. This issue will divide and upset 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.

But what is the response of modern intellectuals.

1. Michio Kushi says Jesus was a Buddhist. And I say to Michio, “You’ve got to be kidding.”
2. John Simon in Life Magazine says Jesus is the model of goodness and hope. In Jesus we see many different people, a dutiful son, an ascetic, a sage, a martyr. It all depends on our personal needs. We see Jesus in our own image. John, “Do you see a God in Jesus? How could you be blind?”
3. John Dominic Crossan of the Jesus Seminar says Jesus the Christ was just a myth. He was an ordinary man who became a legend in his time. These 200 scholars deny the virgin birth, the resurrection, the ascension, the miracles of Jesus and of course his divinity. And I say to John, “A legend developed in 30 years? It takes 100’s of years for legends to develop.”
4. The United Church of Christ has produced a new hymnal in which the word "LORD" is being replaced with “Redeemer” and “Friend.”. Linda Robinson says that the word “LORD” is loaded with a lot of patriarchal and hierarchical images. And I say to Linda, “Get a backbone girl. Jesus claimed to be Lord.”

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.

Well, we ought to squirm because either Jesus was right or wrong. Those are 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, 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 shut up. I need to tell the whole world.