Have you been watching the new series about Jesus called The Chosen. This series depicts the interaction between Jesus and Nicodemus in a way we have probably never imagined. Imagine what John the Apostle must have thought as he listened in on that conversation. Watch the episode HERE. Specifically, its the exchange at the 26 minute mark that really struck me.
“Have
you ever heard anything like this before?”
asks James. Now, I know the exchange
depicted here isn’t mentioned in the biblical text, but we can be sure John the
Apostle was listening to the conversation between Jesus and Nicodemus. To be sure, John and his fellow apostle James
had never heard words like this before.
In fact, all of humanity had never heard words like this before. Listen to what Jesus says here: No one has ascended
into heaven except the one who descended from heaven—the Son of Man. “Just as
Moses lifted up the snake in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted
up, so that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life. For God loved
the world in this way: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who
believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his
Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him
(John 3:13-17 CSB)
Jesus looks at Nicodemus and says, “I
came from Heaven; I give eternal life; I am here to save the
world.”
What’s notable is that the words of
Jesus stand in stark contrast to those uttered by every other religious leader
the world has ever known. If you
research the world’s religions you will discover an elaborate process created
by an individual that, if completed correctly, will lead a person into the next
life. The process is either a long list
of deeds one must complete or certain ritualistic sacrifices that “appease” whatever
god a group might be worshipping. Adherents
to these other religions hope they have been good enough, faithful
enough, or did enough to earn a trip to glory.
Sadly, they will never know the feeling of assurance that Jesus gives.
In the old days, only the Hebrew
people believed in one God. The rest of
the world’s religions were polytheistic – they believed in a whole slew of
gods. Think of the ancient Greek or
Roman gods. There are a few religions
around today that still function this way (Buddhism, Hinduism, Shintoism), but
after Jesus came along, there was an influx of monotheistic religions –
believing in only one god (Islam, Mormon, Jehovah Witness, etc.). Although they believe in one god, their
concept of this deity is nothing like the God worshipped by the Jews or by
Christians. And then there is pantheism
– believing everything is god; god is all, and we are god (New Age
religion).
What’s interesting is that most of humanity
intuitively knows that there is more to our existence than this physical
world. And almost since the beginning, people
began imagining ways to move from this life to the next. To a degree, this is understandable; everyone
has their own idea on how to get to their concept of heaven. What is odd, however, is that once Jesus came
along, these world religions felt it was necessary to make some sort of
statement about Jesus. Why? Why were they unwilling to let their
religious practices stand on their own? It’s because of what Jesus said about
Himself. The world’s religions say this
about Jesus:
·
Jesus
was not God - Judaism
·
Jesus
was created by God – Mormons, Jehovah Witnesses, Christian Science
·
Jesus
is not necessary because there is no sin – Buddhism, Christian Science, New Age
·
Jesus
is not necessary because people must pay for their own sins – Islam, Buddhism
(Right understanding, right intention, right speech, etc.), New Age
·
Jesus
was not raised bodily from the dead – Jehovah Witnesses, Islam
·
There
are many ways to God, not just one – New Age, Unitarian Universalist
In
answering Thomas’ question on how to get to Heaven, Jesus says…
“Do not let
your heart be troubled; believe in God, believe also in Me. In My Father’s
house are many dwelling places; if it were not so, I would have told you; for I
go to prepare a place for you. If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come
again and receive you to Myself, that where I am, there you may be also. And
you know the way where I am going.” Thomas said to Him, “Lord, we do not know where You are going, how do we
know the way?” Jesus said to him, “I am
the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me”
(John 14:1-6 NASB).
Look closely at the words of Jesus
here and with what He told Nicodemus in John 3.
Jesus says that He has come from Heaven to provide a way for us to move
from this life to the next. In fact, God
Himself sent Jesus for this very purpose.
But rather than give us a long list of duties to accomplish or rituals
to perform, Jesus asks us to simply accept His sacrifice on our behalf. Jesus says He will suffer death so we will
not need to; His death grants us what our hearts desire. But only if we believe in Him.
Instead of telling us what to do or
how to live so we might get to Heaven, Jesus offers to escort us there,
personally. In fact, He has a place
prepared for us; He and the Father are looking forward to the time when we can
join Him there.
But the question still remains; Is
Jesus the only way to God? How does a
person move from this life to the next? How
does the created get to stand in the presence of the Creator? The Lord’s answer is blunt and to the point:
if a person wants to stand before God – to find themselves in glory – they need
to go through Him. Good deeds will not
get you there. Right thinking and right
living will not work. Denying our
sinfulness is simply lying to ourselves – it’s not being truthful. Jesus says, “If you want to get to glory,
then I’m your guy. But you gotta believe
to get in.”
But why? Why can’t I work my way in? Why can’t I pray my way in? Why can’t I find another way? Why is the gate to eternal life so small and
the way there so narrow (Matthew 7:14)?
Why only Jesus?
It’s simple, really. Because Jesus is the only way to overcome the
stench of death.
Think all the way back to the
beginning. According to God, what was
the consequence for disobedience? What
did He tell Adam in Genesis 2:17? “The day that you disobey, you will surely die.”
The consequence of disobedience – sin – is death. So, in order to become sinless, we
would have to overcome death.
It really comes down to this: to stand
before God we must be sinless. And to be
sinless is to have defeated death. And
the last I checked, there is only one empty grave. Only one Man defeated death by rising from
the grave. Only Jesus has removed the sting
of death.
According to the first-century
evangelist Paul, to come into the presence of God, these “dying bodies must be transformed into bodies that will
never die; our mortal bodies must be transformed into immortal bodies” (1 Corinthians 15:53 NLT). And no amount of fervent prayer will keep me
from dying. No long list of
accomplishments will change my sinful nature.
Rewriting the list of sins will not take away the disease that causes
death. I must grab ahold of the One who
offered to swallow death in victory. “Thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our
Lord Jesus Christ” (1
Corinthians 15:57). “We can access God only on the coattails of the one
Man who has the right to enter His presence” (Irwin Lutzer – 10 Lies About God).
A long time ago, a man named Job desired
to have a conversation with God about a series of hardships in his life. But Job laments, “God is not human like me, so I cannot answer him. We
cannot meet each other in court. I wish there were someone to make peace
between us, someone to decide our case. Maybe he could remove God’s punishment
so his terror would no longer frighten me. Then I could speak without being
afraid, but I am not able to do that”
(Job 9:32-35 NCV).
Job’s prayer was answered by the
coming of Jesus, the Messiah. Sent by
God, Jesus offers to remove the stench of death by covering our sin. He is the only religious leader in this world
who offered to take away the one thing that is keeping us from joining God in
glory – the death sentence caused by our sin.
That’s why “There is salvation in no one else! God has given no
other name under heaven by which we must be saved” (Acts 4:12).
My friend, if it is your heart-felt
desire to spend eternity in glory, don’t be troubled. Believe in God and believe that the Father
has sent Jesus to show you the way home.
x
No comments:
Post a Comment