Community & Discipleship

Who is Jesus? (Jn. 14:1~11)

2019.06.23Dr. Netland

Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life, the one Lord and Savior for all peoples. Let us hold this message firmly while welcoming and respecting people who are different from us.

Many images of Jesus, but one New Testament Jesus

Much of the world has never heard the name of Jesus, and much of the rest holds a distorted picture of him. In Japan, a university student took it for granted that Jesus learned his wisdom from masters in Tibet. In a village near Lake Towada, people point to the tomb of Jesus and sell Jesus beer. Islam calls him Isa, a prophet but not the Son of God. Gandhi called him a great teacher but not the only begotten Son. The Dalai Lama calls him an enlightened being or a bodhisattva. The Da Vinci Code and the apocryphal gospels add more portraits. The only Jesus we can know is the Jesus of the New Testament, whose Gospels were written within about 30 to 35 years of the crucifixion. The apocryphal gospels came at least a century later.

Trust me: the question behind the disciples' anxiety (vv. 1-6)

The Gospel of John keeps asking who Jesus is. Peter confesses, 'Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.' John 20:30-31 says the book was written so that we may believe Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God. In John 14, Jesus has said he is going away. The disciples are anxious and confused. Jesus answers their anxiety by linking himself with God: 'You believe in God, believe also in me.' Thomas, an utter realist, asks how they can know the way when they do not know the destination. Jesus replies, 'I am the way and the truth and the life.' The deeper issue is not geography but who Jesus is.

The way, the truth, and the life (v. 6)

Jesus is the way to reconciliation with God. Sin has separated us from God, and the way back is through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus. John 1 presents him as the eternal Word, the Creator who became a creature, lived without sin, and bore the world's sins on the cross. Jesus is the truth. His teachings are true, and he himself embodies the truth of God, 'full of grace and truth.' Jesus is the life. At the raising of Lazarus he says to Martha, 'I am the resurrection and the life.' Because of who he is and what he has done, he gives abundant life now and eternal life to all who trust him.

His teachings cannot be separated from his person

Jesus does not say, 'I have discovered the way.' He says, 'I am the way.' Gautama claimed to have discovered the cause of suffering and its cure, and his followers can follow that path for themselves. In 1960 Paul Tillich asked Buddhist priests what would happen if historians proved Gautama never lived. They answered that it would change nothing, because the Dharma is eternal. Christ is different. In 1 Corinthians 15 Paul says that if Christ is not raised, the game is over. We cannot keep his teachings and discard his person. The incarnate Creator, his sinless life, his death for our sins, and his resurrection on the third day come together as one package.

One Lord and Savior, without superiority

The Greek has the definite article before each of 'way,' 'truth,' and 'life,' so the claim is unmistakable. The words 'No one comes to the Father except through me' are a stumbling block in Japan, the U.S., and probably Korea. But the pluralism of the first century was no different. Every people had its own gods, and Jesus still made this claim. Tradition says Thomas went to India and was martyred. If so, Jesus spoke this exclusive word to a man bound for a very pluralistic land. The New Testament never presents Jesus as one great leader among others. Yet we must not look down on other religions, ridicule their teachers, or lift Jesus up by pushing others down. That does not work in evangelism, and Scripture does not teach it. We should treat others with respect and civility.

An exclusive message and an inclusive welcome

The gospel is exclusive in its message, one Lord and one Savior, but wonderfully inclusive in its welcome. Jesus accepted women, who supported his ministry and first met the risen Christ. He accepted the Samaritan woman at the well, the Canaanite woman whose daughter he healed, the Greeks, and a centurion. He ate with tax collectors and prostitutes. American white evangelicals, the preacher's own context, often draw sharp boundaries and are not known for welcome. Dropping the exclusive message is not the answer, since that is no longer following the New Testament. We must hold both together, because the integrity of the gospel is at stake. Disciples are known by their love, even for their enemies. The world will listen to Jesus as the only Lord and Savior when it sees us welcome and respect those who are different.

Apply to Life

  • Let us trust Jesus as the way, the truth, and the life, the one who gives abundant life now and eternal life.
  • Let us look to the Jesus of the New Testament and not to the distorted images the world offers.
  • Let us receive Jesus' teachings together with his person, and not treat him as one great teacher among others.
  • Let us respect people of other religions and cultures, and not lift Jesus up by putting others down.
  • Let us invite others to follow Jesus by welcoming those who differ from us in culture, ethnicity, class, and religion.

This summary was made automatically from the sermon's captions and may differ from the sermon.

← Back to 영어 예배(English Service)