The Unique Jesus (1):The One and Only
- Rev Norman Cameron

John Stott has said, and I think he is right, that “the uniqueness of Jesus Christ is the most important and the most urgent issue before us.” Occasionally in the gospels you find Jesus asking of people - who do you say that I am, who do you think I am? That is a question we must ask ourselves and ask of others. I believe Jesus is the most fascinating character in history. He died young, wrote no books, commanded no armies and yet no individual has shaped history like he has. I believe that he was unique – there was no other, and there will be no other like him.

Today we begin a new series looking at the uniqueness of Jesus. Our guide will be the Gospel of John, specifically the “I am” statements of Jesus found in that gospel. Familiarity with Christianity can lead to apathy or even contempt. In this series I want us to seriously engage with the man called Jesus of Nazareth and see how awesome, how unique, how staggering were the claims that he made. We cannot be indifferent to Jesus.

But I also want us to see that knowing about Jesus, (and it is important to know about him), is not the same thing as knowing him. As we work through the I ams of John’s Gospel my prayer is that the word of God will not just be information to you but will be a transformation of you as you encounter and enter into a relationship with Jesus like you have never experienced before. As we discover that Jesus exists, and has always existed, may we discover our true existence in him, that in having a relationship with Jesus we experience what he promised - life in all its fullness.

THINKING CLEARLY: SOME TERMS

We live in interesting times. As we look at the uniqueness of Jesus we need to be clear about some terms so that we can fully appreciate what we are saying about Jesus the Nazarene.

Our time is getting like the 1^st century AD in that we live in an increasingly pluralistic culture. Pluralism teaches that each religion is a valid expression of God and salvation. Each religion has enough truth in it to get us to God and to help us live our lives in a way which pleases God. No one religion has all the truth about God – in a way we need all the religions to give us a complete picture of true faith and the true God. It is not that all religions are equally valid but they all contain some truth. One of the big problems with pluralism however is what it does with the logical contradictions of the faiths. One saying Jesus is God’s son and others saying he is not. This is such a fundamental claim at the centre of faith that most people tend to the exclusivist position which is more logical.

So pluralism is contrasted with Exclusivism which says that only one faith or religion is the right way to God. For what it is worth Christianity makes exclusive claims, but so also does the Muslim faith and the Jewish faith, and to an extent the Hindu faith. Can they all be right? For example if Jews say the messiah has not come yet and the Christians say he has come they cannot both be right. If the Muslims say Jesus is a prophet but he is not divine and the christians say he is more than a prophet and that he is divine they cannot both be right. If the Hindus say that there are many gods and the other faiths say there is only one God they cannot both be right. If the Buddhists say there is no god and other faiths say there is a God they cannot both be right.

To add to this mix we live in a world today which is so muddled by post modernism many are very confused. One of the features of Post modernism is that it denies that there is such a thing as absolute truth, everything is relative and tolerance of others is the supreme virtue. If your religion works for you that is fine but it may not work for me and be true for me. Tolerance saves in the post modern Bible.

Yet even the post modernist must recognise that you have to live your life by some certainties. They will not get very far in life if they took their philosophy to a logical conclusion (is water wet - well it may be wet for you and dry for me! Fire will burn you - well that may be true for you but it may not be true for me. ) And there is a contradiction at the heart of post modern belief - even to say that all religions are equally valid is to make a truth claim which they are allowed to do under their philosophy.

The issue becomes more pressing for us today because we are living in a fast changing world. An age of global awareness where the survival of the human race seems to depend on harmony and co-operation and if religion is seen to divide us it is regarded with disfavour.

As the world shrinks there is a new appreciation of other religions and we ask could all these other people be wrong? Also today many think that to make exclusive claims is arrogant and smacks of cultural imperialism.

These are the days we live in. But I would make a couple of preliminary comments. First it is possible to affirm the uniqueness and truthfulness of christianity and not go down the pluralistic route and still affirm that there is some truth in other religions. All truth is God’s truth and we can affirm for example with Islam and the Jews there is one God. Also we can affirm the uniqueness of christianity and still respect other faiths and respect the integrity of others to hold to a certain faith. The christian faith teaches the dignity of the individual and the right of the individual to believe what they want to believe without persecution or forcing their will. A Christians stands for the right of someone to believe differently from them even though we may think it is wrong.

What of the accusation that to say Jesus is the only way is arrogant. “Who are you christian to say the Christian faith is right and Jesus is the only way to God?” I would counter that if we affirm that something is true - and if it is factually and objectively true - how can it be arrogance to state it as truth. But if it is true it is not arrogance, rather it is humility to accept it. If I was to say water is wet - if it is true am I arrogant to state this is the truth? No, the opposite - I am humble, I am accepting of the facts. Actually the person who claims that water is not wet is the one who is arrogant. Do you see how confused our modern western so called civilisation has become.

To say Jesus is the only way to God is only arrogant if it is not true. If it is true then the people who deny it are arrogant. Do you see this? I hope you do. The problem with our generation is that it has stopped thinking. It is entertaining itself to death but it has stopped thinking.

So let us come to look at Jesus. He is absolutely key here. Was he who he said he was or not? Is Jesus the Son of God and saviour of the world? There is a lot at stake here. To repeat - this is the most important and the urgent issue before us. The answer to it will determine not only how we live but where we go in eternity.

JESUS IS UNIQUE & DIFFERENT

Before we look at the truthfulness of the claims about Jesus I want us to see that looking totally objectively Jesus is different from any other religious leader. Jesus is unique and even the other faiths would recognise that Jesus is unique - his claims about himself put him in a different category to others. Other faiths have religious men, other faiths have prophets and priests and messengers from God, but Jesus alone claimed to be on an equal par with God. Jesus alone claimed to be the Son of God, Jesus alone claimed to rise from the dead. J Stott points out that Jesus sets himself apart from the other great religious leaders. “They were self effacing. He was self-advancing. They pointed men away from themselves saying this is the truth, so far as I perceive it; follow that. Jesus said I am the truth, follow me”.

Even opponents of christianity recognise that Jesus claims are unique claims. Even those who disagree with christians would recognise Jesus is different. Let us look at some of those claims -

1. Jesus is God

Jesus claimed to be on the same level as God, he accepted worship. In the gospels we find Thomas saying “my Lord and my God”. Jesus does not say do not give me worship, he accepts it. When Peter says you are the Christ, the messiah, Jesus does not deny it, he accepts it.

Other religions have their prophets and holy men but Jesus alone claimed to be the Son of God, human and divine. In Jesus the divine stooped to take on human flesh. The incarnation is unique to christianity. The word became flesh and dwelt among us. This is a unique claim of Jesus. He is Lord, he accepts worship and is worshipped as a person in the godhead.

In John 8:58 he makes a statement that is staggering and which prompted the religious leaders to pick up stones to stone him because they believed that he had committed blasphemy. In the conversation recorded in Jn.8 Jesus says if anyone keeps my word he will not see death. The religious leaders respond by saying even Abraham and the prophets died, are you greater than Abraham, the father of our nation and faith? He says Abraham rejoiced to see my day. They say you are not yet fifty and you claim to know Abraham.

If this conversation had been today we would be thinking we have a Dr Who here – a time traveler, not that we believe in time travel, but that is what we would be thinking of. But no, Jesus is claiming more than being a time traveler, he claims to predate Abraham, in fact he claims divinity. In v.58 he says “before Abraham was born, I am”. Note he did not say Before Abraham was born I was, or even I existed, no he deliberately says before Abraham was born I am, which from Exodus 3 we know is the name of God. When Moses asked the voice in the bush, who are you, what shall I say your name is, God said I am who I am.

Jesus is deliberately equating himself with God, with Yahweh. One commentator says “these are the words of the most impudent blasphemer that ever spoke, or the words of God incarnate.” CS Lewis is good here because he drives home what we are dealing with and how staggering is this claim. He says there are three choices before us and only three. Jesus was either mad, bad or God. He either was a lunatic who was deluded and believed he was divine, or he was lying and he knew he was lying or he was who he said he was. There are no other options.

John Stott writes “Some years ago I received a letter from a young man I knew slightly. ‘I have just made a great discovery’, he wrote. ‘Almighty God had two sons. Jesus Christ was the first; I am the second.’ I glanced at the address at the top of his letter. He was writing from a well-known mental hospital. There have of course been many pretenders of greatness and to divinity” (Basic Christianity, John R.W. Stott, p. 35).

Looked at completely objectively in the way that Jesus used I am and the way he continued to use it in the seven way we will look at in this series we can be in no doubt as to what he was claiming. He is different from Moses and Abraham, he is different from Mohammed and Joseph Smith, Buddha, Zoroaster, Confucius, and others.

2. Jesus claims to be Saviour

Objectively he also made a claim to be saviour. He came to die for us. He saves us through his death on the cross. Again no other religion has someone dying in the place of mankind. No other religion has salvation by grace. Other religions tend to teach that we are saved by being good - doing good works, praying , fasting, attending certain religious places. Salvation is by merit. Christianity teaches we can never do enough to save ourselves. Christianity is about God coming down to us, not about us trying to reach God.

Original Buddhism has no god and no saviour; Hinduism teaches karma and reincarnation - an endless cycle of rebirth depending on how good you are - there is no escape except Nirvana and extinction of individual being.

Islam says we do not need a saviour - God is appeased by the payment of alms, fasting, visiting Mecca and suchlike.

Christianity says we cannot save ourselves and that Jesus needed to die. Without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sin. At the cross God showed that he loved us but he also showed that sin is serious and needed to be punished - his Son took that punishment.

3. Jesus is risen king.

Another unique claim is that Jesus rose from the grave and is alive today by His Spirit - indeed that he indwells believers. Again no other religious leader claims to be alive today and by His Spirit indwelling his people. This is a unique claim.

Jesus claimed to fulfil many prophecies given hundreds of years before he was born and he also insisted that he would rise three days after the crucifixion. He says that he will come back again. He says that he is the judge of all the world. These are unique claims - christianity is about Jesus Christ and he claims to be unique. He said “the work of God is this, to believe in the one he has sent.”

Jesus makes unique claims for himself and the Bible makes unique claims for him. Jesus is different. He is not like other religious teachers. I hope we see this for in following him as the great I am we are either totally right or we are totally wrong.

What I have tried to show is that Jesus is unique and as we travel through John’s Gospel and look at the I ams of this gospel we will be drawn to Jesus and perhaps see him in a new light, and maybe enter into a deeper relationship with him and see finally why he was glorified by the Father.

We will see why at Jesus’ baptism in Mt.3:17 there is a voice from heaven that says “This is my Son whom I love: with him I am well pleased.” Or at the transfiguration on the mountain top the disciples see Jesus glowing brightly and the voice from heaven says “This is my Son whom I love, with him I am well pleased, listen to him.”

“Before Abraham was born, I am.” There is no-one like him. What is unique has universal significance - his name towers above every other name. Every knee will bow in heaven and earth and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord. For those who do not see it now one day they will, but then it will be too late.

To say Jesus is the only Son of God is not to be arrogant but to submit to the truth of God. This is humility, this is wisdom, this is the way of salvation.