Who is Jesus
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Jesus is the Way
Jesus is the Way
Who is Jesus Christ? In our culture today He is different things to different people, even among professing Christians. In a time when truth is relative and subjective, each seems to define Jesus Christ according to their own eclectic preferences like a combo meal. In cultures and nations around the world He is seen in different ways. To some He was a heretic, to some just another prophet, and to others a great hoax and myth. To some historians and intellectuals He was merely an apocalyptic pontificator, a charismatic healer, a cynical philosopher, another Jewish Messiah, and a messenger or advocate for social change. But the real question, the question that will determine your eternal future, is who is Jesus Christ to you?
Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.
I saw a social media post from a lady in another nation who had become a Christian recently. All her post were about celebrating Christmas. The focus seemed to not be on the Christ or even worship of the Christ but on the decorative lights. Sadly, I thought to myself, when the West exports the Gospel, this is the majority of what people take away from it - how we celebrate holidays. Who Jesus Christ is, is demeaned down to holiday festivities and decorations.
I have nothing against holiday festivities and decor. I love to shop at Hobby Lobby and when the house is all decorated. But I am concerned, as evident in our international exporting of religious practice we call Christianity, that we have merely used Jesus Christ as an excuse for cultural holidays.
Does Christ define our Christmas and Easter or does Easter and Christmas define our Christ?
As Dr. Seuss puts it, “And he puzzled and puzzled 'till his puzzler was sore. Then the Grinch thought of something he hadn't before. What if Christmas, he thought, doesn't come from a store. What if Christmas, perhaps, means a little bit more?”
To the Follower of Christ who has surrendered to His Lordship, Jesus is more than a baby in a manger, a moral teacher or rabbi. To the true believer in who He is, not just what He accomplished, Jesus Christ is more than another prophet or spiritual guru. In fact, to the mature Christian, Christ as become so much more than a deliverer and redeemer, he has become the very essence of all that shapes and defines who they are, the choices they make, the way they live every single moment of every day. He defines their inner most self, their thoughts, emotions, hopes, dreams and ambitions. To the sold out disciple of Christ, He is the way, the only way, there is no other.
So what does it mean, Jesus is the Way? I remember as a child the popular symbol of pointing your index finger to the sky and exclaiming, “One Way Jesus!” But what does it truly mean? What did Christ mean when He said, “I am the way”?
In the days of Christ the phrase “the way” was a concept from the term Halakah הֲלָכָה meaning the way to live according to the Torah both the oral and traditional laws of the Jewish people.
Some even consider that the concept of the word may be descended from hypothetical reconstructed Proto-Semitic root halak meaning "to go", which would give new meaning to the words of Jesus in Matthew 28:19-20.
Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”
The use of the word “Go” would be in contrast to the Hebrew concept of aggadah (“the telling”). In other words, Jesus would have been commanding His followers to not just go and tell others about Him but to show them who He is with how they lived their lives in the same way He lived His.
What does Scripture say about “the way”?
A voice cries: “In the wilderness prepare the way of the Lord; make straight in the desert a highway for our God.
“And to this people you shall say: ‘Thus says the Lord: Behold, I set before you the way of life and the way of death.
Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous; for the Lord knows the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked will perish.
He drove out the man, and at the east of the garden of Eden he placed the cherubim and a flaming sword that turned every way to guard the way to the tree of life.
Can you imagine, there in the Garden of Eden Adam and Eve stand listening to the voice of the serpent gazing upon the forbidden while right there given as a choice was “The Way”, the Messiah, to the Tree of Eternal Life and they chose Him not.
And God saw the earth, and behold, it was corrupt, for all flesh had corrupted their way on the earth.
For I have chosen him, that he may command his children and his household after him to keep the way of the Lord by doing righteousness and justice, so that the Lord may bring to Abraham what he has promised him.”
And I looked, and behold, you had sinned against the Lord your God. You had made yourselves a golden calf. You had turned aside quickly from the way that the Lord had commanded you.
“The Rock, his work is perfect, for all his ways are justice. A God of faithfulness and without iniquity, just and upright is he.
Throughout Scripture God presents to us two ways that a man may choose:
The way of the Lord God which is the way of life through his righteousness. Opposed to the way of the wicked which is the way of death. It is the way of the man who does not live the way of the Lord.
I fear that so many in the Body of Christ have defined Christ according to humanistic cultural assimilation, Christ is simply “My way”. In essence, instead of me conforming to His way, I assimilate Christ into my way. Folks, He is the only way and people must know. If you do not show them who will?
Who is He to you when no one else is looking? Who is He when your children look at you? Who is He when you are in a crisis? Who is He when you are not the preacher, teacher, or musician? Who is he when you facing hardship, sickness, or great loss?
I hear your words Christian. You say He is savior, deliverer, healer, your refuge and Lord. I hear you sing about Him and who He is. I know you read some books and post some memes about who He is. But just don’t tell people, show them with your life.
Jesus is the Truth
Jesus is the Truth
Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.
So often I use Hebrew words that most are unfamiliar with. In previous messages I have broken down the Hebrew word emet which means “truth” and how in it we find a deeper sod (Hebraic revelation of the Christ) of Yeshua being the way, the truth and the life. But in this lesson I want to start with a Hebrew word that you are probably all extremely familiar with.
The seemingly simple littler word אָמֵן (amen) can be found in thousands of languages around the world and revealing an essence of Messiah few will ever know.
The Lexham Bible Dictionary (Etymology)
The common understanding of the Hebrew term “amen” (אָמֵן, amen) is “truly, surely, let it be so.” It carries a basic meaning of “reliable,” “trustworthy,” or “firm” (HALOT, 63–64). Etymologically, “amen” is related to the nouns “steadiness,” “trustworthiness” (אֱמוּנָה, emunah), and “truth” (אֱמֶת, emeth).
The Lexham Bible Dictionary Etymology
The Septuagint includes seven untranslated instances of the term “amen” (ἀμήν, amēn; Num 5:22; Neh 5:13; 8:6; 1 Chr 16:36; Jer 11:5). It translates the other instances into Greek using various terms, including (Moberly, NIDOTTE, 428):
• the verb “may it be” (γένοιτο, genoito)
• the adjective “true, faithful” (ἀληθινόζ, alēthinoz; Isa 65:16)
• the adverb “truly” (ἀληθῶς, alēthōs; Jer 28:6)
But what is the true essence of the simple little word and how does it apply to the Christ? The essence of the word is “affirmation”. The word amen is the affirmative response to a blessing from God. According to Joseph Lowen (Hebrew Speak), “the closest equivalent can be found in modern American slang. The expression ‘Right on’ is, believe it or not, probably the most proximate to the original sense of the root אָמֵן (Alef, Mem, Nun), which, as a verb, meant ‘to array in a straight line.’”
This understanding gives way to a deeper context of the Messianic prophesies such as that found in Isaiah.
A voice cries: “In the wilderness prepare the way of the Lord; make straight in the desert a highway for our God.
In Jewish history and the story of Hadassah (Esther), a derivative from the root is found. In context of Hadassah and Mordecai we find the word אָמַן (aman) meaning to tutor, to teach, and to bring up a child in the way they should go.
Many Christian parents have quoted it in hopes that their child would somehow just get it through parental hopes.
Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it.
This verse starts with the idea of אָמַן aman (mentor, train, tutor, teach) them in the way. Note that in this Proverb we see “the way”. Conceptually, it is indeed the idea of halak or the way of Christ and the Law of the Lord. But the word actually used here is the word דֶּרֶךְ derekh meaning the path or journey in which one takes. In other words, parents are to guide their children through choices and help them make the right ones in leading by example.
This is the upbringing of a child in true affirmation found in Christ not cultures postmodern humanism of self actualization. What is self-actualization? By definition it is Maslow's hierarchy of needs, where one achieves the highest level of psychological development, where personal potential is fully realized after basic bodily and ego needs have been fulfilled. Can you say, perversion of truth?
Unfortunately, entire generation have been raised under this perverted humanistic concept and just look at us now. But this is not the way of Christ nor the truth.
Contrary to modern culture and Christian easy belivism, there is but one truth. So many people live by untruths that have molded and shaped their worldviews. There are consequences to untruth. But there is only one antidote to untruth and that is truth. Untruths can lead to a false identity, broken relationships, despair, discontentment, confusion and all kinds of dysfunction. But truth can restore. When untruths creep in trust is lost. Trust in relationships, trust in identity, trust even in truth. But if you want restoration, let truth have its way.
So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed him, “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”
Merriam-Webster defines truth as “reality”. Truth is the affirmative. Therefore, truth cannot be subjective or relative. It must be absolute and transcendent. It is not defined by mankind, nor by his nature fallen from truth. If we as Christians do not truly know truth, how can we be the salt of the earth.
“You are the salt of the earth, but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled under people’s feet.
“Salt is made up of a number of chemical compounds, but what it is mostly, what makes it salty, what makes it useful, is sodium chloride, which is very stable and will keep its usefulness for years. But…If salt is exposed to water, or diluted, the sodium chloride can be dissolved and removed, and the salt will lose its essence, or saltiness. It still looks like salt, but it’s no longer useful. We, too, can look the same on the outside, but if we let our faith become weak, we’ll lose our usefulness in the kingdom of God” (Found on 25 Dec 2021 at How Can Salt Lose Its Saltiness? - God Treasure).
For certain people have crept in unnoticed who long ago were designated for this condemnation, ungodly people, who pervert the grace of our God into sensuality and deny our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ.
I could continue taking you down a trail of Hebrew word study. But the point is that when we get to the Hebrew word for “truth” we find again the same root that we find in the affirmation of blessing from God, AMEN.
So how does a Follower of the Christ who has lost their saltiness find their usefulness in Christ once again? Restore Truth to your life. Live Truth. Become intimate with Truth. Build your entire life upon Truth.
But you, beloved, building yourselves up in your most holy faith and praying in the Holy Spirit, keep yourselves in the love of God, waiting for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ that leads to eternal life.
There is no higher affirmation for your life than that of the blessing of the Father. And neither the blessings or the affirmation can be found except in the greatest blessing ever given, Jesus Christ. Whose affirmation have you spent your entire life seeking? Whose affirmation are you seeking now? You will only find the affirmation you seek through Truth. Jesus Christ is indeed the Way and the Truth, Amen.
Jesus is the Life
Jesus is the Life
We have talked about Jesus being the way and the truth. But He also said, “I am the life”. In Christ there is only one way and there can only be one truth. Most Christians seem to theologically agree with that. But then there is “the life” part. And yet, so many live their lives as if they do not fully comprehend that you cannot believe the way and truth if you are not living the life.
If you look up the definition of the definite article “the” it is defined in three ways:
1. Used before singular or plural nouns and noun phrases that denote particular, specified persons or things.
2. Used before a noun, and generally stressed, to emphasize one of a group or type as the most outstanding or prominent.
3. Used to indicate uniqueness.
This definition resonates with the words of Christ regarding true biblical discipleship and absolute sovereign surrender to His Lordship. The way of Christ is indeed unique, peculiar, singular and monogamous, must be pre-immanent and there indeed is no other way like it. It alone leads to eternal life and salvation.
In the Garden of Eden there were two trees emphasized and distinctions made regarding these two specific and unique trees. One was the Tree of Knowledge and the other the Tree of Life (ets ha-hayyim עץ החיים). Obviously, man had to make a choice. And the choice he made was not one of the life offered by God. How true this often is today as well. So many have knowledge of Christ, some even great knowledge, but still do not choose the life of Christ.
Central to the entire Bible is the value of “life”. With the story of Joseph, as his true identity is revealed to his brothers who did not value his life but instead sold it into enslavement, he admonishes them not to be ridden with guilt but instead reassures them that God took the entire situation and process and used him to preserve life (Joseph Lowin, Hebrew Speak).
And now do not be distressed or angry with yourselves because you sold me here, for God sent me before you to preserve life.
Life is so essential and precious to God that created within man remains an intrinsic value for life such as self-preservation or the willingness to risk ones own life for another. But when the value of life becomes self-serving and self-sustaining and the value of the life of others is lost, death finds its way.
The Spirit of God has made me, and the breath of the Almighty gives me life.
I see so many people every day at the store, in the workplace, on the streets, everywhere they look so beat down, saddened and hopeless. They look as if living is a miserable state of existence. And my heart is broken. I say to the Lord, if only they would receive “Life in Christ”. Is your heart broken for these? Are you among these? Have you lost the joy of salvation in the midst of your sorrows and sufferings? This life is filled with and will have pain and disappointments. But if you are seeking happiness in the midst of it, it will continually allude you. But “The Life” (Jesus Christ) finds joy even in His suffering. He found joy in taking your sorrows. He had a hope and a joy that the grave could not contain. Even death could not hold back, hold down, or cause “The Life” to give up or give in to the way of death.
Church, who will show them this life? You can’t show what you don’t know. How can you show them “The Life” if your life looks so much like theirs? You cannot go “Bar Hopping for Jesus” and be “Shacking for the Savior” and then tell them that you know “The Life”. You cannot have fellowship with the way of death yet show others the way of life. You cannot welcome the affirmation and acceptance of those who follow after the way of death and expect God to bless you with the rewards that come with the Way of Life. in Genesis God made a clear distinction between Adam’s two options, the way of death or the way of life. In Exodus God makes it clear to Israel the consequences to the way of death and the blessings of the way of life. You cannot live in a little of both.
“Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few.
Jesus Christ is “The Life”, the hayyah חָיָה. It means more than breathing and obliviously existing void of purpose, identity, hope and a future. It means “to lead” and “to believe”. If He is “The Life” that you have surrendered to and embraced then you have to let Him lead the life you’re living.
Christ is coming soon. This life is short but “The Life” is eternal. God is calling the church “Back to the Life” in this hour. Will you return and be restored and renewed in “The Life”?
O Lord, I have heard the report of you, and your work, O Lord, do I fear. In the midst of the years revive it; in the midst of the years make it known; in wrath remember mercy.
Remember the mighty works of the Lord. Fear Him and live in his righteousness. And in the midst of these years you will find refuge, you will know the life and make His name known. And his mercies shall be new with you every day.