SOMETHING TO THINK ABOUT: What If Jesus Really Is The Only Way To Heaven?
Why is it that when you mention the name of Jesus these days, some people get upset, hostile, maybe even visibly angry? But that’s nothing compared to their reaction when you point out to them that, in addition to claiming at John 8:56-59 to be one with the Father, Jesus also describes Himself as the only way to Heaven.
That’s not just my opinion, Jesus states it about as clearly as it can be stated at John 14:6 when He says “I am the Way, the Truth and the Light. No man comes to the Father but through me.”
Photo by Alicia Quan on Unsplash
Buddha never claimed to be God. Confucius never did. Nowhere do we read of Mohammed describing himself as God and, if you claimed in his presence to be God, the Muslim founder would have ordered your head removed from your shoulders.
Maybe that’s why Jesus makes so many people uncomfortable – He claims to be the only way any of us can spend eternity in Heaven. I mean, it’s so sectarian, so parochial, so intolerant! Who does He think He is!!
And that’s precisely the point, who Jesus says He is – “The Way, the Truth and the Light.” Not “One of the Ways,” not one choice among many on an eternal destiny menu. He makes it clear – He is THE Only Way, THE Only Truth, and THE Light.”
But it goes even deeper than that and this gets to the fundamental reason folks would rather not think about Jesus – What if He really is God? Then every one of us, sooner or later, will have to give an account for our response to Jesus’ claims about Himself.
It’s Easter Week. He is the reason hundreds of millions of people around the world are eagerly anticipating Easter Sunday. He was crucified dead and buried on Friday, but on Sunday He was resurrected. And that’s the greatest proof ever that He is who He says He is.
What will you do with Him? If you’d like to sit down and talk about this privately and confidentially, in a non-judgmental manner, just email me at mark.tapscott@hillfaith.org. It could be the most important conversation of your life.
Isn’t it “way, truth, life,” not “light”, as it appears above? In any event, while Jesus goes on to say, “No one comes to the Father except through me,” we find important and abundant context for that statement in Matthew 25:
Then the king will say to those on his right, ”Come, you who are blessed by my Father. Inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, a stranger and you welcomed me, naked and you clothed me, ill and you cared for me, in prison and you visited me. … Amen, I say to you, whatever you did for one of these least brothers of mine, you did for me.” Then he will say to those on his left, “Depart from me, you accursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me no drink, a stranger and you gave me no welcome, naked and you gave me no clothing, ill and in prison, and you did not care for me. … Amen, I say to you, what you did not do for one of these least ones, you did not do for me.” And these will go off to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.
[…] What If Jesus Really Is The Only Way To Heaven? — Mark Tapscott, HillFaith […]