So from now on we regard no-one from a worldly point of view. Though we once regarded Christ in this way, we do so no longer.
2 Corinthians 5:16 NIVUK
https://bible.com/bible/113/2co.5.16.NIVUK
Jesus answered, ‘I am the way and the truth and the life. No-one comes to the Father except through me.
John 14:6 NIV UK
In Scotland, as in many other countries with a maritime history, you can often find lighthouses dotted around the coastline. These are often no longer used – these days ships have a whole range of navigational tools and no longer need a light beaming out from the shore to show them the way. However, in days gone past, these lighthouses were often life savers. Sailors could see the light and use it to see the rocks.
Maybe you might wonder why it is that, after six meditations on controlling our mind, I'm now talking about lighthouses.
The reason is that now we come to the number one, most important thing we must fix our minds on and control our thoughts in this New Year. Nothing and no-one is more important.
And that is Jesus.
Why is that?
Because He is the light of the world (John 8:12).
Not correcting our thoughts about Jesus is a bit like failing to trust a lighthouse, or a bit like a pilot deciding to ignore air traffic control. Quite simply, it is one small step towards crashing our life.
Against the background of increasing intrigue about His identity, Jesus asked the disciples who they said He was (Matthew 16:15; Luke 9:20). To come out and say that Jesus was the Messiah would immediately have set them against the Romans and their own people. Yet Peter, in his typical impetuous style, did exactly that (Matthew 16:16; Luke 9:20).
It is no less controversial nowadays to believe that Jesus is who He said He is. To do so sets you at odds with Muslims, Jews, and a million other cults and sects, as well as bewildering a whole bunch of secularists who don’t even know why that is important.
What we think about Jesus is important. It ia crucially important. In fact, it is the most important truth in the entire world.
So what is it that is so important?
Jesus says firstly that He is the way. This word has two meanings: it means both a travelled way, like a path or a road, and also, metaphorically, a way of life.
In other words, when Jesus called His disciples to follow Him, He just didn’t mean for them to get up and physically follow Him. No, He also meant for them to imitate His way of life.
And that is just it. In a world that is the epitome of a minefield, where people seem to live any way they wish and make a complete car crash of their lives, the way we discover how to live is to follow Jesus. As He said to His disciples:
Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.’
Matthew 30-11:28 NIVUK
The burden of our life us easy when we follow Jesus; it is heavy and burdensome when we do not.
Secondly, we see that He is the truth.
And boy, is this controversial!
Jesus does not claim to be a truth, He claims to be the truth. The ‘the’ wasn’t put there by some rogue, right-wing translator, it’s there in the original Greek.
Jesus is claiming to be the truth: the standard by which all other so-called truths should be measured. He is their barometer, thermometer, spirit level, yardstick. If they match Him, they are truth; if they do not, they are false.
And this isn’t just Him claiming to be the absolute embodiment of philosophical or theological truth. This is more than that. Jesus is claiming to be the embodiment of right and true thought and action.
What a claim to make!
If any mere human were to claim such a thing, we would have them examined by a psychologist on the spot. And yet...
For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.
John 1:17 NIVUK
To the Jews who had believed him, Jesus said, ‘If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.’
John 32-8:31 NIVUK
I was interested recently to note that Elon Musk, as the barbaric war began in Israel and Gaza, asked people sharing posts on his social media platform to ensure that they were ‘as close to the truth as possible’.
But nowadays, that counts for very little.
We have created a system that allows people to believe what they want without any challenge. The concept of their being one truth has gone from our society.
And look where that has led us? Millions of us have disappeared down rabbit holes and into echo chambers, where we only hear the sound of our own voice and our own opinions, and therefore consider ourselves right and everyone else to be wrong.
This is where Christianity stands alone. As Paul states:
Not at all! Let God be true, and every human being a liar. As it is written: ‘So that you may be proved right when you speak and prevail when you judge.’
Romans 3:4 NIVUK
Christians don’t follow Jesus because they are right and everyone else is wrong, Christians follow Jesus because everyone is wrong, including Christians, and Jesus is right. When we come to Him to believe in Him, that is the very first thing we must believe.
So followers of Jesus must believe that He is the way, even if they themselves are lost, and that He is the truth, even if they themselves are not the truth.
But they also believe that Jesus is the life.
Here we must not be mistaken. I have been around enough churches to realise that there are Christians who look like they are barely alive.
That is not what is meant here.
The Greek word for ‘life’ is zoe, meaning a full, abundant, fulfilling, vigorous life. It is the life Jesus talked about in this famous passage:
The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.
John 10:10 NIVUK
This, again, is not an average, work-a-day life full of routine and drudgery and boredom, but a superior, better life. Our best life.
What Jesus is saying that He is this life: He is the ultimate source of everything fulfilling and vigorous and abundant.
So is the life we are living? Or in our blind pursuit of pleasure and money, have we forgotten this life?
A new year always begins with hopes and dreams and aspirations. We do our best to set things right to make these dreams come true. And yes, there is always that sudden burst of hopefulness and optimism and enthusiasm.
But before we set out to do anything, we must get our mind right. We must plot our course for the year and set our goals and decide what type of person we really want to be.
There is no greater role model than Jesus. There is no more important person you could follow than Jesus.
But you can only do that if you realise who He really is. If He is nothing more than an historical figure, an ancient moral philosopher or a political rebel, then He was nothing more than a tragic hero. History is littered with them. Who would follow them?
But if He is the way, if He is the truth, if He is the life?
Then Jesus truly is worth following.
And my prayer for you is that you would follow Him more closely this year and always.
HAPPY NEW YEAR!
Prayer
Lord Jesus, I want to know You better. Help me to see You as You really are and to follow You more closely this year. Help me to set aside every weight and the sin that so easily entangles and to run with all my energy after You. Amen.
Questions
1. Why is it so important for Christians to believe that Jesus is the way, the truth and the life, and that there is no other?
2. What difference will this make to you this year?
3. Why should you follow Jesus more closely? How will you do this?
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