Mention God and you don’t usually get much of a reaction. And that’s because God to many people is just something spiritual that may or may not play some role in that person’s life. In Alcoholics Anonymous God is a higher power that can be anything you want him to be. In India there are millions of household gods that people believe in. And in America many believe that all religions and, therefore, all gods will ultimately lead one to heaven.
But mention the name Jesus and you are bound to get a very different reaction depending on who you speak with. To the Christian, Jesus is the second member of the Trinity and is fully God – and the only true God. And for the Christian, Jesus is not just some part of their life but the key figure that their life revolves around. To another group of people Jesus is a very ethical teacher but just an enlightened man – but certainly not God. And finally, to a third group Jesus is despised and hated because of what He stands for. For you see to this third group, Jesus claims to be the only true God that holds people accountable for their sins – and to this group they can’t stand being told they are sinners and that their behavior will be judged by God.
Jesus’ claims and as a result the claims of Christianity are not popular to a majority of people in the world because His claims are one of exclusivity. (John 14:6) makes this crystal clear when it says, referring to Jesus: “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.” And for this claim of exclusivity tens of thousands of people are martyred for their faith in Christ worldwide every year. Jesus to millions is a God that is loving and full of compassion but to even more millions He stands as a judge for sinful behavior that people just can’t tolerate. And the book that is all about Jesus, the Bible, to this latter group stands in strict opposition to their sinful lifestyles. As a result, someone said it well when referring to the Bible: “This book will keep you from sin or sin will keep you from this book.”
Jesus’ claim to deity is clearly taught throughout Scripture and He validated it by accepting worship from others, performing miracles that no one else has ever done, and predicting and fulfilling His death and resurrection.
In the Bible the Jewish religious leaders hated Jesus because He claimed to be God, and His message to repent for the kingdom of God is here, stung them to the core. These religious leaders felt that by obeying a bunch of laws and traditions meant they had a ticket to heaven but Jesus taught that their sins condemned them to hell. Naturally they despised Him for this message. And today hundreds of millions despise Jesus for this same reason. They say imagine the audacity to call yourself God and then condemn us to hell if we don’t bow down and worship You and radically change the way we live.
Wherever the name of Jesus is preached some fall down and worship Him and others hate, despise, and even kill the messenger. Controversy has always followed Jesus wherever He and His message have gone because with Jesus there is only one way to God and that is to repent and accept Him as Lord and Savior. Without Jesus being our sin substitute the Bible teaches that there simply is no way to reestablish our relationship with God that was broken in the Garden of Eden by Adam. And this claim of Jesus being the only way back to God is why millions, rather than accept His wonderful and unspeakable gift of salvation, choose to utter unspeakable hatred toward Him and His messengers.
Intense controversy will always follow Jesus because His stance on sin and salvation are non-negotiable. Sadly, while some choose repentance and salvation many more choose sin and damnation. His message is clear, the question is what will we do with it?
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