Jesus' baffling statement "No one comes to the Father
but by me" comes in John's gospel. John puts these words forward in a
desperate attempt to establish Jesus' uniqueness against the claims of
other evangelists. But the fallout of that assertion is the rejection
of every person who does not bow to Jesus as the only savior of all
mankind. Could Jesus have limited everyone's access to God to only His
followers?
The Old testament abounds with required means to approach God.There are
over six hundred laws to be obeyed; circumcision; the temple; the
rituals; Jerusalem itself; Justice; Israel; the Scrolls. Is John
suggesting that Jesus replaces all of these as a means of coming before
God?
.It was John, writing sixty years after Jesus died, who makes this
claim. John is intent on singling Jesus as sole means to God as a
replacement of all the Hebrew arsenal as well as other evangelists of
his time. This colossal claim is a building block for the growing
Christian church, John asserts. How could Jesus outflank his competitors
if their preaching and teaching were regarded as authentic?
John's statement of Jesus' uniqueness here also demolishes the claims
of every other religion in their enterprise of approaching God. In
effect, John is claiming a single
Religion for mankind, one centered in Jesus. Is that possible? Is that conceivable?
I regard John's statement as an overblown fantasy as he is caught up in
the stressful action of promoting the Christian church in the midst of
Roman power. Jesus was unique, but he was one of many representatives
of God. That is my understanding. What is yours?
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