The Jewish Messiah
Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me. John 14:6 NASB
No one – The Greek is oudeis. It could hardly be stronger, or clearer. “Not even one, none, nobody, no one.” Or could it? Jonathan Sacks makes an interesting observation about Judaism, without reference to this statement of the Messiah, of course. Sacks writes, “Judaism has a structural peculiarity so perplexing and profound that though its two daughter monotheisms, Christianity and Islam, took much else from it, they did not adopt this: it is a particularist monotheism. It believes in one God but not in one exclusive path to salvation. The god of the Israelites is the God of all mankind, but the demandes [sic] made of the Israelites are not asked of all mankind” (emphasis in the original).[1]
Melchizedek is Sacks example. YHVH is the God of Melchizedek, but Melchizedek is the king of Salem, not part of the covenantal family but still a priest of the Most High God. “Biblical monotheism is not the idea that there is one God and therefore one gateway to His presence. To the contrary, it is the idea that the unity of God is to be found in the diversity of creation” (emphasis in the original).[2]
Just for a moment, pretend that Sacks’ comment is true. Then ask yourself what Yeshua could have meant if Sacks’ comment is true. If Yeshua is Jewish, if he espoused the general understanding of Scripture in the same way that the rabbis and the sages did, and if he saw himself as the embodiment of YHVH’s purposes in the Messiah, then what does his claim mean? How can it be true that no one (oudeis) comes to YHVH except through him?
Christian theology has interpreted this verse as the claim that a “saving knowledge of Jesus” is required in order to experience a restored relationship with the Father. In other words, Christian theology views this statement as an exclusive formula for salvation. It is at the heart of “Jesus is my personal savior” evangelism. But what if it could be read as a Jewish statement? Then what would it mean?
Is the coming of the Messiah YHVH’s ultimate plan for the restoration of humanity? Was this plan always in the mind of the Father as a potential solution to human sin? Is the Messiah given, from eternity in the strategy of the Father, divine commission and authority to complete the rescue operation? Does it matter when human beings discover the grand scheme of the Father? The grand scheme is in place as long as it is the purpose of YHVH. In that sense, no one comes to the Father except through the manifestation of the Father’s plan in the Messiah, even if the person doesn’t know it. Personal knowledge of the Messiah (and subsequent acknowledgement of Yeshua as the Messiah) is not a prerequisite for the purposes of the Father to come to fruition. The role of the Messiah is played out independently of any human being knowing what that role is because the role is the fulfillment of the plan of the Father. It is the Father’s expression, not a required formula of human salvation. What the Messiah accomplishes is to be understood in relation to the Father, not necessarily the human beings who are affected by the manifestation of the Father’s will. Yeshua actually said this when he remarked that he only did what the Father assigned.
Perhaps Sacks can help us solve a puzzling issue. How is Abraham saved? If we read John 14:6 as an evangelical mantra, Abraham falls outside the camp. He didn’t know Yeshua as Messiah. He certainly did not know Yeshua as the Way, the Truth and the Life. So Abraham, who is clearly “saved,” must be saved on the basis of some other means or we must postulate that Yeshua’s forensic clearance is somehow retroactive, reaching back in time to rescue Abraham after Abraham is dead. Christian theology usually chooses the former, that is, Abraham was “saved” by some operation of “works” not grace (which comes through Jesus Christ). The solution is then expanded to all those who followed YHVH prior to the arrival of the Messiah. Jews are saved by “works,” Christians by grace. Presto chango, the theological Continental Divide.
But what if Sacks is right? What if the role of the Messiah, as envisioned by the Father “before the foundation of the world,” has always been the Father’s purpose for deliverance? Wouldn’t that mean that regardless of human perception, all those who seek the Father actually participate in the Father’s Messianic intention? And Abraham is “saved” in exactly the same way you and I are, and everyone else who ever finds his or her way to the Father.
Topical Index: saved, no one, oudeis, John 14:6
[1] Jonathan Sacks, The Dignity of Difference, p. 52.
[2] Ibid., p. 53.
TRAVEL NOTE: Skip will be traveling in Europe (again) for the next few weeks. Internet will be difficult so please be patient about replies. Finding internet cafes is not always easy. Today’s Word and any books you order will not be delayed, thank goodness. 🙂
Fortunate for us and Abraham, Yeshua was not Jewish.
Huh?
Fortunately I think you are kidding, right?
I will take this as sarcasm since there is NO debate whatsoever about the fact that Yeshua is Jewish.
Apologies, it should read: Fortunately …
Huh, huh?
Try again Pieter. Yeshua was Jewish. What did you mean to write?
Thank you for this TODAYS WORD!
It reminds me of a coversation I had with a friend about Isaiah 46. She reads it thinking predestination of people. I read it and see God declaring His purposes will be accomplished.
So, we can either see Yeshua as the “only way” to God or we can see Him as God’s purposes being fulfilled.
Am I wrong in understanding that Yeshua said that no one would can get to the Father except through Him but that He didn’t say that no man comes to the Father unless they believe in Me as the Messiah. So if I understand what He is saying… It is that eternal life is through His resurrection and all who are YHVH’s will be brought into the kingdom through that resurrection work whether they “believed” in Yeshua or not. No one can be resurrected from the dead without the work Yeshua so all go through Him.
Sounds good to me, and this is what I tried to argue in Cross Word Puzzles
But doesn’t this beg the question of ‘how’ we go through Him? I’m rather confused here!
In Hebrews and other places, we get a picture of Yeshua acting as our high priest before the throne. He acts – mediates – for all regardless of whether we know He is or not. It is certain that all who obtain eternal life do so through His resurrection, whether, again, they are aware of it or not. What is crystal clear is that you do NOT get ‘saved’ by another saviour, whether he is Buddha, Mohammed, Mary the Mediatrix, or any other alter christos, for that matter, or the latest guru. Those, in fact, are very good ways NOT to get yourself saved, in my book!
Are we talking universalism here?
Oh, no! Universalism is the evil twin of ecumenism, and neither has anything to do with the Law, as far as I can tell, either coming or going.
Cheryl, I think you have it. Jesus does not belong exclusively to those who claim to have the copyrights on the name. Yeshua is the salvation of the Jews equally with all those who lived according to the light they possessed. He does it all, anyway. Even with those who think that there is magic in a name…
Nicely put Cheryl. 🙂
I am suspicious of anything that is presented within a formula or system like this idea of a “saving knowledge” of Jesus Christ. What exactly does that mean anyhow? Who defines what is saving vs what is not?
Where do these churches figure that they know what constitutes this and whom is “saved?”
These churches always have an agenda behind what they do. They say it is concern for your eternal soul. Maybe. My experience has been that it is more about numbers, money, control and buildings (you name it) Not everyone who goes to a modern church is corrupt, I realize this and try not to throw baby out with bathwater. However, one only needs to ask questions of that current paradigm to see the gloves come off and see how quickly Christiandom condemns those who don’t tow the party line!
True Bereans are not welcome. They have become heretics instead.
Now what about the idea that one cannot be saved unless one hears the Word hence all of the missionaries sent round the world? Another modern church institution!
Kinda leaves out the Abrahams of the world. According to this, even if one seeks out the Father unless they have heard the word (American style) they cannot be saved. Talk about a god in a box!
Seriously??
I don’t want to attribute nefarious motives to those who are sincerely attempting to secure the rescue of souls. They mean well and they are usually devoted to the God they know. But there is a significant lack of curiosity and a willingness to look deeper than what the current sermon teaches. In my experience, many of these people truly have a heart for God. But they are victims of a hierarchical religious society that eschews rigorous examination. God works with what we give Him.
Excellent points. I agree totally.
I’m quite confused concerning what exactly it is you’re trying to say with today’s post. And a “How then shall we live post” – the applied theology that you mentioned January 1 – would be very helpful.
On my way to London. You will have to wait for a reply. Sorry.
Point taken. As I said in my post, I don’t believe all in the modern churches are corrupt. Curious use of the words “secure the rescue of souls”. You mean the whole human being, yes? Perhaps you were just using church-ease to make a point.
I too have been a victim of a man who believed in the god he was serving. Both my family and myself were hurt. This man is sincere and I have watched family after family be literally torn apart by this church. It continues currently. These churches do not exist in a vacuum. If I do not warn folks about such things, then I am unjust. Granted these people will answer to Y-H in the end but I cannot be silent about such evils that do exist. Wolves always stymie unity.
You have my respect for what you do and teach. You have helped me to dig deeper and learn of Y-H.
I just find your reply odd. You seem to be defending the “church” at the cost of the “sheep.” It seems as though you are marginalizing mine and others suffering and loss (many other descriptors work here too) at the hands of “sincere” people who have made their choice to do what they do.
Even those who aren’t curious and don’t look deeper have made those choices. Does that make it right and good to do what they do? I feel I can say that having been in those very shoes myself once.
I was not disrespecting missionaries, only questioning this American idea of mission work and how it looks. You are a missionary but what I see you doing appears very different from what I am questioning.
The goal is unity and oneness thru Christ and in Y-H. But for now, wolves exist and those who have seen them have an obligation to warn others that things are not always as they seem. To be careful.
I don’t think we are far apart. I probably share most of your feelings. But I know that God uses whatever we give Him and that He is no respecter of persons. So that means even those who are ignorant but seeking are useful (of course, the others are useful too but in a different way). I am certainly not defending the “church” but I can’t help but say that many of those in the Church are godly people even if they don’t get the fundamentals. But I was once there myself.
The Redeemer Who Reconciles
Unity is found wthin our diversity, the issue here is not “sameness” but “oneness. Just look at your own children or the neighbor’s and voila!- there is tremendous diversity right there in front of our noses, yet the very same set of parents, environment, etc..
There is diversity everwhere and the “body of Christ ” is no exception. Paul writes : ~ For just as we have many members in one body and all the members do not have the same function, so we, who are many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another..~ Yes, Dietrich Bonhoffer was “right on” in titling his book “Life Together.” E Pluribus Unum brrothers and sisters – “We being many are one!”
And is this not heart’s desire of our Father? ~ How good and how pleasant it is for brothers (and sisters) to live together in unity ~ (Psalm 133.1)
And let us never forget this prayer of our Mechizedek, our Great Hight Priest who has passed into the Heavens and now “ever lives” to make intercession for us:
“that they may all be one; even as You, Father, are in Me and I in You, that they also may be in Us, so that the world may believe that You sent Me. “The glory which You have given Me I have given to them, that they may be one, just as We are one…”
Remember, ~ God was in Christ, reconciling the world to Himself, no longer counting people’s sins against them. And?? He has given unto us this wonderful message of reconciliation ~
(2 Corinthians 5.19)
~ For it was the Father’s good pleasure for all the fullness to dwell in Him, and through Him to reconcile all things to Himself, having made peace through the blood of His cross; through Him, I say, whether things on Earth or things in Heaven ~ (Colossian 1.19,20)
Paul’s Earnest Plea
~ Therefore we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were making His appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ: Be reconciled to God. For He has made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him ~
(2 Corinthians 5.20,21)
Re: Jesus was not jewish
http://olivetjournal.com/category/writing-projects/why-yeshua-had-to-die/part-6-ch-1-§-1-yeshua-our-messiah-is-not-a-jew/
I think it boils down to semantics. but it is certainly a conversation starter.
What if it is not about Y’shua “the man”, but Y’shua in the role of “the Word” made flesh? Abraham was “saved” by his faith in the “word” that he received and his obedience to it. Christians are “saved” (being saved?) by their faith in “the Word made flesh” and their obedience to it (at least as far as they are being taught what “the Word made flesh” really is, and what obeying really means).
Historically, Jews and Christians have been persecuted for their obedience to their respective versions of the “Word”.
And if I remember correctly, doesn’t Torah teach that there is no sacrifice for sin until one is made aware of their sin?
Wouldn’t this apply equally to (1) Jews who have not been convinced that Y’shua is Messiah, (2) Christians who are not convinced that the Torah applies to them, (3) God-fearing gentiles who are convinced of the existence of YHWH but maybe don’t know His name or how to know or locate Him, and (4) anyone else who has been deceived by the world, their flesh or Satan, that there is no creator?
Otherwise, how could Christ have stated that the Father desires that all men should come to the knowledge of the truth? If the Father wants all men to come to a final, conclusory knowledge of the truth, then maybe the idea of a “remnant” is not applicable to ultimate salvation, but only to temporal obedience prior to the passing away of the Heavens and the Earth.
Paradigm shift:
Having a relationship with YHWH is no longer exclusive, it is truly inclusive! And guess what, the playing fields are level after all.
This TW and posts have answered a lot of niggling questions, especially what happens to pre-covenant peoples, and what happens to those that have not got the “get out of jail free card.”
Thank you one and all.