One Way or Many?

Overview

Jesus Christ was a teacher who walked around and told people to love each other. He was kind to the poor. He laid his hands on the sick. He fed the hungry. He did all these things. But there have been lots of people who have done good things like this and that have told us, “Let’s just love each other.” So why did this one teacher become the most influential single figure in the history of the world?

It’s not because of the uncontroversial things, but it’s because of the controversial ones. Jesus says, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me” (John 14:6). It’s this kind of claim that makes all the difference. No Jewish person could possibly ever say he was God. It would be inconceivable — and definitely controversial. Let’s look more deeply at the nature of this claim and then the uniqueness of the claim.