Meditations from Zion

John 19:7
“We have a law, and according to that law he must die, because he claimed to be the Son of God.”

The gospel of John is all about identity. Is Jesus who he said he was or not? This is the ultimate question.

The priests who brought Jesus before Pilate were very clear about his claims. They accused him of intentionally misleading people. They accused him of breaking the law, the law given to them from God through Moses and the prophets. They called him a liar.

There are really very few choices when confronting the identity of Jesus: either he is who he says he is, he’s stark raving mad, or he’s lying.

In today’s world, we don’t have anything similar. If a regular “Joe” was to claim he was God or just claim he was the President, all would assume he was crazy as a bedbug. Even if we determined the person was a consummate liar, his mental stability would be suspect. We don’t ever entertain the idea that he might be the “real deal.”

The priests were no different. There was simply no way that Jesus (of Nazareth) could be telling the truth, it had to be trick. From their perspective, the guy was a sinister, manipulative, liar who had duped the people by healing them, eating with them, feeding them, and teaching them about the kingdom of God being available to them… right from where they were. He was way outside their comfort zone. That couldn’t be God.

And isn’t that what many way today?

When I became a follower of Christ, I made it quite clear that I didn’t want to be a “Christian.” I had no good memories or experiences with the people who claimed to be his disciples. But I did see and believe in the One. And this is where my journey began, with my eyes on Christ alone. I trusted the rest would fall into place along the way. There were tons of things I couldn’t understand or agree with in scripture, but I could not call this Jesus a liar.

When I prayed that first prayer, there was no one leading the way. I simply asked Jesus if I could follow him and become more like him. I confessed. I believed he was who he said he was. That’s all. Because I knew, if that was true, then there was more truth to be uncovered. This is the way of Jesus… from truth to truth, from understanding to understanding.