The Lutheran Hour
-
"One Lord, One Savior, One Way To Heaven"
- Download MP3 Reflections
-
Text: John 14:6
-
Christ is risen! He is risen, indeed! In a world which imagines there are many ways to be saved, Jesus claims to be the only Way. In an age which maintains all truth is equally reliable and questionable, Jesus says He is the only Truth who leads to the Father. By God’s grace may we hear and believe in Him whose life, death, and resurrection is our only hope of rescue. Grant this, Lord unto us all. Amen.
Open-mindedness. I can understand your desire to be open-minded. A quick survey of the evening news will show us what can happen when people are close-minded. Here is a story of a synagogue which has been desecrated with Nazi swastikas and slogans; there is a mosque which has burned down, arson is suspected. On a global scale we have seen the Taliban destroy the huge and historic statues of Buddha in the Bamiyan Valley of Afghanistan; we have watched as suicide bombers try to eradicate anyone who has an opinion different from theirs.
Open-mindedness. Early on, students are trained to be open-minded. From their first days in school, young scholars are told they should avoid being judgmental of someone who thinks differently, talks differently, looks differently, eats differently, plays differently, than they.
Ethnic humor, that’s forbidden; sexist jokes, that’s so wrong; racial profiling is unthinkable. We are open-minded, not like the ignorant, prejudiced, intolerant, bigoted, narrow-thinking people. Oops, I guess that last sentence wasn’t very open-minded, was it? With billions of people on this planet, each with his own unique history, ability, and destiny, we believe it is mathematically impossible for any idea, statement, or belief to be right for everybody. Having been taught that every rule has its exception, it’s easy to conclude there can never be a single way – a single truth – which is right, good, acceptable, and applicable for everyone. Because all this is true, many open-minded people have a tough time with Jesus when He says, “I am the Way, and the Truth, and the Life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.”
In the course of His three years of earthly ministry, Jesus said many things which flew in the face of common sense, which seemed to contradict rational and reasonable logic. Even so, I can think of few of the Savior’s statements which rile, rattle, and rankle modern man as much as do Christ’s claims recorded in the 14th chapter of John. There Jesus said, “I am the Way, and the Truth, and the Life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.” Those words are most threatening, most upsetting to millions who believe all religions are pretty much the same; they are insulting to many multitudes who hold that even if all religions aren’t exactly alike, they will still manage to take their faithful followers to a similar after-death destination.
When open-minded listeners hear the Savior’s exclusive claims, they find no “wiggle room.” Thinking Jesus is shutting the door of heaven to anyone who believes in anyone or anything other than Him, these folks often rise up in righteous wrath and with freethinking indignation label Jesus as being narrow-minded, judgmental, intolerant, and opinionated. Many modern men and women skeptically demand to know, “Is Jesus really saying He is the only Way and every other faith is a dead-end highway? Is the carpenter of Nazareth really saying He alone is the Truth and every other faith is fake and false?” They want to know, “Is this what Jesus was thinking? Is this what He was saying and teaching?”
Before I give you an answer to those questions (and I will give you an answer to them), let me share: A serious study of the world’s non-Christian religions will quickly reveal the most any founder-of-a-faith can say is this: If you follow my teachings they may set your feet on a path which could, if you try hard enough and work long enough, possibly give you peace and maybe help you earn enlightenment, Nirvana, paradise, or oneness. In promoting this position these pseudo-prophets lead their listeners on a frustrating and futile journey which cannot guarantee they will be able to move themselves from their sin-created, soul-destroying darkness of body, heart, mind, and soul.
In contrast, Jesus, and only Jesus, says: I am the way to forgiveness of sins and the door to eternal life. Jesus, and only Jesus, says: I have done everything which needed to be done for your salvation. I have offered up My life in the fulfillment of the laws which you have broken; I have resisted the temptations of sin and Satan which have, time and again, overwhelmed you; and I have, through My resurrection from the dead, destroyed death itself. Because of what the crucified and ever-living Savior has done, He is able to make the claim: “I am the Resurrection and the Life. Whoever believes in Me, though he die, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in Me shall never die” (John 11:25-26).
My friends, do you understand these differences? Do you realize that if Jesus is right when He says: I am the Way, the Truth and the Life – the only Way to the Father – then all religions are not the same, cannot be compatible, and most certainly are not interchangeable? Indeed, if Jesus is right in His statement, the differences between Christianity and the other religions of the world are so pronounced and profound that any and all attempts to bring them into harmony are destined to end in frustration, and are doomed to failure. And lest you not understand that the Christian faith is unique because of the Savior’s sacrifice, listen as Scripture clearly says what my poor words have not. Shortly after Christ’s crucifixion and resurrection, the Apostle Peter was tried by the Jewish Supreme Court. When these religious leaders demanded the ex-fisherman become politically correct, asked him to quit rocking the boat and accept the official religious position, Peter declined. In response to their demands he pointed to Christ and said, “There is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.”
Writing to the small group of believers which was being persecuted in pagan Ephesus, the Apostle Paul encouraged them to be faithful to their Savior. He wrote: “By grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus…” (Ephesians 2:8-10). By inspiration of the Holy Spirit, the beloved apostle John gave this beautiful and most familiar statement concerning the matchless Christ: “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through Him. Whoever believes in Him (in Jesus) is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already…” (John 3:16-18).
A few minutes ago I promised to share some straight answers to your questions. You asked: Did Jesus say He alone is the Way and every other faith is a dead-end highway? Yes, that is what Jesus said. You asked: Did Jesus really say He alone is the Truth and everything else is fake and false? Yes, He said that, too. Scripture clearly states that the soul that sins will die (Ezekiel 18:20); but the Bible is equally clear that Jesus is God’s heaven-sent rescuer. Faith in Jesus Christ as your Savior becomes humanity’s only hope, only lifeline which can pull souls out of the quicksand of sin, away from the fires of hell, and the clutches of Satan. Jesus is the Way, the Truth and the Life; the only One who can bring us to our Father.
Many of you who just heard those sentences are thinking: That’s wrong. That’s just plain wrong. It’s unfair, it’s exclusive, it’s narrow-minded. It’s wrong. If that’s the way you feel, I’d like to tell you a story. It’s a true story. It’s the story of people just like you. Around 9:00 a.m., on September 11, 2001, an airplane – United Airlines Flight 175 – sawed into the south tower of New York’s World Trade Center. You have seen the movies of that day; I will not reiterate the heartrending tragedies which played out in the hours which followed the impact. I will simply say this: almost everyone on or below the 77th floor of that building escaped; almost everyone above the 77th floor died. Let me give that to you again: above the 77th floor, 595 people died and only four managed to live. This story is about those four. The first of the four was Brian Clark. Brian was Executive Vice-President for Euro Brokers. When part of the jet hit his floor the tower twisted, air-conditioning ducts fell and floors buckled. Clark turned to his friend, Senior Vice-President Robert Coll and said, “Let’s go.” A total of five men started down Stairwell A.
On the 81st floor, they met a large woman and a frail man trying to make their way up to the roof. The woman told them, “You can’t go down. The floors are in flames.” The men debated: up or down. Four of Clark’s friends decided to go up, two of them helping the woman manage the stairs. Clark and a co-worker, Ronald DiFrancesco, continued down Stairwell A. As they descended, they heard some banging and pulled Stanley Prainath out of the rubble. DiFrancesco had second thoughts about the direction they were going. He was having a hard time breathing, so he turned around and climbed all the way back up to the 91st floor. For ten minutes he lay on the landing to rest. Then, moved by a desire to see his wife and children, Ron got up and started down Stairwell A again. This time Ron made it past the smoke; this time he made it all the way down to the lobby. As Ron left the building, a fireball rolled toward him; he put his arms in front of his face. That was all he remembered until he awoke three days later at St. Vincent’s hospital. Ron was the last person to make it out of the South Tower. These three, along with one other who also made it down Stairwell A were the only people who survived above the 77th floor of the Trade Center’s South Tower.
I have told you this story – this real story – for a reason. There were 600 people in the upper part of that tower – only four survived. When those 600 souls entered the building on the morning of September 11th, they felt secure. They knew there were many ways in and out of the Tower, many ways which they believed could take them to safety, should the unlikely need arise. That is what they believed. They were wrong. When the end came, there was only one route, and only one route, which lead to safety. Every other path, every other route in that Tower was, quite literally, a dead end. Those people who thought it was safer to wait until the New York Fire Department made it up to them – they all died. Those individuals who gravitated to the windows so they might get away from the smoke and gasp a breath of fresh air into their aching lungs – they all died. Those folks who waited for the elevators to be brought back into service – they died. Those persons who tried to make it up to the roof so they might be rescued by a helicopter found the roof doors locked – they died. Those people who tried to go down Stairwell B found it blocked – they died. Those who went down Stairwell C found it impossible – they died.
On that day of disaster it didn’t make any difference whether the people thought their situation was fair or unfair. It didn’t make any difference if they thought Stairwell B and C should be functional. It didn’t make any difference if they thought the building’s architectural plan was insufficient and flawed. It didn’t make any difference if those people thought having one means of escape was too exclusive. The truth is this: on the morning of September 11th there was one way – and only one way – to go if you wanted to live. To trust yourself to Stairwell A meant life, to trust anything else meant death. There’s one other thing which I need to tell you about Stairwell A. That stairwell, along with all of the stairwells at the World Trade Center, were over designed. That means they were bigger than code said they had to be. They were big enough so people could go down side-by-side without squeezing. In short, Stairwell A could have taken every living person to safety.
Now for many of The Lutheran Hour listeners, the purpose of this story may be obvious. Even so, please permit me to explain the importance of this modern-day parable. The World Trade Center is our little world and the terrorists of sin, Satan, and death have attacked us. They have done all they can to kill you, to murder your eternal soul. Now my question is: What are you going to do? If you think you can stay where you are, if you think you’re safe staying put; you are wrong. The clock is ticking and the moment of judgment is approaching. To try and stay where you are will accomplish nothing other than lead to your eternal death.
What will you do? You can listen to the voices of those who are calling to you, pleading with you to follow them. That day in the South Tower there were many such voices. One person said: Go up to the roof; another said: Wait here for the elevator; and yet another encouraged: Try this stairwell. They were sincere voices, concerned voices, powerful voices; unfortunately, they were wrong voices. Every one of those voices, earnest as they were, took people to a path which was locked, blocked, and led to a dead end. It is not any different for you today. All around you there are many voices telling you how to be safe, secure, at peace, earn paradise. I have no doubt that many of these voices sincerely believe they are telling you the truth and giving you good advice. Unfortunately, their sincerity, their belief, means nothing if they are directing you the wrong way; if they are encouraging you to trust yourself to a way of escape which will finally, ultimately, eternally, lead to your death.
The day that jet flew into the South Tower of the World Trade Center there was time to escape. Today, God has given you time to be saved, but you have no idea how much time you have, no way to calculate how long it will be before your world comes crashing down. You have been given time to escape; time to be taken to forgiveness and freedom. Don’t waste that time wandering the wrong way; don’t squander that time by dawdling. The Lord wants to lead you to safety – to Jesus, the true Way of escape from eternal fire, death, and destruction.
For the people of the South Tower of the World Trade Center, safety depended on their taking Stairwell A; for you it depends on trusting Jesus. Jesus is God’s escape from certain death. Jesus is God’s Truth who alone can save. Yes, I know what I’m saying may not sound very open-minded. If that’s the case, let me say it differently: today the Lord Jesus Christ calls to every man, woman, and child, to every rich man and poor, to the brilliant and the challenged, the healthy and the ill; today the crucified and risen Savior extends the most open-minded invitation this world has ever heard. Today the Lord says: No matter what you have done wrong, or how often you have done it, come to Me; trust in Me; believe that I can lead you to safety.
And if you ask: Why should I believe Jesus? How can I be sure He really is the Way and the Truth who gives life?” Let me answer. You can trust Jesus because He backed up His words with action. He did things that only God’s heaven-sent Son could do. Against all mathematical odds He fulfilled numerous prophecies – centuries-old prophecies – which identified Him as the promised Savior. How can you be sure Jesus is your Way, should be your Truth? Look at His miracles. Jesus never encountered an illness but that He was more than a match for it. With a word, a touch, a prayer, people were healed by Him.
How can you believe Jesus is your only Way, your trustworthy Truth? If you believe nothing else, then go to His empty tomb. Listen to the words of the angels who said: Jesus of Nazareth is not dead; He is alive, as He said He would be. How do you know Jesus is the Way, the Truth, and the Life? Stand with the disciples who saw their Savior again and again. Touch His hands and His side, as did Thomas. See and believe Christ is risen; He is risen indeed! The living Lord who defeated death for Himself, will also defeat it for you. The living Lord Jesus is the Way, the Truth, and the Life, your one and only hope to heaven. The world may tell you Jesus is narrow-minded, intolerant, prejudicial, and politically incorrect. I say He is the Way, and the Truth, and the Life. No one comes to the Father except through Him. If you have questions or need to know more about this redeeming and rescuing Savior, please, call us at The Lutheran Hour. Amen.
LUTHERAN HOUR MAILBOX (Questions & Answers) for April 20, 2008
Title: Have Faith in Yourself?ANNOUNCER: Now Pastor Ken Klaus responds to questions from listeners. I’m Mark Eischer. Pastor, you commented that you’ve been receiving some challenging e-mails lately. Here’s one: “Pastor Klaus… you are fooling the people and hurting many people with this fable about faith in Jesus. I agree that God put us here, He made the world; but there is no sense in being mad at God if things go wrong.” (Apparently our listener does not believe that God is actively involved with the creation at this point.)
KLAUS: Well, Mark, I think this is a good person who has made God in his own image. I do agree with him in this: if the story of Jesus is a fable, if God has adopted a passive role, I am hurting people by giving them false hope. Interestingly, this individual is not the first person to suggest that idea. Saint Paul wrote to the church in Corinth, he said this: “If Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins. If in this life only we have hoped in Christ, we are of all people most to be pitied.”
ANNOUNCER: So it all hinges upon the reality of Christ and His resurrection.
KLAUS: Everything I say, everything this broadcast has preached for more than 75 years, rises or falls on the open and empty tomb of Jesus.
ANNOUNCER: But what assurances can you make to someone like this who is questioning everything?
KLAUS: Well, we know Jesus fulfilled more than 100 Old Testament prophecies. We have His empty tomb. We have eyewitness accounts of those who saw Him. We have a bunch of previously-cowering disciples who went out and changed the world. We have martyrs willing to die in terrible ways rather than deny the risen Christ whom they had seen. I have a Savior who has touched my life in ways that I could never explain. You remember Jesus’ parable about the rich man and Lazarus? How does that parable conclude?
ANNOUNCER: It says: “If they hear not Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded, though one rise from the dead.”
KLAUS: Yes, Franz Werfel said it a little bit differently. He said: “To those who believe, no explanation is necessary. To those who do not believe, no explanation is possible.” OK, the listener went on. Mark, please, continue.
ANNOUNCER: He says, “When you talk to people (it’s better to) emphasize that they need to help themselves, and not rely on others, including God or Jesus. Be self reliant – that’s what your talk should be. Don’t be so consumed with Jesus dying for us. It’s ridiculous. We need to control our own lives. And this will be much more helpful than the ideas in your talks.”
KLAUS: Mark, I’ve met a lot of people. I have never known a person who was strong enough, smart enough, self-reliant enough, to control their lives. World leaders, stars of movies and TV, great commanders – every single one of them – has encountered those dark days of the soul when they were helpless, when all of their talents failed them.
What could I say to promote self-reliance and self-help that hasn’t been said already? Bookstores are filled with such advice. And none of those self-help books have permanently changed the world. None helps when death comes knocking. That’s when I need someone better than me, more acceptable to God than I am. That’s when I need a Savior.
ANNOUNCER: In conclusion our listener says, “If we make this world a better place, when we die… God will make a better place for those who have done good for the world. So don’t have faith in Jesus, have faith in yourself, and some day you’ll be with Him because of all the service you have done to make this world a better place.” That’s the gospel according to our listener.
KLAUS: Mark, I’ve been talking about others, let me talk about myself. If everything depends on me and the faith I have in myself, I’m in big trouble. I know what’s in my heart. I know the anger, the loathing, disgust, prejudice, lust, that’s there. I’m a sinner and a sinner can’t make this world better than he is. No, I’ll keep my faith in Jesus because He is the sinless Son of God. Only Jesus can make this world better – can make me better – can forgive me and save me.
ANNOUNCER: Any final thoughts?
KLAUS: God love you, to our listener. I know I do. You sound like you’ve had a good heart, but the day’s going to come when you’re going to stand alone and helpless before the Almighty and holy God. For a lot of people, that’s going to be terrifying. I pray you won’t try to hold up your frail and feeble accomplishments but instead point to Jesus and what He has accomplished on your behalf. Put aside your self-reliance and trust Him who lived for you, died for you, rose for you. He has done for you what you can’t do for yourself.
ANNOUNCER: Thank you, Pastor Klaus. This has been a presentation of Lutheran Hour Ministries.
Music selection for this program:
“A Mighty Fortress” arranged by John Leavitt. Concordia Publishing House/SESAC
“At the Lamb’s High Feast” arr. John Leavitt. GIA Publications, Inc.
“Christ Has Arisen, Alleluia” arr. James Kosnik and J. Michael McMahon. Concordia Publishing House/SESAC
“Now All the Vault of Heaven Resounds” arr. Hart Morris. From Hymns for All Saints: Lent, Easter, Pentecost (© 2006 Concordia Publishing House)