The same Jesus?
His Comments
Her Comments
Scripture:
Common to both His and Her:
To start, it might be beneficial to summarize what some of the other faiths believe about Jesus, either through an official view or a view held by most followers. These six faiths do not view Jesus as God:
- Islam: Believes Jesus was a prophet, born of a virgin, but was NOT crucified and killed.
- Hinduism: Jesus viewed as a holy man or enlightened guru.
- Buddhism: Jesus viewed as an enlightened teacher.
- Baha’i: Jesus viewed as divine messenger, died on the cross, but no bodily resurrection.
- Jesus viewed as a Jewish teacher whose views and revolt got him killed by crucifixion.
- New Age: Jesus is viewed as a spiritual guide, an enlightened master, or higher conscious.
There are two other faiths worth mentioning that have a stance on Jesus. These two have a more divine view of Jesus, but they still fall short of Jesus being Almighty God.
- Mormon: Jesus viewed as a created being, “a” god, but not “the” Almighty God.
- Jehovah’s Witnesses: Jesus viewed as a created being, Michael the archangel in his pre-human existence, but not “the” Almighty God.
And then we have the traditional, Trinitarian view of God held by Christians: The Father is God. The Son [Jesus] is God. The Holy Spirit is God. All are God in substance, one God, but in three distinct persons.
Thoughts:
My wife and I watch a lot of apologetic videos, which is to say we watch videos of Christians defending their faith when talking to non-believers, or followers of different faiths. Reading about other faiths, and hearing their followers talk to Christians, I find it interesting that so many faiths acknowledge Jesus existed but have entirely different views of who Jesus is. That gets to the heart of the question – if they all acknowledge the first century Jewish man named Jesus of Nazareth, does that mean we are all talking about the same Jesus?
Above is a reference of nine different faiths, all of which acknowledge a Jesus figure.
So, what does the above tell us? It tells us that there are a lot of views about who and what Jesus is! Also, those views are often mutually exclusive from one another. For example, Islam holds to the view that Jesus did not die on the cross and Christianity believes that He did. These views contradict one another. Either the Muslim is correct, or the Christian is correct, but both cannot be correct. Another example, Christians hold the view that God the Son has always existed with God the Father and God the Holy Spirit. This does not align with the JW view that Jesus was the created Michael the archangel. Both views cannot be true.
Why does it matter? Because so often today, the push is for inclusivity. Many people want to believe ALL paths and ALL faiths lead to the same place, which is often a blissful utopian afterlife. The truth is, Christianity and Jesus are VERY EXCLUSIVE. A lot of people think it is unloving to say that, but Jesus leaves NO room for doubt. In John 14:6, He says “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” Jesus, in John 14:6, is VERY EXCLUSIVE. There is only ONE path to the Father and that path is Christ Jesus. People who preach inclusivity and say all paths lead to God’s acceptance are missing the point, and contrary to what they may believe, that is not loving. Jesus preaches love, but it is only through the love to God and of God that we can love our neighbor. God is above all. Jesus leaves no room for debate on this topic and the Jesus of Scripture, biblical Christian Scripture, leaves no room for believing these other faiths are true.
That said, what about the original question, “do all religions talk about the same Jesus?” The answer to that is a very definitive “No!” Jesus is the only way, Jesus is truth, and Jesus is life. Someone who puts their faith in another Jesus does not have eternal life and sadly are still a slave to their sin. Without the Jesus of Scripture, and His completed work on the cross, man is still responsible for the debt of his sin. The wages of sin is death and the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus. That only works if you believe and put your faith in the One who paid it all.
I’ll end with this, truth is truth, despite if we want to accept that truth. My inclusive friends have one thing correct; all paths do lead to God. Unfortunately, it is not the way they would prefer. Isaiah 45:23 tells us, “To me every knee shall bow, and every tongue shall swear allegiance.” This both makes me unbelievably happy and sad. Happy because God, through His sacrifice, has given me the gift of life and grace that I do not deserve. It also brings with it sadness, knowing there are so many people who hold to another faith that is different from the one Jesus proclaimed. Someday that faith will end with them kneeling before God, giving an account for their sins, and they will have to pay the debt for that sin. That debt will be an eternal separation from the God that loves them. That loving God is the God of Scripture, the one who offers the free gift of Grace, who has already paid that debt, all they need to do is repent and believe. That emphasizes the importance of Jesus’ words in Matthew 28:19, “Go forth and make disciples of all nations.” Because God loves us, we are called to love them and share His word.
This is the season of Jesus! This time of year, even non-believers are flooded with images of a baby Jesus, and as Christians, we are reminded that without our Savior’s birth no one would be saved. John 14:6 — “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” In this statement, Jesus does not say there are many ways to Heaven, He says that He is the only way. We, as Christians, understand this. However, do we truly understand who Jesus is so when other religions mention Jesus, we can know the difference? When your friends say they believe in Jesus and understand the reason for our winter holiday, are they really referring to the Jesus of Scripture? Are we sure that everyone we celebrate with around the Christmas Table and Parties are truly saved? Jesus gave us the great commission. Matthew 28:19-20, “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you.”
In my younger years, I had the belief that all denominations and all religions that acknowledged Jesus, and proclaimed him, were saved. I thought that we all just celebrate differently based on the country we grew up in. I would even argue with others saying, “Christians fight with each other too much and we need to all just get along.” For some of you, this may sound very familiar. This is the belief of the world today. We are to believe that everyone is right, “Jesus is Love, and Love is Acceptance!” There are many man-made versions of Jesus in religions around the world. Only ONE Jesus is the true Jesus. In fact, 2 Corinthians 11:14 warns us about this! We are given warnings about accepting another Jesus, telling us that “even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light.” We need to have our eyes open as Christians and not be swayed by worldly concepts created to lead us astray.
This does not mean that we are to be unkind or avoid those with a wrong idea of Jesus, but it does mean that we need to be able to explain why they are still not saved and help lead them to salvation. This will not be easy; in fact, it may be very difficult! It is easier to teach someone who has no education than it is to help someone unlearn wrong information. People will defend their beliefs with strength, anger, and avoidance. That is why we must lead them with a kind hand and loving heart. Fear not, we are led by the Holy Spirit, and it is He who will change their hearts. That does not mean we should proceed without caution. We also need to make sure that we are not led astray by others. Remember that the Jesus of the Bible is the one true Jesus. He is the reason we are saved. He is the reason for the season. He is our pathway to the Father. Acts 4:12 — “Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved.”
As you can see above, there are many different ideas of who Jesus is and as 2 Corinthians warns us, we must be aware of those pitfalls. In fact, most of the people who proclaim those religions will not even know that their religion classifies Jesus differently. They just grew up believing that they are following a Christian or universal set of beliefs. A deep dive into their doctrine can be eye opening for them.
Challenge:
My challenge for you this holiday season is to make sure you understand why the Jesus of the Bible is the true Savior. Make sure your heart is aligned with the truth and when you celebrate this Christmas, you are celebrating the birth of the one who spilled His blood so that you can be washed clean.
Questions to think about:
- Do you see Jesus as He revealed Himself to be in Scripture, or do you see Him as you want Him to be?
- Is your knowledge of Jesus based on scripture or is it based on someone else’s view?
- Is your faith grounded in Jesus, the Son, second person of the Trinity, who died on the cross for your sins?
- Are you letting the world dictate who Jesus is or do you use Scripture?
- Are you walking through the Narrow Gate or are you passing it by?
God Bless.