Jesus is not our piety pet
How we miss the transformative teachings of Jesus for a moral checklist
I grew up with a particular set of beliefs around sanctification. It wasn’t until I got to Bible College that I began to understand the overly simplistic and moralist way I saw this concept. Growing up in the evangelical church, behavior was often the primary indicator of someone whom we thought was sanctified or made holy.
Holds a certain doctrine
Prays
Reads the Bible regularly
Attends church
Doesn’t listen to secular music
Shares their faith
Active in ministry (aka serving the church)
Etc, etc
As I have been deconstructing/reconstructing my faith and the role of the church over the past 10 years, I have begun to realize a few key things that I missed in the scurry of performative Christianity: we can busy ourselves enough with religion without it actually changing us. No matter how much effort we put into our gatherings, our quiet times, or our missional attempts, we are simply cleaning the outside of our cups if we aren’t also letting the words of Jesus challenge and transform us. It’s amazing to me how much we can read the Bible and completely miss the point.
The other day I was in a discussion about this very thing and a common passage was brought up, John 14:6.
Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.
This particular passage was mentioned to prove that someone is worshipping Jesus and is therefore sanctified (see first bullet 1). Historically, we have interpreted this passage with a very narrow, exclusive understanding of, you are either in or out kind of thinking. This generated not only a tendency towards othering but an urgency for the Christian to “save” as many people as possible from the fiery flames of hell (see bullet point 6). But I am afraid we have not bothered to take a deeper look at this verse and it has been to the detriment of our spiritual formation.
This passage comes after Jesus speaks of his death and resurrection, telling his disciples that he would soon be gone from this world. When his disciples find themselves confused, Jesus explains that he is the way to God. But what does this passage mean? Within the evangelical church, this passage was interpreted as Jesus being our ticket to heaven. As long as we believe in Jesus, we have eternal life. But what if this wasn’t what Jesus meant? What if there is a deeper meaning than simply believing and *poof* you get a mansion in the sky!
I’d like to offer a different perspective on this passage.
When Jesus began this segment of teaching, let us remember that Jesus first shared about his coming crucifixion, and then he stated: I am the way. What is this way Jesus is talking about? Jesus was a wise and clever teacher, purposefully using parables and stories in an attempt to break through our perceptions. We need to slow down and read carefully what Jesus is saying (or not saying). One of the major key tenets of good hermeneutics (the study of scripture) is letting scripture interpret scripture. In other words, it’s helpful to know the big picture or context of each passage. In this case, we see throughout the gospels a single message that confuses many of his followers, and especially his disciples: Jesus is going to die and not only die but die willingly.
From that time on Jesus began to explain to his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things at the hands of the elders, the chief priests and the teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and on the third day be raised to life. Matthew 16:21
He then began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests and the teachers of the law, and that he must be killedand after three days rise again. Mark 8:31
saying, “The Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised.” Luke 9:21
But throughout the gospels, Jesus not only talks about his death, he invites us to die with him.
Then Jesus told his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what shall a man give in return for his soul? Matthew 16:24-26
Then he said to them all: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me.” Luke 9:23
Jesus replied, “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. Very truly I tell you, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds. Anyone who loves their life will lose it, while anyone who hates their life in this world will keep it for eternal life. John 12:23-25
What if the way Jesus is speaking about in John 14:6 isn’t about himself but about his death?
In one sense, Jesus, even in talking about his death is still talking about himself but I am afraid we’ve missed a big part of this passage when we only focus on Jesus (or the singular idea of belief in Jesus) and miss the implications of that very belief. Here’s the thing I think we’ve missed when we solely focus on a singular interpretation of just believing:
It’s much easier to worship Jesus than it is to follow him.
Even the main message of both Jesus and John the Baptist was “repent” or “turn away” and follow. And yet, it’s much easier to make Jesus into our piety pet to make us feel secure and protected than it is to follow his teachings. And like any other pet, we busy ourselves taking care of Jesus by being good owners, following all the right steps to ensure we get the best outcome. But Jesus isn’t our therapy dog to keep us secure in our salvation or a guard dog that protects us from those who threaten our way of life. Jesus is dangerous. He is a danger to our egos, our self-righteousness, and our cozy perceptions of him. Why do you think his teachings got him killed?! And why do you think Jesus invites us into that death with him? Because it’s the only way to God. I am the way, the truth, and the life, no one comes to come to the Father until he is willing to die. Another difficult passage that highlights this very message is from John 6:53, 54
Jesus said to them, “Very truly I tell you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise them up at the last day.”
This passage makes the invitation even more clear. There is no other way to God than to participate in Christ’s death (Romans 6:5).
Sanctification isn’t just about believing in Jesus and generating a litany of pious religious tasks. Those behaviors are meaningless without inner transformation. If we aren’t willing to visit our own personal tombs over and over again, trusting that Jesus will give us life, then we are simply modern-day Pharisees offering the world lip service when in fact our hearts are far from Jesus. Christianity, at its true core, has always been a faith of descent. The downward mobility of faith in Christ is radically counterintuitive, making the first last and the last first1. If we dare to truly follow Jesus, we will die and be resurrected over and over again in this life.
I don’t blame or condemn anyone who thinks differently than I do. The church doesn’t teach this message often. The church holds a significant place in forming our faith but I am afraid we often miss the point of some of these key teachings. We are guilty of creating checklists of beliefs and behaviors to win God’s favor (which, by the way, continues to feed our egos) instead of offering the world a path that helps uncover our truest selves which can only be found in God. But the pathway is not one of power, popularity, or prudence but comes only in the shape of a cross.
May we be willing to walk the way of death and find there is indeed resurrection.
Peace and every good,
P.S. Lent begins this Wednesday, February 14th on Ash Wednesday. From dust you came and to dust you will return. Lent is a perfect season to discover what it means to participate in the death of Christ. If you are unfamiliar with this season, Lent has three major themes: fasting, almsgiving, and prayer, and goes over 40 days till Easter. Each Sunday acts like a mini-Easter, where you can take up for a single day what you have been fasting from as a reminder that resurrection is right around the corner. How will you be participating in Lent this year?
Matthew 20:16
Love this colette. Reminds me of a quote Howard Thurman uses in Jesus and the Disinherited:
"To some God and Jesus may appeal in a way other than to us: some may come to faith in God and to love, without a conscious attachment to Jesus. Both nature and good men besides Jesus may lead us to God. They who seek God with all their hearts must, however, some day on their way meet Jesus." (Heinrich Weinel, "Jesus in the Nineteenth Century and After")
Very interesting take! As for my Lent: in response to your share via the Wild Church newsletter, I went down a rabbit hole of Lenten devotionals. I ended up purchasing "Sacred Belonging: A 40-Day Devotional on the Liberating Heart of Scripture". It's not exclusively a Lent-themed devotional, but it seemed like it might be of interest to me at this season in my life. I hope it is a good season for you!