Distinctively LORD

Many theology degrees include classes in Comparative Religions yet Jesus was not a participant in that kind of religion for He is Distinctive. All the way back on January 24 we looked at the “I AM” ¹ declaration of God which sets Him apart from all other gods. Today we continue through John 8 with several glimpses at that distinctiveness.

Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” ²

Jesus is direct about what He is and what He isn’t. He goes on when challenged by the Pharisees that they do not understand as much as they profess.

So he said to them again, “I am going away, and you will seek me, and you will die in your sin. Where I am going, you cannot come.” So the Jews said, “Will he kill himself, since he says, ‘Where I am going, you cannot come’?” He said to them, “You are from below; I am from above. You are of this world; I am not of this world. I told you that you would die in your sins, for unless you believe that I am he you will die in your sins.”… So Jesus said to them, “When you have lifted up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am he, and that I do nothing on my own authority, but speak just as the Father taught me. And he who sent me is with me. He has not left me alone, for I always do the things that are pleasing to him.” ³

Because the LORD is beyond Creation, is Himself the Creator, He has no expectation that we comprehend Him beyond what He reveals to us and even then, understanding must be through belief that He is the Revealer of Himself.⁴ He ‘is not of this world’ and operates beyond our grasp and with an Authority that is of the LORD. We are not given to consistency and cannot claim as He does, “I always do the things that are pleasing to Him.”

Then there is the distinctive of not being self-seeking in the sense of creating anew His own identity:

Yet I do not seek my own glory; there is One who seeks it, and he is the judge.⁵ 

Mankind seeks to do it our own way (rebellion in Garden of Eden) and even a third of the angels were cast out of heaven for following Satan in his desire to glorify himself above the LORD.⁶ After Jesus reminds, ‘Yet I do not seek my own glory’ He returns to the Truth of who He is eternally: Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I am” ⁷ which alludes back to the “I AM” revealing of the LORD in Exodus. There is no other god who is the Pre-Existing One.
Finally, in John 10:7-15, He again uses the symbolism’s of the Door and the Good Shepherd,

So Jesus again said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep…if anyone enters by me, he will be saved and will go in and out and find pasture. 10 The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.
I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep… I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me, just as the Father knows me and I know the Father; and I lay down my life for the sheep.⁸  

Have you taken the time to appreciate just how different your LORD is from all those other gods that we create for ourselves and serve with our appetites? This is the LORD who has not only created us but when we rebelled, loved us enough to make the Way for us to return back to Him if we would only agree with who He is, what we need, and His ability to provide an exchanged heart. What a Distinctive God!