MYTH #23-CHRIST IS JESUS' LAST NAME

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This myth is a simple one. We so often refer to Jesus as JESUS CHRIST that it seems like Christ is Jesus' last name. Well, it isn't. That is a myth-a common misunderstanding. The debunking process is very simple-that is, Christ is Jesus' title. It is best translated as "the Christ" or "the Messiah".

Now in order to work our way through this myth I think it's best to examine the title, CHRIST, and then the name, JESUS. FIRST-The term "Christ" literally means to anoint-to rub or smear a symbolic oil or ointment on someone to establish a person in an official position. In the Hebrew culture there were three major offices among the people of Israel-prophet, priest and king. Each of these official positions were filled with people who were anointed-sort of set apart unto the God of gods. These three offices were quite distinct. The prophet spoke God's words to the people-representing God to man. The priest offered sacrifices, prayers and praises to God on behalf of the people-representing man in the presence of God. The king ruled over the people as God's representative on earth-representing the original dominion of man. Each person who was anointed was functioning as a servant of God.

Although these three anointed positions were distinct and exercised by different people in the Old Testament, they are all three united in the one person of the coming Messiah-the Christ. All three are fulfilled and brought to an ultimate conclusion in the Christ. The Christ-the anointed one-was to be God's servant-the Son of Man.

The threefold misery of men required the threefold offices of God's Messiah. The first is ignorance of what God requires and how man falls short. This requires God's prophet. The second is guilt that occurs due to the shortcomings or sins of the people. This requires God's priest. The third misery of man is the bondage and corruption that results from man attempting to rule over man. This requires God's king to rule over His Kingdom.

Therefore, mankind desperately needs the touch and work of God's Messiah-the Christ. Jesus is born of the Spirit of God, taking on flesh to fill all three official positions of the Christ. Jesus then is able to embrace the title of the Christ. He is best known as Jesus, the Christ. To think Christ is Jesus' last name misses the point of the official positions Jesus fulfilled for mankind.

SECOND-The name of Jesus all by itself without the title is highly significant and most powerful. In order to get this in perspective we must go way back to nearly 3500 years ago when Moses was being sent by God to face the people of Israel. Moses said to God, "Suppose I go to the Israelites and say to them, 'The God of your fathers has sent me to you,' and they ask me, 'What is his name?' Then what shall I tell them?" God said to Moses, "I AM WHO I AM. This is what you are to say to the Israelites: 'I AM has sent me to you" (Exodus 3:13-14).

From the beginning God's name was very important. His name is I AM WHO I AM. This personal name of God means that God exists and always has existed. It is spelled in the Hebrew language by four letters without any vowels. It is YHWH. Some ancient rabbis have described the name of God as like taking a breath. It is Yah-weh. And every breath you take is like saying His name. His name is revered so highly by the Jewish people that they wouldn't even pronounce it. Instead they would use the word for "lord" in its place. Even today, most Jews will not spell out the word, God. They usually write it with a hyphen, G-d.

When we come to the time of Jesus, there is a lot of emphasis placed upon the name of Jesus. In the first few verses of John it says, In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. In him was life, and that life was the light of all people. The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only.

Later in John Jesus says, "And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself." What is it about this Jesus that is so attractive? Well, in Acts 4:12 it says, Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name given under heaven by which we must be saved. There is something about that name.

Remember when the Lord spoke to Ananias about what he was to tell Paul, whom Jesus had just apprehended on the road to Damascus. He said, "Go! This man is my chosen instrument to proclaim my name to the Gentiles and their kings and to the people of Israel."

When Jesus prayed to the Father in John 17, He makes an interesting reference about the name of God, "Holy Father, protect them by the power of your name, the name you gave me, so that they may be one as we are one. While I was with them, I protected them and kept them safe by that name you gave me."

So what is the name of God that was given to Jesus? It is Jesus or "Yeshua" in the Hebrew. NOTE what this means. It is a combination of YE, short for Yahweh, and SHUA which means saves. So, the name is YAHWEH SAVES-Yeshua. It's a combination of the name of God given to Moses and the Messianic name given to God in the flesh-Jesus-God saves!

Even more specific is that Jesus makes several claims to being the I AM. When Jesus announced to His disciples He would be leaving, Thomas said, "Lord, we don't know where you are going, so how can we know the way?" Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me."

To think Christ is Jesus' last name not only misses the point of the official positions Jesus fulfilled, but also misses the person of Jesus. Jesus, the Christ-Jesus, the name above all names, and the Christ, the highest position God ever established. To accept this myth is to diminish Jesus the Christ in such a way that He cannot have His way in your life. Always remember, it's Jesus, the Christ.

MYTH #22-JESUS SENT PAUL PRIMARILY TO THE GENTILES

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This myth is so common and is so easily debunked that it becomes a tester for whether or not we are really paying attention to the words of Jesus as recorded in the Gospel writings. How is it possible to have the words of Jesus clearly written, not requiring any linguistic or cultural interpretation, to be so misunderstood and mis-taught? Yet we are finding these kinds of myths all around us.

The greatest damage comes when those who are freshly searching out the teachings and principles of Jesus discover that the traditional teachings don't match up with what Jesus actually did and said. In fact, there is such an undercurrent of concern within Christianity right now over losing the youth. This has been called the last Christian generation and I think there is great reason for this concern. It's because of teaching and holding to the many man-made traditions and teachings that just cannot be established by a simple reading of the life of Jesus. What's lacking is authenticity. This is why we continue to work our way through the many myths that have developed over the years.

This myth has a couple of dimensions. The first dimension is the traditional division that says Peter was sent to the Jews and Paul was sent to the gentiles. That's even the way I was taught how to divide the book of Acts. Acts 1-8 was about Peter and 9-28 was all about Paul.

Again, we just pass on what we've heard and don't take the time to actually read what really happened. In chapter 9 of Acts Paul is on his way to Damascus and Jesus apprehends him there. Let's look in on it: As he neared Damascus on his journey, suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him. He fell to the ground and heard a voice say to him, "Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?" "Who are you, Lord?" Saul asked. "I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting," he replied. "Now get up and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do."

The men traveling with Saul stood there speechless; they heard the sound but did not see anyone. Saul got up from the ground, but when he opened his eyes he could see nothing. So they led him by the hand into Damascus. For three days he was blind, and did not eat or drink anything.

In Damascus there was a disciple named Ananias. The Lord called to him in a vision, "Ananias!" "Yes, Lord," he answered. The Lord told him, "Go to the house of Judas on Straight Street and ask for a man from Tarsus named Saul, for he is praying. In a vision he has seen a man named Ananias come and place his hands on him to restore his sight." "Lord," Ananias answered, "I have heard many reports about this man and all the harm he has done to your people in Jerusalem. And he has come here with authority from the chief priests to arrest all who call on your name."

But the Lord said to Ananias, "Go! This man is my chosen instrument to proclaim my name to the Gentiles and their kings and to the people of Israel. I will show him how much he must suffer for my name."

NOTE who Jesus describes as the focus for Saul's new mission for Jesus-the gentiles, their kings and the people of Israel. It is not just to the gentiles; it's wider than that. Also note what His responsibility is to be. Many miss this! Saul is to proclaim or carry the name of Jesus to the gentiles, their kings and the house of Israel. He is not to take a doctrinal system, but the name of Jesus.

The second dimension of this myth is that there was a Jewish man named Saul who became a Christian and his name was changed to Paul. I remember this being taught in Sunday school as a child. Saul, the Jew, became a Christian and now is called Paul, his Christian name. This simply is not true. Paul is called Saul 13 additional times in Acts. Saul is his name in Hebrew and he was known as Paul among the Romans and Greeks. There is no Christian conversion of a Jew to Christianity implied here at all.

Think about something with me. As I have spent many days in the Acts of Jesus I am seeing Paul in a little different way. In the classic sense of the word, Paul was what we call a Christian today-a follower of the Christ. He was devoted to the Christ-the Messiah, so much so that he was really ticked off with the people of the Way about their views of the Messiah. He was so devoted to the Christ that he was willing to persecute and stop all others who claimed to be followers of the Christ, especially those who disagreed with his view. So here is Paul, a Christian-a follower of the Christ, and as he was acting out his Christian beliefs, Jesus apprehended him on the road to Damascus. I love this! This is what has happened to me. After being educated beyond my intelligence in theology and Bible, Jesus apprehended my life and I hope I never recover from it.

Now, I am a stubborn follower of Jesus to proclaim or bear the name of Jesus in every way I can. Whereas I used to defend Christianity; now I all I want to do is advance the conversation about Jesus. How about you? What are you arguing about or advancing in your relationships?

MYTH #21-JESUS' MESSAGE IS SPREAD BEST BY TALKING

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This myth has become universal in its impact and yet more and more people are understanding its limitations. By believing that the best way to spread the Good News message of Jesus is by talking, you are very limited in your perspective and probably not that effective.

We have called this method of talking the Gospel-witnessing. Many classes and seminars have been given to help believers know how to talk more effectively and yet most people carry a lot of guilt because they are unable to get their mouths to work when it comes to witnessing.

The damage here is, at least, fourfold: FIRST-You limit yourself to getting people to hear your pastor or teacher. Getting people into the church service becomes the most important thing you can do to spread the message of Jesus.

SECOND-You become a preacher. It's been my experience that people don't respond well to you breaking out into preaching. If they wanted to hear you preach, they would ask you to start a church.

THIRD-You become deductive-telling others what and how to believe. This takes away from the heart of the Good News. The Good News message is entirely relational. But if you think talking is the best way to spread the message, you will be spreading a system of beliefs rather than a simple and dynamic relationship with Jesus.

FOURTH-You tend to think in terms of finding out what the best argument is for a given group or flavor of people, so you can approach them more effectively. This focuses you on what your differences are with those who are not your particular flavor and not what you might have in common.

To debunk this myth I want to share only from the words of Jesus as to how to spread His message. The four ways Jesus teaches may not be exhaustive, but they are powerful.

FIRST-Jesus says that your lifestyle will be a light to those who are looking on. "You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven." (Matthew 5:14-16) NOTE the message of Jesus will be spread through your lifestyle of good works and people will notice in a positive way. Also, note that there is no talking here emphasized.

SECOND-Jesus says that your love for one another will spread His message. "A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another." (John 13:34-35) Note there is no talking emphasized here either.

THIRD-Jesus reveals another way that will have a most definite impact in the world that demonstrates the heart of Jesus. "Then the King will say to those on his right, 'Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.' "Then the righteous will answer him, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?' "The King will reply, 'Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.' (Matthew 25) Here the sacrificial love message of Jesus is spread by being aware of Jesus' heart and that Jesus can be found in those in need in our world-the hungry, the thirsty, the naked, the stranger, the sick, and those in prison. Jesus also spoke directly to those who didn't notice Jesus in the midst of the needy. "He will reply, 'Truly I tell you, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.' When we are aware of the poor and needy around us, we are demonstrating the heart of Jesus in our world. Jesus always sought them out and so should we. And when we do, the attractiveness of the sacrificial love of Jesus shines through. Again, there is no talking here.

FOURTH-Jesus sends His twelve disciples out on a mission. Note what He sends them to do: Jesus called his twelve disciples to him and gave them authority to drive out evil spirits and to heal every disease and sickness. As you go, proclaim this message: 'The kingdom of heaven has come near.' Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse those who have leprosy, drive out demons.

Jesus goes on to say that there will be certain divine appointments that they are going to have and doesn't want them to worry about what they will say. He says, "Be on your guard; you will be handed over to the local councils and be flogged in the synagogues. On my account you will be brought before governors and kings as witnesses to them and to the Gentiles. But when they arrest you, do not worry about what to say or how to say it. At that time you will be given what to say, for it will not be you speaking, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you."

FINALLY, Jesus encourages them to say something. He says three things about talking. 1. He will give His disciples authority and power to go spread the message. 2. He gave them the primary theme of their message. It was the message of the presence of the Kingdom. 3. Don't worry about what you will say when you are in a divine appointment, because Jesus promises you that you will be given the appropriate things to say.

So, quit talking so much and start embracing Jesus as a lifestyle, learn how to love one another and take on the heart of Jesus for those in need, then He will give you what to say when you need it. St. Francis of Assisi put this myth in perspective with his famous statement: "Preach the Gospel at all times and when necessary use words."

MYTH #20-JESUS TAKES A STAND AGAINST SINNERS

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This can be a subtle, deceptive myth. It's popular within much of Christianity to "take a stand" against sin and sinners. Therefore Christianity is known for its stands-political stands, values stands, stands against homosexuality, against same-sex marriage, against abortion and on and on and on.

There are three damages here: FIRST-When your emphasis is to "take a stand against" something or someone, you become known for your gloom and doom attitude and turn off those who are looking on.

SECOND-Even though you may have great intentions to fight against corruption, you will find yourself standing against the same people you want to share the good news with. It's very difficult to have it both ways, as we've discussed in an earlier myth.

THIRD-The greatest damage is that by following this myth, you will most certainly miss the example of Jesus and His Good News message.

To debunk this myth I want to share a few observations. FIRST-Jesus didn't take a stand against sinners. There were two kinds of people in the days of Jesus-the religious and the sinners. Jesus didn't seem to have any difficulty with the sinners at all, but His constant struggles and battles were against the religious.

SECOND-Jesus didn't take a stand against sinners; He stood side by side with them.

THIRD-Jesus didn't take a stand against sinners; He even sought them out to hang out with them.

Let's check out a few illustrations of Jesus standing side by side and even hanging out with sinners. When Matthew, a tax-collector, was called by Jesus, there is an interesting scene at dinner in Mark 2: Once again Jesus went out beside the lake. A large crowd came to him, and he began to teach them. As he walked along, he saw Levi son of Alphaeus sitting at the tax collector's booth. "Follow me," Jesus told him, and Levi got up and followed him.

While Jesus was having dinner at Levi's house, many tax collectors and sinners were eating with him and his disciples, for there were many who followed him. When the teachers of the law who were Pharisees saw him eating with the sinners and tax collectors, they asked his disciples: "Why does he eat with tax collectors and sinners?" On hearing this, Jesus said to them, "It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners."

In Matthew 11:19 it is recorded: The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, 'Here is a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners.' That's how He was identified with respect to sinners-as their friend.

In Luke 7 Jesus has another interesting encounter with sinners: When one of the Pharisees invited Jesus to have dinner with him, he went to the Pharisee's house and reclined at the table. A woman in that town who lived a sinful life learned that Jesus was eating at the Pharisee's house, so she came there with an alabaster jar of perfume. As she stood behind him at his feet weeping, she began to wet his feet with her tears. Then she wiped them with her hair, kissed them and poured perfume on them. When the Pharisee who had invited him saw this, he said to himself, "If this man were a prophet, he would know who is touching him and what kind of woman she is-that she is a sinner." Jesus allowing sinners to be near Him and touch Him really stirred up the religious leaders.

Then in Luke 15: Now the tax collectors and sinners were all gathering around to hear Jesus. But the Pharisees and the teachers of the law muttered, "This man welcomes sinners and eats with them." And again Luke records in chapter 19: All the people saw this and began to mutter, "He has gone to be the guest of a sinner."

Jesus didn't stand against sinners, so why should we? Jesus identified with them, loved them and sought them out, so why don't we? Jesus went to the sinners instead of inviting them to come to an event He was leading. This is precisely where I believe we have gone wrong for so many years. We seem to think the most effective way to reach out to people in need of God is to invite them to come to us rather than going to them. By the way, the early Jesus movement did not grow through promoting large events and building large facilities, inviting the world to come and join them. The spontaneous expansion of the church of Jesus spread by contagious followers of Jesus touching other individuals and families with the Good News of the love of Jesus.

One more thing is important here. The modern day Jesus movement is spreading spontaneously and massively throughout the world by taking Jesus into the marketplace. The Jesus movement is all about standing with the sinners-the non-religious-hanging out with them in their world. It's not about standing against the sinners and pointing them out, but about standing with them and pointing them to Jesus.

MYTH #19-'JESUS PLUS NOTHING' IS SIMPLER AND EASIER TO LIVE

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My favorite verse that Paul penned is in the second letter he wrote to the followers of Jesus in the city of Corinth. He said, "I am afraid as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, that your minds might be led astray from the simplicity and purity of devotion to the Christ."

Over the last 6 years we have come to understand what it means to embrace the message of "Jesus plus nothing". To embrace this is to embark on a diligent process of removing the man-made add-ons that have been attached to Jesus. When you start out in this process, it is easy to get caught up in the simplicity and purity of devotion to Jesus. At first, it's easy to drop off many of these add-ons. I mean, many of them are so obviously in the way and a distraction from Jesus.

Here's where the myth emerges. I hear it more often than I'd like. I hear people say: "I've never found anything so easy in all my life. It's easy to follow Jesus." This is it! If you feel this way, then I'm not sure you quite "get it" yet. On a certain level, this might be understandable in that you don't have to stuff your mind and life with all of the legalistic add-on stuff. But there is a myth here just the same.

I am returning to the decision I made when Jesus apprehended my life in a fresh way a few years ago. I said then and mean it more today: "I'm trying to do the most difficult thing I've ever done in my life-to follow the teachings and principles of Jesus."

"Jesus plus nothing" is simple and easy to understand, however living this kind of lifestyle is not so simple and easy. This is clearly seen in a few of the interactions with Jesus. It's much easier to just operate your life with a checklist, and then check them off as you do them. "Jesus plus nothing" is not a system of do's and don'ts-a system of beliefs or a checklist. It's a relationship-a day-in-day-out relationship with Jesus.

One of these interactions with Jesus is found in the Gospel of John (John 6): Jesus answered, "Very truly I tell you, you are looking for me, not because you saw the signs I performed but because you ate the loaves and had your fill. Do not work for food that spoils, but for food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. On him God the Father has placed his seal of approval."

Then they asked him, "What must we do to do the works God requires?" Jesus answered, "The work of God is this: to believe in the one he has sent."

So they asked him, "What sign then will you give that we may see it and believe you? What will you do? Our ancestors ate the manna in the wilderness; as it is written: 'He gave them bread from heaven to eat.'"

Jesus said to them, "Very truly I tell you, it is not Moses who has given you the bread from heaven, but it is my Father who gives you the true bread from heaven. For the bread of God is the bread that comes down from heaven and gives life to the world." "Sir," they said, "always give us this bread." Then Jesus declared, "I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.

But here is the bread that comes down from heaven, which people may eat and not die. I am the living bread that came down from heaven. Whoever eats of this bread will live forever. This bread is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world." On hearing it, many of his disciples said, "This is a hard teaching. Who can accept it?"

From this time many of his disciples turned back and no longer followed him. "You do not want to leave too, do you?" Jesus asked the Twelve. Simon Peter answered him, "Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. We have come to believe and to know that you are the Holy One of God."

Here you have a very difficult time among the many disciples. When Jesus made Himself out to be the bread of life-the new manna in town, He invited them into a personal, intimate relationship with Him. It's like eating of the bread-taking me into your lives in such a way that you ingest me. Because of this difficult challenge by Jesus to come into a dynamic relationship with Him and learn to trust Him, many left Him.

Where did they go? I think they went back to the simple and easy life of going to Synagogue each week and dropped out of the Jesus movement. It was just too difficult to struggle through cultivating a relationship with Jesus.

It's the same today. The "Jesus plus nothing" lifestyle is not simpler and easier. If you believe that, you are mything out! I am committed to being a stubborn follower of Jesus and this is the most difficult thing I've ever tried to do in my life. The internal struggles are tough, but so worth it. How do you do the works of God? Get caught up into obeying, waiting and trusting Jesus for everything, then you'll have the satisfaction of doing the work of God.