You have wandered into The Mystic Region of

Witchcraft and the Bible Exerpts from the forthcoming book

By D.F. Stallings

Chapter 4__________________Who is Jesus?

There are many opinions floating around about the person of Jesus Christ. No other individual in history has been at the center of heated debate and controversy more than Him. Because of this, the Church has become divided into many so-called orthodox denominations. Even within these organizations there is evidence of divided denominational factions. It would appear that the people within these many factions are so busy fighting and arguing with one another that they have forgotten their primary objective—love. As a result, the outside observer gets the message that Christianity is a religion of strife, confusion, and division. This is very contradictory to the message that these churches are supposedly meant to emulate. In truth: love, peace, and unity are the primary objectives of one who has a relationship with God. Therefore, Christianity is meant to be a relationship rather than a religion. The outside observer comes from a world of distress in the hopes of finding sanctuary. Such religious settings just don't have it. After observing the problems within organized religion, it would seem that the pagans have it more together. In fact, it is the pagans who have taken up the cup of love, peace, and unity. In doing so, they have gained the support of most of the world. It is no wonder that organized church is quickly dying off as the world looks elsewhere for answers. The sad truth is, these selfish ambitions have distracted the majority from the Gospel message which is meant to represent good news. Therefore, in order to find answers to the dilemmas of our irrational human understanding, one needs to look less at the flaws of religious infidelity and more at the actual text of Holy Scripture. It is here that the actual teachings of Christianity originated. Since this is our objective, that is just what we will do! In the midst of a world of mixed opinion, there will always be diverse answers to: Who is Jesus? There are those who believe Jesus to be God. Yet, there are those skeptics who say that Jesus never really made this claim of himself. These also claim (as was covered in Chapter 2, Part II) that He was nothing more than a great teacher or prophet of God. If they really believed this, then why don't the individuals who make this claim listen to His teachings and obey them? Just what claims did He make of Himself and what were His teachings? Setting aside for a moment all of the personal problems of misconception as well as preconceived notions, let's just let Jesus' own words speak directly to our hearts. "Do not let your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me...I am the Way, and the Truth, and the Life. No one comes to the Father except through Me. If you had known Me, you would have known my Father also; and from now on you do know Him, and have seen Him. And Philip said to Him, Lord, show us the Father, and it is enough for us. Jesus said to him, Am I so long a time with you, and you have not known Me, Philip? The one seeing Me has seen the Father. And how do you say, Show us the Father? Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in Me? The words which I speak to you I do not speak from Myself, but the Father who abides in Me, He does the works. Believe Me that I am in the Father, and the Father is in Me; but if not, believe Me because of the works themselves."—Here Jesus is telling us that in the same way that we believe in God, we are to believe in Him. He is claiming to be the only way to God as well. He is also telling us that by seeing Him and knowing Him we are able to know God. The only way we can do this today is to know what He taught and to absorb His teachings into our everyday way of life. This is the path that will ultimately lead us straight to the door. "Truly, truly, I say to you, the one not entering through the door into the sheepfold, but going up by another way, that one is a thief and a robber. But the one entering through the door is the shepherd of the sheep. The doorkeeper opens to Him, and the sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name, and leads them out. And when he puts forth his own sheep, he goes in front of them, and the sheep follow him because they know his voice. But they never follow a stranger, but will flee from him, because they do not know the voice of the strangers...Truly, truly, I say to you that I am the door of the sheep. All who came before Me are thieves and robbers; but the sheep did not hear them. I am the door. If anyone enters through Me, he (or she) will be saved, and will go in, and will go out, and will find pasture. The thief does not come except that he may steal, and kill, and destroy. I have come that they may have life, and may have it abundantly. I am the Good Shepherd! The good Shepherd lays down His life for the sheep...I am the Good Shepherd, and I know those that are mine; and I am known by the ones that are mine...and I have other sheep which are not of this fold. I must also lead those, and they will hear my voice; and there will be one flock, one shepherd."—Here we see an emphasis on the previous notion that He is the Way. He contrasts this with the idea that if anyone teaches another way to God, that person is in reality a thief whose primary goal is to kill and to destroy. He goes on to say that He is the Good Shepherd and that His sheep will hear His voice. He backs up His claim by prophesying that He will lay down His life for His followers. He then explains that despite the human error of divided religious factions, there will be one flock and only one Shepherd. As we wander through the wilderness of this world, we attempt to fill our hungry souls with something spiritual. It is for this spiritual hunger that Jesus tells us "...My Father gives you the true bread out of Heaven. For the bread of God is the One coming down out of Heaven and giving life to the world...I am the Bread of life; the one coming to Me will not at all hunger, and the one believing into Me will never ever thirst. But I said to you that you also have seen Me and did not believe. All that the Father gives to Me will come to Me, and the one coming to Me I will in no way cast out. For I have come down out of heaven, not that I should do My will, but the will of Him who sent Me. And this is the will of the Father who has sent Me, that of all that He has given Me, I shall not lose any of it, but shall raise it up in the last day. And this is the will of the One who sent Me, that everyone seeing he Son and believing into Him should have everlasting life; and I will raise him up at the last day...No one is able to come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him (or her) and I will raise him up in the last day...Truly, truly, I say to you, the one believing into Me has everlasting life. I am the bread of life...I am the living bread that came down from Heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he (or she) will live forever. And indeed the bread which I will give is My flesh, which I will give for the life of the world...even as the living Father sent Me, and I live through the Father, also the one partaking Me, even that one will live through Me. This is the bread which came down out of Heaven...the one partaking of this bread will live to the age...It is the Spirit that makes alive. The flesh does not profit—nothing! The words which I speak to you are spirit and are life. But there are some of you who are not believing. For Jesus knew from the beginning who the not believing ones were, and who was the one betraying Him. And He said, for this reason I have told you that no one is able to come to Me except it is given to him from My Father." —It is quite evident in Jesus' teaching that He claims to have come down out of Heaven. This is quite a claim for one who is simply a teacher or a prophet. In His claim to be the living bread, He is telling us that His words are spiritual food for life. This is not simply earthly life but also everlasting life. He further clarifies His point as He tells us that the flesh does not profit, nothing. Therefore, according to Jesus we must look past the flesh desires in order to move into spiritual things. The Father draws us to Jesus, His words give us spiritual insight, and it is the Holy Spirit that makes alive. In essence, Jesus is alluding to the Trinitarian nature of God. Those who find this concept difficult to swallow are very much like those spoken of in John 6.66—"From this time many of His disciples went away into the things behind (most likely their previous way of life), and no longer walked with Him. Therefore, Jesus said to the twelve, do you also wish to go? Then Simon Peter answered Him, Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of everlasting life. And we have believed and have known that You are the Christ, the Son of the living God." —Everyone falls into one of these two camps: those who do not believe in His words, or those who believe Him to have the words of everlasting life. Thus, admitting Him to be the Christ, the son of the living God as did Peter and the remaining disciples. Their profession flies in the face of those who would say contrary. If this statement were false, then it would stand to reason that Jesus would have corrected them at this point. . .