Jesus is the Most Inclusive and Most Exclusive

Text: John 14:1-14

“Jesus answered, ‘I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.’” —John 14:6

Issues of inclusion and exclusion lie at the heart of our society’s most contested social issues. I find it ironic that today some of the most self-proclaimed inclusion advocates have little room in their world for people of differing views. It seems that the people boasting the loudest about their own “inclusiveness,” are the same ones having their list of social “acceptables” getting smaller by the day.

Here is the question that none of us can avoid: Is Jesus inclusive or exclusive? The answer is both. Jesus was indeed the most inclusive person ever to walk this earth. From the lowliest outcast to the wealthiest and most corrupt (think Zacchaeus), and every social class in between, Jesus made room at the table for every person He encountered. No one in the history of the world has ever been more inclusive to people who have messed up their own lives, than the person of Jesus. Not one repentant sinner has He ever shunned or rejected— “whoever comes to me I will never cast out” (John 6:37). Not one!

In other words, the Gospel is entirely inclusive—Christ offered truth, forgiveness, freedom, peace, and reconciliation with God to every single person on the planet. Unfortunately, most people will never take Him up on this offer. Jesus himself said, “Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.”

Though no one in history has ever been more inclusive of sinners than Jesus, neither has any person on this planet ever been more intolerant of sin. Jesus—perfectly divine—cannot be holy and tolerant of sin at the same time.

The incarnation is most indubitably God’s manifest salvation for every sinner, which includes all of us (Romans 3:23). However, Christ’s incarnation has never been about God’s “tolerance of sin” wrapped in human flesh. On the contrary, it is God’s intolerance of sin that brought about Jesus’ manifestation in human form and sentenced Him to a substitutionary death (see Romans 3:20; 5:8, and 2 Corinthians 5:21). God didn’t sweep our sin under the rug; He condemned it on the cross. If God could “tolerate” sin, Jesus would’ve never needed to die on the cross. Therefore, it was His intolerance that did the dirty work of atonement. The reason why we can be accepted by God as undeserving sinners, is the fact that God didn’t tolerate our sin, but rather dealt with it justly on the cross. Our holy and righteous God, whose “eyes are too pure to look on evil” and “cannot tolerate wrongdoing” (Habakkuk 1:13), made a way for our sin to be atoned for and obliterated once and for all through the sacrificial death of Jesus.

The blood of Jesus carries the only merit for our salvation, which means Christ has an exclusive monopoly on the path to being reconciled with God. This Christ said, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” The scandal of Christianity is that Jesus is the only way. The early disciples proclaimed: “And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved,” and “For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus.”

Some will be offended by the inclusivity of Jesus. Others will be offended by the exclusivity of Jesus. He is in that sense, doubly offensive. In either offense, the root is a heart issue that refuses to acknowledge one’s own sin. In other words, the only way the Gospel isn’t good news to you is if you think you are good enough, righteous enough, or pure enough in your own flesh that you don’t need a Savior. This is the kind of pride that a holy, just, and inclusive God finds utterly offensive.

Consider: Jesus is the most inclusive person ever. But He still offends people. Jesus also couldn’t have been more exclusive with the truth that He is the only the way to God. And this still offends people. It is human pride that brings about the offense, not the measure of inclusivity or exclusivity of Jesus. Don’t aim to win the award for being the most inclusive person (Jesus already owns that!). Don’t fear being labeled an exclusive person (Jesus already has a monopoly on that!). Focus on the more eternally significant issue of being a faithful follower of Jesus. Think about that as you seek to abide in Him this week.

PRAYER

Heavenly Father, help me not to fret over being inclusive or exclusive. Jesus continues to offend folks who think He is too much of one or the other, and as I follow Him, I too will be found offensive. Remind me there are no rewards in heaven for being praised by man, only rewards for being faithful to You. Help me to be faithful, in Jesus’ name, Amen.

Questions for Personal Reflection or Group Discussion:

1. In our modern society, what is a picture of inclusivity? Exclusivity?
2. What makes people more conscious of being labeled “inclusive” or “exclusive” rather than simply being Christ-conscious?
3. What is the Good News of today’s text in John 14? Is there a beauty in this passage as it pertains to Christ’s exclusive promise?
4. In what ways can you become more Christ-conscious, rather than living in conscious fear of how people are labeling you?
5. Is there a sin of pride, self-sufficiency, or fear of man that you need to confess to God?