The Lies Jesus Told

Jesus declared Himself "the Truth" (John 14:6). He only spoke truth. He didn't lie ... because God cannot lie (Titus 1:2). So why did we get so many lies from Him?

Jesus said, "I am the door; if anyone enters through Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture" (John 10:9). Really? Where is the handle, the hinges? Jesus told the woman at the well, "Everyone who drinks of this water will thirst again; but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him shall never thirst; but the water that I will give him will become in him a well of water springing up to eternal life" (John 4:13-14). Jesus said, "I am the bread of life; he who comes to Me will not hunger, and he who believes in Me will never thirst" (John 6:35). Really? We all still hunger and thirst. Jesus walked out of the desert where He was tempted and walked into the synagogue and read Isaiah 61:1-2 (Luke 4:18-19), announcing the gospel to the poor, the release of the captives, the recovery of sight to the blind, the freedom for the oppressed. He declared, "Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing" (Luke 4:21). But ... Jesus lived and died and, with some exception, the poor were still there (Matt 26:11), the captives were still captive, the blind were still blind, and the oppressed remained oppressed. It was fulfilled?

Just a smattering of examples, but clearly they could not be taken at bare face value. Clearly it's not as simple as that. He called Himself "the good shepherd" (John 10:11) but never appears to have herded any sheep. Because, as I'm sure you understand, He wasn't being blatantly literal. He was being metaphorical. If we are to properly understand Jesus, we need to hear carefully. So when He claimed to be "the door," we understand Him to say He is "the access point" to spiritual salvation. When we hear Him talk about His "water" or being "the bread of life," we understand Him to be speaking of satisfying spiritual thirst and hunger ... the kind that is blessed (Matt 5:6). And when He speaks of "the gospel" that is good news to everyone, it isn't about fixing poverty or injustice; it's about spiritual poverty and blindness, captivity, oppression ... and, as He declared on the cross, "It is finished" (John 19:30) As Jesus claimed, "This is the will of Him who sent Me, that of all that He has given Me I lose nothing, but raise it up on the last day" (John 6:39). So ... Jesus didn't lie. We just need to properly understand Him.