Truth Has a Name: The Mountain Revelations
Standards of Christian Living – Part I
The Truth in a Confused World
We live in a world where some say that truth is relative and that absolutes don’t exist. Others insist that truth can be found, but only within the boundaries of their own religion—Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, Scientology, Mormonism, and others. The founders of these religions may have expressed kernels of insight, but none of them possessed truth in its fullness. Truth has a name, His name is Jesus Christ. In Jesus only is found ultimate truth.
Jesus said to Thomas, one of the apostles:
“...I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.”
– John 14:6
I am bold to say that Jesus is the truth—there is no other truth. He alone is the way to the Father and to heaven; no one else can take you there. He is the only one who can give you life—eternal life. Apostle Paul says:
“For we cannot oppose the truth, but must always stand for the truth.”
– 2 Corinthians 13:8 NLT
It doesn’t matter what people believe—this is the truth, any other message or “revelation” is a lie. The Bible is the only book that constitutes comprehensive truth, and we must not be shy or ashamed to proclaim it. Let me illustrate this with the story of an encounter Jesus had in John chapter 4.
Quest for Truth: The Samaritan Woman
Jesus began a conversation with a Samaritan woman at a well. He longed to reveal Himself to her, but she was unfortunately more interested in the religious and cultural controversies of her day—something that, in many ways, mirrors the culture-war dynamics we get caught up in today.
Christian believers today spend so much time fighting today’s culture wars rather than preaching and speaking the truth. We end up contributing to division instead of healing, diverting attention from the gospel and pushing non-believers away rather than drawing them in.
To be clear, I am not talking about compromising essential and explicit truths or staying silent about the moral degradation of society. But I am concerned that a segment of the church has become fixated on culture wars—though I’ll leave that for another post.
One of those cultural issues the woman raised, in verse 20, was about the right place to worship—on a certain mountain—Mount Gerizim, according to the Samaritans, or in Jerusalem, according to the Jews. Although the Samaritans were descendants of Jacob, they followed a version of the Mosaic law that differed from the Jewish tradition. Jesus did not get lost in the weeds of debate but said plainly:
“You worship what you do not know; we know what we worship, for salvation is of the Jews.”
– John 4:22
Notice that Jesus said the Samaritans didn’t even know whom they worshiped. As Christian believers, we must be unapologetic about preaching the truth and unafraid to tell non-Christian believers that they have believed a lie.
There is no truth outside of Jesus—not from Muhammed (Islam), Buddha (Buddhism), Confucius (Confucianism/ethical philosophy), Joseph Smith (Mormonism), or Ron Hubbard (Scientology). Hebrews says:
“In the past God spoke to our ancestors through the prophets at many times and in various ways, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom also he made the universe.”
– Hebrews 1:1-2 NIV
Jesus is that Son of God. There is no other messenger of God, no greater prophet. Jesus is the fullness of divine revelation.
The Mountain Revelation - Jesus is the Last Voice
On the Mount of Transfiguration (Matthew 17:1–8), where Jesus briefly assumed His glorified body and Moses and Elijah appeared beside Him, Peter misunderstood what he was seeing. He placed Jesus on the same level as Moses and Elijah, saying:
“...Lord, it is good for us to be here; if You wish, let us make here three tabernacles: one for You, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.”
– verse 4
A tabernacle is a place of worship—a temple. The New Life Version makes this clearer:
“Lord, it is good for us to be here. If You will let us, we will build three altars here. One will be for You and one for Moses and one for Elijah.”
– verse 4 NLV
Altars, like tabernacles, represent places of worship. Peter thought Moses and Elijah were Jesus’ equals. But God responded immediately:
“...This is My much-loved Son, I am very happy with Him. Listen to Him!”
– verse 5 NLV
God was declaring that Jesus is His final voice to humanity—not Moses or Elijah, and certainly not Muhammed, Buddha or any other person. God said to listen to Jesus. This means His words stand above all prophets and even the apostles—not because they contradicted Him, but because He is the ultimate authority.
Jesus Himself said:
“...Now this is eternal life: that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent.”
– John 17:3 NIV
A New Series: “You Have Heard… But I Say to You”
This is the first part of a new series, and everything I’ve said lays the foundation for what comes next.
Jesus is the truth and the final authority on truth and divine revelation. One of the clearest demonstrations of this authority is found in His message on the mount—what we commonly call the Sermon on the Mount.
In this new series, I will focus on Jesus’ five “You have heard” statements beginning in Matthew 5:21. In each one, Jesus follows with:
“But I say to you.”
This is Jesus declaring that He alone holds ultimate truth. Everything He says supersedes anything anyone else has said—including Moses, the prophets, the apostles, and all others. Anyone who speaks contrary to what Jesus has spoken is a liar.
Each time He says, “But I say to you,” He is raising the standard of Christian living, correcting inaccurate interpretations of Scripture, clarifying what God truly intended, or even changing the law itself. He can do this because—as we have seen—He is God’s Son, the Truth, and the final authority on Scripture.
I’ll be dissecting those five “You have heard” statements in the next parts. Stay tuned.