The difference between the almost right word and the right word is really a large matter. ’tis the difference between the lightning bug and the lightning. ~ Mark Twain
Imagine reading John 1:1-2 and then changing Twain’s quote to be this:
“The difference between the almost right Word and the right Word is really a large matter.”
He’d be spot on!
When someone talks about Jesus, sometimes they aren’t talking about the biblical, eternal, trinitarian God-man. And while it’s one thing to compare what the Qur’an and the Bible teach about Jesus (not the same Jesus, and the difference is more obvious), it is more subtle and nuanced if you’re talking about the “Jesus” of Mormonism, Jehovah’s Witnesses, and the like.
And this is a big deal. It’s “lightning bug vs. lighting” big. It’s “eternal consequences” big.
You don’t have to know everything about every “Jesus” out there to simply ask questions. But you do need to know the real Jesus.
Here’s some good news: He is both quite real and quite knowable.
Because when the time is right, asking “Which Jesus are we talking about?” (figuratively or literally) will lead to the chance to make an introduction to the Jesus you know.