The exclusivity of Jesus is not something the early church “grew into” after they had time to work out the details.
As early as Acts 4 we find Peter and John arrested for preaching about Jesus rising bodily from the dead. Their arrest, however, didn’t deal with the problem because, as it says in verse 4: “…many of those who listened to the message believed…” The next step was obvious: a trail before the Sanhedrin court.
As part of the trial, Peter finds himself before a crowd and thus preaches the truths of God and the importance of Jesus. The same Jesus whom they crucified but whom God raised from the dead. Peter continues by not only testifying to the centrality of Jesus, but to the exclusivity of Jesus.
“And there is salvation in no one else,
for there is no other name under heaven
that is given among people
by which it is necessary to be saved.” (Acts 4:12)
Really?
No one else?
This is a bit intolerant, isn’t it?
Of course it is!
Why in the world would the early church be tolerant to any view that said someone other than Jesus was their salvation? There was no one else to go to, because no one else had said or done the things Jesus said and did. Further than that, no one else had been killed and yet rose bodily to life from the dead. Finally, no one else had offered this gift of deliverance to the world like Jesus.
“I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” (John 8:12)
And here in lies the wonderfully inclusive nature of the the strict exclusivity of Jesus. The church testified then and, when in her right mind today, continues to testify to the truth that there is salvation in no other than Jesus. All the while announcing this message of good news not to a special group of people or a particular part of the world, but to all people everywhere no matter who they are.
John saw the reality of this truth while exiled to Patmos. In his words: After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb” (Revelation 7:9).
There are many so-called lambs out there offering a so-called salvation. But there’s only one to whom the great multitude will stand before in the end.