In Zimbabwe, there is a simple musical chorus whose significance for understanding Jesus cannot be overstated. If its powerful lyrics were fully embraced, this piece could unite Christians across denominations. Its melody is straightforward enough to translate easily into other languages, yet the message it carries far surpasses what many celebrated bishops have articulated throughout history.
“Hakuna wakaita sa Jesu. Hakuna wakaita sa ‘ye. Hakuna wakaita sa Jesu. Haku…. Haku huchina. Ndamhanya mhanya kwese kwese. Ndatenderera kwese kwese. Ndatsvaka tsvaka kwese kwese. Haku….Haku…china.”
When loosely translated into English, the chorus proclaims:
“There’s no one, there’s no one like Jesus. There’s no one, there’s no one like Him. There’s no one, there’s no one like Jesus. There’s no one, there’s no one like Him. I ran around everywhere, I searched and searched everywhere. There’s no one, there’s no one like Jesus. There’s no one, there’s no one like Him.”
Everything essential to Christianity becomes clear when this simple chorus is genuinely lived out. While some might dismiss it as unsophisticated due to its simplicity, its words carry a depth beyond what even the most renowned theologians can imagine. Perhaps this echoes what Paul wrote to the Corinthian Christians:
“For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved, it is the power of God. Where is the wise man? Where is the scholar? Where is the philosopher of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? For since in the wisdom of God, the world through its wisdom did not know him, God was pleased through the foolishness of what was preached to save those who believe” (1 Corinthians 1:18-21, NIV).
The Foundation of Christian Faith
Working with Gentile Christians unfamiliar with Jewish law must have presented considerable challenges, yet God remains unlimited in how He chooses to reveal Himself. To guide new believers, Paul explained that he provided them with what he compared to milk rather than solid food, recognizing their need for a basic moral foundation (1 Corinthians 3:1-7).
However, one passage that has long generated confusion among theologians appears in Paul’s first letter to his protégé Timothy, where he addresses church leadership:
“Here is a trustworthy saying: Whoever aspires to be an overseer desires a noble task. Now the overseer is to be above reproach, faithful to his wife, temperate, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, able to teach, not given to drunkenness, not violent but gentle, not quarrelsome, not a lover of money. He must manage his own family well and see that his children obey him, and he must do so in a manner worthy of full respect. (If anyone does not know how to manage his own family, how can he take care of God’s church?) He must not be a recent convert, or he may become conceited and fall under the same judgment as the devil. He must also have a good reputation with outsiders, so that he will not fall into disgrace and into the devil’s trap” (1 Timothy 3:1-7, NIV).
Paul’s “trustworthy saying” may have originated from Jewish scrolls rather than within Christian tradition. In his later letters to Timothy, Paul never claimed that Jesus instructed believers to regard such qualifications in this particular way. Even the apostles’ decision to appoint deacons in Acts 6 doesn’t indicate that this originated from Christ’s teachings. While these writings hold value—like the Old Testament Scriptures—the focus must remain on Jesus as the foundation of the Christian faith.
Measuring All Teaching Against Christ’s Words
All apostolic teachings should be measured against the words of Jesus Himself. As a former Pharisee, Paul was deeply rooted in Jewish tradition and may not have fully grasped everything Jesus taught those who walked with Him. Christianity, as established by Christ, has no official hierarchy; roles like deacon and bishop did not originate from Jesus’ teachings. In fact, He explicitly instructed His disciples to treat one another as equals:
“But you are not to be called ‘Rabbi,’ for you have one Teacher, and you are all brothers. And do not call anyone on earth ‘father,’ for you have one Father, and he is in heaven. Nor are you to be called instructors, for you have one Instructor, the Messiah. The greatest among you will be your servant. For those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted” (Matthew 23:8-12, NIV).
The Jewish scrolls—the Law and the Prophets—pointed toward the Messiah, Jesus, who is the source of salvation. His teachings are preserved in the four Gospels: Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. Other Scriptures can certainly guide growth and understanding, but they are not the core of salvation, though they remain worthy of study.
God Works Through Whomever He Chooses
No person should consider themselves the ultimate authority in Christianity, including the apostles. Scripture demonstrates that God once used a Gentile king, Nebuchadnezzar, to discipline disobedient Judah and even to reveal future events through dreams that outlined the rise of subsequent kingdoms (Daniel 4). This illustrates that God can work through anyone, believer or not.
Similarly, while studying philosophy, computers, or any other field has its place, these pursuits have no bearing on salvation, which is found in Jesus alone. Christianity has always had gifted preachers, but they do not take the position of Christ. The apostle Paul confronted this same issue with the Corinthians, who idolized certain preachers rather than giving glory to Jesus:
“I appeal to you, brothers, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree with one another so that there may be no divisions among you and that you may be perfectly united in mind and thought. My brothers, some from Chloe’s household, have informed me that there are quarrels among you. What I mean is this: One of you says, ‘I follow Paul’; another, ‘I follow Apollos’; another, ‘I follow Cephas’; still another, ‘I follow Christ.’ Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Were you baptized in the name of Paul?” (1 Corinthians 1:10-13, NIV).
The Corinthian believers should have focused on the voice of Jesus above all others if they had been exposed to His actual words. Those who preached to them were not the ultimate authority, even when they spoke in His name. Preaching in Jesus’ name means sharing His teachings, and it matters little who delivers the message—Christ can work through anyone, regardless of background. Losing sight of this reality has, at times, turned Christianity into something unrecognizable.
The Danger of Elevating Messengers
Preachers are only effective when Christ works through them; they are never Christ Himself. We are privileged to have the recorded words of Jesus through the Gospels. New believers should ask how God intends to use them personally, rather than idolizing those who first showed them the way. Unfortunately, the prominence of certain preachers can make them appear greater than Christ—a problem that began in Paul’s time and led to divisions among the Corinthian Christians.
As Paul writes in Romans 3:23, all people fall short of the glory of God. Someone may accomplish impressive things, but they remain in the same human condition as everyone else. There is not a single person in the world who does not need Christ—He is needed by all. This may explain why Jesus called Himself the bread of life:
“Jesus said to them, ‘I tell you the truth, it is not Moses who has given you the bread from heaven, but it is my Father who gives you the true bread from heaven. For the bread of God is he who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.’ ‘Sir,’ they said, ‘from now on, give us this bread.’ Then Jesus declared, ‘I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will never go hungry, and he who believes in me will never be thirsty. But as I told you, you have seen me, and still you do not believe. All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never drive away” (John 6:32-37, NIV).
Understanding Our Relationship with God
Salvation involves being freed from the corruption introduced through Adam’s sin, beginning with the understanding that we are, at our core, God’s children. Error enters when we believe Jesus, in His physical condition, was fundamentally different from the rest of humanity, when in truth, the same God who worked through Him can work through anyone. A baptized person becomes much like Jesus—though still vulnerable to sin and sustained by His grace.
Today, viewing Jesus exclusively as the sole Son of God and part of the Trinity can narrow our perspective, shifting attention from living out His teachings to simply worshiping Him. The four Gospels form the foundation of Christianity, showing how Jesus responded to those who opposed Him. He never sought to convert as many people as possible through persuasive techniques; instead, He made clear that following Him meant being ready to give up everything (Luke 14:25-33), often using parables to teach the crowds.
“The disciples came to him and asked, ‘Why do you speak to the people in parables?’ He replied, ‘The knowledge of the secrets of the kingdom of heaven has been given to you, but not to them. Whoever has will be given more, and he will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what he has, will be taken from him. This is why I speak to them in parables: ‘Though seeing, they do not see; though hearing, they do not hear or understand.’ In them is fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah: ‘You will be ever hearing but never understanding; you will be ever seeing but never perceiving”‘ (Matthew 13:10-14, NIV).
The Purpose of Christ’s Mission
Some misunderstand Christ’s mission, believing it was about converting as many people as possible. In truth, His purpose was to share the message of God’s Kingdom (Matthew 4:23), which, as Matthew 13:10-14 explains, is not revealed to everyone. Only those willing to give up everything to follow Him, with genuine readiness to learn, would truly grasp it.
The four Gospels—Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John—are not merely for those already inclined toward the Christian faith; they aim to reach every nation. It is the duty of every Christian to spread the message of God’s Kingdom to every corner of the Earth. For some, this message may seem too serious or complicated, and others may view it as favoritism on God’s part.
The Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 5–7 demonstrates that not everyone will accept or follow Christ’s teachings, as His values often contradict the ways of the world, leaving each person to decide whether to follow Him. For many, what is proclaimed in those chapters simply does not make sense. God reveals His truths to individuals according to His timing and knowledge of each person. No one should ever be criticized for failing to understand immediately.
The Cost of Discipleship
In Luke 14:25-33, Jesus made clear that following Him comes at a high cost. God’s Kingdom would never force anyone to join against their will—it is entirely about willingness and personal choice. Scripture reveals that there is no harm in deciding not to follow Christ; in fact, it may be safer to walk away after honestly weighing the cost, as Jesus Himself highlighted.
While it might seem appealing to be connected to someone as remarkable as Jesus, even His own relatives were not impressed during His earthly ministry (Mark 3:20-21, 31-35). This shows that people do not automatically embrace the things of God as charming or easy to accept.
Recently, a church leader asked me who my writings were intended for. I responded with another question: “Who were Jesus’ teachings intended for?” Neither question received an answer, as only Jesus Himself could truly respond. If what is shared here is on His behalf, then those He is speaking to are the ones receiving the benefit.
Each reader has the right to decide whether this message comes from Jesus or not. This makes the idea of alter calls extremely unnecessary. What someone accepts as true becomes true for them without outside interference, and anyone is free to disagree based on their own reasoning. Perhaps this reflects the same attitude Jesus had when telling the parable of the sower in Matthew 13.
The Parable of the Sower
The message of Jesus is understood only by those for whom it is intended, and not everyone who hears it is the intended audience. Someone used by Christ cannot assume the position of Christ or know exactly whom He calls. Among those listening to preachers, not all are necessarily the ones Jesus would be addressing. Blessed are those who understand this.
The minister who questioned the intended audience of my writings had a fair point. It is common to aim at a specific group when writing, but that was not how Jesus operated, and this website reflects that approach. In the parable of the sower, the sower did not selectively aim for a certain type of soil: some seeds fell on rocky ground, others along the path, some among thorns that choked them, and others on rich soil that produced an abundant harvest.
The meaning of the parable is that the sower—representing a preacher—does not choose a specific audience. While Jesus chose the twelve disciples, He never stopped anyone from choosing to follow Him, though He made sure they understood the implications. The twelve were recognized as the first, but many others also followed and became His disciples. Those who responded were identified as “the poor in spirit” (Matthew 5:3), a designation that includes people of every race, time, and place, which connects with John 3:16:
“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him” (NIV).
Conclusion: Returning to the Gospels
Only those with a humble spirit can truly grasp the things of God. Such people examine everything to discern whether God is speaking, rather than focusing on validating or dismissing the messengers. All information should be weighed against the teachings of Jesus—not necessarily against what is acclaimed by famous scholars or any other human authority. Without this approach, there is little reason to turn to other sources when seeking to follow authentic Christianity.
The four Gospels contain everything essential. In their pages, we encounter the living Christ whose words transcend culture, time, and tradition. Like the Zimbabwean chorus that echoes through simple repetition, the message remains: there is no one like Jesus. When this truth takes root, everything else finds its proper place.
Andrew Masuku is the author of Dimensions of a New Civilisation, laying down standards for uplifting Zimbabwe from the current state of economic depression into a model for other nations worldwide. A decaying tree provides an opportunity for a blossoming sprout. Written from a Christian perspective, the book is a product of inspiration, relieving those who have witnessed the strings of unworkable solutions, leading to the current economic and social decay. Most Zimbabweans should find the book to be a long-awaited providential oasis of hope, in a simple conversational tone.
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