Some years ago, whenever I would hear a hit One of Us sung by Joan Osborne, a song with catchy lyrics “What if G-d was one of us?”, I would think to myself – “Hello! What if? He did become one of us two thousand years ago and He still is! Ever hear of Jesus, the G-d in the flesh???” But just the other day, while shopping for groceries, I heard this song once again. This time, however, I was struck by the absurdity of imagining the Eternal G-d as one of us, a man in a crowd, a “slob like one of us” (as that song goes). How vastly different is the G-d of the Universe described in the Jewish scriptures! How supremely more holy is He than we are, His creation, how awesome is He beyond any earthly description, how incomparable is He to anything found on earth or in heaven! “Who is like you, L-RD G-d Almighty?” (Psalm 89:8), “For who in the heavens above can compare with the L-RD? Who is like the L-RD among the heavenly beings?” (Psalm 89:6-7). No, He’s not like us.
My thoughts then drifted to the way the New Testament exalts man Jesus. Coming home from the store, I decided to open a New Testament. There I quickly found some of the same words of praise and worship that the Hebrew Bible directs toward the G-d of Israel, the Holy One of my forefathers. Except in this “Greek Bible” these awe-inspiring words were not directed to the G-d that led Israelites out of Egypt with a mighty hand. No, they were not addressed to the Eternal L-rd who appeared to my people through smoke, fire, earthquake, thunder and lightning that shook the holy mountain. Rather, these same words of praise, exaltation and adoration, which rightly belong only to the Almighty and no one else, were now being “repurposed” to shower a mortal man instead, to exalt a creature that was born, lived and died.
Having believed that Jesus was G-d for the last twenty years, it’s still hard for me to not associate this name with deity. And yet, he was a man of flesh and bone, a fellow Jew who lived and died long ago, and despite what Christianity has turned him into, still a mere mortal. As such, he deserved nothing of the honor due to G-d alone. G-d reminds us through the holy scriptures: “I will not yield my glory to another…” (Isaiah 42:8) and “I, even I, am the L-RD, and apart from me there is no savior.” (Isaiah 43:11). As a Jew, I must always remember these solemn words, lest I betray my Creator and honor another “god” or call a creature my savior.
Then I thought – what if Jesus’ name was not “Jesus”, but some other name, a modern name that is as commonplace today as the name “Yeshua” or “Yehoshua” was in the first century? How would the New Testament’s words of exaltation and praise originally directed to the man who was later proclaimed G-d sound to us today if we substituted “Jesus” or “Christ” with some other moniker? Would this wake us up to see that we are worshiping a creature? I decided to do that on my blog and proceeded to find some verses in my NIV, slightly modifying them for my experiment:
Your attitude should be the same as that of Brian: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, Brian humbled himself and became obedient to death– even death on a cross! Therefore God exalted Brian to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Brian every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Brian is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. (Philippians 2:5-11)
When God brings his firstborn into the world, he says, “Let all God’s angels worship Sheldon.” (Hebrews 1:7)
Richard is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For by Rick all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by Rick and for him. Richard is before all things, and in him all things hold together. And Rick is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything Rick might have the supremacy. For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him. (Colossians 1:15-19)
Then I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and on the sea, and all that is in them, saying: “To Him who sits on the throne and to William be praise and honor and glory and power, for ever and ever!” (Revelation 5:13)
Then Adrian came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.” (Matthew 28:18)
Tyler answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you really knew me, you would know my Father as well. From now on, you do know him and have seen him.” (John 14:6)
Daily Minyan 
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