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 So Who Did Jesus Say He Was?Jesus claimed to be more than a man: he also claimed to be God. The Gospel writers, who were the ancient biographers of Jesus, who either personally knew or knew of Jesus and whose books can be found in the New Testament, claim that Jesus made a large number of statements, or acted in such a way, which show he considered himself to be God. When we say God, however, we mean God who makes Himself known to us in three ways: as Father God, as the Son of God and as the Holy Spirit. Jesus claimed to be the Son of God and part of the Trinity or three-part God. In the Gospel of John, Jesus was accused of making himself God by his opponents who were ready to execute him for this (John 10:25-33) and he gave himself the name ‘I Am’ which is one of the names of God revealed in the Old Testament (John 8: 58). John, the writer of the Gospel, called Jesus ‘the Word’ and declared that the Word was God (John 1:1-3). In John 9:35-39, a blind man who had been healed by Jesus worshipped him. As the blind man was a Jew and only God was to be worshipped according to the Jewish law, he was declaring his belief that Jesus was God. Jesus, in turn, accepted the blind man’s worship, thereby agreeing with his declaration. The Gospel of Matthew, the former tax collector who was chosen to be one of Jesus’ disciples, records two occasions where Jesus received worship as if he were God. In Matthew 8:2, a leper who wanted to be healed, came and worshipped Jesus, who responded by healing the man. Jesus’ disciples worshipped Jesus and gave him the name ‘Son of God’ (Matthew 14:33). In the Gospel of Mark, Jesus forgave a paralysed man his sins. Jesus’ critics, the teachers of the Jewish law, were angry because they knew that only God could forgive sins. Jesus, of course, by forgiving this man’s sins, was declaring he was God. To further prove this, he healed the man. In the Gospel of Luke, it is recorded that at Jesus’ baptism, Father God affirmed Jesus as his Son (Luke 3:22). How might we respond to this claim by Jesus? We can respond in three possible ways: we can declare Jesus is a liar and a con man, or a mad man or he is telling the truth. Let us examine these possibilities. Jesus is a liar and con manJesus’ claim to be God and have divine power, according to this argument, was calculated to attract to himself material advantage and power. It is unlikely that this was the case, as Jesus’ claim to be God led to his horrifying death by crucifixion. According to Mark 14:61-64, it was Jesus’ affirmation at his trial that he was the Son of God which led the Jewish religious authorities to decide to pressurise the Roman governor to put Jesus to death. In their eyes, Jesus was committing the crime of blasphemy. Surely it is reasonable to say that a con man is unlikely to wish to die for his lies if he can avoid death by denying his lies?
Jesus is a mad manThis possibility seems attractive because it is a common feature of certain types of mental illness for the sufferer to have the delusion that s/he is someone other than who they are, for example, a famous personality, or even God. On the other hand, if you read the Gospel accounts of Jesus’ life, what we notice is Jesus’ practical wisdom, his capacity to love at a deep and genuine level and his creativity and spontaneity. This portrait, which is consistent across the Gospels, contrasts with the impractical detachment from reality, self-preoccupation and monotonous behaviour of psychosis!
Jesus is who he says he is: God in human form!The last alternative is the most shocking of all: Jesus is God and He lived on earth in a human body. Why not consider this alternative for a few moments. Next Question - © Copyright Speak to my People Ministries - Statement of Belief - Design by Tim Sibley Web-Design - |
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Is there any historical proof that Jesus existed?