For starters, it should quickly be asserted that Jesus, on more than one occasion, equated Himself with God (John 10:28-30; 14:7-11, just to name a few of the more direct verses). Jesus claimed unequivocally and with certainty that He was the Messiah, the Son of God who possesses all of the qualities of deity and the divine traits of the sovereign God (Matt. 28:18).
Additionally, Jesus was tried by the Sanhedrin for the crime of blaspheme. In a very real sense, the religious leaders convicted Jesus for claiming to be the Son of God (Matt. 27:43; Mark 14:61-64; Luke 22:70-71). Remember, the religious leaders, the most educated Hebrews of Hebrew, who wanted to kill Jesus wanted to kill Him because of blaspheme. If Jesus never claimed to be God or the Son of God, why would this be the case? Obviously, Jesus claimed to be, at least, the Son of God.
This is one of the non-negotiables of Christianity. One cannot read the New Testament without recognizing not only the high Christology of the New Testament authors but also that the divinity of Jesus is essential to the Gospel. In fact, much of the Gospel depends on the deity of Christ. If we are to be Christians, then we must assert that Jesus not only said He was God, but more profoundly, Jesus is God. Let us not neglect this truth but remember that Christ is the Holy Risen Lord!
Greetings N. Greenwald
ReplyDeleteIn all that you have said, you still have NOT supplied the verse whereby Jesus claimed to be GOD. The reason being is simply because Jesus never ever claimed to be Almighty GOD!
Obviously, Jesus claimed to be the Son of God ...
because that is exactly who he is!
Jesus is exactly who the one GOD, the Father, revealed him to be:
That is, His Son i.e.
the Son of the Father.
[Matt 16.16-17, 2 John 3]
(1 Thess. 1:9-10) For they themselves show of us what manner of entering in we had unto you,
and how ye turned to God from idols
to serve the living and true God;
10 And to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, even Jesus,
which delivered us from the wrath to come.
(1 Tim 2:5) For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men,
the man Christ Jesus;
Jesus therefore is:
the human Son of the living and true GOD.
In contrast, Jesus revealed his Father to be
the only true GOD!
(John 17:1) These words spake Jesus, and lifted up his eyes to heaven, and said, Father, ...
(John 17:3) And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.
If you read on in John 10.28ff, Jesus clearly states who he is:
v36: Say ye of him, whom the Father hath sanctified, and sent into the world, Thou blasphemest;
because I said, I am the Son of God?
In John 14.7-11 Jesus states that the one GOD, the Father is in him, and he, that is Jesus, is in the Father!
In Matt 28.18 Jesus claims authority, which the ONE GOD gave him!
And the religious leaders did not kill Jesus because he claimed to be GOD,
but rather because of his claim to
be the ONE GOD's Son!
[John 19.7, Matt 27.43]
One must not assert something Jesus did not say.
Rather one must assert what Jesus said e.g. John 17.3
Therefore,
I recommend this video:
The Human Jesus
Take a couple of hours to watch it; and prayerfully it will aid you in your quest for truth.
Yours In Messiah
Adam Pastor
Adam,
DeleteI greatly appreciate your comments and I wholly agree with your presentation of the biblical account. It is true that Jesus never directly claimed to be God. In fact, much of Jesus' teaching is focused on certain and clear deference to the Father, the One True God. This being said, Jesus was also quite succinct in claiming to having been given the authority of the Father in judgment and in salvation under the role and status as God's singular Son. That is to say that Jesus is the Father's only true Son, the Father's power, and the Father's agent of creation. All of these are based not merely on Jesus' witness, but also depend upon Jesus' very nature, i.e. that He is OF God, the very radiant glory OF God in human form. The humanity of God should not be emphasized to the detriment of His divinity and vice versa; they are both necessary. Jesus is the conduit through whom we reach and meet God the Father.
I hope that further clarifies my previous thoughts...
Thank you again for your comment and the video. I will certainly remain prayerful and thoughtful over this.
Blessings as another who wishes to pursue Our Lord
__Nicholas Greenwald