Who Did Jesus Claim To Be?

He claimed great things about Himself....

Was He Mad?

Was He Bad?

Was He God?

Carefully Read and Think About The Following Bible Verses...

(John 3:13 NKJV) "No one has ascended to heaven but He who came down from heaven, that is, the Son of Man who is in heaven.

(John 7:16 NKJV) Jesus answered them and said, "My doctrine is not Mine, but His who sent Me.

(John 14:6-10 NKJV) Jesus said to him, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me. {7} "If you had known Me, you would have known My Father also; and from now on you know Him and have seen Him." {8} Philip said to Him, "Lord, show us the Father, and it is sufficient for us." {9} Jesus said to him, "Have I been with you so long, and yet you have not known Me, Philip? He who has seen Me has seen the Father; so how can you say, 'Show us the Father'? {10} "Do you not believe that I am in the Father, and the Father in Me? The words that I speak to you I do not speak on My own authority; but the Father who dwells in Me does the works.

What did Jesus claim about:

Where He came from? (John 3:13)

What He taught? (John 7:16)

His role in helping people to know God? (John 14:6)

The similarities between Him and God the Father (John 14:7, 10)

His authority and where it came from? (John 14:10)

These are BIG claims to make! If they are true Jesus is much more than just a good person - He is God. If they are untrue He is either crazy or telling lies on a grand scale. There are only three main choices...

1. They are not true and Jesus knew they were not true - that is He was a liar- He was BAD.

2. They are not true and Jesus did not know they were not true - that is He was deluded and crazy like someone who thinks they are a hamburger - He was MAD.

3. They are TRUE- Jesus was claiming to be God- therefore Jesus is God.

Lets line this up with the facts...

Jesus was not bad!

When Jesus challenged his ENEMIES to find any sin in Him they could not do so! (John 8:46 NKJV) "Which of you convicts Me of sin? And if I tell the truth, why do you not believe Me? In fact Jesus was always recognized as being someone who was without sin. Even Judas, Pontius Pilate and the guards that executed Him acknowledged this! (Matthew 27:4,24,54). The Bible records Jesus as being perfectly without sin. (Heb 4:15 NKJV) For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin.

Jesus was not mad!

People who are insane do not give the world's greatest moral teachings such as the Sermon On The Mount (Matthew 5-7) and they are not followed by people for very long. People soon detect when someone is crazy and they will not die with or for a madman like Jesus' disciples did. Mentally ill people with religious delusions are generally distressingly self-centered, loud and clamant and very ineffective in their lives. This is the opposite of Jesus who was loving, humble and lowly. (Matthew 11:28-30) The quality of Jesus' life and teaching that has stood the test of time as the world's best ethical system proves He was not insane - in fact He was very wise.

Jesus is God!

The Bible backs up Jesus' claim that He was God. Lets look at just three Scriptures:

(Col 1:15-20 NKJV) He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. {16} For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and for Him. {17} And He is before all things, and in Him all things consist. {18} And He is the head of the body, the church, who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in all things He may have the preeminence. {19} For it pleased the Father that in Him all the fullness should dwell, {20} and by Him to reconcile all things to Himself, by Him, whether things on earth or things in heaven, having made peace through the blood of His cross.

(Col 2:9 NKJV) For in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily;

(Rev 5:6,13 NKJV) And I looked, and behold, in the midst of the throne and of the four living creatures, and in the midst of the elders, stood a Lamb as though it had been slain, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God sent out into all the earth...And every creature which is in heaven and on the earth and under the earth and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them, I heard saying: "Blessing and honor and glory and power Be to Him who sits on the throne, And to the Lamb, forever and ever!"

From just these three Scriptures we see that:

Jesus is the image of the invisible God.
All things were created through Him and for Him.
He is before all things.
All things "consist" in Him - He is the "glue of the Universe".
He is above all things.
All the fullness of the Father dwells in Him.
He has reconciled all things to Himself.
He is the fullness of the Godhead in bodily form.
He dwells in the middle of God's throne.
His "eyes" are the seven Spirits of God.
He is worshipped in Heaven.
He is praised "in the same breath" as the Father.

These 12 things back up Jesus' claim to be God and indicate that Jesus Christ is God. Jesus is not a mere human and He is not an angel (Hebrews 1:4-14). He is God's Son and the One all heaven worships. Since God says "I will not give my glory to another" (Isaiah 48:11) then if Jesus is worshipped in Heaven then He must be God.

Check out the following two Scriptures and write out what they say about Jesus' claim to be God.

(John 1:1-3 NKJV) In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. {2} He was in the beginning with God. {3} All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made.

(Heb 1:1-3 NKJV) God, who at various times and in various ways spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets, {2} has in these last days spoken to us by His Son, whom He has appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the worlds; {3} who being the brightness of His glory and the express image of His person, and upholding all things by the word of His power, when He had by Himself purged our sins, sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high,

What special name was Jesus called ? (John 1:1)

List four things John 1:1-3 says about the Word?

What special name or title does Hebrews call Jesus?

How much power and authority what kinds of power and authority does the Son have?

What do both verses tell us about Jesus' role in Creation?

What do both John and Hebrews tell us about the similarities between the nature and personality of Jesus and the nature and personality of God?

If someone is all-powerful and exactly like God in nature and is worshipped in Heaven - then who are they?

Conclusion

Do you think that Jesus' claims to be God are true or untrue? If untrue why do you think He is either mad or bad? If true - will you now follow Him?

 

This article may be freely reproduced for non-profit ministry purposes but may not be sold in any way. For permission to use articles in your ministry, e-mail the editor, John Edmiston at johned@aibi.ph.