Jesus Himself asked those around Him; “Who Do You Say That I Am?”
In the Gospels, Jesus identified himself as Son of God, Messiah, and Savior. The Gospels are not word for word reports but present Jesus with the understanding and language that developed decades later. This theology flowed from Jesus’ words and actions that showed his unique relationship with God, who He is and his mission on the earth. In many Scriptures, Jesus referred to God as his Father who sent him (John 6:37-38): “No one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son” (Matthew 11:27). “The Father loves his Son and shows him everything that he himself does . . . . Just as the Father raises the dead and gives life, so also does the Son give life to whomever he wishes. Nor does the Father judge anyone, but he has given all judgment to his Son, so that all may honor the Son just as they honor the Father” (John 5:20-23).
At the Last Supper Jesus explained, “The world must know that I love the Father and that I do just as the Father has commanded me” (John 14:31). He revealed that he was going back to the Father (John 16:28). Jesus prayed, “I glorified you on Earth by accomplishing the work that you gave me to do. Now glorify me, Father, with you, with the glory that I had with you before the world began” (John 17:4).
Jesus declared himself to be Lord of the Sabbath (Matthew 12:8). Three times in chapter 8 of the Gospel of John, Jesus called himself I AM, a phrase that recalled God’s name. This provoked people to stone him. He hoped that they might realize that the Father is in him and he in the Father (John 10:36-38).
In the synagogue at Nazareth, after reading from Isaiah about God’s anointed one, Jesus claimed, “Today this scripture passage is fulfilled in your hearing” (Luke 4:21). Later he said, “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the prophets. I have come not to abolish but to fulfill” (Matthew 5:17). When the Samaritan woman stated that the Messiah was coming, Jesus answered, “I am he” (John 4:26). Later when the high priest asked, “Are you the Messiah, the son of the Blessed One?” Jesus answered, “I am” (Mark 14:61-62).
Jesus’s Reveals His Purpose And Mission On The Earth
Jesus stated his purpose on Earth: “I did not come to call the righteous but sinners” (Matthew 9:13). “The Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many” (Matthew 20:28).
Jesus also revealed who he was through figures of speech:
- “I am the living bread that came down from heaven” (John 6:51).
- “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life” (John 8:12).
- “I am the gate. Whoever enters through me will be saved” (John 10:9).
- “I am the good shepherd, and I know mine and mine know me, just as the Father knows me and I know the Father; and I will lay down my life for the sheep” (John 10:14-15).
- “I am the resurrection and the life” (John 11:25).
- “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me” (John 14:6-7).
- “I am the vine, you are the branches” (John 15:5).
SPECIAL NOTE:
The truth remains, those who profess that Jesus is Lord alway will run the risk of being rejected by the society that do NOT know Him. That is sometimes the price of teaching the truth.
There still remains many arguments today on who Jesus was and is. Some say Jesus Christ was just a man, others claim He was a prophet, or maybe a great teacher. But ladies and gentlemen, Jesus was much more than that. The Bible says Jesus was unique and still is in both His person and His purpose. He was NOT just some spiritual individual during His time on earth; He was both the Son of God (John 3:16) as well as God Himself. The Bible says in 1 Timothy 3:16 that He was God in human flesh. Yes, He was fully man, but He was also fully God according to Colossians 2:9.
The claims
When Jesus was on the earth, He claimed to be God – Why?
It might be hard to understand how this could be true, but it’s important to remember that God is much bigger and more powerful than we can comprehend. We know that based on the Holy Scriptures that Jesus said He existed before Abraham (John 8:58). He claimed that He and His Father are one (John 10:30), and that He is equal with the Father (John 5:17-18).
Not only did He claim to be God, but He also claimed to have the power of God. He said He has the authority to judge the nations (Matthew 25:31-46). He claims the authority to raise people from the dead (John 5:25-29) and to forgive their sins (Mark 2:5-7)—things only God can do (1 Samuel 2:6; Isaiah 43:25).
Further, Jesus said He has the power to answer prayers (John 14:13-14), and that He will be with His followers always (Matthew 28:20). The New Testament equates Jesus to the creator of the universe (John 1:3), and in John 16:15, He says, “All that belongs to the Father is mine.”
So where’s the proof?
Claiming to be something, as Jesus claimed to be God, doesn’t make it true. Where is the evidence that He is God?
Jesus’ identity isn’t based solely on what He says, but on what He does. He has left a lot of evidence that He is God. That evidence includes fulfilled prophecy and recorded miracles in which Jesus reversed the laws of nature. He also lived a sinless life (Hebrews 4:15), something no one else has done.
The ultimate proof of His divinity, however, was His resurrection from the dead after His death on the cross. No one else has ever risen from the dead on his own.
Did Jesus ever say, ‘I am God’?
If someone said to you, “I am God,” would you believe him? Many people who believe in one God would think the person is blaspheming. Even if Jesus said the exact words, “I am God,” many people would not have believed Him or even heard what He had to say. Yet, He did give us reasons to believe such a claim without using these words.
In Luke 4:8, Jesus says, “It is written, ‘You shall worship the Lord your God and serve Him only.’” He said and showed many times that He is the Lord. Jesus says, for example, that He is “the first and the last” (Revelation 1:17, 22:13), which God the Father also says in Isaiah 44:6.
But maybe you’re looking for a place in the Bible where Jesus says, “I am God; worship me” in those exact words. If we suggest that Jesus could only claim to be God by saying that one sentence, we might also ask where He says, “I am a great teacher, but not God,” or, “I am just a prophet; don’t worship me.” No, the Bible doesn’t say that, either.
The good news is that Jesus told us He is God in many different ways and He proved it through what He did even though He did not have to do it! He has made it clear that He and God the Father are one according to John 10:30. He said in John 14:6, “I am the way and the truth and the life.” Who else could claim these things except God?
How many gods exists?
There is ONLY one God in three persons.
As Billy Graham once explained, “God has shown Himself to us in three ways—God as a Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Each has a separate function—and yet they are all united as one God. I know, it can be hard to understand the trinity.
“Let me illustrate it this way. Think of water. “A quart of water can be ice, water, or steam—but it’s still the same quart of water.”
How can Jesus be God if He is God’s Son? and If Jesus is God’s Son, does that mean God had a wife?
God has never had a wife. Calling Jesus God’s Son is an expression of His role in relation to God the Father. Unlike us, Jesus was not conceived by two earthly parents; He was born of a virgin through a miraculous work of God. He was born Holy and without sin.
Being born of a virgin might seem impossible—even Jesus’ mother, Mary, asked, “How will this be? (Luke 1:34)—yet God is all-powerful and made a way for the Holy Jesus to be born a human being. In Matthew 1:20, an angel tells Mary’s fiancé, Joseph, that what is conceived in Mary “is from the Holy Spirit.” Jesus was not born out of a sexual relationship between God and Mary, but instead out of a miracle by God through the Holy Spirit. Jesus was both fully God and fully human.
It is also significant that the most thorough Gospel account of the virgin birth was written by Luke, a medical doctor. If anyone knew the impossibility of a virgin birth, it was Luke—yet, after careful research, he concluded that it was a fact. The God who was powerful enough to create the universe was also powerful enough to bring Jesus into the world without a human father. His miraculous birth is just one more testament to His deity.
Why should we care who Jesus is?
There is one way to heaven, one way to be free from your sin and to have a relationship with God. That’s through Jesus Christ. Acts 4:12 says, “Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved.” To have eternal life in heaven, you must put your trust in Jesus.
Here’s why:
We all sin, meaning we all fall short of God’s perfect standard. The consequence of sin is death (Romans 6:23). That means eternal separation from God. But because Jesus lived a sinless life, His death on the cross provided the perfect sacrifice for our sins. Because He defeated death by rising again, we can have eternal life in the presence of God when we put our trust in Him.
Hundreds of people saw and believed in the risen Christ after His death and resurrection, and countless people in the past 2,000 years have discovered that only Jesus can meet the deepest longings and needs of the human heart. In Jesus Christ alone “are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge” (Colossians 2:3).
Can we trust what the Bible says about Him (Jesus)?
The Bible tells us that Jesus Christ is God, and there are many reasons we can trust the Bible.
Not only do we have many reasons to believe that the text of the Bible is true, but many will find that reading the Bible allows God to speak to them—perhaps not audibly, but through His words.
While there are different translations of the Bible, the same core message is the same—that God loves us and freely offers us eternal life if we accept Jesus as our Savior. Different translations exist in an effort to make the Bible understandable to various audiences; however, the major doctrines—and the person of Jesus Christ—remain the same.
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