Unlike any other person in the history of mankind the name of Jesus evokes undue criticism by his opponents and great admiration by his followers. In a 1983 Gallup poll Americans were asked "who do you think Jesus is?" 70% of those interviewed said Jesus was not just another man. 42% stated Jesus was God among men. 27% felt Jesus was only human but divinely called. 9% states Jesus was divine because he embodied the best of humanity. Though this research is quite old it does give us a picture of what Americans think about Jesus.
The great British scholar C.S Lewis who understood this matter writes, “I am trying here to prevent anyone saying the really foolish thing that people often say about Him: “I am ready to accept Jesus as a great moral teacher, but I don’t accept His claim to be God.” That is the one thing we must not say. A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. He would either be a lunatic –on a level with the man who says he is a poached egg or else he would be the Devil of Hell. You must make your Choice. Either this man was and is the Son of God: or else a madman or something worse.”
Jesus himself had his own opinion poll. One day he wanted to find out what the crowds were thinking about him so he asked his disciples, “Who do people say I am?” they replied “some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others say Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” But, what about you? He asked who do you say I am? Simon Peter answered “You are the Christ, “the son of the living God (Matt 16:13-16).
Just like in Jesus’ time, even today people have conflicting opinions of who Jesus really is. The Muslims believe he is one their many prophets. The Jews reject him as their messiah, the Catholics would rather pray to mother Mary or to St. Anthony than to pray to Jesus. The Jehovah’s Witnesses believe that he was a created being therefore he is inferior to God. The Hindu’s can accept him as one among their millions of gods. The skeptics and atheists deny his very existence in the first place. And for many others he was a great teacher and a religious leader. What would you say? Is he all the above as people tend to think? Whose opinion will you believe? Is Christ a liar, lunatic or God as he claimed to be?
One early morning at 2:45 A.M I woke up with three words flashing in my mind they were “Life In Christ” I couldn’t go back to sleep after that, I felt like God was saying to me to speak about the life of Christ so that people can find their “Life In Christ” I wrote down various themes centered on Christ. You may be wondering I am already a Christian why I should I know more about him? As Peter would say “I will always remind you and refresh your memory so that you will be firm in the truth you now have.” Why should you know more about Christ? Because the times we are living in demands a response from us.
Let me attempt to explain Jesus the mystery of God. In doing so I realize that I don’t know every thing about Christ and what all he did on earth. The gospels only give us a glimpse of how Jesus lived and what he did during his time on earth. As John the gospel writer rightly said, “There are so many other things Jesus did. If they were all written down, each of them one by one, I can’t imagine a world big enough to hold such a library of books.” (John 21:25, the Message) We could easily spend a whole year discovering Jesus. For today we will try and answer the question, “Is Jesus Christ God, or only human? And what does the Bible say about it?
II. IS JESUS CHRIST DIVINE OR HUMAN?
I once had a discussion with a young man who wanted to discuss the fifth step in a twelve step program of Alcoholic Anonymous. The fifth step suggests, “Admitted to God, to ourselves, and to another human being the exact nature of our wrongs.” I asked him who God is. He said that God is some “Higher or super power” which controls everything. That’s where the AA got it wrong. How do they read their third step, “Made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of god as we understood Him.” This seem to suggest that God is neither a force nor a super power but a person. That makes sense doesn’t it? Otherwise what a foolish thing is to turn our will and our lives to some wind or an abstract power which we can not know personally but supposedly controlling and guiding everything that happens in the world. What a shaky foundation to start with? In order to answer the question is Christ divine or human? I will be looking into the Prophetic evidence, the claims of Christ, the Pharisee’s plot and the apostles teaching.
II. THE PROPHETIC EVIDENCE
No prophecy foretold the coming of Buddha, Confucius or Muhammad. Yet there are hundreds concerning Jesus Christ. Remember these prophecies were spoken and recorded hundreds of years before Jesus came to earth. Let’s look at a few of these prophecies:
Isaiah prophesied in 680 B.C saying, “For to us a child is born to us a son is given and the government will be on his shoulders. And will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.” (Isaiah 9:6)
Isaiah 61:1-2, “The Spirit of the Sovereign LORD is on me, because the LORD has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners, to proclaim the year of the LORD’s favor and the day of vengeance of our God,” Remember, upon reading the same text from the scroll of the prophet Isaiah in the synagogue Jesus said, “today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.”(Luke 4:21)
Zachariah prophesied about the second coming of Christ around 520 B.C, saying, “Then the LORD my God will come and all the Holy ones with Him.”(Zech14:5) Jesus confirmed these words when he said, “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, and he will sit on his throne in heavenly glory.” (Matt 25:31). There are many more prophecies in the OT referring to Christ being God.
II. THE PHARASEE’S PLOT:
Huge crowds followed Jesus for obvious reasons; among them were the experts of the law and the Pharisees. They were amazed by the way Jesus was drawing the attention of the public. So they plotted to kill Jesus? Why did they want to kill him? Was it the miracles? Or the breaking of the Sabbath? Or simply the huge fan fare? I don’t think any of the above, though they may have been the irritants, the main reason was blasphemy. According to the OT law “If anyone curses his God, he will be held responsible; anyone who blasphemes the name of the Lord must be put to death. The entire assembly must be put to death” (Lev 24:15-16) This law is called the Sharia law and it is still in practice in many Islamic countries.
On one occasion certain Jews asked him “tell us plainly if you are the Christ. Jesus answered, I did tell you, but you do not believe because you are not my sheep. Again the Jews picked up stones to stone him, but Jesus said to them, I have shown you many great miracles from the Father, for which of theses do you stone me? We are not stoning you for any of these, replied Jews, but for blasphemy, because you, a mere man, claim to be God.” (John 10:26-33). Though the Pharisees did not believe that Christ was the messiah, through their plot to kill him they un-intentionally confirmed the fact that Jesus was indeed God.
III. THE APOSTLE’S TEACHING
The apostle John was one of the twelve disciples who was also called the beloved of the Lord. He wrote the Gospel of John around the first century. The purpose of this Gospel is to report the signs, usually called miracles in other Gospels, so that the reader might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that through believing, he might obtain life eternal. (John 20:30-31). The word “believe (trust, adhere to, rely on)” occurs 98 times throughout this book. Knowing Christ is not an intellectual exercise but it is a matter of belief and faith. The assured result of this belief or faith in Jesus Christ is the possession of eternal life.
The gospel of John begins with these words: “In the beginning (before all time) was the Word (Christ) and the Word was with God, and the Word was God Himself. He was present originally with God… In Him was Life and the Life was the Light of Men. (John 1:1-4). Jesus is introduced in chapter one as the “Word” Logos. This indicates that Christ was with God in the beginning in the form of the Word. As God spoke let there be light, “it was the Word” created the light. John recognized Christ was the creator when he said, in Vs 3“All things were made and came into existence through Him; and with out Him was not even one thing made that has come into being.”
The apostle Paul writes in Col 1:15-19 “He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For by him 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 him and for him. He is before all things and in him all things hold together…for God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him.” Paul clearly saw that Christ was God.
In Hebrews 1:2-4 “But in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom he made the universe. The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word.” This scripture suggests that Christ came into the world to reveal God to us, but is that all? or has he actually claimed that he himself is God?
IV.THE SEVEN CLAIMS OF CHRIST:
Jesus never doubted his divinity neither did he ever deny that he was God. He made several direct and indirect references regarding his divinity. Do you remember, when Moses asked God what his name was; what did God say? “I AM WHO I AM, This is what you are to say to the Israelites: I’ AM has sent you.”(Exodus 3:14) I’AM is one of the names given to God. John recorded Seven “I AM” claims of Christ to prove that he indeed is God.
1. “I am the bread of life” John 6:35, 48. Jesus doesn’t simply give bread but he is bread.
2. “I am the light of the world” 8:12, 9:5 The Pharisees challenged him on that.
3. “I am the door of the sheep” 10:7. In other words he can lead us to God
4. “I am the good shepherd” 10:14-18. This confirms the words of Isaiah, “He tends his flock like a shepherd.”(Isaiah 40:11)
5. “I am the resurrection and the Life” 11:25. This is to say Christ has control over his life.
6. “I am the way, and the truth, and the life.” 14:6. Jesus is the means to and the embodiment of eternal life.
7. “I am the true vine” 15:1, 5. Jesus again emphasizes that he is the source of life and the importance of abiding in him so that we might live and bear fruit.
None of these seven “I AM” statements provoked the Pharisees as much as these two statements. John 8:28, “When you have lifted up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am the one I claim to be.” Here Jesus is calling his hearers to believe that he was the “I AM” (God). John 8:58, “Truly, truly I say to you before Abraham was born, I am.” Friedrich Buchsel comments, “Whatever significance we may attach to Jesus’ words, it is instructive to observe the reaction of the Jews: “So they took up stones to throw at him.” Evidently regarding his statement as a blasphemous claim to equality with God or in other words, a claim to deity.”
The main points once again. The prophets prophesied that Christ was God, the Pharisees plotted to kill him because he claimed to be God and the apostles believed and taught that Christ was and is and will always be God. One may argue all these three evidences and write them off saying these are bunch of illusions, but who can argue what Christ says about himself? Whether we believe any one else’s report about Jesus or not we must believe Jesus’ very own words. They are undeniably true.
When we believe in Jesus our lives can be transformed. Let me close with the words spoken by our Lord Jesus Christ. He said, “Truly, truly, I say unto you he who hears my word and believes Him who sent Me has eternal life and does not come into judgment but has passed from death to life.”(John 5:24). Do you want to receive that eternal life? Believe in Jesus. Amen
