Jesus is God…….
“ Now Jesus and His disciples went out to the towns of Caesarea Philippi; and on the road He asked His disciples, saying to them, “Who do men say that I am?”“
Mark 8:27
The disciples had just witnessed the healing of a blind man and had seen many other miracles of Jesus. They would see more. They heard him teach. They would hear more. The disciples had seen how loving and gentle he was with people. His words were wise and penetrating. They came with power and in a way that no other man had ever spoken.
“So they answered, ‘John the Baptist; but some say, Elijah; and others, one of the prophets.”
Mark 8:28
Of course these perceptions did not come from anything other than speculation and faulty human reasoning by those who were not with Him everyday as were His disciples.
“But who do you say that I am?”
Mark 8:29
Peter spoke fast and first,
“You are the Christ.”
Mark 8: 29
The Christ is the One whom the nation of Israel had long-awaited. Many Jews today still look for the Messiah. Most have given up and now subscribe to the nationalistic view of their existence. Their religion has been reduced to holidays and traditions.
Being the “anointed one” (Christ) was only the beginning of Jesus’s identity. He was much more!
They would find out that He had the power over life and death:
“I am the Resurrection”
John 11:25
He had all knowledge
I am the Truth;
John 14;26
He could forgive sin and grant pardons:
When He saw their faith, He said to him, “Man, your sins are forgiven you.”
Luke 5:20
Ultimately, after his death and resurrection, they would discover that He was God, as Thomas proclaimed:
And Thomas answered and said to Him, “My Lord and my God!”
John 20:28
Which of these can Muhammad or any other person claim?
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There is another reason Jesus is far superior than Muhammad and confirms that Jesus is God: Jesus preexisted before coming to this earth. Muhammad did not make this claim.
What does this pre-existence mean? Why is that so important in knowing that Jesus is everything He claimed and everything the writers of the Bible described He would be?
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Your father Abraham rejoiced to see My day, and he saw it and was glad.”
Then the Jews said to Him, “You are not yet fifty years old, and have You seen Abraham?”
Jesus said to them, “Most assuredly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I AM.”
Then they took up stones to throw at Him; but Jesus hid Himself and went out of the temple, going through the midst of them, and so passed by.
John 8: 56-59
In this passage, the religious leaders took up stones to stone Jesus because not only was He claiming to have existed before Abraham, but Jesus was claiming to be God by taking the name “I AM.”
Erroneously, they thought Jesus was blaspheming the name of God. Because they did not believe Jesus, they could easily justify stoning Him to death. According to scripture anyone who blasphemed God’s name was to be put to death immediately:
“Then you shall speak to the children of Israel, saying: … And whoever blasphemes the name of the Lord shall surely be put to death. All the congregation shall certainly stone him, the stranger as well as him who is born in the land. When he blasphemes the name of the Lord, he shall be put to death.
Leviticus 24: 15-16
But, Jesus was telling the truth. Surprisingly, many Christians do not know that it was Jesus who instructed Moses to deliver the children of Israel. Not only did Jesus pre-exist, but He took the claim of being God.
Then Moses said to God, “Indeed, when I come to the children of Israel and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they say to me, ‘What is His name?’ what shall I say to them?”
And God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM.” And He said, “Thus you shall say to the children of Israel, ‘I AM has sent me to you.’”
Exodus 3:14
I AM means to exist, to be present. God did not come into being, He simply exists and has always be present. The concept of no beginning and no ending is practically impossible for the finite brain of man to comprehend.
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The disciples later proclaimed Jesus as God, but at first their view was that Jesus was the Messiah only. Although partly correct, they would discover the ultimate identification of Jesus:
John, the beloved disciple, who wrote both the gospel and Revelations, as well as 1st, 2nd, 3rd John confirmed Jesus’ claim of divinity and Creator by writing the following under the guidance of the Spirit of God:
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made. In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.
John 1: 1-5
In this passage, John identifies a being he refers to as “the Word.” He goes on to describe “the Word” as being with God in the beginning and he says that “the Word” was God!
Further, “the Word” made everything and there is not anything you can describe that was not made by Him. In Him was the light of men (the truth).
Notice that “the Word” is described with a personal pronoun (Him). This is not some comic concept or fancy philosophy. This is the true and personal God who made everything and is truth.
In a few verses later, John makes it clear that “the Word” is none other than Jesus Himself..
And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.
John bore witness of Him and cried out, saying, “This was He of whom I said, ‘He who comes after me is preferred before me, for He was before me.’”
John 1:14-15
Knowing this, we can replace “the Word” (object) and Him (personal pronoun) with Jesus so there is no mistaken identity for Jesus:
In the beginning was JESUS, and JESUS was with God, and JESUS was God. JESUS was in the beginning with God. All things were made through JESUS, and without JESUS nothing was made that was made. In JESUS was life, and the life was the light of men. And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.
John 1: 1-5
Who else but Jesus can fit this description? Jesus came, as predicted by the prophets hundreds of years before His birth. He was proclaimed as Immanuel (God with us). The prophet John identified him and proclaimed Him to the people who gathered to watch John baptize Jesus. This was the beginning of Jesus’ 3 1/2 years of proclaiming the good news of the Kingdom of God or Heaven.
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Thomas
For eight days after the Resurrection of Jesus, the doubts of Thomas persisted. He did not understand the need for Jesus to die and was not only surprised, but perhaps quite disappointed at how Jesus died.
It is comforting and interesting that Jesus gave the disciples lengthy Bible Studies on one topic: Himself! He showed from scripture that He was the fulfillment of all the prophets hopes for the coming Messiah. But, he showed why he had to die and be raised again.
These Bible studies and their effects on the disciples are explained in two previous blogs:
and
A Substitute for The Resurrection?
When Thomas was able to see Jesus, touch His side and feel His hands, Thomas proclaimed this:
“And Thomas answered and said unto him, My Lord and my God.”
John 20:28
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This is difficult for many to accept and confusing even in Christian churches. It is much easier to believe that Jesus was either a great prophet or the Messiah.
But Jesus is God and there is something more! He is our God who will one day judge us.
For the Father judgeth no man, but hath committed all judgment unto the Son:
John 5:22
Claim #1-Jesus is God. He made everything. All Judgment is given unto him.
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Before someone can believe Jesus is God, they must first understand He is the Messiah as predicted from the Old Testament.
Below are just 44 of the hundreds of prophecies concerning Jesus as the Messiah. Some have demonstrated that there are at least 352 prophecies fulfilled in Jesus Christ. The possibility of one person fulfilling only 8 of these prophecies is 10 to the 17th power. That is 1 in 100,000,000,000,000,000. Now add 348 more prophecies and the number becomes astronomical!
The point is this: Jesus is all that he and the prophets claimed. No other can make this claim.
“…there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved!”
Acts 4:12
Check out this chart and meet me on the other side of it. One last point before we end this study.
| 44 Prophecies Jesus Christ Fulfilled | |||
| Prophecies About Jesus | Old Testament Scripture |
New Testament Fulfillment |
|
| 1 | Messiah would be born of a woman. | Genesis 3:15 | Matthew 1:20 Galatians 4:4 |
| 2 | Messiah would be born in Bethlehem. | Micah 5:2 | Matthew 2:1 Luke 2:4-6 |
| 3 | Messiah would be born of a virgin. | Isaiah 7:14 | Matthew 1:22-23 Luke 1:26-31 |
| 4 | Messiah would come from the line of Abraham. | Genesis 12:3 Genesis 22:18 |
Matthew 1:1 Romans 9:5 |
| 5 | Messiah would be a descendant of Isaac. | Genesis 17:19 Genesis 21:12 |
Luke 3:34 |
| 6 | Messiah would be a descendant of Jacob. | Numbers 24:17 | Matthew 1:2 |
| 7 | Messiah would come from the tribe of Judah. | Genesis 49:10 | Luke 3:33 Hebrews 7:14 |
| 8 | Messiah would be heir to King David‘s throne. | 2 Samuel 7:12-13 Isaiah 9:7 |
Luke 1:32-33 Romans 1:3 |
| 9 | Messiah’s throne will be anointed and eternal. | Psalm 45:6-7 Daniel 2:44 |
Luke 1:33 Hebrews 1:8-12 |
| 10 | Messiah would be called Immanuel. | Isaiah 7:14 | Matthew 1:23 |
| 11 | Messiah would spend a season in Egypt. | Hosea 11:1 | Matthew 2:14-15 |
| 12 | A massacre of children would happen at Messiah’s birthplace. | Jeremiah 31:15 | Matthew 2:16-18 |
| 13 | A messenger would prepare the way for Messiah | Isaiah 40:3-5 | Luke 3:3-6 |
| 14 | Messiah would be rejected by his own people. | Psalm 69:8 Isaiah 53:3 |
John 1:11 John 7:5 |
| 15 | Messiah would be a prophet. | Deuteronomy 18:15 | Acts 3:20-22 |
| 16 | Messiah would be preceded by Elijah. | Malachi 4:5-6 | Matthew 11:13-14 |
| 17 | Messiah would be declared the Son of God. | Psalm 2:7 | Matthew 3:16-17 |
| 18 | Messiah would be called a Nazarene. | Isaiah 11:1 | Matthew 2:23 |
| 19 | Messiah would bring light to Galilee. | Isaiah 9:1-2 | Matthew 4:13-16 |
| 20 | Messiah would speak in parables. | Psalm 78:2-4 Isaiah 6:9-10 |
Matthew 13:10-15,34-35 |
| 21 | Messiah would be sent to heal the brokenhearted. | Isaiah 61:1-2 | Luke 4:18-19 |
| 22 | Messiah would be a priest after the order ofMelchizedek. | Psalm 110:4 | Hebrews 5:5-6 |
| 23 | Messiah would be called King. | Psalm 2:6 Zechariah 9:9 |
Matthew 27:37 Mark 11:7-11 |
| 24 | Messiah would be praised by little children. | Psalm 8:2 | Matthew 21:16 |
| 25 | Messiah would be betrayed. | Psalm 41:9 Zechariah 11:12-13 |
Luke 22:47-48 Matthew 26:14-16 |
| 26 | Messiah’s price money would be used to buy a potter’s field. | Zechariah 11:12-13 | Matthew 27:9-10 |
| 27 | Messiah would be falsely accused. | Psalm 35:11 | Mark 14:57-58 |
| 28 | Messiah would be silent before his accusers. | Isaiah 53:7 | Mark 15:4-5 |
| 29 | Messiah would be spat upon and struck. | Isaiah 50:6 | Matthew 26:67 |
| 30 | Messiah would be hated without cause. | Psalm 35:19 Psalm 69:4 |
John 15:24-25 |
| 31 | Messiah would be crucified with criminals. | Isaiah 53:12 | Matthew 27:38 Mark 15:27-28 |
| 32 | Messiah would be given vinegar to drink. | Psalm 69:21 | Matthew 27:34 John 19:28-30 |
| 33 | Messiah’s hands and feet would be pierced. | Psalm 22:16 Zechariah 12:10 |
John 20:25-27 |
| 34 | Messiah would be mocked and ridiculed. | Psalm 22:7-8 | Luke 23:35 |
| 35 | Soldiers would gamble for Messiah’s garments. | Psalm 22:18 | Luke 23:34 Matthew 27:35-36 |
| 36 | Messiah’s bones would not be broken. | Exodus 12:46 Psalm 34:20 |
John 19:33-36 |
| 37 | Messiah would be forsaken by God. | Psalm 22:1 | Matthew 27:46 |
| 38 | Messiah would pray for his enemies. | Psalm 109:4 | Luke 23:34 |
| 39 | Soldiers would pierce Messiah’s side. | Zechariah 12:10 | John 19:34 |
| 40 | Messiah would be buried with the rich. | Isaiah 53:9 | Matthew 27:57-60 |
| 41 | Messiah would resurrect from the dead. | Psalm 16:10 Psalm 49:15 |
Matthew 28:2-7 Acts 2:22-32 |
| 42 | Messiah would ascend to heaven. | Psalm 24:7-10 | Mark 16:19 Luke 24:51 |
| 43 | Messiah would be seated at God’s right hand. | Psalm 68:18 Psalm 110:1 |
Mark 16:19 Matthew 22:44 |
| 44 | Messiah would be a sacrifice for sin. | Isaiah 53:5-12 | Romans 5:6-8 |
To further solidify the fact that Jesus was all He claimed to be is this fact:
The prophets knew when the Messiah would appear! We get hints of this in passages like this:
But when the fullness of the time had come, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the law,
Galatians 4:4
Notice the expression “fullness of time” Jesus ministry, it’s length, and the crucifixion came on a schedule set by God. The Message Bible seems to understand this and expresses the phrase “fullness of the time” as this:
when the time arrived that was set by God the Father
Galatians 4:4 (MSG)
In the Book of Daniel, we find the exact time Jesus was to appear on the scene. It was 483 years after the commandment for restoration of Jerusalem as found in the Book of Ezra.
This prophecy along with an easy to read chart is found in the blog called:
Part 3-Second Coming Predictions (7 years of tribulations?)
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My friends, there is so much to learn about Jesus. I hope you will continue with me on this “Jesus Journey.” As we continue to get our answers from scripture your faith in Him will increase and you will find peace for your soul.
Next time, we will talk about the difference between Allah and Jehovah. Many Christians think they are the same. We will see there a big difference between the true and the false. Finally, we will end with the real God standing up as we have asked in this series. Until then, let us be comforted by the words of the Lord Himself:
Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.
John 14:27