Last time we met, we talked about the triune nature of God. We dealt with the fact that the scriptures testify to the Trinity and laid out what that means. We need to understand this essential belief of who God is.
Today, we are asking the question, “Why is Jesus God?”
Before we dive into that, however, we do need to affirm the fact that Jesus was/is real. Some have suggested that Jesus wasn’t a real individual. But we have plenty of historical documents that speak of him.
Josephus, an ancient historian who lived between 37 and 100 AD, described Jesus in his writings.
“At this time, there was a wise man who was called Jesus. His conduct was good and was known to be virtuous. And many people from among the jews and the other nations became his disciples. Pilate condemned him to be crucified and to die. And those who had become his disciples did not abandon his discipleship. The report that he was alive; accordingly, he was perhaps the messiah concerning whom the prophets have recounted wonders.”
There was a historian named Thallus who lived between 5 and 60 AD who wrote an extensive history of the Mediterranean. While much of his works are lost to history, another credible historian quotes Thallus, who was describing a day Jesus was crucified. Another trusted historian named Tacitus, who lived from 56 to 117 AD, describes the trial of Jesus and his sentence to death.
Some argue that since none of the people who wrote about Jesus while he was alive, then that must mean that these writings are false and can’t be trusted. But again, that’s a very agenda-driven view of history. Many of the important figures of ancient history weren’t documented until decades or even centuries after their deaths. Their history was preserved through a tradition of spoken word. As we talked about with the reliability of scriptures, the documents we have discussing Jesus are incredibly early and are more reliable than much of the documents we have on ancient history.
So we can affirm that Jesus was a real individual, but what about His Divinity? Some claim that claims of his divinity didn’t come about until decades later and that people have exaggerated his writings. They point to Mark, which was likely the earliest gospel, which focused on the humanity of Jesus. But then they look to John, written decades later, which focuses on Jesus’ divinity. But look at the writings of Paul. Many of them were written before Mark and Paul consistently saw Christ in a divine state. Look at what he said in Philippians 2:6-8 about Jesus:
Though he was God, he did not think of equality with God as something to cling to. Instead, he gave up his divine privileges; he took the humble position of a slave and was born as a human being. When he appeared in human form, he humbled himself in obedience to God and died a criminal’s death on a cross.
Another common claim is that Jesus never claimed to be God. But this couldn’t be further from the truth. His actions and His words all pointed to acknowledgement of his divinity and His status as divine.
His Words:
In John 5, we see Jesus heal a man on the sabbath. Due to sabbath rules that was inappropriate. When confronted, he says in verse 17
“My father is working until now, and I am working.”
This made them angry, so much so that they wanted to kill him. Verse 18 tells us it wasn’t just for breaking the sabbath but because, “he was even calling God his own father, making himself equal with God.”
His Actions:
In Matthew 9, Jesus is teaching, and they bring to him a paralyzed man. Jesus says in verse 2, “Take heart, my son; your sins are forgiven.” The religious leaders in the room get angry, accusing Jesus of blasphemy. The only person who can forgive a person of their sins is God. Jesus’ words here suggested that He had the authority to do so thus he was God. But anyone can make a claim. But let’s look at the situation as someone who doesn’t know Jesus is divine.
If you are one of the religious leaders and you are observing a well-respected man who is a good teacher and has developed a following as he points people back to God. This man has done many miracles and signs that show that God has His hand on this man’s life and has given him authority to do many things. Up to this point, you’ve seen Jesus heal people by touching them and even speaking words. You’ve seen him cast out demons. You’ve heard him teach some really solid things with unbelievable authority and knowledge. But suddenly claim to be God, what would you expect to see happen?
Likely, you’d expect God to remove his blessings. God wouldn’t allow him to perform miracles or do other things. But look at what Jesus does when He sees them reacting.
But Jesus, knowing their thoughts, said, “Why do you think evil in your hearts? For which is easier, to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Rise and walk’? But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins,”—he then said to the paralytic—“Rise, pick up your bed and go home.” And he rose and went home.
Matthew 9:4–7.
Here, Jesus in word claimed to be God, but His actions afterwards testified to that statement because if he had blasphemed, then God wouldn’t have allowed the healing.
Old Testament Points To Jesus.
So we see these claims and actions that point to His divinity, but it’s also key to realize that the Old Testament actively pointed forward in history to Jesus being the Messiah!
Micah 5:2 tells us the Messiah will be born in Bethlehem. We see it happen in Matthew 2:1
Isaiah 7:14 tells us the messiah would be born of a virgin. We see that take place in Matthew 1:22-23 and Luke 1:26-31.
Genesis 12:3 tells us the Messiah will come from the line of Abraham. We see that in Matthew 1:1 and Romans 9;5
Genesis 49:10 tells us that he would come from the tribe of Judah. We see that in Luke 4:33 and Hebrews 7:14
Psalm 41:9 says he would be betrayed by a friend. We see it happen in Matthew 26:49
Zechariah 11:12-13 says he would be betrayed for 30 pieces of silver that would later be thrown on the temple floor, and the person who did would go buy the potter’s field. We see it happen in Matthew 26:15, 27:5-7.
Psalm 22:16 says his hands and feet would be pierced, which we see happen in Luke 23:33.
Psalm 34:20 says his bones would be unbroken, Psalm 22:14 says his heart will rupture, Zechariah 12:10 says his side would be pierced, all of which happened at his crucifixion.
At the end of the day, Jesus fulfilled 60 major Old Testament prophecies. The probability of fulfilling just 8 of these is 1 in 1017. Another way you could say it is 1 in a quadrillion… That’s a 1 with 17 zeros…
One statistician illustrated it this way. Take 1 quadrillion silver dollars. And cover the entire state of Texas. This would give you a full 2-foot deep pile of coins covering the entire state. Then, put a big red X on 1 coin and shuffle it into the pile somewhere in the state. Then, blind fold yourself and start walking. When you feel like stopping, stop, bend over, and pick up a single coin. You have the same chance of finding that one coin as you do fulfilling just 8 of the prophecies Jesus fulfills… and yet he fulfills 60!
There’s an old phrase that is used in defense of the idea of who Jesus is. If you look at His teachings and claims, you have to come to one of 3 conclusions… He is either a lunatic, a Liar, or He’s Lord. If he’s crazy, then everything can be dismissed. He’s just a crazy guy. If he’s a liar, then he’s no longer a good teacher, which, when you look at his teachings; He was an incredible one. Even his enemies couldn’t deny the accuracy and depth of His teachings. So if he’s not crazy and he’s not a liar, that leaves only one more option… He’s Lord.
Scriptures all point to him as the Son of God, as divine. His very words and actions all declare that He is the great I Am. The question becomes… how will you view Him?
You can ignore him and His full teachings if you think he’s a lunatic or a liar… but if you declare that He is Lord, that means you have to make a change in your life.
Adventures in Student Ministry 