JESUS - Could he really be God???

If Jesus were really the Creator in the flesh, then that is not only an outrageous claim, but it is incredibly important.  His word would be the words of the Creator and powerful, entirely true (to be consistent with God’s holiness), and providing hope because of God’s love.  If Jesus were God, and he claimed that accepting him is critical, then he would be right.  Words like these from John 3:16-18 have real bite. 

“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.  For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.  Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son.” John 3:16-18 (NIV)

How would we know?  Is it really possible to be confident that Jesus was who he claimed to be?  Does the Bible even make him a candidate for such?  Here are a few possible predictions that one might consider:

1.  If the Creator were to choose to step into His drama personally to restore a people, you might expect that He would prepare the people ahead so that they might recognize Him

His coming was foreshadowed for hundreds of years in the ways God chose and revealed Himself to the Children of Israel

The Bible records many prophecies that would be explicitly fulfilled when this promised one came.   A few of these include:

  • being born in Bethlehem (Micah 5:2)
  • being known as a king (Isaiah 9:6-7)
  • coming from the tribe of Judah (Genesis 49:10)
  • being rejected by His people and dying for them (Isaiah 53 – one of the most amazing passages in the Old Testament)
  • The method of His death was described 300 years before crucifixion was invented. (Psalms 22:16)

2.  If God were to enter the human race, that entrance might be special… 

  • An angel visited Mary to promise the child – pretty rare.
  • Being born of a virgin is definitely unique.
  • A host of angels proclaiming his birth is unique.
  • We may not be able to independently verify these, but they are at least consistent with the expectation.

The Sermon on the Mount Carl Bloch, 1890

3.  If God were to take on human form, then the words he spoke might be special…

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The words and teaching of Jesus have been recognized as special for almost 2000 years.  Listeners recognized that he did not speak like the other teachers, but spoke as one who had authority.  His words angered some.  That is very consistent with the human race having rejected God and hence rejected the words of God in the flesh.

 

 

 

 

4. If God were to take on human form, then that human should be expected to display the attributes of God including His power.

The miracles of Christ are consistent with that claim.  He healed the lame, gave sight to the blind, calmed the seas, and walked on the water.  We may not be able to independently verify these, but we do have verification that his followers claimed that he worked miracles from early non-Christian sources.  This was no legend added later.

5. If God became human and died, then surely that death would be unique in some way…

 

Jesus was rejected by man, including the religious leaders of the day, as predicted in the OT.  He was put through the mockery of a trial.  He prayed for forgiveness of those who crucified Him.  The NT claims that his death coincided with an earthquake and miracles.  Significantly the curtain of the Jewish temple that separated man from the Holy of Holies was torn from top to bottom, representing God acting to provide a means for man to access God again.

 

Most importantly, Jesus is the only man in history to predict that He would come back from the dead and pull it off.

 

 

 

6.  If God became human, then surely His life would not be just a ripple than appeared on history and disappeared.

Today it is estimated that there are around 1.3 billion believers in Christ. (or 2.2 billion if you use a looser definition.  Being born into a Christian home or nation does not give a real relationship with Jesus.)  There are followers in most every nation and major culture group.  Though their worship methods vary and there are differences in the details of their doctrines, the essential components of belief go back for hundreds of years, such as in the apostle’s creed from the 4th century.  The impact of Jesus on art and music is huge.  When we visited the Louvre in Paris, I thought about how much would be lost if you took out all of the Christian images.  Think of the hospitals and schools that have been started by Christians.