What did Jesus claim
about Himself?
He
claimed to be the promised Messiah, expected by Israel …
·
Peter
first recognised that Jesus was the Messiah (Matthew 16,16); Jesus didn’t deny
that, but commended Peter for that insight.
·
At
his trial before the High Priest, Jesus was charged to state if He was really
the Messiah; he replied “I AM” (notice those words!) and went on to claim that
one day he would be seen at the right hand of the father and return in glory.
·
In
John 4, the Samaritan woman said that when Messiah comes, He would explain
everything; Jesus replied “I who talk to you, I AM he”.
·
More
to come
He
claimed to know God the Father intimately, to know how God felt and to know His
mind …
·
He
claimed that God loved Him, and that He (Jesus) was doing what God wanted (John
5,19+).
·
He
claimed to be fulfilling the fundamental purposes of God (John 6,35-40).
·
He
received and claimed that God the Father approved all Jesus said and did (Matt
3,17; John 12,28).
He
claimed to be God Himself in human form. Not in quite those words, but implied
by …
·
The
“I AM” sayings – “I AM” was the name of God given to Moses (Exodus 3,14) : Several times Jesus used this phrase (I am the bread of
life; the Good Shepherd; the way the truth and the life; etc.) and this
suggests strongly that He was identifying with God.
·
In
talking to the disciples, Jesus said that “whoever has seen me has seen the
Father” (John 14,9).
·
Jesus
claimed an “identity” with the Father (John 14,10-11) … in Set Theory, if A is
in B and B is in A, that is an identity.
·
Jesus
regularly referred to God as “My Father”, and to Himself as “the Son”.
He
claimed that after his ascension, He would be given power over “all things” (in
the universe, both physical and abstract), and would one day return in glory
and power.
·
His
return is still awaited!
·
It
must be noted that this “triumphant” role was the sort of Messiah that the
first century Jewish leaders/people were expecting; for His first coming, Jesus
was not the power figure who would expel the occupying Romans. Old Testament
prophecies often mix up events that relate to the two appearances of Christ, in
a way that goes against 21st century notions of “orderly writing”,
because their focus was not “chronological order” but “who” (the Messiah will
A, and he – the same person – will B; where A happened at the first coming and
B is yet to come).
Are these claims
reasonable?
They
are supported by …
1.
Old
Testament Prophecy (examples to come); if it was predicted that the Messiah
would do X, and Jesus did X, that makes His claim to Messiahship at least
reasonable.
·
Several
OT Messianic prophecies have slightly confused grammar, where God says “he (the
Messiah) will” and “I will” in the same paragraph (examples to come): these
indicate a very strong hint of divinity for the Messiah.
·
Jesus
himself quoted (Matthew 22,41-46) a Psalm of King David, where that great king
referred to the Messiah, David’s son, as his LORD.
·
Some
people claim that Jesus deliberately followed these prophecies, to make people
think he was the Messiah; but some of the prophecies were outside his control,
notably those about his death and burial.
2.
Signs
and wonders : Jesus performed many miracles and signs
… not to show off, but to show God’s love and concern, and to indicate His
authority.
·
Miracles
of healing : examples to come
·
Miracles
of control over nature : examples to come
·
Miracles
of insight : examples to come
3.
Someone
has said that …. (much more to be added).
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