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CHANNEL PIN: C0031D251
-----Original Message-----
From:
albilla2real@gmail.com
Date: Sun, 20 Mar 2016 19:13:15
To: <
albilla2real.albilla@blogger.com>
Reply-To:
albilla2real@gmail.com
Subject: Who is Jesus? Is Jesus God? See what Jesus said about himself, his equality with God, and what exactly Jesus did to prove it.
It is impossible for us to know conclusively
whether God exists and what he is like unless he
takes the initiative and reveals himself.
We must scan the horizon of history to see if
there is any clue to God's revelation. There is one
clear clue. In an obscure village in Palestine,
2,000 years ago, a Child was born in a stable.
Today the entire world is still celebrating the
birth of Jesus, and for good reason.
Is Jesus God? Did Jesus ever claim to be God?
We're told that "the common people heard him
gladly." And, "He taught as One who had
authority, and not as their teachers of the Law."1
It soon became apparent,
however, that he was making
shocking and startling
statements about himself. He
began to identify himself as
far more than a remarkable
teacher or prophet. He began
to say clearly that he was
God. He made his identity the
focal point of his teaching. The all-important
question he put to those who followed him was,
"Who do you say I am?" When Peter answered
and said, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living
God,"2 Jesus was not shocked, nor did he rebuke
Peter. On the contrary, he commended him!
Jesus frequently referred to "My Father," and his
hearers got the full impact of his words. We are
told, "The Jews tried all the harder to kill him; not
only was he breaking the Sabbath, but he was
even calling God his own Father, making himself
equal with God."3
On another occasion he said, "I and My Father
are One." Immediately the religious authorities
wanted to stone him. He asked them which of his
good works caused them to want to kill him. They
replied, "We are not stoning you for any of these
but for blasphemy, because you, a mere man,
claim to be God."4
Is Jesus God? Look at His life.
As Jesus was healing a paralyzed man, Jesus said
to him, "Son, your sins are forgiven you." The
religious leaders immediately reacted. "Why does
this fellow talk like that? He's blaspheming! Who
can forgive sins but God alone?"
When Jesus was on trial for his life, the high
priest put the question to him directly: "Are you
the Christ, the Son of the Blessed One?"
"I am," said Jesus. "And you will see the Son of
Man sitting at the right hand of the Mighty One
and coming on the clouds of heaven."
The high priest rendered the verdict. "Why do we
need any more witnesses?" he asked. "You have
heard his blasphemy."5
So close was Jesus' connection with God that he
equated a person's attitude to himself with the
person's attitude toward God. Thus, to know him
was to know God.6 To see him was to see God.7
To believe in him was to believe in God.8 To
receive him was to receive God.9 To hate him
was to hate God.10 And to honor him was to
honor God.11
Did Jesus prove he is God?
Let's look at the evidence for Jesus' resurrection.
Given all the miracles he had performed, Jesus
easily could have avoided the cross, but he chose
not to.
Before his arrest, Jesus said, "I lay down my life
that I may take it up again. No one takes it from
me, but I lay it down of my own accord...and I
have authority to take it up again."24
During his arrest, Jesus' friend Peter tried to
defend him. But Jesus said to Peter, "Put your
sword back into its place...Do you think that I
cannot appeal to my Father, and he will at once
send me more than twelve legions of angels?"25
He had that kind of power in heaven and on
earth. Jesus went willingly to his death.
Jesus' crucifixion and burial.
Jesus' death was by public execution on a cross, a
common form of torture and death, used by the
Roman government for many centuries. The
accusation against Jesus was for blasphemy (for
claiming to be God). Jesus said it was to pay for
our sin.
Jesus was lashed with a multi-cord whip having
metal or bone fragmented ends. A mock crown
of long thorns was beaten into his skull. They
forced him to walk to an execution hill outside of
Jerusalem. They put him on a wooden cross,
nailing his wrists and feet to it. He hung there,
eventually dying. A sword was thrust into his side
to confirm his death.
The body of Jesus was taken from the cross,
wrapped in mummy-like linens covered with
gummy-wet spices. His body was placed in a solid
rock tomb, where a very large boulder was rolled
down to it, to secure the entrance.
Everyone knew that Jesus said he would rise
from the dead in three days. So they stationed a
guard of trained Roman soldiers at the tomb.
They also affixed an official Roman seal to the
outside of the tomb declaring it government
property.
Three days later, the tomb was empty.
In spite of all this, three days
later the boulder, formerly
sealing the tomb, was found
up a slope, some distance
away from the tomb. The
body was gone. Only the
grave linens were found in
the tomb, caved in, empty of
the body.
It is important to note that both critics and
followers of Jesus agree that the tomb was
empty and the body missing.
The earliest explanation circulated was that the
disciples stole the body while the guards were
sleeping. This makes little sense. This was an
entire guard of highly trained Roman soldiers,
and falling asleep on duty was punishable by
death.
Further, each of the disciples (individually and
separately from each other) were tortured and
martyred for proclaiming that Jesus was alive,
risen from the dead. Men and women will die for
what they believe to be true, though it may
actually be false. They do not, however, die for
what they know is a lie. If ever a man tells the
truth, it is on his deathbed.
Is Jesus God? - possible explanations
The question is, was he telling
the truth?
Maybe Jesus lied when he said
he was God. Perhaps he knew
he was not God, but
deliberately deceived his
hearers. But there is a problem
with this reasoning. Even those
who deny his deity affirm that he was a great
moral teacher. Jesus could hardly be a great
moral teacher if, on the most crucial point of his
teaching -- his identity -- he was a deliberate liar.
Another possibility is that Jesus was sincere but
self-deceived. We have a name for a person
today who thinks he is God. Mentally disabled.
But as we look at the life of Christ, we see no
evidence of the abnormality and imbalance we
find in a mentally ill person. Rather, we find the
greatest composure under pressure.
A third alternative is that his enthusiastic
followers put words into his mouth he would
have been shocked to hear. Were he to return,
he would immediately repudiate them.
No, modern archeology verifies that four
biographies of Christ were written within the
lifetime of people who saw, heard and followed
Jesus. These gospel accounts contained specific
facts and descriptions confirmed by those who
were eyewitnesses of Jesus. The early writing of
the Gospels by Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, is
why they gained such circulation and impact,
unlike the fictional Gnostic gospels which
appeared centuries later.
Jesus was not a liar, or mentally disabled, or
manufactured apart from historical reality. The
only other alternative is that Jesus was being
consciously truthful when he said he was God.
Is Jesus God? What is the proof?
From one point of view, however, claims don't
mean much. Talk is cheap. Anyone can make
claims. There have been others who have
claimed to be God. I could claim to be God, and
you could claim to be God, but the question all of
us must answer is, "What credentials do we bring
to substantiate our claim?" In my case it wouldn't
take you five minutes to disprove my claim. It
probably wouldn't take too much more to
dispose of yours.
But when it comes to Jesus of Nazareth, it's not
so simple. He had the credentials to back up his
claim. He said, "Even though you do not believe
me, believe the evidence of the miracles, that
you may learn and understand that the Father is
in Me, and I am in the Father."12
The life of Jesus - His unique moral character
His moral character coincided
with his claims. The quality of
his life was such that he was
able to challenge his very
enemies with the question,
"Can any of you prove me
guilty of sin?"13 He was met
by silence, even though he
addressed those who would have liked to point
out a flaw in his character.
We read of Jesus being tempted by Satan, but we
never hear of a confession of sin on his part. He
never asked for forgiveness, though he told his
followers to do so.
This lack of any sense of moral failure on Jesus'
part is astonishing in view of the fact that it is
completely contrary to the experience of the
saints and mystics throughout the ages. The
closer men and women draw to God, the more
overwhelmed they are with their own failure,
corruption, and shortcomings. The closer one is
to a shining light, the more he realizes his need
of a bath. This is true also, in the moral realm, for
ordinary mortals.
It is also striking that John, Paul, and Peter, all of
whom were trained from earliest childhood to
believe in the universality of sin, all spoke of the
sinlessness of Christ: "He committed no sin, and
no deceit was found in his mouth."14
Even Pilate, who sentenced Jesus to death,
asked, "What evil has he done?" After listening to
the crowd, Pilate concluded, "I am innocent of
this man's blood; see to it yourselves." The crowd
relentlessly demanded Jesus be crucified (for
blasphemy, claiming to be God). The Roman
centurion who assisted in the crucifixion of Christ
said, "Surely he was the Son of God."15
The life of Jesus - He cured the sick
Jesus constantly demonstrated his power and
compassion. He made the lame to walk, the blind
to see, and healed those with diseases. For
example, a man who had been blind from birth.
Everyone knew him as the familiar beggar who
sat outside the temple. Yet Jesus healed him. As
the authorities questioned the beggar about
Jesus, he said, "One thing I do know. I was blind
but now I see!" he declared. He was astounded
that these religious authorities didn't recognize
this Healer as the Son of God. "Nobody has ever
heard of opening the eyes of a man born blind,"
he said.16 To him the evidence was obvious.
The life of Jesus - His ability to control nature
Jesus also demonstrated a supernatural power
over nature itself. He commanded a raging storm
of high wind and waves on the Sea of Galilee to
be calm. Those in the boat were awestruck,
asking, "Who is this? Even the wind and waves
obey him!"17 He turned water into wine, at a
wedding. He fed a massive crowd of 5,000
people, starting with five loaves of bread and two
fish. He gave a grieving widow back her only son
by raising him from the dead.
Lazarus, a friend of Jesus' died and was buried in
a tomb for four days already. Yet Jesus said,
"Lazarus, come forth!" and dramatically raised
him from the dead, witnessed by many. It is most
significant that his enemies did not deny this
miracle. Rather, they decided to kill him. "If we let
him go on like this," they said, "everyone will
believe in him."18
Is Jesus God, as he claimed?
Jesus' supreme evidence of
deity was his own
resurrection from the dead.
Five times in the course of his
life, Jesus clearly predicted in
what specific way he would
be killed and affirmed that
three days later he would rise
from the dead.
Surely this was the great test. It was a claim that
was easy to verify. It would either happen or not.
It would either confirm his stated identity or
destroy it. And significant for you and me, Jesus'
rising from the dead would verify or make
laughable statements such as these:
"I am the way, the truth, and the life; no one
comes to the Father except through me."19 "I am
the light of the world. He who follows me will not
live in darkness, but will have the light of life."20
For those who believe in him, "I give them
eternal life..."21
So by his own words, he offers this proof, ""The
Son of Man is going to be delivered into the
hands of men, and they will kill him. And when he
is killed, after three days he will rise."22
What this would mean
If Christ rose, we know with
certainty that God exists, what
God is like, and how we may
know him in personal
experience. The universe takes
on meaning and purpose, and
it is possible to experience the
living God in this life.
On the other hand, if Christ did not rise from the
dead, Christianity has no objective validity or
reality. The martyrs who went singing to the lions,
and contemporary missionaries who have given
their lives while taking this message to others,
have been poor deluded fools.
Paul, the great apostle, wrote, "If Christ has not
been raised, our preaching is useless and so is
your faith."23 Paul rested his whole case on the
bodily resurrection of Christ.
Maybe the authorities moved the body? Yet they
crucified Jesus to stop people from believing in
him. This also is a weak possibility. If they had
Christ's body, they could have paraded it through
the streets of Jerusalem. In one fell swoop they
would have successfully smothered Christianity
in its cradle. That they did not do this bears
eloquent testimony to the fact that they did not
have the body.
Another theory is that the women, distraught
and overcome by grief, missed their way in the
dimness of the morning and went to the wrong
tomb. In their distress they imagined Christ had
risen because the tomb was empty. But again, if
the women went to the wrong tomb, why did the
high priests and other enemies of the faith not
go to the right tomb and produce the body?
One other possibility is what
some call "the swoon theory."
In this view, Christ did not
actually die. He was mistakenly
reported to be dead, but had
swooned from exhaustion,
pain, and loss of blood, and in
the coolness of the tomb, he
revived. (One would have to
overlook the fact that they put
a spear in his side to medically confirm his
death.)
But let us assume for a moment that Christ was
buried alive and swooned. Is it possible to
believe that he would have survived three days in
a damp tomb without food or water or attention
of any kind? Would he have had the strength to
extricate himself from the grave clothes, push
the heavy stone away from the mouth of the
grave, overcome the Roman guards, and walk
miles on feet that had been pierced with spikes?
It too makes little sense.
However, it wasn't the empty tomb that
convinced Jesus' followers of his deity.
Not just the empty tomb.
That alone did not convince them that Jesus
actually rose from the dead, was alive, and was
God. What convinced them were the number of
times that Jesus showed up, in person, in the
flesh, and ate with them, and talked with them.
Luke, one of the gospel writers, says of Jesus, "he
presented himself to them and gave many
convincing proofs that he was alive. He appeared
to them over a period of forty days and spoke
about the kingdom of God."26
Is Jesus God?
All four of the gospel writers give accounts of
Jesus physically showing up after his burial,
obviously alive. One time that Jesus joined the
disciples, Thomas, was not there. When they told
him about it, Thomas simply wouldn't believe it.
He flatly stated, "Unless I see the nail marks in his
hands and put my finger where the nails were,
and put my hand into his side, I will not believe
it."
One week later, Jesus came to them again, with
Thomas now present. Jesus said to Thomas, "Put
your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your
hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and
believe." Thomas replied, "My Lord and my God!"
Jesus told him "Because you have seen me, you
have believed; blessed are those who have not
seen and yet have believed."27
Your opportunity
Why did Jesus go through all of that? It was so we
could know God now, in this life, by believing in
him.
Jesus offers us a far more meaningful life, by
being in a relationship with him. Jesus said, "I
came that they might have life, and have it
abundantly."28
You can begin an intimate relationship with him
right now. You can begin to personally know God
in this life on earth, and after death into eternity.
Here is God's promise to us:
"For God so loved the world, that he gave his
only Son, that whoever believes in him should
not perish but have eternal life."29
Jesus took our sin on himself, on the cross. He
chose to receive punishment for our sin, so that
our sin would no longer be a barrier between us
and him. Because he fully paid for your sin, he
offers you complete forgiveness and a
relationship with him.
Here is how you can begin that relationship.
Jesus said, "Behold, I stand at the door [of your
heart] and knock; if anyone hears
for more information please join us on twitter @albillsng and feel free to write or send us anything on email with
albills.com@gmail.com, or chat us up on whatsapp with 08063465456, for Facebook users join our group with - so you've heard or like our page - billstips
CHANNEL PIN: C0031D251