I wrote this years ago in a blog I used to maintain, but no longer have the time to update. I am posting it here for critique and discussion. I plan to post each part once a week.
----------------------------------------------
In the opening of Luke’s account in the book of Acts, we read that Jesus “presented Himself alive after His suffering, by many convincing proofs, appearing to them over a period of forty days…” (Acts 1:3 NASB, emphasis mine). Although the context of this passage refers to the resurrection of Jesus, it got me thinking: what convincing proofs did Jesus give to authenticate His deity? There are many passages of Scripture that, through the words of Jesus Himself, His followers, and His enemies, demonstrate that Jesus claimed to be God. These include:
Isa 9:6-7, Isa 43:10-11, Matt 1:23, John 1:1-3, John 1:14, John 5:17-18, John 8:23-25, John 8:28, John 10:30-33, John 14:9, John 20:28-29, Phil 2:5-6, Col 1:16-19, Col 2:8-9, Tit 2:13, 1Ti 6:14-16, Rev 1:8, and Rev 22:13. Also, if you pair Matthew 9:1-8, Mark 2:1-12, and Luke 5:17-26 with John 8:28, Jesus claims that the "son of man" has the authority to forgive sins, and claims to be the "son of man" in John 8. Also, see Psalm 102:25-27 paired with Hebrews 1:10-12.
So what?
Many people in history have claimed to be God. Pharaoh claimed to be god. Charles Manson claimed to be god. There are several psych wards full of crazy people who also believe they are god! What makes Jesus’ claim to deity different?
If Jesus is God, how would He authenticate it? If Jesus is God, what can we expect from Him? In this seven-part series, we will explore seven ways Jesus confirmed His deity. They include:
Addendum
For those who were paying attention, there is a possibility that I committed the logical fallacy affirming the consequent. Here is what this looks like:
P1: If Jesus is God, then Jesus authenticated His deity.
P2: Jesus authenticated His deity.
Conclusion: Therefore Jesus is God.
Had I taken this approach, then the accusation could technically be correct; however, this is not the approach I take. The accusation fails because the antecedent implies the conclusion in the first form. This becomes more obvious when we reverse the consequent and the antecedent:
P1: If Jesus authenticated His deity, then Jesus is God.
P2: Jesus authenticated His deity.
Conclusion: Therefore, Jesus is God.
This affirms the antecedent rather than the consequent.
----------------------------------------------
In the opening of Luke’s account in the book of Acts, we read that Jesus “presented Himself alive after His suffering, by many convincing proofs, appearing to them over a period of forty days…” (Acts 1:3 NASB, emphasis mine). Although the context of this passage refers to the resurrection of Jesus, it got me thinking: what convincing proofs did Jesus give to authenticate His deity? There are many passages of Scripture that, through the words of Jesus Himself, His followers, and His enemies, demonstrate that Jesus claimed to be God. These include:
Isa 9:6-7, Isa 43:10-11, Matt 1:23, John 1:1-3, John 1:14, John 5:17-18, John 8:23-25, John 8:28, John 10:30-33, John 14:9, John 20:28-29, Phil 2:5-6, Col 1:16-19, Col 2:8-9, Tit 2:13, 1Ti 6:14-16, Rev 1:8, and Rev 22:13. Also, if you pair Matthew 9:1-8, Mark 2:1-12, and Luke 5:17-26 with John 8:28, Jesus claims that the "son of man" has the authority to forgive sins, and claims to be the "son of man" in John 8. Also, see Psalm 102:25-27 paired with Hebrews 1:10-12.
So what?
Many people in history have claimed to be God. Pharaoh claimed to be god. Charles Manson claimed to be god. There are several psych wards full of crazy people who also believe they are god! What makes Jesus’ claim to deity different?
If Jesus is God, how would He authenticate it? If Jesus is God, what can we expect from Him? In this seven-part series, we will explore seven ways Jesus confirmed His deity. They include:
- His profound teachings;
- His authority;
- His miracles;
- His fulfillment of Old Testament prophecy;
- His own prophecies;
- His sinless nature; and
- His resurrection.
- The beatitudes of Jesus. In Matthew 5:1-11, Jesus gave was is known as the “sermon on the mount”. These 11 verses are considered by many the most revolutionary teaching that has ever existed in human history. It teaches about humility, compassion, peacemaking, and how one ought to respond to persecution, namely, with rejoicing. He said something similar in Matthew 5:43-44 in that one should love and pray for their enemies, rather than hating them.
- He spoke in parables. Many of Jesus’ teachings are craftily constructed in stories, known as parables. Throughout the Gospels, Jesus spoke a total of 37 parables, utilizing word-pictures that any commoner would have understood. He utilized farming, food, authoritatives, virgins, and shepherding in His teachings. He taught about sowing the Word of God (Matthew 13:3-9, Mark 4:3-9, Luke 8:5-8), the Kingdom of God (Matthew 13:24-52, Matthew 22:1-14, Mark 4:26-32, and Luke 13:18-21, loss/redemption (Luke 15), and end times (Matthew 13:24-30, Matthew 13:47-50, Matthew 21:33-41, Matthew 22:1-14, Matthew 24:32-35, Matthew 24:42-51, Matthew 25:1-13, Mark 12:1-9, Mark 13:28-31, Mark 13:34-37, Luke 12:16-21, Luke 12:35-48, Luke 13:6-9, Luke 14:15-24, Luke 20-9-16, and Luke 21:29-33), among others.
- He taught sacrificial love. In John 15:13, Jesus taught that the greater act of love is to lay down your life for your friends. In Luke 14:25-34, He taught us to count the cost of discipleship. In Matthew 16:24-26, He teaches that one must deny themselves and take up their cross if they wish to follow Him. In Matthew 6:24, He teaches that one cannot serve both God and money. One must be necessarily sacrificed to attain the other in terms of mastery. In Mark 8:36 and Matthew 16:26, He teaches that a man will lose his own soul if he runs after worldly pursuits, apart from God (also taught in the entire book of Ecclesiastes). Time and time again, Jesus teaches the importance of sacrifice to love God and others, the greatest commandments (Matthew 22:35-40, Mark 12:28-31, Luke 10-25-28).
- The Servant is Greatest in the Kingdom of God. According to Matthew 18:1-6, Jesus taught that the greatest in the Kingdom of God are those who have childlike faith. He also taught in Luke 22:25-27 that the greatest in God’s kingdom is the servant, which is completely counter-cultural not just in Jesus’ time, but also in the western world! In our worldly system, the greatest are those with power, fame, fortune, good looks, a successful career, and lots of stuff! Not so says Jesus.
Addendum
For those who were paying attention, there is a possibility that I committed the logical fallacy affirming the consequent. Here is what this looks like:
P1: If Jesus is God, then Jesus authenticated His deity.
P2: Jesus authenticated His deity.
Conclusion: Therefore Jesus is God.
Had I taken this approach, then the accusation could technically be correct; however, this is not the approach I take. The accusation fails because the antecedent implies the conclusion in the first form. This becomes more obvious when we reverse the consequent and the antecedent:
P1: If Jesus authenticated His deity, then Jesus is God.
P2: Jesus authenticated His deity.
Conclusion: Therefore, Jesus is God.
This affirms the antecedent rather than the consequent.