The Bible clearly tells us that Jesus Christ is God.
Artwork by Harry Matthews (c) 2011
1. God Himself said He would become a man
Zechariah 12:8-10
God Himself says that they will look upon Him, the ‘one who they have pierced’. God Himself says He would become a person and be pierced.
God says of Himself; “And I will pour out on the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem a spirit of grace and supplication. They will look on me, the one they have pierced …” (Zechariah 12:8-10).
Jesus is the one who was pierced.
“Look, he (Jesus) is coming with the clouds, and ‘every eye will see him, even those who pierced him’; and all peoples on earth ‘will mourn because of him.’ So shall it be! Amen (Revelation 1:7, words in brackets added).
Isaiah 9:6
The Old Testament tells us clearly that a male would be born who would be Mighty God.
“For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace“ (Isaiah 9:6).
2. John the Apostle says Jesus is God
“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God” (John 1:1).
The ‘Word’ is Jesus. (John 1:14 says; “The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.”)
So “In the beginning was JESUS, and JESUS was with God, and JESUS was God” (John 1:1).
3. Jesus Himself says He is God and allowed Himself to be treated as God
Revelation 21:6-7
“He (Jesus Christ) said to me: ‘It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. To the thirsty I will give water without cost from the spring of the water of life. Those who are victorious will inherit all this, and I (Jesus Christ) will be their God and they will be my children’” (words in brackets are added, Revelation 21:6-7).
[Jesus Christ IS the Alpha and the Omega … “Look, I am coming soon! My reward is with me, and I will give to each person according to what they have done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End … Amen. Come Lord Jesus.” (Revelation 22:12-13, 20)John 8:58
“… truly I tell you,” Jesus answered, “before Abraham was born, I am!” (John 8:58).
In John 8:58, Jesus is using the same title as God used of Himself when Moses asked God; “What is your name?” “God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM. This is what you are to say to the Israelites: ‘I AM has sent me to you.” (Exodus 3:14)
What was the response of the Jews towards Jesus when He referred to Himself as ‘I AM’?
“At this, they picked up stones to stone him” (John 8:59). The Jews knew all about Moses and what had been said and they knew Jesus was claiming to be was equal to God. In their eyes this was blasphemy and (in their eyes) He needed to be stoned.
Luke 5:20-21
“When Jesus saw their faith, he said, “Friend, your sins are forgiven. The Pharisees and the teachers of the law began thinking to themselves, ‘Who is this fellow who speaks blasphemy? Who can forgive sins but God alone?’” (Luke 5:20-21)
The Bible is clear; only God can forgive us of our sins. Jesus was claiming to do something only God could do. The Pharisees thought Jesus was only a man so therefore what He said was blasphemy. But if Jesus was God then it was not blasphemy.
Luke 9:38
“Then the man said, “Lord I believe, and he worshiped him” (John 9:38).
The Bible is clear; only God should be worshiped. Jesus accepted worship from men accepting something only God should accept.
John 20:28 – 29
“Thomas said to him (Jesus), “My Lord and my God!” (John 20:28)
If Jesus was not God, what Thomas said was blasphemy. Did Jesus rebuke Thomas for uttering such a thing? No! Jesus said to Thomas; “Then Jesus told him, “Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.” (John 20:29)
4. The enemies of Jesus recognised He claimed to be God
“The Jews who were there gathered around him, saying, “How long will you keep us in suspense? If you are the Messiah, tell us plainly.”
“’I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father’s hand. I and the Father are one.’” Again his Jewish opponents picked up stones to stone him, but Jesus said to them, ‘I have shown you many good works from the Father. For which of these do you stone me?’ ‘We are not stoning you for any good work,’ they replied, ‘ut for blasphemy, because you, a mere man, claim to be God.’” (John 10:28-33).
The Jews (rightly) understood Jesus’ clear claim to be God and, because in their eyes He was just a man, they accused Him of blasphemy and tried to stone Him.
5. God the Father refers to Jesus as God
“But about the Son (Jesus) he (God) says, “Your throne, O God, will last for ever and ever; a sceptre of justice will be the sceptre of your kingdom” (Hebrews 1:8, words in brackets added)
If God became a man… what would you expect?
It has been said that if God became a man, then you would expect Him to:
1. Have an unusual entrance into life
2. Be without sin
3. Manifest the supernatural in the form of miracles
4. Have an acute sense of difference from other men
5. Speak the greatest words ever spoken
6. Have a lasting and universal influence
7. Satisfy the spiritual hungry in man
8. Exercise power over death.1
As we have seen … God Himself foretold that He would become a man, Jesus claimed to be God, the people close to Jesus (e.g. John the Apostle and Thomas) said He was God, God the Father referred to Jesus (His Son) as God, and His enemies knew He was claiming to be God.
So with regards to any person in human history being God, Jesus Christ of Nazareth deserves our closest attention!
Conclusion
As skeptics we once thought that life was too complicated to find real answers. However, there are only two answers to the question, “Is Jesus God?” ; “Yes” or “No”. It is the most important question any person can think about and it is vital to come to the right conclusion. After thorough investigation over some decades now, we’re very happy to call Jesus “our Lord and God”.
“While we wait for the blessed hope—the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ” (Paul the Apostle, Titus 2:13)
“Be shepherds of the church of God, which he {God} bought with his own blood” (Acts 20:28, word in brackets added for clarification).
All the best with your journey through life,
Greg and Dave
1 As quoted in the book Evidence That Demands A Verdict, Josh McDowell, Here’s Life Publishers, 1976. page 111.
