Did Jesus Say, “I Am God?”

That is an interesting question, isn’t it? Did Jesus say that he was God? Did he say, “I am God; worship me?” Well, in the OT, you know that Yahweh, God of Israel, declares at least 164 times that He is God. Moses starts the Ten Commandments in Exodus 20:1 with God declaring Himself, “I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.” He goes on to say that they shall have no other God beside Him. Well, the critics ask, where in the NT Jesus has said that he was God. Hmm, good question!

His distracters further say, Jesus never said that he was God, but it was his followers, his disciples, especially Paul, who made a God out of him. Jesus not only did not say that he was God, but silenced the demons when they declared that He was the Holy One of God.[1] Why did he do that? Again when Simon Peter made his Nazarene declaration that Jesus was the Christ, the Son of the living God, Jesus though he appreciated this bold declaration, told his disciples not to tell anyone that he was Jesus the Christ.[2] Why so? When the rich young ruler came running and addressed him ‘Good Teacher,’ Jesus told him, “Why do you call me good? No one is good but One, that is God.”[3] Why this denial? Well, my friends, we will try and systematically examine the issue to understand the reason behind all these. Come with me, let’s explore the Scriptures!

Jesus always referred to himself by the title the ‘Son of Man,’ at least 48 times. What does it mean? Jewish Rabbis traced the ‘Son of Man’ reference directly to Daniel 7:13-14, where it pointed out to the much awaited Messiah, Christ. But others have been called by similar names. For example the prophet Ezekiel is called ‘son of man,’ at least 90 times in his book of prophecy, starting with Ezekiel 2:1! What do you day to that! Again, Luke calls Adam the son of God, while tracing the genealogy of Jesus![4] God calls King Solomon “My son!”[5] Daniel himself is called the ‘son of man,’ by the angel.[6] In such cases, ‘son of man’ referred to their humanity as mortal beings.

So what is so special about the “Son of Man” of Daniel 7:13-14? For one thing it is in capital letters, so does not refer to ordinary mortals. Secondly Daniel in his vision saw “One like the Son of Man, coming with the clouds of heaven!” He was brought before the Ancient of Days, God, and was given an everlasting dominion, glory and indestructible kingdom, that all the people of the world would serve him. Now this is a pointer of the Messiah, the Christ, no doubt. While describing the end time happenings to his disciples, Jesus paints himself in a similar picture. He says, “Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven and … they will see The Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.”[7] Jesus is confirming the prophecy of Daniel and is applying it to himself, as the Son of Man coming in the clouds of heaven to whom dominion and kingdom were given, whom everyone worshiped. Is this direct enough for you?

Second confirmation of Jesus’ deity-ship is the ‘I Am’ statements of Christ in the Gospel of John. More importantly, Jesus said, “Before Abraham was, I AM.”[8] Jesus is claiming god-ship here because he is using the same title that God gave to Himself in front of Moses before sending him to Egypt to face the Pharaoh. God tells Moses, “I AM WHO I AM,” and that Moses should tell the children of Israel, “I Am has sent me to you.”[9] The moment Jesus said he was I AM, the Jews took up stones to pelt him, because he dared to equate himself to God! That was blasphemy and the punishment was death by stoning! Jesus just hid himself and went out, passing right in the midst of them and escaped.[10] So Jesus did consider himself as God, it was the Jews who had problems with that!

Third, Jesus declared that he had the authority to forgive sins! That was blasphemy, for Jews considered only God can do that! When the paralytic was let down with the bed on his was lying, Jesus heals him and says “Son, your sins are forgiven you.” The ever vigilant scribes present on that occasion murmured, why is this man speaking blasphemies like this? Who can forgive sins but God alone? Jesus replies them saying he said thus so that they may know that “the Son of Man has power on earth to forgive sins.”[11] Well, the scribes couldn’t take it because they considered Jesus as a mere mortal, arrogating to himself godly prerogatives!

Fourth, the way Jesus taught was different from all the other prophets amidst Israel. Prophets always used the formula, “Thus says the Lord,”[12] thus acting as the spokespersons of God. But Jesus taught with authority, he usually said, “I say unto you,” giving his own interpretation of Moses’ Law, and setting aside many of the commands given by Moses.[13] People wondered who this could be![14] He was not only the Lord of Sabbath[15] but also of the Law! 

Fifth, Jesus categorically stated people needed to believe in him to obtain salvation. He said, “If you do not believe that I am He, you will die in you sins.”[16] Clearly Jesus addresses himself as “He,” here, indicating his divinity. Faith in Jesus Christ is crucial to salvation of the souls. Without our sins being forgiven, we can never hope to get to heaven and inherit eternal life. For that faith in Christ is essential, and faith that He died for us on the cross and has the authority to forgive our sins, if we repent and ask him.

Sixth, Jesus said “I and my Father are One.” Again the Jews took up stones to stone him, because of blasphemy, for being a man, he dared to make himself God![17] The Jews just couldn’t believe that Jesus, a mere carpenter could be the Messiah. They had expected the Messiah to be a military leader, who would break the yoke of Roman rule and liberate them. Here, Jesus was showing no signs of such activity but instead was claiming to be equal to God. Total misunderstanding of the Messiah and his role by the Jews! And that led them to reject him and crucify him in the end.

Seventh, Jesus performed many miracles and to the skeptics of his time, he said even if they will not believe him when he declared himself as “Son of God,” they should at least believe in his works.[18] He also told the same to the disciples of John the Baptist who came questioning on behalf of John, whether he is the “Coming One” or are they to look for another. ‘See the things I am doing, the blind see, the lame walk, lepers are cleansed, deaf hear, dead are raised, and the poor have the gospel preached to them.’[19] These are the fulfillment of the Messianic prophecies of Isaiah 35:4-6; 61:1. On seeing and hearing what he was doing, there should be no doubt left in the hearts of God’s people that he was what he was claiming to be, the Son of Man.

Lastly, after resurrection, when Thomas acclaimed Jesus Christ to be “My Lord, my God,”[20] he realized the ultimate truth. His disciples saw his resurrection as the proof of his divinity and worshiped him.

We will quickly see why Jesus silenced demons calling the Son of the Holy One and instructed his disciples not to tell others that he was the Christ. In case he had been open about his identity, with the misunderstanding the Jew had about the role and identity of Messiah, they would have stoned him to death long time back. Jesus’ ministry time on earth, which was just three and a half years, would have been further cut short. He would have hardly had time to train his disciples, deliver his teachings, perform the miracles and all the things he did, if he had died earlier. So he was being more prudent and waited till God’s time. In the end he did reveal his identity before the authorities during his trial. When the high priest asked him, “Are you the Christ, the Son of the Blessed?” Jesus answered in the affirmative, “I am.” He alluded directly to Daniel 7:13-14, when he further said, “And you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Power, and coming with the clouds of heaven.”[21] This made the high priest exclaim, what more proof we need, he is blaspheming and is worthy of death. That nailed him to the cross.

So you see my friend, the skeptics are wrong all the way through. Jesus knew he was Son of God, the Messiah and the Christ. He was conscious of his deity-ship and was fulfilling the Will of God by sacrificing himself on the cross or our sins. He was being careful of revealing his identity early and spoiling his earthly ministry. And so, his disciples didn’t make him God; he was and is God, God eternal. Disciples from day one preached that Jesus was Lord and Christ.[22] It was not invented later after a few decades.

Are you clear about these facts my dears? Never stumble on the divinity of Jesus Christ and never be ashamed of proclaiming Him as God, worthy of worship. Like Thomas declared, Jesus Christ is our Lord and God. Never let go of that truth.

Bye then, till we meet again! God bless you and keep you.

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[1] Mark 1:24-25

[2] Matthew 16:15-17, 20

[3] Mark 10:17-18

[4] Luke 3:38

[5] 1 Chronicles 28:6

[6] Daniel 8:17

[7] Matthew 24:30

[8] John 8:58

[9] Exodus 3:14

[10] John 8:59

[11] Mark 2:5-7,10

[12] Ezekiel 11:15

[13] Matthew  5:18, 20, 22, 26, 28, 32, 34, 39, 44, etc.

[14] Matthew 7:28-29

[15] Mark 2:28

[16] John 8:24

[17] John 10:30, 31, 33

[18] John 10:37-38

[19] Matthew 11:3, 4-6; (my paraphrasing!)

[20] John 20:27-29

[21] Mark, 14:61-62

[22] Acts 2:36

Resurrection of Christ – is it Possible or a Fable?

Hi friends, welcome to this blog, which is a continuation of the previous blog, where we dealt with certain objection raise by some to the resurrection of Christ: the conspiracy theory, held primarily by the Jews that the disciples of Jesus came and stole the body away. Then we learnt about the substitution theory, held by Muslims that Jesus was not killed on the cross and that it only appeared so, while Allah took Jesus away! We also saw the impossibility of such theories. In this blog we will see, among other things the ‘Swoon theory.’

Swoon (means ‘to faint’) theory was proposed by one Karl Bahrdt in the 19^th century, some 1900 years after the incident of Christ’s crucifixion and resurrection. That itself should tell you how reliable it is! The far removed a theory or assumption to the incident, the least reliable it is as a fact. This theory proposed that Jesus did not die on the cross but just fainted; when he was kept in the dark and damp tomb, the burial place, he revived and escaped. So it was a case of not resurrection but resuscitation, according to him! He further speculates that Pilate was bribed to let Jesus’ disciples to take Jesus down from the cross before he died. Many books have been written on this theme in the 20^th century, some of them best sellers even.

The question is, whether Jesus could have survived the Roman flogging and the crucifixion? Is it possible that the soldiers and the Centurion who were in charge of the execution had failed to assess whether Jesus died or not? Is it possible to bribe Pilate in such a serious and political case of conviction? What do you think?

Let’s first see what the medical science tells us about surviving the flogging and crucifixion. Jesus had prayed all night at Gethsemane the night before his trial and flogging. Luke tells us in his gospel that sweat fell as blood drops from Jesus’ face. Luke 22:44. In medical terms such a condition is known as hematidrosis, wherein because of the huge psychological stress that Jesus was under, the capillaries in the sweat glands burst and it is possible for a small quantity of blood to come out along with the sweat. This would have made his skin fragile and more sensitive.[1]

Now coming to the Roman flogging, consisting of 39 lashes, it was terribly brutal; the whip with which the condemned was flogged was made of braided leather thongs and had metal balls woven into them, and pieces of sharp bones as well at the end. By the time the whipping was over the flesh from his back and body would be hanging by strips. Have you watched Mel Gibson’s movie, ‘The Passion of Christ?’ The cruelty of the flogging, you would see faithfully portrayed there. The loss of blood would be so much, no wonder Jesus collapsed and couldn’t even carry the cross up the hill Calvary and the soldiers had to compel Simon from Cyrene to bear the cross.

Jesus would then have been laid on the wooden horizontal beam, his hands stretched and nailed on the wrists (not on the palms, which will not be able to bear the weight of the body and will tear off and the victim would fall off the cross). The nails were like tent pegs, some 5-7” long. The pain would have been unbearable and the word ‘excruciating’ comes from such an unbearable pain of the crucifixion (‘out of the cross’). Jesus died a slow death, in the last stages, not even able to breathe properly, and in extreme agony. Is it possible at all for him to have just fainted and walk away from the cross or from the tomb? Unimaginable! It is a medically an impossible feat.

Then again, the Centurion was in charge of the execution. He had to make sure that the condemned died or else his job and life would be in danger. If he let the criminal walk away, he will be executed! When Jesus’ followers, Joseph Arimathea went to Pilate to ask for the body of Jesus, he calls the centurion to confirm, whether Jesus had died or not. Mark 15:44. Only after ascertaining from the centurion that he was dead, Pilate handed over the body to his followers. In today’s executions, a medical doctor is always called to ascertain and certify that the condemned has died, whether it is through electrical chair or injection of lethal medicines. There is no way the Centurion and his soldiers who executed Jesus would have failed to affirm that Jesus, their victim, was dead.

Moreover, the soldiers coming to check whether the three crucified victims were dead or not, saw that Jesus was already dead and hence didn’t have to break his feet, but one of them just tested it to be sure by thrusting his spear pierced the side of Jesus. John, who wrote the fourth gospel, says he witnessed the flow of blood and water from the body of Jesus, when the soldier pierced the body thus. John 19:33-34. In medical terminology, such collection of fluid around the heart (pericardial effusion) and around his lungs (pleural effusion) would have happened; this is what flowed as water and blood when the soldier pierced his side.

My dear friend, do you see now, how impossible it was for Jesus to be alive after such an ordeal? And how systematically the soldiers who crucified him and the Governor who ordered the crucifixion verified that he was dead before handing over his dead body to his followers? Well, so much for the swoon theory and those who thought Jesus lived to see another day. But He did live to see another day, in a totally different manner; He rose from the dead on the third day, as witnessed by His disciples. Shall we turn to this now?

We have many positive factors to indicate that resurrection of Jesus Christ as witnessed by his disciples is the truth. 1. From day one, from the earliest day of resurrection onward, the disciples of Jesus preached the risen Christ. It formed the core of Christian faith and the religion Christianity. Peter and Paul and the others emphasized the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus in all their preaching and teachings, in Acts 3:15; 1 Corinthians 15:3, 4 and many more. Paul, the greatest evangelist of the 1^st century, would say in 1 Corinthians 15:16-17, “And if Christ is not risen, your faith is futile.” Without resurrection there was no Christianity! Church emerged out of such a preaching. And it is still going strong, based on this one fact, the resurrection.

2. Something happened to change the disciples from the scarred and huddled up disciples to the bold Apostles, proclaiming the gospel even at the risk of their lives. What happened to transform them? Something happened; that life-transforming event was resurrection; there is no other way of explaining this transformation.

3. Paul, writing within 20 years of resurrection in 1 Corinthians 15:5-8, indicates the people who had witnessed the risen Christ – first Peter, then the twelve disciples, then 500 brothers at once, then by James, then by all the apostles and finally by Paul also. Is it possible that these people were hallucinating? Let me tell you, in the medical history of the world there is no case of mass hallucination, then or now!

If you think the disciples told a lie, what could have been the motivation for the disciples to tell a lie? Money, position and authority, fame and name? Did anyone of them get any of these? All disciples died penniless, hunted down like criminals, murdered and killed on the cross, beheaded or thrown to the wild animals in the Roman circus. They gained nothing by telling such a lie. That alone proves that they must be telling the truth only. They believed it so strongly that they were willing to die for the cause; they had bet their lives on that truth. Do you still doubt? No, my friend, do not be so hard-hearted. When facts speak to you, embrace it; that is intellectual integrity.

This fact of resurrection of Jesus Christ gives us hope, even today, after some 2000 years after the incident, a hope that the adherents of the other religions do not have. The assurance is, if we are in Christ, then even though we die, we will still live, because Christ lives and we will inherit eternal life. We have the hope that we will meet our dear ones who had proceeded earlier in death, if they had died in Christ. That is also the urgency why we need to spread the Gospel and pray for our family and friends who are yet to accept Christ as their Lord and Master.

My beloved friend, have you accepted Christ? Do you have the assurance that you will live beyond the grave, like Jesus did? There is a great hope in it and a great joy. Do come into the joy of the Lord and enjoy not only this life, but the next too.

God bless you and be with you. Amen. 

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[1] For details of these medical narratives read Lee Strobel, The Case for Christ: A Journalist’s Personal Investigation of the Evidence for Jesus, pp.194-195