Picking up from part 1. I listed the first five ways in which Jesus claimed He is God.
Here are the last five:
6. Jesus confirmed to others He is God.
“But Jesus remained silent. And the high priest said to him, ‘I adjure you by the living God, tell us if you are the Christ, the Son of God.’ Jesus said to him, ‘You have said so. But I tell you, from now on you will see the Son of Man seated at the right hand of Power and coming on the clouds of heaven.‘ Then the high priest tore his robes and said, ‘He has uttered blasphemy. What further witnesses do we need? You have now heard his blasphemy,'” (Matthew 26:63-65, ESV).
Jesus was accused of blasphemy! The penalty for that was death. Why would He say that if it were not so? Jesus declared He was God and didn’t recant when accused of blasphemy.
7. Jesus said He was sinless.
There is not one person on the face of the earth that had been without sin until Jesus came to earth. The Bible describes him as sinless. There are two types of sin – sins of commission, things we do that we know to be wrong, the bad things we do. However, there are also sins of omission, not doing the things we are commanded to do. The Bible goes further, it describes sin not just in our outward actions (or non-actions), but also our thoughts, motives, and words.
Nobody can claim to be without sin. No one credible has done so. Jesus is the only Person in history who can make that claim.
Yet, Jesus is challenging them.
“Which one of you convicts me of sin? If I tell the truth, why do you not believe me,” (John 8:46, ESV).
We see how the Bible speaks this truth in other ways:
- Peter calls him the Holy and Righteous One, (Acts 3:14).
- He is referred to as a lamb without blemish or spot, (1 Peter 1:19)
- “He committed no sin, neither was deceit found in his mouth,” (1 Peter 2:22, ESV).
- The Apostle John said that those who claim to be without sin are liars, (1 John 1:8). He also said that Jesus was without sin, (1 John 3:5).
- “For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God,” (2 Corinthians 5:21, ESV).
8. Jesus forgave sin.
We can forgive those who sinned against us, but what about those who sin against God? We can’t. Only God can forgive those who have sinned against Him. But yet, Jesus did just that.
Here are two examples:
- When speaking to the woman who was repentant Jesus said, “your sins are forgiven,” (Luke 7:48).
- When He saw the faith of the paralytic and the men who lowered him through the roof of the house he was teaching in, he said, “Man, your sins are forgiven you,” (Luke 5:20). At that point, he is accused of blasphemy by the Pharisees and scribes because “who can forgive sins but God alone?”
9. Jesus taught people to pray to Him as God.
“Whatever you ask in my name, this I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask me anything in my name, I will do it,” (John 14:13-14, ESV).
Jesus did this numerous times, here are two more examples:
- Whatever we ask the Father in His name will be given to us, (John 15:16).
- If we ask in His name we’ll receive that our joy would be made full, (John 16:24).
Also, Stephen cried out to Jesus as he was being stoned to death for Jesus to receive his spirit, (Acts 7:59). Many people cry out to Jesus in times of desperate need. If Jesus is not God those prayers are made in vain.
10. Jesus said He is the only way to heaven.
Responding to Philip who told Jesus to show them the Father and that would be enough for them.
“I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you had known me, you would have known my Father also. From now on you do know him and have seen him,” (John 14:6-7, ESV).
Jesus even said that narrow is the gate that leads to salvation, (Matthew 7:13-14), but so many want to broaden it. Jesus said it was through Him and Him alone.
The question remains to be answered, how should we respond to the incredible person, work, and claims of Jesus?
Repent and believe.