2. Lord, Liar or Lunatic? (1)

Who Did Jesus Say He Was?

What did Jesus claim for Himself?  If anybody knew with certainty that Jesus was the Son of God, it obviously would be Jesus Himself. Many people do not realize, however, that Jesus made very strong and clear claims as to His deity throughout His ministry.  Jesus was not confused or doubtful; He knew His divine identity and communicated that carefully to His followers.

Jesus had to make His claims carefully. People were looking for the Messiah, but they expected and longed for an earthly king, a general like King David, to liberate them from Roman occupation. Few realized that God’s Kingdom is not invested in earthly ambitions. So Jesus had to ensure that His disciples would recognize His divinity and learn God’s plan for mankind, while at the same time carefully transforming their own expectations.

In Matthew 16:13-17, Jesus explicitly confirms His identity. Once across the Sea of Galilee, Jesus and His followers headed north along the Jordan River to its headwaters near Caesarea Philippi, approximately 25 miles beyond the lake into Gentile territory. The gospel texts focus closely on the dialogue between Jesus and the Twelve. He questions their perception of the crowds’ views of His identity to correct any misconceptions that might have arisen (Matthew 16:13-15):

“When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, He asked His disciples, ‘Who do people say the Son of Man is?’ They replied, ‘Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets.’

‘But what about you?’ He asked. ‘Who do you say I am?’”

People in general seemed to view Him as a spokesman for God. Many thought His association with John the Baptist marked Him as an extraordinary prophet. Elijah, considered the greatest OT prophet, was the Messianic forerunner of Old Testament prophecy. It would be natural as well to think of Jesus as a kind of Jeremiah, a preacher of judgment and repentance widely rejected by leaders of His nation. When Jesus pressed the small band of men further for their response, Peter answered quickly (Matthew 16:16, emphasis added):

“ You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”

For the first time in Matthew’s gospel someone has unambiguously acknowledged Him to be “the Christ,” the Messiah, the Anointed One, and “the Son of the living God.” Notice Jesus’ response, as He validated Peter’s statement (Matthew 16:17):

“Jesus replied, ‘Blessed are you, Simon, son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by man, but by my Father in heaven.’”

So Jesus knew quite well who He was. Read the gospels carefully, and notice numerous confirmations by Jesus of His identity:

• Jesus called himself “Son of Man. ” Jesus referred to Himself using this title 80 times in the gospels. “Son of Man” refers to Daniel’s vision: “In my vision at night I looked, and there before me was one like a son of man, coming with the clouds of heaven” (Daniel 7:13). It was commonly understood this title belonged to the Messiah.
• Jesus called himself “I AM.” Another direct claim to deity is found in John 8:56–58 (emphasis added). Speaking to the Jews, Jesus said, “Your father Abraham rejoiced to see My day, and he saw it and was glad…before Abraham was, I AM.” “I AM” is derived from the divine name Yahweh (“YHWH” in Hebrew), by which God revealed Himself to Moses at the burning bush. The word emphasizes eternal self-existence. It is evident that the Jews understood this claim. Verse 59 shows that they picked up stones to throw at Him for what they considered a blasphemous self-affirmation. Jesus used the “I AM” name seven times in John.
• Jesus claimed to forgive sins. Obviously only God can forgive sins, but multiple times – frustrating and angering both Pharisees and Sadducees – Jesus said “your sins are forgiven,” as when He cured the paralytic: “Since they could not get him to Jesus because of the crowd, they made an opening in the roof above Jesus and, after digging through it, lowered the mat the paralyzed man was lying on. When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, ‘Son, your sins are forgiven.’ Now some teachers of the law were sitting there, thinking to themselves, ‘Why does this fellow talk like that? He’s blaspheming! Who can forgive sins but God alone?’” (Mark 2:4-7, emphasis added). Notice the reaction of the teachers of the law; they called this blasphemy.
• Jesus claimed to be equal with God.  Jesus said: “‘My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me.  I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can 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 the Jews picked up stones to stone him, but Jesus said to them, ‘I have shown you many great miracles from the Father. For which of these do you stone me?’ ‘We are not stoning you for any of these,’ replied the Jews, ‘but for blasphemy, because you, a mere man, claim to be God’” (John 10:27-33, emphasis added). Once more, note the reaction of the Jews. They wanted to stone Jesus because He claimed to be the Son of God.

• Numerous other statements in the Gospel of John. Because of its audience of Christians, John is bold to mention Jesus’ statements about His claims to deity. Some examples are:
• John 1:1-3: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made.”
• John 8:19: “’You do not know me or my Father,’ Jesus replied. ‘If you knew me, you would know my Father also.’”
• John 14:6: “Jesus answered, ‘I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.’”

Consider too that Jesus never denied His divinity.  On trial by the highest authority of the Jews (the Sanhedrin) for claiming to be the Son of God, He could have easily denied the allegations – yet He did not.  He remained silent until the high priest put Him under oath to answer. Then Jesus confirmed His identity (Matthew 26:63-66, emphasis added):

“The high priest said to him, ‘I charge you under oath by the living God: Tell us if you are the Christ, the Son of God.’  ‘Yes, it is as you say,’ Jesus replied. ‘But I say to all of you: In the future you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Mighty One and coming on the clouds of heaven.’ Then the high priest tore his clothes and said, ‘He has spoken blasphemy! Why do we need any more witnesses? Look, now you have heard the blasphemy. What do you think?’ ‘He is worthy of death,’ they answered.”

The death sentence came after interrogation and another trial – where once more Jesus could have denied the charges when He faced the Roman procurator Pilate. Jesus was then executed by being nailed to a cross. The accusation attached to the cross read:

The King of the Jews