" 'I tell you the truth,' Jesus answered, 'before Abraham was born, I am!' At this, they picked up stones to stone him, but Jesus hid himself, slipping away from the temple grounds."
John 8:58-59, NIV translation
There are few who will argue the actual existence of this famous man named Jesus. I would even say that most atheists I have met even agree that there was a man named Jesus who was a very good man. Or as in my post on Monday, there are those who think it all sounds really nice.The question most of us are trying to reason in our hearts and head is this:
Was Jesus really God in the form of man: both fully man and fully God?
Or was Jesus just the greatest con artist in history? A complete liar?
For those who are not sure he existed, there are several people that have written about the existence of Jesus outside of the Bible. Cornelius Tacitus in 55 AD wrote that Christ suffered at the hands of Pontius Pilate. This is an example of a non biblical writer recording the existence of Jesus. There are several others. These writings make a strong argument for the existence of Jesus.
As far as actually being God, well Jesus claimed many times that He was indeed divine. (We can talk about this in another post-it is a great topic of discussion and one of great importance that deserves its own post. In the verse above, Jesus says "I am". The Greek word is "eimi" and it means to exist or be present. So Jesus was saying He was around long before Abraham. Jesus used this because He knew it would be familiar to the Jews. In the Old Testament, God had referred to himself as "I am" in Exodus 3:14.
If one doesn't deny the existence of Jesus (and if you study history, few educated people would deny the existence of this man), yet deny He was the Messiah, then you are essentially calling him a liar. A complete con artist in modern day terms. If that is true, he was the greatest con man to have ever lived!! Dare I say the longest living lie in history? Whether you believe or not, it is amazing indeed that this possible con is still around today. We can't say that about Zeus, can we?
Have you ever known a con artist to die for a great hoax willingly? Have there ever been others like Him? Many people throughout history have claimed they are God or have some kind of supernatural powers like God (hello, anyone remember David Koresh?). For this reason, there is nothing wrong with questioning Jesus' claim to be God. Maybe he was just delusional or a con-artist just like the others?? However, maybe Jesus is actually telling the truth, and He actually is God and did perform miracles. How can we ever know for sure if He was telling the truth or was just another madman? Let's put Him to the test...put Him on trial! So here are some of the reasons why I believe that Jesus was different from all other people.
Science/Evolution does not disprove the existence of God. In fact I believe it confirms His existence. It's common knowledge that everything that has come into existence had to have a cause for its existence. Therefore, there has to be something that never came into existence in order for there to be anything at all. Nothing cannot make something. So either the universe must be infinite or there must be an infinite God. The problem is that science has shown that the universe is not infinite. Thus, something must be beyond it. This alone leads me to believe there has to be some sort of deity.
Up until Christ's resurrection, many of His followers were doubters. Peter (as well as others) denied even knowing Jesus (and Peter's denial was something He prophesied would happen as well as other things he prophesied). However, after Christ's resurrection many of the doubters became instantly bold in their teachings and martyred for their faith. What would cause these men to change so drastically if it wasn't for the fact Jesus actually was resurrected? I love how Jesus appeared before Thomas because he did not believe Jesus had been resurrected. (Another great guy who deserves his own post! Doubting Thomas and I are great friends).
Even liberal scholars agree that The first epistle of Paul, the apostle to the Corinthians (often referred to as 1 Corinthians) was written around 55 AD. 1 Corinthians 15 states that Jesus' resurrected body was seen by over 500 people at the exact same time, and that these people were still alive!
Finally, one final note that I believe shows that Jesus was more than just a man a great man was all the fulfilled prophecies about who the Messiah was to be. If Jesus really wanted people to believe He was God, He had to do more than simply act like the Messiah here on earth. He had to fulfill prophecies about Himself. The Old Testament states how the Messiah was to be born (Isaiah 7:14) and where (Micah 5:2). But, perhaps the most beautiful prophesy of all is Isaiah 53: 4-5 (in my opinion):
Isn't that the most beautiful verse?
As far as actually being God, well Jesus claimed many times that He was indeed divine. (We can talk about this in another post-it is a great topic of discussion and one of great importance that deserves its own post. In the verse above, Jesus says "I am". The Greek word is "eimi" and it means to exist or be present. So Jesus was saying He was around long before Abraham. Jesus used this because He knew it would be familiar to the Jews. In the Old Testament, God had referred to himself as "I am" in Exodus 3:14.
If one doesn't deny the existence of Jesus (and if you study history, few educated people would deny the existence of this man), yet deny He was the Messiah, then you are essentially calling him a liar. A complete con artist in modern day terms. If that is true, he was the greatest con man to have ever lived!! Dare I say the longest living lie in history? Whether you believe or not, it is amazing indeed that this possible con is still around today. We can't say that about Zeus, can we?
Have you ever known a con artist to die for a great hoax willingly? Have there ever been others like Him? Many people throughout history have claimed they are God or have some kind of supernatural powers like God (hello, anyone remember David Koresh?). For this reason, there is nothing wrong with questioning Jesus' claim to be God. Maybe he was just delusional or a con-artist just like the others?? However, maybe Jesus is actually telling the truth, and He actually is God and did perform miracles. How can we ever know for sure if He was telling the truth or was just another madman? Let's put Him to the test...put Him on trial! So here are some of the reasons why I believe that Jesus was different from all other people.
Science/Evolution does not disprove the existence of God. In fact I believe it confirms His existence. It's common knowledge that everything that has come into existence had to have a cause for its existence. Therefore, there has to be something that never came into existence in order for there to be anything at all. Nothing cannot make something. So either the universe must be infinite or there must be an infinite God. The problem is that science has shown that the universe is not infinite. Thus, something must be beyond it. This alone leads me to believe there has to be some sort of deity.
Up until Christ's resurrection, many of His followers were doubters. Peter (as well as others) denied even knowing Jesus (and Peter's denial was something He prophesied would happen as well as other things he prophesied). However, after Christ's resurrection many of the doubters became instantly bold in their teachings and martyred for their faith. What would cause these men to change so drastically if it wasn't for the fact Jesus actually was resurrected? I love how Jesus appeared before Thomas because he did not believe Jesus had been resurrected. (Another great guy who deserves his own post! Doubting Thomas and I are great friends).
Even liberal scholars agree that The first epistle of Paul, the apostle to the Corinthians (often referred to as 1 Corinthians) was written around 55 AD. 1 Corinthians 15 states that Jesus' resurrected body was seen by over 500 people at the exact same time, and that these people were still alive!
Finally, one final note that I believe shows that Jesus was more than just a man a great man was all the fulfilled prophecies about who the Messiah was to be. If Jesus really wanted people to believe He was God, He had to do more than simply act like the Messiah here on earth. He had to fulfill prophecies about Himself. The Old Testament states how the Messiah was to be born (Isaiah 7:14) and where (Micah 5:2). But, perhaps the most beautiful prophesy of all is Isaiah 53: 4-5 (in my opinion):
Isn't that the most beautiful verse?
This week I challenge you to think like those accusers during Jesus' final days. Bring your hard questions to Him. Although there will be some things we can not understand on this side of Heaven, there is enough proof that He is worth our time to get to know. He is worth putting our faith into. And when you start to seek Him with all your heart, you will indeed find Him. And it will be the greatest love story of your life.
When we begin to see Jesus for who He was. That He was God. That He didn't need us, but He WANTED us. Friends, this is when we find the offering of grace. Those stones that were thrown at Him and His death on the cross...for you. Only a Father would be willing to die for His children that He loves and adores. No con man would ever do that!
Yes!!! :)
ReplyDeletePowerful!
ReplyDeleteIt's just a shame that his body-count surpasses Mao Zedong, Joseph Stalin, and Adolf Hitler combined. Why would I want to put faith in someone like that?
ReplyDelete