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Is Jesus God?

SERIES: The Big Five #3 of 5

2006-08-13

PRODUCTION #: 1023

SPEAKERS: Shawn Boonstra, Mark Finley,

The landscape of history is decorated with the names of prominent people who have changed the way we think and live. Names like Aristotle and Plato fall from the lips of people who have never read their books, because they have had such a profound impact on the development of human civilization. Alexander the Great, Napoleon and others are remembered because of the way they tried to change the map. And Isaac Newton, Marie Curie, Galileo, Edison and Einstein are remembered for pushing the frontiers of knowledge.

But without a doubt, the name that towers above all the rest is Jesus of Nazareth, because nobody has had as much impact on human civilization as this humble carpenter from Nazareth. Everyone recognizes Him as a good man, and a capable teacher, but much of the world reveres Him as God in human flesh. Who was Jesus of Nazareth? Was He really the Son of God?

For nearly 2,000 years, the world has struggled with the question of the identity of Jesus of Nazareth. Much of the world, in fact, as much as one-third of it, calls Him God. But today, there are voices in Christianity who have begun to question the divinity of Jesus.

The highly controversial Episcopal Bishop, John Spong, for example, has challenged the Christian Church to debate a number of questions that strike at the very heart of the Christian religion. He claims that the virgin birth, understood as literal biology, makes the divinity of Christ impossible. He also claims that the resurrection of Jesus is impossible, and that the incarnation is nothing but mythology.

Now, sadly, many have followed in his footsteps, including groups like the Jesus Seminar, a self-appointed Bible tribunal that decides the authenticity of Scripture by voting on it, and the end result, always is to call into question the divinity of Jesus. Was He really God?

Today, we want to look at that question, and joining me in the studio is my friend, Pastor Mark Finley. Mark, it's great to be together again.

MARK: It really is Shawn, and the subject we are discussing today is really the essence of Christianity. And that is, who is Jesus?

SHAWN: Who is Jesus? Now, maybe this whole question about whether or not Jesus is God is a whole lot of fuss about nothing. Do the writers of the Bible, as they are writing, give us any evidence that they believe Jesus was God?

MARK: Well first, the discussion of "Who is Jesus?" is not a whole lot of fuss about nothing.

SHAWN: That's right.

MARK: Because if Jesus is not God, then all He can offer is good moral ideology. He can't offer eternal life.

SHAWN: Exactly.

MARK: And our hearts crave something beyond the grave, eternal life. Second, if He is only offering good morality, He can't offer power to change your life. Where is the power to change the prostitute, the drunkard, the man filled with materialism and godlessness?

So the question of Jesus, identity is extremely important. After Jesus' death and resurrection, He met with two disciples. And as He met with them, they questioned who He was. They reflected upon His life and they looked back and they said, is He really God?

And Jesus, in the 24th chapter of Luke, gave to them an amazing answer. In Luke 24, verse 25 and onward, Jesus said to them (Luke 24:25):

"O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe in all the prophets have spoken."

Verse 27 (Luke 24:27):  

"And beginning at Moses and all the prophets, He expounded to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning Himself."

So basically, Jesus took these doubting disciples, who had questions in their mind and He walked them through prophecies in the Old Testament. Prophecies that are so fantastic that they could not possibly have been fulfilled naturally. These prophecies reveal, supernaturally, that Jesus is God.

Let me give you just two or three examples. Let's look, for example, at one prophecy. You know, most people's biographies are written either in the latter part of their life or they are written after their death. Jesus' biography was written before He was born.

SHAWN: Now that's amazing.

MARK: And here's a prophecy in the little book of Micah, chapter five and verse two. And this particular prophecy in the book of Micah is quite amazing because it reveals the exact birthplace of Jesus 700 years in advance. Now, Micah penned these words, Shawn, 700 years in advance. Micah five, verse two. Do you want to read that one?

SHAWN: Sure. Micah 5:2:

"But thou Bethlehem Ephrata, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of these shall He come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting."

MARK: In other words, the eternal one would be born in Bethlehem. Now, here are a couple interesting facts. First, it is not any Bethlehem. It says Bethlehem Ephrata in Judah. There was more than one Bethlehem in Israel. This Bethlehem is specifically identified in Judah, and it was Bethlehem Ephrata. Out of Him shall He come forth that would be ruler in Israel whose goings forth. That literally translated, means that His origin is eternal.

SHAWN: His origin is eternal. Now that wouldn't be true about anybody.

MARK: Right, He is the eternal one. Now how did the Bible know that Jesus Christ would be born in Bethlehem of Judea? Jesus' hometown was Nazareth. Nazareth is 90 miles north of Bethlehem. I've made that trip so many times. You come down along the Jordanian border and you come to Jericho and then you come up from Jericho, those 20 some odd miles to Jerusalem. And then Bethlehem is five or six miles further. An American woman (or even a Canadian woman, Shawn) would not travel 90 miles on a donkey when she's nine months pregnant.

SHAWN: No, I've had a couple children, well, my wife has had a couple children, and I know she wouldn't be on a donkey ride in that last month.

MARK: My wife wouldn't have ridden a donkey 90 miles during the time she was nine months pregnant, either. I can guarantee you that.

SHAWN: So the odds are small that someone living in Nazareth would have a child in Bethlehem.

MARK: But a decree of Caesar Augustus brought the holy family, Mary and Joseph, to Bethlehem, the exact night of Christ's birth. How did Micah the prophet know that would happen 700 years in advance?

SHAWN: Impossible.

MARK: If you and I had interviewed people in Nazareth when Mary was six months pregnant, we would have asked, "Where is the child going to be born?" They would say, "Nazareth." Seven months pregnant, "Where's the child going to be born?" "Nazareth." But miracle of all miracles, Christ was born in Bethlehem exactly like predicted.

This is more than natural, it's supernatural, and Jesus is more than a good man. He is the divine Son of God. You know, when Jacob brought his family together to bless the sons, talking about Judah, in Genesis, the 49th chapter, and Jacob brings his sons together to bless them, particularly one of his sons, Judah.

Now, if I were a betting man and the odds were 12 to one, I would never bet against 12 to one odds. Jacob speaks to Judah and he says, "Judah, you are he whom your brothers shall praise."

Why? Verse 10 of Genesis 49 (Genesis 10:49):

"The scepter shall not depart from Judah nor a lawgiver from between his feet till Shiloh comes."

The word Shiloh means "peacemaker."

SHAWN: The peacemaker, now would that have been understood to have been something other than a regular man?

MARK: Everybody understood that. In those days, they understood that something special was going to happen under Judah's reign. It was Bethlehem in Judah when Judah was reigning, when the tribe of Judah was reigning, that Jesus the Shiloh, the peacemaker came.

SHAWN: Amazing.

MARK: How would you know that of all the thousands of cities that Jesus would be born in Bethlehem? How would you know that it would be under Judah's reign? You know, Moses penned Genesis probably 1,500 years in advance.

SHAWN: That's amazing, 1,500 years.

MARK: Ahead of time.

SHAWN: It would be like somebody in the 500s knowing your name and where you would be born today.

MARK: Exactly. The Bible describes in Isaiah, chapter seven and verse 14, that Jesus would be born of a virgin. And Isaiah seven and verse 14, the prophet Isaiah, 700 years in advance says (Isaiah 7:14):

"Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign, Behold the virgin shall conceive and bear a son and shall call his name Immanuel."

Immanuel means "God with us."

SHAWN: That's very specific.

MARK: Now, there are those (and I'm well aware that there are those) who will argue that the word "virgin" in Hebrew is "almah" which could be translated a young woman. And there are those that try to get out of this passage that a young woman would conceive. But I believe that angels are smarter than people. And when the angel interprets this passage in Matthew one, to Joseph, because you know Joseph was engaged to Mary and he was going to quietly move out of the scene because he discovered Mary was pregnant. He knew that it was not something he had done. It was not natural, and so he was confused about it. He said, "Look, I don't want to embarrass Mary."

An angel appeared to Joseph and said that which was done is spoken of by the prophet, Isaiah. That which is done is conceived by the Holy Ghost.

So the angel Gabriel interprets this as Jesus being conceived supernaturally.

SHAWN: Right, now the other thing that I'm thinking of just as you are mentioning that is why would it be a sign if a young woman had a child? Where is the sign? It's going to happen everyday in every town. Young women are having babies all the time, so why include it?

MARK: Shawn, there are 47 specific prophecies in the Old Testament that Jesus Christ would be born supernaturally, and these events focus around His birth. These events focus around His life. These events focus around His death, and these events focus around His resurrection. Forty-seven events that indicate that that a child born in Bethlehem would be the divine Son of God.

SHAWN: Now, I could probably guess one thing. You know, I could write a whole bunch of things and be right once about the future if I were nebulous enough, but 47 times they were right about Jesus.

Now here is another one: When Jesus came, did His disciples believe Him to be the Christ? Did they believe Him to be something other than just a human being?

MARK: They did. They didn't fully understand it all the time. Initially, the disciples thought that when Christ came and He died, that their hopes were smashed and over. Initially, these disciples felt that Jesus was the Messiah to deliver them from the Roman bondage and Roman yoke. They didn't get it all at once, but after His death and after His resurrection, the disciples sensed that this was truly the Son of God. They focused on two very specific prophecies in the book of Psalms. One of those prophecies is in the 22nd Psalm and again, their understanding was growing.

SHAWN: Psalm 22.

MARK: Psalm 22, Jesus unfolded these principles to them. But if you look at the 22nd Psalm, for example, and verse 16, the disciples began to see the fulfillment of these prophecies, they were more convinced than ever that Jesus was more than a good man.

Psalm 22:16 says, "They pierced my hands and my feet."

And in verse 18 it says (Psalm 22:16):

"They divide my garments among them and for my clothing they cast lots."

Now the reason this passage is so fascinating is the Jewish method of capital punishment was stoning. When the woman was cast at Jesus' feet, the Pharisees wanted to stone her. So crucifixion didn't exist. Now, hanging on a tree did. They would hang with a rope. Crucifixion was introduced in the second century before Christ. It was practiced for about 500 years until the middle of the fourth century, when Constantine, the Roman Emperor, who became a Christian, did away with it.

But this says, "They pierced my hands and my feet." In other words, Jesus would be crucified. Nails would be driven through the hands. How could David make that statement a thousand years ahead of time in the Psalms when the Crucifixion did not yet exist? Then notice the precision of verse 18. "They divide my garments," which the soldiers did. They divided His garments, and for my clothing they cast lots. It's just amazing.

Now, one more prophecy. Zachariah 11, verses 12 and 13. In Zachariah's prophecy, the Bible predicted that Jesus would be betrayed by a friend, and that the betrayal price would be 30 pieces of silver. "They weighed for my price, 30 pieces of silver."

How did the Bible know that the exact betrayal price would be 30 pieces of silver?

SHAWN: It's impossible to guess that.

MARK: You can't guess it, and how did the Bible know that Jesus would be betrayed by a friend.

Shawn, the question you asked was what evidence is there that Jesus is really the divine Son of God? The evidence of 4,000 years of history in the Old Testament. The evidence that unfolded by the prophets who wrote the Scriptures. The evidence of Isaiah, the evidence of Moses, the evidence of Micah, the evidence of Zachariah. There is objective, quantifiable evidence that inquiring minds can take. He is more than a good man, more than an ethical philosopher. He was born in Bethlehem. He was born in Judah. He was born of a virgin. He was crucified with the nails through His hands. His price was laid out, 30 pieces of silver, and you can go on and on.

SHAWN: Now, here is a question that I know may be crossing somebody's mind as they are watching today. And it's this: Yes, all of the prophecies point to Jesus. No question about it and there was obviously something very special about Him. But I run into people that say, "OK, He was special, He was blessed by God, but He never actually claimed to be God."

MARK: Well, those people have listened to the arguments from others and have never read them themselves. There are a lot of people that read books about Jesus, but they don't dig into the scripture themselves.

SHAWN: But why don't we dig into Scripture?

MARK: Let's take a look at it. John, chapter eight, is undeniable. In John, chapter eight, and verse 56 and onward. Jesus talks about, He's talking to the Jews. In John 8:56, He says (John 8:56):

"Your father, Abraham rejoiced to see my day and he saw it and was glad."

And verse 57, the Jews said (John 8:57):

"You're not yet 50 years old and you have seen Abraham?"

They are wondering. You see Jesus is claiming to be divine. He is claiming to have known Abraham.

SHAWN: It would be like me saying I knew Plato or Aristotle. It would boggle somebody's mind.

MARK: Exactly. So that's what happened. Jesus explains it in John eight, verse 58. And Jesus said to them: "Most assuredly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I am."

Now the expression in the Greek language for "I am" is "ego emi." It means "I am the self-existent one. I am the one who has existed from eternity." Jesus uses the very same expression in the Greek language that has the Hebrew equivalent in Exodus three, when God appears to Moses and He says, "I am the I AM."

Jesus is claiming to be the I AM. He's claiming to be God. He's claiming to be the self-existent One. He's claiming to have no beginning and no ending. We may not understand that and a critic may not understand it, but the Jews understood it. Because in verse 59 it says then they took up stones to throw at Him, but Jesus hid Himself.

Why did they want to put Him to death? Because they believed He was committing blasphemy claiming to be God.

SHAWN: Claiming to be God. So they understood Jesus to be declaring Himself to be divine.

MARK: It is undeniable that Jesus believed He was divine.

SHAWN: So somebody who reads scripture and denies that Christ made that claim is ignoring the context in which Jesus said these things.

MARK: It's ignoring the very claims of Jesus. Jesus said, "I am the I AM."

Jesus said, "If you've seen me, you've seen the Father."

SHAWN: You know, that brings to mind a passage, I think it's in the Gospel of Mark, chapter 14 or somewhere near the end of that book, where when the high priest is interviewing Jesus, he suddenly rips his robes and says, "This man commits blasphemy." He was actually accusing Jesus of claiming to be divine, wasn't he?

MARK: Exactly.

SHAWN: So are there other claims, are there other passages that tell us Jesus believed himself to be divine, that Jesus made that claim?

MARK: There are. In John 14, where Jesus says, "If you have seen me, you've seen the Father." We can take a look at that, as well, Shawn. John, the 14th chapter.

SHAWN: Oh, I remember this. This is where he's speaking with Phillip.

MARK: Exactly. It's a powerful message, it seems to me, because Jesus leaves no doubt as to who He is. Jesus says in John 14, verse nine: "Have I been with you so long and yet you've not known me, Philip? He who has seen me has seen the Father."

SHAWN: Now that's a claim to equivalence.

MARK: It is. And Jesus in John one says, "I have come down from heaven." You look, for example, in John one and verse one. And again, Jesus says, "In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God."

Jesus is plain.

SHAWN: Very plain. Now I've heard somebody say, "Colossians one says that Jesus was a created being because it says He was the first-born. What do we make of that? It says He was the first-born creature." I think that's Colossians one, verse 15.

MARK: Right, well, you know, the Bible says that David was the first-born son of Jesse.

SHAWN: And he wasn't.

MARK: No. What was he, the seventh or eighth-born son?

SHAWN: Yeah, he was a long way down the line.

MARK: First-born in the Bible doesn't always deal with the time you were born.

SHAWN: So it's not a chronological designation, you say?

MARK: No, let me give you an example. The word is "protuocos." In the Greek language, when it says, "I'm the first-born" and it is qualitative, the first-born is the one who has the title deed. The first-born is not born in the sense of time, but in the sense of quality.

Jesus is the first-born in the sense that he gets all the inheritance of the Father. The first-born was the one who had the title deed and the one who had the privileges and prerogatives of the Father. The first-born would always have the privileges of the Father. Jesus has the privileges of the Almighty. He is the first-born, He is the qualitative one who has the qualities of God. He has the title deed to heaven. He has the inheritance of eternity. First-born means he is the one who has pre-eminence over all the others, and Jesus is the first-born in the sense that He has the pre-eminence.

Revelation, chapter one, says, "He has the place and the beginning and the ending. He's the Alpha and the Omega."

SHAWN: Now, that's remarkable. I think it's Isaiah 44 says that, "Beside me there is no God. I am the first and the last, the beginning and the ending."

MARK: Right, exactly. He is the one who encompasses all history.

SHAWN: Fantastic, you know, there is something special about Jesus, isn't there? What is it about Him? I know we only have half a moment left, but what is it about Jesus that makes us believe His claims to be true?

MARK: The fact that He can forgive sin.

SHAWN: That's it.

MARK: You know, you may be wondering about Jesus today. Jesus had either to be an absolute liar or everything He claimed to be, because good moral people do not lie. Good moral people don't claim to be something they are not. What is He, a lunatic? Claiming to be divine and he's not? What is he, a fraudulent liar? Certainly not.

He's the one who can forgive your sins. He is the one who can change your life. He is everything he claimed to be. The evidence is that he was resurrected from the dead. Jesus' disciples would not give their lives merely for a good moral teacher. The evidence is that he can forgive and change lives and was resurrected from the dead.

SHAWN: Thank you, Mark.

You know, there really IS something different about Jesus. On the field of world religious leaders, he stands head and shoulders above the rest. Almost everyone feels the need to acknowledge him, or at least respond to him. And maybe that's because the things he said and did demand a response from the human heart.

And nothing draws our attention to Jesus quite like the cross of Calvary. Jesus Himself said (John 12:32 NKJV):

"And I, if I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all peoples to Myself."

There is something irresistible about the cross of Christ. As terrible as it was, there is something about it that demands our attention. Who is this innocent man who hangs between heaven and earth, asking God to forgive those who did this to Him? Who is this man whose life was summed up by the simple phrase, "He went about doing good?" Who is this man who healed the sick, taught with such power that demons fled and crowds would riot. This man who inspired His followers to bring His message to the whole Roman Empire in a single generation?

Who is this man, who continues to inspire hearts and change lives almost 2,000 years later, the Man Napoleon said millions would die for?

Let me ask you, today, as you stand under the cross of Christ, what do you see? A Roman centurion looked at Him and said, "Truly, this was the Son of God."

And millions have come to the same conclusion; and the good news is that He is as accessible today as He was 2,000 years ago. And He is waiting, right at this moment, for you to take your first steps in His direction. His nail-scarred hand is reaching out for yours, and the question you are facing is whether or not you will choose to grasp it.

Pastor Mark, I believe that somebody today would really love to believe that Jesus is the Son of God. They would love to take their first steps in His direction and to claim everything that He's offering them. We should pray for that person.

MARK: We should. And you know, my friend, He is there for you, waiting for you to take that step. Let's pray.

PRAYER:

Father, thank you so much for sending Jesus. Jesus is more than a good man, more than an ethical philosopher, more than a religious teacher. The evidence of Scripture and history is that He's the divine Son of God, and today, deep within our hearts, we want to believe it. Deep within our hearts, we reach out to this Jesus who can forgive our sins, who can take away our guilt, who can take away this aching void of emptiness. And who can give us new power to change our lives and make us over again. So we thank you, dear Lord, that you are there and we flee to your arms today, to love you, to accept you into our own lives. And we thank you that you'll never cast us out, that you are there for us. In Jesus' name, amen.

h2.Scriptures Quoted in Show #1023
IS JESUS GOD?

"Then he said unto them, 'O fools, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken?"'
—Luke 24:25 KJV

"And beginning at Moses and all the prophets, he expounded unto them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself."
—Luke 24:27

"But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting."
—Micah 5:2 KJV

"The scepter shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh come; and unto him shall the gathering of the people be."
—Genesis 49:10 KJV

"Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel."
—Isaiah 7:14 KJV

"they pierced my hands and my feet."
—Psalm 22:16 KJV

"They divide My garments among them, and for My clothing they cast lots."
—Psalm 22:18 NKJV

"Then I said to them, 'If it is agreeable to you, give me my wages; and if not, refrain.' So they weighed out for my wages thirty pieces of silver. And the Lord said to me, 'Throw it to the potter,' that princely price they set on me. So I took the thirty pieces of silver and threw them into the house of the Lord for the potter."
—Zechariah 11:12-13 NKJV

"Your father Abraham rejoiced to see My day, and he saw it and was glad."
—John 8:56 NKJV

"Jesus said to him, 'Have I been with you so long, and yet you have not known Me, Philip? He who has seen Me has seen the Father; so how can you say,' Show us the Father?"'
—John 14:9 NKJV

"And I, if I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all peoples to Myself."
—John 12:32 NKJV

Scriptures Used in “Is Jesus God?”