Aug 16 Sat
Is Jesus God?
Have you heard this from someone? “It’s absurd to say Jesus is God, since He never made the claim himself!”
Unbelievers won’t be convinced of the divinity of Christ, no matter what.
Those who admire Jesus as merely a “great moral teacher” note that Jesus never said the words, “I am God!” But they miss the forest for the trees.
A simple man who said that sort of things would not be a great moral teacher. He would either be a lunatic or the Devil’s helper. You must make your choice.
When did Jesus make it clear that He is God incarnate?
Just to mention a few. In various moments of the life of Jesus, God the Father called him “Son.”
St. John attested that he wrote his Gospel “that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in his name.”
John asserts that the preexistent Word, who has been from all eternity and is a Person who coexists with God, for He is God himself. All things were made through him. He is the fount of eternal life, and He enlightens all mankind through his revelation. The Word is the Son of God, called the “only-begotten of the Father” and the “only-begotten Son.” The Word, who existed from all eternity, came to the world and “was made flesh” in order to bring grace and truth to humanity. The Word made flesh is Jesus Christ (cf. Jn 1:1–18).
St. John repeats several times in his Gospel that Jesus is “the only Son of God.”
“I am the bread of life.” (John 6:35) Gifts that only come from God: Exodus 16:4 and the manna, the bread from heaven.
“I am the light of the world.” (John 8:12) Jesus is the Creator’s illumination. (“Let there be light,” Genesis 1:3.)
“I am the gate for the sheep.” (John 10:7) The only way to enter the Kingdom, through the ultimate gatekeeper.
“I am the good shepherd.” (John 10:11) Jesus presents Himself as the protector of His people, a role traditionally associated with God’s care and guidance.
“I and the Father are one.” (John 10:30) This declaration asserts Jesus’ unity with God the Father, implying that He shares the same divine essence. (An allusion to the Sh’ma of Deuteronomy 6:4: “Hear, O Israel: The Lord is our God, the Lord alone.”)
“The Father is in me, and I am in the Father.” (John 10:38). The unity between Jesus and God the Father. (The Sh’ma again.)
“I am the resurrection and the life. (John 11:25) Jesus’ power over death and His ability to grant eternal life. (Isaiah 26:19: “Your dead shall live; their corpses shall rise.”)
“I am the way, the truth, and the life.” (John 14:6) Jesus is the only path to God.
“All that the Father has is mine.” (John 16:15)
I believe the clearest statement by Christ of His divinity is John 8:58. “Very truly, I tell you, before Abraham was, I am.”
Is Jesus a lunatic, a liar, or is He truly the Lord? You must choose.