Sunday September 6 I taught the first lesson again for the next class. Lesson one covers chapters 1-3 but I still haven't covered the whole book on my blog. So here is chapter 7 and you can scroll down for previous posts.1. Some people say that Jesus never claimed to be God, do you think he did?
2. Can you list some clues that Jesus viewed himself as God?
3. What are some examples of things that Jesus did that were very different from the way a normal Rabbi would teach?
Greetings Roger Lightner
ReplyDeleteJesus never ever claimed to be GOD
Rather, he claimed to be "the Son of GOD"
Ben Witherington III who is cited by Lee Strobel, made this very clear assertion:
"If he had simply announced, ‘Hi, folks; I'm God,’ that would have been heard as ‘I'm Yahweh,’ because the Jews of his day did not have any concept of the Trinity. They only knew of God, the Father; whom they called Yahweh, and not God the Son or God the Holy Spirit."
[The Case for Christ, Lee Strobel, p.133]
Neither Jesus nor the Jews of his era were trinitarians; rather, they are monotheists, believing solely that YAHWEH, the Father is the ONE GOD.
So, Jesus neither claimed nor viewed himself as the ONE GOD!
For more info,
I recommend this video:
The Human Jesus
Take a couple of hours to watch it; and prayerfully it will aid you in your quest for truth.
Yours In Messiah
Adam Pastor
Hey Adam, I appreciate your taking time to post your view. Some of the biggest reasons I believe Jesus did claim to be God is when he said that before Abraham was "I am". That was obviously a claim that he was the God who spoke to Moses through the burning bush. The quote you made from Ben Witherington is saying that Jesus did not come right out in plain words but did so in more subtle ways. Also when Jesus healed the paralytic he forgave his sins and the Pharisees said that only God can do that. They tore their clothes after the "I am" statement and wanted him crucified for blasphemy.
ReplyDeleteJohn was his closest apostle and he starts out his gospel by calling Jesus the Logos. This comes from Greek philosopy. Heraclitus and Plato used the term Logos to refer to the God who created and sustains the universe. If Jesus didn't claim to be God then his closest disciples were greatly confused about his identity.
Although the word trinity was not around in the first century the concept is apparent throughout the new Testament. You are correct that Jews are strict monotheists. The first 3000 Christian converts in Acts are Jews. They apparently had no problem with worshipping Christ as God without violating monotheism. Trinitarianism is not polytheism, it is belief in one essence of God expressed in three persons. It is difficult to comprehend but fits the scriptures well since the Father, Son and Holy Spirit are all referred to as God. The Messianic prophesy in Isaiah also calls the Messiah Immanuel or God with us. Paul probably portrays Christ as God more than anyone. In conclusion, If Jesus did not claim to be God then all of Christianity should be thrown in the garbage because his closest disciples and the most important missionary in church history who wrote 2/3 of the New Testament are in great error. I will try to watch your video, I love to see other views and challenge my own. My responses are sent to you in great respect. Take care and God Bless.
Roger Lightner