Jesus Was Jesus Centered
One of the most interesting things about Jesus’ teachings is that he constantly talked about Himself. It is true that he talked about other things like the fatherhood of God and the kingdom of God. But, he added that he was the Father’s, “Son” and he had come to bring God’s kingdom to earth and entry into that kingdom depended on men’s response to Him. He even did not hesitate to call the kingdom of God, “My kingdom.” The self-centeredness of the teaching of Jesus immediately sets him apart from all the other religious teachers of the world. When other leaders pointed people away from themselves saying, “that is the truth,” Jesus pointed people to himself saying, “I am the truth.” You can not read the gospel and not be smacked in the face by Jesus’ use of personal pronouns. For example:
- And Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life. He who comes to Me shall never hunger, and he who believes in Me shall never thirst. John 6:35
- Then Jesus spoke to them again, saying, “I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life.” John 8:12
- Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live. And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die. Do you believe this?” John 11:25-26
- Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me. John 14:6
- Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me…” Matthew 11:28-29
Jesus frequently asked his followers the question, “Who do they say that I am?” He readily affirmed that Abraham (The Father of the Jewish Nation) rejoiced to see his day, and that the great jewish prophet Moses wrote about him. In Mark 8:29, he stated that the three fold division of the OT- the law, prophets, and writings bore witness that they were “things concerning himself.” The gospel of Luke, describes the dramatic scene when Jesus visited the synagogue in his home town of Nazareth and he was given a scroll from the OT to read and he found the place in the book of Isaiah where it was written:
“The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon Me,
Because the LORD has anointed Me
To preach good tidings to the poor;
He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted,
To proclaim liberty to the captives,
And the opening of the prison to those who are bound;
2 To proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD,
And the day of vengeance of our God;
To comfort all who mourn…” Isaiah 61:1-2
After he was finished he returned the scroll to the attendant and sat down. All the eyes of the congregation were on him, and he broke the silence with the amazing words, “Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.” In other words he was saying, Isaiah wrote this about me.
With such a high opinion of himself, it is not surprising that he called people to himself. Jesus did more than offer invitations, he issued commands–“come to me,” “follow me.” He promised to those who came that he would lift their burdens, satisfy their hunger, and quench the thirst of their dry souls (Matt.11:28-30; Jn. 6:35; 7:37). His followers were to believe in him and confess him before men. What is interesting is that these men recognized the right of Jesus to make such steep demands and claims. In the letters of Paul, Peter, James, and Jude they delight to call themselves his slaves. Jesus made himself the object of their faith and love. When most would say “believe in God”, Jesus said “believe in me.” “This is the work of God,” he declared “that you believe in him who he has sent” (John 6). The first and greatest commandment was to love God with all your heart, soul, and mind. Yet Jesus made the outrageous claim that men should supremely love him. Luke 14:26. In one more flash of egocentricity, Jesus predicted: “I, when I am lifted up from the earth, I will draw all men to myself.” Jesus saw his death and trusted in his death as a magnet and door way that would draw people in.
Jesus’ Direct Claims Of Deity
Jesus clearly believed himself to be the Messiah the OT predicted. He had come to establish the kingdom of God that the prophets had promised for hundreds of years. He assumed the title “Son of Man” which was a recognized Messianic title derived originally from the visions of the prophet Daniel and also the accepted descriptions as the “Son of God” a messianic tittle taken from Ps. 2:7. He also interpreted his mission on earth as that of the suffering servant described later in Isaiah, who would bear the weight of the sins of people and ultimately usher in the “new heavens and earth.” Matthew 13:16 records the event of Peter confessing faith in Jesus as the Christ. Peter came to recognize that Jesus was not merely just another prophet that was pointing to something greater, but rather Jesus was the one all the prophets were pointing to. In other words, Jesus was not just another sign post but rather he was the destination all the signs were pointing to. These claims are not just in reference to Jesus’ messiahship but his deity. For example his claim to be the Son of God, described the unique and eternal relationship that with God. We see this first, in the close association with God as his Father. Even as a boy he astonished his human parents by his uncompromising desire to be about his Father’s business. And then he made such statements as the following:
- “But Jesus answered them, “My Father has been working until now, and I have been working.” John 5:17
- “I and My Father are one.” John 10:30
- “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..” John 14:9
“Do you not believe that I am in the Father, and the Father in Me? The words that I speak to you I do not speak on My own authority; but the Father who dwells in Me does the works. Believe Me that I am in the Father and the Father in Me, or else believe Me for the sake of the works themselves.” John 14 :10, 11
We see the implication of this concept of Jesus being the Son of God in the anger of the Jewish leadership in John 19:7, “He made himself the Son of God.” So close was his identification with God that it was natural to equate what people think of him with their attitude toward God. Thus:
- To know him was to know God (John 8:19)
- To see him was to see God (John 14:7)
- To believe in him was to believe in God (John 12:45)
- To receive him is to receive God (14:9)
- To hate him is to hate God (John 12:44)
- To honour him was to honour God (John 14:1)
There are some general claims which he made to a unique relationship to God, and also he made two direct claims. The first is in the eighth chapter of John. In a controversy with the Jews, He said; “Truly truly I say to you whoever keeps my words he will never taste death.” This was too much for his critics. “Abraham died”, they exploded, “as did the prophets;…Are you greater than our Father Abraham…? Who do you claim to be?” “Your father Abraham rejoiced to see my day,” Jesus replied. The Jews were confused. “You are not yet fifty years old, and have you seen Abraham?” Jesus replies with one of the most amazing statements in the NT, “Truly truly I say to you, before Abraham was, I am.” Then they picked up a stone to kill him. In the Law of Moses, stoning was the penalty for blasphemy. Why were Jesus’ words so controversial? First the “I am” claim was one of eternal existence. Secondly, “I am was the divine name of God, revealed to Moses at the burning bush. Thus the tittle here was taken by Jesus himself. In fact, there are 17 “I am” statements in the book of John (5 direct and 12 metaphorical). The second example of a direct claim of deity took place after the resurrection of Jesus, when Thomas went to see Jesus before he would believe that Jesus was alive. Jesus showed up and told Thomas to touch him. Thomas preceded to fall at the feet of Jesus and worship him and cry our “my Lord my God.” Jesus accepted the designation. He rebuked Thomas for unbelief, not for worshiping him.
Jesus Indirect Claims of Deity
Jesus’ claims to deity does not stop at the direct claims but also the indirect claims build a lofty case for Jesus being God. On many occasions Jesus exercised function properly reserved for God. Of these I will mention four:
- The first was the claim that he had the ability to forgive sins. On two separate occasions Jesus forgave a sinner (Mark 2:1-12; Luke 7:36-50). The first time a paralytic was brought to Jesus by his friend through the roof of a house. Jesus saw that his greatest need was spiritual and surprised the crowd by saying to him, “My son your sins are forgiven.” The second instance was a women who was known to be immoral. Jesus was eating a meal in a Pharisee’s house when she came up to him as he reclined at the table, and washed his feet with her tears and dried them with her hair, kissed them, and anointed them with oil. And Jesus said to her, “Your sins are forgiven.” On both cases the bystanders commented, “Who is this? What type of blasphemy is this? Who can forgive sin but God only?”
- The second claim was that he was the source of life. He described himself as the “bread of life”, “the life”, and the “resurrection and the life.” He described the dependance of his followers on him as sustenance that a vine provides to the branches. He offered “living water” to the Samaritan women and eternal life to the rich young ruler if he would follow him. He called himself the good shepherd that not only lays down his life for his sheep but gives them life. He told the people that God had given him authority over all flesh that he should give life. “The Son gives life to whom He wills.” (John 6:35; 14:6; 11:25; 15:4,5; 4:10-15; Mark 10:17, 21; John 10:28; 17:2; 5:21).
- The third claim was that he taught the truth. It was not so much the truth he taught as it was the manner and authority in which he taught them. The people who heard him were impressed with his wisdom. Jesus’ authority was not like a scribe or even the normal prophet. Scribes never taught without quoting their authority. Prophets spoke with the authority of God. But Jesus claimed an authority of His own. His formula was not “Thus says the Lord.”, but “Truly truly I say to you.” He did acknowledge His Father as the source but he spoke with great assurance. He never hesitated or apologized.
- The fourth claim was that he would judge the world. This was probably one of the most fantastic statements of Jesus. Several of his parables (stories that have a deeper spiritual meaning) implied that the end of world would wait for him to return and judge. He will sit on the throne of his glory and the judgement will be committed to him by his Father. Some will be invited to inherit the kingdom and others will hear, “Depart from me you are cursed into the eternal fire” (Matt. 25:31-46). Not only will Jesus be the judge, but criterion for judgment will be how you responded to Jesus.”He who believes in him will have life but those who do not believe are condemned already.” (John 3:16-19).
Jesus’ Dramatized Claims of Deity
Finally we have Jesus’ miracles which have been described as his dramatized claims. We will not argue the purpose and possibility of miracles. But, it is safe to say that the value of Christ’s miracles lies less in their supernatural power and more in spiritual reality. They function as parables of the acts of Jesus. This means that the sign or miracle, like a parable points to a deeper spirituality and reveals facets of the person of Jesus.
John saw this clearly when he constructed his gospel which is constructed around 7 signs that point to who Jesus is in order that you might believe in him. The first sign was the changing of the water to wine at the wedding feast in John 2. The purpose was that we would see the contrast of the dead religion of the Jews with the joy that Jesus was able to create as the Messiah. Similarly the feeding of the 5,000 illustrated his ability to meet the deepest hunger of the human heart. A little later he opened the eyes of a blind man after previously saying, “I am the light of the world.” Finally he brought a man back to life named Lazarus who had been dead for four days and claimed he was “the resurrection and the life.”
Jesus God? So What?
As think through my life and the stages that brought me to where I am at today three profound things in relation to Jesus claim of deity stand out:
- If Jesus is God then I have a tangible expression of God that meets my empirical need to know God.
When I was younger I was a skeptic and to a certain extent I still am today. I needed tangible evidence for my friends claim of God. I want to see God. So for me the notion that Jesus is God was amazing. Now I can see through the scriptures that God was one who love relentlessly, sympathizes immediately, and cares fully for all my needs. He is the God who entered into time and space and proved Himself through His life, death, and resurrection.
- If Jesus is God then I finally have someone to worship that is worthy of all my affections.
Prior to knowing Jesus I was a huge hedonist. I wanted to experience the full extent of pleasure, so I sought to fill my life with sex, drugs, and extreme things. I know now that I really was seeking to fill this deep desire to worship. I needed something that could fill my ravenous soul. The problem was everything I tried fell short and left me empty. But when I was found by Jesus, I for the first time had someone who was worthy of my deep affections. It was precisely because Jesus was God that my infinite desire to express worship was fill in Christ.
- If Jesus is God then I finally have someone that can erase my guilt and failure.
It was not to long before I relieved that I was a failure and a hypocrite. I held people to standard I could not meet myself. I sinned constantly against myself and others. I hurt people. I was selfish. I belittled the standard of God with my life. But if Jesus is God then he is big enough to bear and erase my failure through his death on the cross. He is my only hope to meet God because he is the God who met me in my deepest need.
Jesus is God… Believe by HIS grace!