A few years ago a reporter from our local newspaper called me to ask if I would comment about the interfaith movement in our city and to explain why I did not participate in this increasingly popular alliance. Just so you understand what they mean by an interfaith movement, let me read you a portion of the article that was front-page news a few days later when it came out.
“…people of widely divergent faiths—Christians, Jews, Muslims, Buddhists and Hindus—prayed together during an Interfaith Encounter…Tri-State pastors from about 20 denominations have been praying together regularly for months…Downtown congregations—Protestant and Catholic—get together each year to observe Ash Wednesday…And coming Tuesday, a newly formed Religious Club…conducts only the fourth meeting of a group that wishes to ‘treat all religions as valuable’...What gives? Are religions burying the hatchet? Are they getting along nowadays better than they used to? …Cooperation, like it or not, is increasing…” (Herald-Dispatch, Saturday, March 10, 2001, Faith Work On Cooperation)
As you can imagine, I perused the article with great interest to see how the comments I had made would be utilized. In the process of reading I came across this quote by an Episcopal minister who was one of the coordinators of this interfaith encounter. Assuming the reporter accurately represented his statement, this is what it said…
“Verses that proclaim the exclusivity of Jesus as the Messiah—such as John 14:6—don’t really say what readers think they say,’ (according to this pastor). ‘No man cometh to the father but by me is a quote from the fourth gospel, which was written 65 years after the death of Jesus,’ he says. ‘The New Testament includes stories about Jesus, but all these stories don’t quote the exact words of Jesus. The gospels show how the writers interpreted him; they made him say things he never said.” And then he said, “Jesus never claimed to be divine.”
- Jesus did claim to be God
That is either a statement of ignorance, deceit, or more likely, a denial of the Scriptures’ inspiration because it does record for us that Jesus claimed to be God in the flesh. Look at a couple of them with me:
Then the Jews took up stones again to stone Him. Jesus answered them, “Many good works I have shown you from My Father. For which of those works do you stone Me?” The Jews answered Him, saying, “For a good work we do not stone You, but for blasphemy, and because You, being a Man, make Yourself God.” (John 10:30-33)
Jesus said to them, “Most assuredly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I AM.” Then they took up stones to throw at Him; but Jesus hid Himself and went out of the temple, going through the midst of them, and so passed by. (John 8:58-59; cf. Exodus 3:14; Isaiah 43:10)
And now, O Father, glorify Me together with Yourself, with the glory which I had with You before the world was. (John 17:5)
- Called the “Son of Man”
In addition, every time Jesus refers to Himself as the “Son of Man” (this was His favorite self-designation - found more than 80 times in the Gospels), He was making a claim to deity. This is a title that clearly distinguished Him as being God because this designation equated Him with the Divine Messiah prophesied in the Old Testament (Daniel 7:13-14).
Hank Hanegraaff writes in his book Christianity In Crisis, “Every orthodox scholar in the 2000-year history of the church has recognized that when Jesus called Himself ‘the Son of Man,’ He was indeed claiming to be God. During the incarnation, Jesus was 100 percent God as well as 100 percent man. He did not lay aside His divine attributes. To say that Jesus surrendered even one attribute of divinity is to assert that Jesus Christ is less than God and is therefore not God at all.
While Christ voluntarily veiled His divine glory (Philippians 2:5-11), Scripture insists that He did not surrender His divine attributes.” (Hank Hanegraaff, Christianity In Crisis, p. 140)
- Called the “Son of God”
There is also the matter of the number of times that Christ was referred to as the “Son of God,” which is a title He never refused to accept. Satan and the demons called Him by this designation (Mark 3:11; Luke 4:3). The disciples referred to Him in the same manner (Matthew 16:16). Caiaphas challenged Him about the title and Christ acknowledged that it was true (Matthew 26:63-64) and God the Father used it of Him (Mark 1:11; 9:7).
- “Equal with God” was His claim
In the miracle of John 5:1-18, Jesus was clearly understood by His Jewish opponents as claiming to be God. Following the healing of the lame man, the religious leaders sought to persecute Jesus because He had performed this miracle on the Sabbath. When He responded to them, He said,
But Jesus answered them, “My Father has been working until now, and I have been working.” Therefore the Jews sought all the more to kill Him, because He not only broke the Sabbath, but also said that God was His Father, making Himself equal with God. (John 5:17-18)
- The need for additional witnesses
There can be no denying that Christ claimed to be God! But, in accordance with Jewish law He called other witnesses to testify on His behalf (John 5:31-47; Deuteronomy 17:6; 19:15; 2 Corinthians 13:1; 1 Timothy 5:19-21; Hebrews 10:28-29).
He called as witnesses:
1. John the Baptist (v. 33; cf. John 1:19-34)
And I have seen and testified that this is the Son of God. (1:34)
2. His miraculous works (v. 36; cf. John 3:2; 9:30-33)
Water to wine, feeding of the 5000, lame man healed, dead raised, healing of the blind. The healing of the blind was the most often recorded miracle of Jesus Christ and was intended to demonstrate that Christ was the Messiah in fulfillment of Old Testament prophecy (Isaiah 29:18; 35:5; 42:7).
3. God the Father (37)
- His inner witness (1 John 5:9-12)
- His written witness (v.38 -- the Old Testament prophets)
- His verbal witness (Matthew 3:17; 17:5)
4. The Scriptures (v.39)
In Genesis He is the seed of the woman;
In Exodus He is the Passover lamb;
In Leviticus He is the anointed high priest;
In Numbers He is the brazen serpent;
In Deuteronomy He is the prophet like Moses;
In Joshua He is the captain of the Lord’s host;
In Judges He is the messenger of the Lord;
In Ruth He is the kinsman redeemer;
In 1 Samuel He is the great Judge;
In 2 Samuel He is the seed of David;
In 1 Kings He is the Lord God of Israel;
In 2 Kings He is the God of the cherubim;
In 1 Chronicles He is the God of our salvation;
In 2 Chronicles He is the God of our fathers;
In Ezra He is the Lord of Heaven and earth;
In Nehemiah He is the covenant keeping God;
In Esther He is the God of providence;
In Job He is the risen and returning redeemer;
In Psalms He is the Holy One of Israel;
In Proverbs He is the wisdom of God;
In Ecclesiastes He is the One above the sun;
In Song of Solomon He is the chief among ten thousand;
In Isaiah He is the virgin born Immanuel;
In Jeremiah He is the Lord of righteousness;
In Lamentations He is the faithful and compassionate God;
In Ezekiel He is the Lord is there;
In Daniel He is the Son of Man;
In Hosea He is the King of the resurrection;
In Joel He is the giver of the Spirit;
In Amos He is the plumbline;
In Obadiah He is the destroyer of the proud;
In Jonah He is the longsuffering One;
In Micah He is the Bethlehem born;
In Nahum He is the avenging God;
In Habakkuk He is the everlasting, pure, glorious, and anointed One;
In Zephaniah He is the King of Israel;
In Haggai He is the desire of all nations;
In Zechariah He is the pierced One;
In Malachi He is the sun of righteousness;
In Matthew He is the King of the Jews;
In Mark He is the humble servant;
In Luke He is the perfect man;
In John He is the eternal God;
In Acts He is the ascended Lord;
In Romans He is the Lord of righteousness;
In 1 Corinthians He is our resurrection;
In 2 Corinthians He is the God of all comfort;
In Galatians He is the redeemer from the Law;
In Ephesians He is the head of the church;
In Philippians He is the supplier of every need;
In Colossians He is the fullness of the Godhead;
In 1 Thessalonians He is the coming Christ;
In 2 Thessalonians He is the consuming Christ;
In 1 Timothy He is the Savior of sinners;
In 2 Timothy He is the author of Scripture;
In Titus He is our great God and Savior;
In Philemon He is the payer of our debt;
In Hebrews He is the heir of all things;
In James He is the great physician;
In 1 Peter He is the chief shepherd;
In 2 Peter He is the beloved Son;
In 1 John He is our propitiation;
In 2 John He is the Son of the Father;
In 3 John He is the truth;
In Jude He is the preserver and only wise God;
In Revelation He is the King of Kings and Lord of Lords.
5. Moses (vv. 45-46)
- Specific Passages (Genesis 3:15; 22:18; 49:10; Numbers 24:17; Deuteronomy 18:15)
- Spiritual Types (Passover, manna, the rock, offerings)
These are not all the witnesses to Christ’s deity. Consider two others with me:
6. The Holy Spirit (John 16:14)
7. The Resurrection (Romans 1:3-4)
What if we awoke to read these headlines from Jerusalem? “Dateline Jerusalem: On the eve of the annual celebration of the resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth, the 1 million inhabitants of this city were shocked by the announcement that a body, identified as that of Jesus, was found in a long-neglected tomb just outside the boundary of the city. Rumors had been circulating the last week that a very important discovery was about to be announced. The news, however, far outstrips all of our wildest guesses. The initial reaction of Christians here and around the world has been one of astonishment, bewilderment, and defensive disbelief. We will have to wait and see just what effect this discovery will have on the 2,000-year-old religion. To the mind of this unbelieving writer, it appears that Christianity will have to take its place on the same level with the other religions of the world. No longer can its followers claim that, unlike other religions, the tomb of its founder is empty. Evidently a 2,000-year-old lie has come to an end.” (Michael P. Green, 1500 Illustrations for Biblical Preaching, pp. 303-304)
The fact is that they cannot produce a body nor have they ever been able to do so because Christ is alive and He is seated at the right hand of the Father.
Adam Clark writes, “The resurrection of Christ from the dead was such a manifest proof of our Lord's innocence, the truth of his doctrine, and the fulfillment of all that the prophets had spoken, as to leave no doubt on any considerate and candid mind.” (Adam Clark Commentary, Romans 1:4)
John MacAuthur writes, “As Paul goes on to explain, the most conclusive and irrefutable evidence of Jesus’ divine sonship was given with power by the resurrection from the dead. By the supreme demonstration of His ability to conquer death, a power belonging only to God Himself (the Giver of life), He established beyond all doubt that He was indeed God, the Son.” (John MacAuthur, Romans, p.16)
R.C. Sproul writes, “When God declares the unique sonship of Jesus, He does not drop subtle hints here and there or offer esoteric suggestions that only the most brilliant of theologians can figure out. The evidence that God gave to confirm the claim of Jesus to be the Son of God is the resurrection.” (R.C. Sproul, The Gospel of God: Romans, p.21)
D. L. Moody lived over 100 years ago. Whenever he would preach, newspaper editors would send stenographers to take down his messages and print them in the next day’s paper. He preached to hundreds of thousands of people in his lifetime and many thousands were saved. On one occasion he met a man who professed to be an atheist and this is what he said…
“I once was talking with an atheist in my hometown, and I got him to read the New Testament. He came back in a few days and said, ‘Mr. Moody, I have taken your advice and read the life of Jesus Christ, and I have come to the conclusion that John the Baptist was a greater character than Jesus Christ.’ Well,’ I said, ‘you go through the countries and preach in the name of John the Baptist, and I will follow, and preach in the name of Jesus Christ, and I venture to say that I will win more converts than you.’ ‘Oh, well,’ he said, ‘of course you would, because people are very superstitious.’ ‘No, that’s not the reason,’ I replied. ‘When they buried John the Baptist he hasn’t gotten out of the grave yet. But when they buried the Son of God the grave could not hold Him. He rose again. We don’t worship a dead Christ. He is a glorified Christ.’”
What does all this mean to you and me? Read: Acts 13:29-39
Because He is alive we preach the “forgiveness of sins...”
- For the believer this means your sins are gone forever, removed by the living Christ who died and rose again for you.
- For the unbeliever this means that you can be forgiven today if you will only come to the living Christ in faith.
