When I was deciding whether or not I should be a Christian, I made sure to read about as many other religions as I could. At first it was overwhelming to compare the teachings of faiths like Islam, Hinduism, and Buddhism to Christianity, but then I noticed they all had one thing I could compare: a teaching about Jesus Christ.
Almost every major world religion has a teaching about the identity of Jesus. Jews say Jesus was a human teacher, Muslims say he was a prophet, and Hindus and Buddhists say Jesus was an “enlightened man.” They all say basically the same thing: Jesus was a great man, but he’s not God. If it turned out that Jesus was God, however, then even though these religions have some good teachings, I knew they couldn’t be God’s revelation. How could they if they failed to teach about the incredible moment when God became man in the person of Jesus Christ?
Isn’t it amazing that even the name Jesus Christ can cause tension and discomfort? Some people say it’s because that name reminds people of negative experiences they had at church or of violent Christian history. But the words “Christianity” or “Catholic Church” don’t cause the same anxiety. I would argue that this name stirs strong feelings in people because the name itself has power. And the name of Jesus has power because the person who bears that name is God in human flesh and has infinite power.
Why should we believe such an incredible claim? Here are three reasons:
1. Jesus believed he was God and he’s someone we can trust.
Jesus saw himself as more than a human prophet or teacher. For example, Buddha said, “Be ye lamps unto yourselves . . . hold fast to the truth as a refuge,” whereas Jesus said, “I am the light of the world” (John 8:12). Jesus also said, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father, but by me” (John 14:6). Another clue to Jesus’ divine identity is that Jesus acted like God. For example, he forgave sins, which is something that only God has the authority to do (Mark 2:5-7). In John 20:28, Jesus’ disciple Thomas addressed him as “My Lord and my God.” Jesus did not correct Thomas, because what Thomas said was true.
In the Hebrew Bible the name of God was considered so sacred it couldn’t be pronounced. Even today many Jews spell the name “God” with a hyphen (“G-d”) in order not to disrespect the name. But in John 8:58, Jesus used that sacred, unpronounceable name of God for himself.
He said that “before Abraham was, I AM,” implying that he eternally existed as God before Abraham, who lived thousands of years earlier. This act infuriated the Jewish leaders and motivated them to kill Jesus for blasphemy. But it wasn’t blasphemous for Jesus to use God’s name, because he is God.
At this point someone might say, “I’ll grant that Jesus wasn’t a liar (since he was a good teacher), and he wasn’t a lunatic (since he was a wise teacher), but maybe he was a legend. How do we know Jesus really said he was God? What if someone added that to the Bible in order to cover up a story about a merely human Jesus?”
This brings us to our next reason.
2. We can trust the New Testament documents.
There currently exist over 5,500 copies of Greek New Testament manuscripts. There are also 15,000 copies written in other languages like Latin, Coptic, and Syriac. The first complete copy of the New Testament can be dated to within 300 years of the original documents. Now, compare this to one of the most famous examples of ancient Greek literature: Homer’s Iliad. It was written in the eighth century B.C. and, although a few fragments of the Iliad can be dated to within 500 years of Homer, the oldest complete copy was written in the tenth century A.D., or 1,800 years later!
Because there were so many copies of the New Testament in the ancient world (including thousands more that didn’t survive to the present day), no single person or group could have gathered them all up and changed the story of Jesus. Also, unlike the biographies of people like Alexander the Great or Buddha, which were written centuries after those figures died, the Bible’s descriptions of Jesus were written within a few decades of his death either by eyewitnesses or people who knew the eyewitnesses to Jesus’ ministry.
The Biblical scholar F.F. Bruce put it bluntly: “There is no body of ancient literature in the world which enjoys such a wealth of good textual attestation as the New Testament.”3. The first Christians worshipped Jesus as God.
The earliest Christian writings show that they believed Jesus was the “image of the invisible God” (Col. 1:15), in whom the fullness of deity dwells bodily (Col. 2:8-9). Jesus had the “form of God” and a name to which every knee shall bend (Phil. 2:5-11). The Bible even calls Jesus “our great God and savior” (Titus 2:13).
When a second-century Roman governor named Pliny the Younger asked Christians to worship the gods of Rome, they refused. In a letter explaining this behavior to the Roman emperor, Pliny said that Christians “were in the habit of meeting on a certain fixed day before it was light, when they sang in alternate verse a hymn to Christ as to a god, and bound themselves to a solemn oath.”
Remember also that the first Christians were converts from Judaism. For over a thousand years the Jewish people made themselves distinct from their pagan neighbors by refusing to worship an animal or a man as God. The Jews of Jesus’ time would never have believed Jesus was God unless his miracles, including his Resurrection from the dead, proved it.
Since Jesus did prove he was God, we can trust him when he says: “I am the resurrection and the life; he who believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and whoever lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this?” (John 11:25-26)
If you haven't read
Why We're Catholic,
do yourself a favor and pick a copy up. Or pick up two, and give one to a friend or family member.This truly is a book that can save someone's (eternal) life.
May 22nd 2024 Trent Horn
FAQs
Many people call him a great moral teacher, a good person who was worthy to be imitated (both very true statements). For Christians, he is the unique Son of God, fully God and fully human, the savior of the world, who came to take away the sins of the world. That's the short answer.
How do you answer the question who is Jesus? ›
Many people call him a great moral teacher, a good person who was worthy to be imitated (both very true statements). For Christians, he is the unique Son of God, fully God and fully human, the savior of the world, who came to take away the sins of the world. That's the short answer.
Where in the Bible did Jesus answer a question with a question? ›
Jesus asks questions that can be easily answered (Matthew 5:13) and questions with no obvious answer (Luke 18:19). And he answers questions with questions of his own, either to drive home a point (Luke 7:42) or to expose duplicity (Mark 12:14–15), or to get people thinking.
What 3 questions did Jesus ask? ›
5 Questions That Jesus Asked
- 1) “Who do you say that I am?” ( Matthew 16:15) ...
- 2) “What do you want me to do for you?” ( ...
- 3) “Why do you call me, 'Lord, Lord,' and do not do what I say?” ( ...
- 4) “When I broke the five loaves for the five thousand, how many basketfuls of pieces did you pick up?” ( ...
- 5) “Do you love me?” (
Respond to the call of Christ. Follow Jesus with repentance and faith. We respond to the call of Christ with repentance and faith. Luke 5:32 says, “I have not come to call the righteous but sinners to repentance.” Repentance is a word that gets a bad rap.
How would you personally answer Jesus's question? ›
If I were a Christian, I might answer Jesus's question by saying, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God." I believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Savior promised in the Old Testament, who came to reconcile humanity with God.
How do we respond to Jesus? ›
This wide variety of responses boils down to one choice: you are either with Jesus or against Him. You believe His claims to be the Son of God and the Savior of humanity, or you don't. You worship Him as God and want Him to be Lord over your life, or you decide to reject Him and be your own boss instead.
Why did John ask Jesus the question? ›
The question being posed here suggests John was grappling with doubt. He has heard about what Jesus has been doing, and he has sent his disciples to Jesus with a question: Are you the one who was to come, or should we look for someone else? In short, John the Baptist was asking if Jesus was really the Messiah.
Did Jesus ever refuse to answer a question? ›
Jesus didn't always answer everyone's questions. Sometimes He refused to answer - and asked a question instead. Matthew records one of these times Jesus refused to answer a question.
What is the greatest question ever asked in the Bible? ›
So having heard what the public was saying about him, Jesus asks his second question, a personal one for the disciples, the question that has been called the greatest question ever asked: “But who do you say that I am?” It was time for Jesus to put the disciples to the test.
In fact he asked a total of 307 of them! The last question he asked while alive was “My God, My God why have you forsaken me?” And Pastor Jon spoke powerfully to that question at our Good Friday service last week.
What was the most important one answered to Jesus? ›
ESV Jesus answered, "The most important is, 'Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. NIV "The most important one," answered Jesus, "is this: 'Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. NASB Jesus answered, 'The foremost is, 'HEAR, ISRAEL!
What are the three things God asks of us? ›
Micah 6:8 is a clear, crisp, and simple summary of what God expects from you and me. These three things that matter so much to God are the three things God wants to see in us: justice, kindness, and humility. To act justly is to treat people fairly and respectfully.
How do I get an answer from Jesus? ›
What Can I Do to Receive Answers from God?
- Evaluate Your Questions. Sometimes I assume that God will simply give me revelation because it's obvious that I need His help and guidance in my life. ...
- Practice Serious Reflection. ...
- Write It Down. ...
- Ask: Is There More? ...
- Invite Revelation. ...
- Move Forward in Faith.
In fact, he hardly ever gave a direct answer to anything. Jesus liked to share his thoughts through parables that required his audience to go away and figure out the answer for themselves. I think that is a really significant thing to understand regarding how we learn from God.
How to hear Jesus talking to you? ›
As we look at this story about Samuel, there are six steps which can take some of the mystery out of hearing the voice of God:
- Position yourself close to God. ...
- Find a place of regular service to God. ...
- Listen for God's voice. ...
- When God calls, respond eagerly. ...
- When God speaks, obey Him. ...
- Read and study the Word of God.
Jesus (born c. 6–4 bce, Bethlehem—died c. 30 ce, Jerusalem) was a religious leader revered in Christianity, one of the world's major religions. He is regarded by most Christians as the Incarnation of God. The history of Christian reflection on the teachings and nature of Jesus is examined in the article Christology.
Who do you say who Jesus is? ›
In Matthew 16:13-25, Jesus asks His disciples who people say the Son of Man is. They answer John the Baptist, Elijah, Jeremiah, or another prophet. He then asks, “But what about you? Who do you say I am?” It's Simon Peter who says, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.”
Who is Jesus according to you? ›
Jesus is the Son of God
Our Heavenly Father sent His Son, Jesus Christ, to take upon Him the sins of everyone who would live on the earth so we could be forgiven. This sacrifice on our behalf was possible because of Jesus's divinity and His perfect life. Jesus was a master teacher and a servant to all.
What does the Bible say who Jesus is? ›
The Scriptures teach that Jesus is God and man at the same time and in a single person. He is not divided into two separate individuals, but is now and always will be both God and man. And the wonderful truth is that He is both of these things for us, as the perfect mediator between God and humanity.
