Before we look at some of the evidence which proves Jesus’ claims to be true, we first look at some of His major claims. That is, we seek to answer the question, “Who did Jesus claim to be?” What things did He say about Himself or how did He respond to what others said about Him.
Below are a few of the claims Jesus made either by stating them Himself or agreeing to them after others had stating them.
He Is The Messiah
By “Messiah” (Christ in the Greek language) we mean, “Anointed One”, a title reserved for the expected King the Jewish people had been anticipating for hundred of years based upon many Old Testament prophecies of a descendant of David who would come and rule over both Jews and Gentiles.
Jesus, while conversing with a Samaritan woman, made this claim of be the awaited Messiah.
JOH 4:16 He said to her, “Go, call your husband, and come here.”
JOH 4:17 The woman answered and said, “I have no husband.”Jesus said to her, “You have well said, ‘I have no husband’;
JOH 4:18 for you have had five husbands, and the one whom you now have is not your husband; this you have said truly. ”
JOH 4:19 The woman said to Him, “Sir, I perceive that You are a prophet.
JOH 4:20 “Our fathers worshiped in this mountain, and you people say that in Jerusalem is the place where men ought to worship.”
JOH 4:21 Jesus said to her, “Woman, believe Me, an hour is coming when neither in this mountain, nor in Jerusalem, shall you worship the Father.
JOH 4:22 “You worship that which you do not know; we worship that which we know, for salvation is from the Jews.
JOH 4:23 “But an hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers shall worship the Father in spirit and truth; for such people the Father seeks to be His worshipers.
JOH 4:24 “God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.”
JOH 4:25 The woman said to Him, “I know that Messiah is coming (He who is called Christ); when that One comes, He will declare all things to us.”
JOH 4:26 Jesus said to her, “I who speak to you am He.”
He Is From Above
Here, Jesus claims that He came from above, Heaven, where God is. Although He took on the form of flesh, He was not of the earth, but was from the Divine realm.
JOH 8:21 ¶ He said therefore again to them, “I go away, and you shall seek Me, and shall die in your sin; where I am going, you cannot come.”
JOH 8:22 Therefore the Jews were saying, “Surely He will not kill Himself, will He, since He says, ‘Where I am going, you cannot come’?”
JOH 8:23 And He was saying to them, “You are from below, I am from above; you are of this world, I am not of this world.
JOH 8:24 “I said therefore to you, that you shall die in your sins; for unless you believe that I am He, you shall die in your sins.”
JOH 8:25 And so they were saying to Him, “Who are You?”Jesus said to them, “What have I been saying to you from the beginning?
JOH 8:26 “I have many things to speak and to judge concerning you, but He who sent Me is true; and the things which I heard from Him, these I speak to the world.”
JOH 8:27 They did not realize that He had been speaking to them about the Father.
JOH 8:28 Jesus therefore said, “When you lift up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am He, and I do nothing on My own initiative, but I speak these things as the Father taught Me.
JOH 8:29 “And He who sent Me is with Me; He has not left Me alone, for I always do the things that are pleasing to Him.”
JOH 8:30 As He spoke these things, many came to believe in Him.
He Is Eternal
Here, Jesus claims that He has always existed. He did not originate at any particular time and He will not cease to exist at any particular time. He applies the same language to Himself that Jehovah applied to Himself in Exodus Chapter 3 when He said that He was “I AM” when Moses had asked Him about what His name was. This was to indicate that He is the eternal God that has always existed. Jesus used the same language in the passage below.
JOH 8:52 The Jews said to Him, “Now we know that You have a demon. Abraham died, and the prophets also; and You say, ‘If anyone keeps My word, he shall never taste of death.’
JOH 8:53 “Surely You are not greater than our father Abraham, who died? The prophets died too; whom do You make Yourself out to be?”
JOH 8:54 Jesus answered, “If I glorify Myself, My glory is nothing; it is My Father who glorifies Me, of whom you say, ‘He is our God’;
JOH 8:55 and you have not come to know Him, but I know Him; and if I say that I do not know Him, I shall be a liar like you, but I do know Him, and keep His word.
JOH 8:56 “Your father Abraham rejoiced to see My day, and he saw it and was glad.”
JOH 8:57 The Jews therefore said to Him, “You are not yet fifty years old, and have You seen Abraham?”
JOH 8:58 Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was born, I am.”
JOH 8:59 Therefore they picked up stones to throw at Him; but Jesus hid Himself, and went out of the temple.
He Is Equal With The Father (God)
Jesus said that He and The Father are “one”. After He said this, the Jewish people reacted by concluding that He was claiming equality with the Father (God). In other words, He was claiming to be Divine. In their view, He was blaspheming.
JOH 10:24 The Jews therefore gathered around Him, and were saying to Him, “How long will You keep us in suspense? If You are the Christ, tell us plainly.”
JOH 10:25 Jesus answered them, “I told you, and you do not believe; the works that I do in My Father’s name, these bear witness of Me.
JOH 10:26 “But you do not believe, because you are not of My sheep.
JOH 10:27 “My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me;
JOH 10:28 and I give eternal life to them, and they shall never perish; and no one shall snatch them out of My hand.
JOH 10:29 “My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand.
JOH 10:30 “I and the Father are one.”
JOH 10:31 ¶ The Jews took up stones again to stone Him.
JOH 10:32 Jesus answered them, “I showed you many good works from the Father; for which of them are you stoning Me?”
JOH 10:33 The Jews answered Him, “For a good work we do not stone You, but for blasphemy; and because You, being a man, make Yourself out to be God.”
JOH 10:34 Jesus answered them, “Has it not been written in your Law, ‘I said, you are gods’?
JOH 10:35 “If he called them gods, to whom the word of God came (and the Scripture cannot be broken),
JOH 10:36 do you say of Him, whom the Father sanctified and sent into the world,’ You are blaspheming,’ because I said,’ I am the Son of God’?
JOH 10:37 “If I do not do the works of My Father, do not believe Me;
JOH 10:38 but if I do them, though you do not believe Me, believe the works, that you may know and understand that the Father is in Me, and I in the Father. ”
JOH 10:39 Therefore they were seeking again to seize Him, and He eluded their grasp.
He Is The ONLY Way To God
Then, Jesus claimed to be the ONLY means that humanity has to reach and have a relationship with God. This would exclude all others along with their religious teachings and ideas.
JOH 14:1 “Let not your heart be troubled; believe in God, believe also in Me.
JOH 14:2 “In My Father’s house are many dwelling places; if it were not so, I would have told you; for I go to prepare a place for you.
JOH 14:3 “And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also.
JOH 14:4 “And you know the way where I am going.”
JOH 14:5 Thomas said to Him, “Lord, we do not know where You are going, how do we know the way?”
JOH 14:6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father, but through Me.
He Is The Complete Revelation of The Father
How do we come to know about God? It is not through our feelings, through associating with some mysterious group who claims to have direct ties to God, communing with nature or by meditating within ourselves. We can only come to know God as we come to know Jesus and what He taught through His apostles. He is the full revelation of God to mankind.
JOH 14:7 “If you had known Me, you would have known My Father also; from now on you know Him, and have seen Him.”
JOH 14:8 Philip said to Him, “Lord, show us the Father, and it is enough for us.”
JOH 14:9 Jesus said to him, “Have I been so long with you, and yet you have not come to know Me, Philip? He who has seen Me has seen the Father; how do you say, ‘Show us the Father’?
He Would Be The One To Die For Our Sins And Be Raised From The Dead
This claim has to do with Jesus being our Savior,m pro9viding the sacrificial death needed so that we might have the oppoturnity to be forgiven of our sins. To confirm that His death would be unique, He claimed that He would be raised from the dead on the third day.
MAT 26:26 ¶ And while they were eating, Jesus took some bread, and after a blessing, He broke it and gave it to the disciples, and said, “Take, eat; this is My body.”
MAT 26:27 And when He had taken a cup and given thanks, He gave it to them, saying, “Drink from it, all of you;
MAT 26:28 for this is My blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for forgiveness of sins.
MAT 26:29 “But I say to you, I will not drink of this fruit of the vine from now on until that day when I drink it new with you in My Father’s kingdom.”
MAT 26:30 ¶ And after singing a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives.
MAT 26:31 ¶ Then Jesus said to them, “You will all fall away because of Me this night, for it is written, ‘I will strike down the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock shall be scattered.’
MAT 26:32 “But after I have been raised, I will go before you to Galilee.”
These are some of Jesus’ claims. Whether we believe them or not, it is clear that Jesus claimed to be more than just a man, a teacher or a prophet. His claims go as far as being God, the Son of God. Jesus did not claim to be an angel or any other created being!
Now, why should we believe these claims that He made? What evidence is there that these claims are true? And, if they are true, what do they mean to each of us as far as our salvation is concerned?
By Gary Hunt
