The following is an actual email that I have sent to a Jewish born and raised non-practicing Jew who had questions regarding the divinity of Christ.
Ted,
Okay, I will show you what the Old Testament said about he deity of the Messiah. I will also show you that Jesus claimed to be the Messiah and that he believed that he was a deity. He repeatedly makes these claims in all of the gospels. Admittedly, John makes very blatant claims regarding his deity more so than the others. Yet, to those who understand what is being said the way the people of Jesus’ time understood him the others are equally convincing.
JESUS WAS WITH GOD AND WAS GOD FROM THE BEGINNING
Jesus is God and he became man. He has been forever and will be forevermore.
Genesis 1:1 “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.”
The Hebrew word for “God” used here is Elohim. It suggests a plural essence of God. Literally: plural of majesty.
Genesis 1:26 “Then God said, ‘Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.’”
Elohim is also used here. The curious “Let us…” further proves the point that The Father is not alone in creation.
John 1:1 "In the beginning was the Word, and Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning."
“The Word” is Jesus. Jesus was with God and was God in the beginning.
John 8:57-59 “ …‘You are not yet fifty years old,’ the Jews said to him, ‘ and you have seen Abraham!’
‘I tell you the truth,’ Jesus answered , ‘before Abraham was born, I am!’ At this, they picked up stones to stone him, but Jesus hid himself, slipping away from the temple guards.”
“I AM” is what God claims of himself in the burning bush to Moses:
Genesis 3:14 “God said to Moses, ‘I AM WHO I AM. This is what you are to say to the Israelites: ‘I AM has sent me to you.’”
The Jews knew what he was saying and wanted to stone him right then and there.
John 6:62 “What if you see the Son of Man ascend to where he was before.”
John 17:5 “…‘And now, Father, glorify me in your presence with the glory I had with you before the world began.’”
Notice that in the two preceding verses Jesus says that he used to live in heaven.
PROPHECY REGARDING THE DEITY OF THE MESSIAH
Isaiah 9:6 “For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders . And he will be call Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.”
Isaiah 7:14 “Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son and will call him Immanuel.” (Immanuel literally means: God is with us. )
Daniel 7:9-14
“‘As I looked, ‘thrones were set in place and the Ancient of Days took his seat. His clothing was as white as snow; the hair of his head was white like wool. His throne was flaming with fire, and its wheels were all ablaze. A river of fire was flowing, coming out from before him. Thousands upon thousands attended him; ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him. The court was seated, and the books were opened.
‘Then I continued to watch because of the boastful words the horn was speaking. I kept looking until the beast was slain and its body destroyed and thrown into the blazing fire. (The other beasts had been stripped of their authority, but were allowed to live for a period of time.)
‘In my vision at night I looked, and there before me was one like a son of man, coming with the clouds of heaven. He approached the Ancient of Days and was led into his presence. He was given authority, glory and sovereign power; all peoples, nations and men of every language worshiped him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that will not pass away, and his kingdom is one that will never be destroyed.”
Micah 5:2
“ ‘But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah though you are small among the clans of Judah, out of you will come for me one who will be ruler over Israel, whose origins are from of old, from ancient times.”
Psalm 8:4-6
“…what is man that you are mindful of him, the son of man that you care for him? You made him a little lower than the heavenly beings and crowned him with glory and honor. You made him ruler over the works of your hands, you put everything under his feet:…”
Psalm 110:1
“The Lord says to my Lord: ‘Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet.’”Jesus challenges the Pharisees view of the Messiah found in Psalm 110:1
Matthew 22:41-45
“While the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked them, ‘What do you think about the Christ? Whose son is he?’
‘The son of David,’ they replied.
He said to them, ‘How is it then that David, speaking by the Spirit, calls him “Lord” ? For he says,
‘The Lord said to my Lord: “Sit at my right hand until I put your enemies under your feet.”
If then David calls him “Lord,” how can he be his son?’”
Jesus claimed to be the Messiah and to have the power of God as the Son of God. While the Jews of Jesus’ time expected the entire Messianic prophecy to be fulfilled entirely in the Messiah’s arrival Jesus said that he would complete his mission in his second coming. It is apparent that the Jews understood the divinity of the Messiah in the following passages.
The demons recognized Jesus as God.
Matthew 8:29 “ ‘What do you want with us, Son of God?’ they shouted. Have you come here to torture us before the appointed time?’”
Peter recognized Jesus as God.
Matthew 16:13-16
“When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, ‘Who do people say the Son of Man is?’
They replied, ‘Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets.’
‘But what about you?’ he asked. ‘Who do you say I am?’
Simon Peter answered, ‘You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.’”
Jesus claims to be God.
Matthew 26:63-66
“But Jesus remained silent.
The high priest said to him, ‘I charge you under oath by the living God: Tell us if you are the Christ, the Son of God.’
‘Yes, it is as you say,’ Jesus replied. “But I say to all of you: In the future you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Mighty One and coming on the clouds of heaven.’
Then the high priest tore his clothes and said, ‘He has spoken blasphemy! Why do we need any more witnesses? Look, now you have heard the blasphemy. What do you think?’
‘He is worthy of death,’ they answered.”
Mark 2:5-11
“When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, ‘Son, your sins are forgiven.’
Now some teachers of the law were sitting there, thinking to themselves, ‘Why does this fellow talk like that? He’s blaspheming! Who can forgive sins but God alone?’
Immediately Jesus knew in his spirit that this was what they were thinking in their hearts, and he said to them, ‘Why are you thinking these things? Which is easier: to say to the paralytic, “Your sins are forgiven,” or to say, “Get up, take your mat and walk?” But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins…’ He said to the paralytic, ‘I tell you, get up, take your mat and go home.’ He got up, took his mat and walked out in full view of them all. This amazed everyone and they praised God, saying, ‘We have never seen anything like this!’”
John 5:27 “And he has given him authority to judge because he is the Son of Man.”
John 10:30
“ ‘…I and the Father are one.’
Again the Jews picked up stones to stone him, but Jesus said to them, ‘I have shown you many great miracles from the Father. For which of these do you stone me?’
‘We are not stoning you for any of these,’ replied the Jews, ‘but for blasphemy, because you, a mere man, claim to be God.’”
John 10:38 “…‘But if I do it, even though you do not believe me, believe the miracles, that you may know and understand that the Father is in me, and I in the Father.’”
John 14:6-7 “Jesus answered, ‘I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you really knew me, you would know my Father as well. From now on, you do know him and have seen him.’”
In our previous conversations you have mentioned that you thought that we were all sons of God. Well, claiming to be the adopted son of God would be something that a person who has been redeemed by Christ’s death could claim. But, as adopted sons who don’t receive our birthright until we die. What Jesus was saying was very different. He was saying that he was the equal of God. The reaction of the high priest says a lot about how powerful Jesus’ statement was (read the Matthew 26:63-66 above). Additionally, Jesus said:
John 3:16 “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”
This verse doesn’t mention multiple sons it says clearly that Jesus is God’s only son. This statement shows that he is equal with God and that he has the power of God. His claim to deity was known by him and those around him. They may not have agreed with him but they knew what he was saying. They had him executed for it.
So far we have established that the Old Testament suggested the Messiah’s deity, that the people of Jesus’ time understood that the Messiah would be divine and that Jesus claimed to be the Messiah and the Son of God. Many further proofs exist about these three truths. Some that I quickly found follow:
2 Samuel 7:12-16 Says that the Messiah would come from the line of David and that his kingdom would last forever. God says he will be his father and that he will be his son. (Isaiah 11:1-3 says similar things)
Matthew 1:16 Jesus is referred to as Christ.
Matthew 3:11 John the Baptist says that Jesus will baptize with the Holy Spirit. Who has the power to give someone the Holy Spirit if not God?
Matthew 3:17 God himself speaks and says that Jesus is his Son.
Matthew 12:8 Jesus is the Lord of the Sabbath. God is the Lord of the Sabbath.
Matthew 25:17-46 Jesus will sit in judgment of sinners.
Mark 1:1 Jesus is the Son of God
Mark 2:28 Jesus is the Son of Man and the Lord of the Sabbath
Mark 11:3 Jesus refers to himself as Lord. This is the same exact word as Lord used to describe God. Jesus is claiming to be God.
Luke 1:32-33 Jesus is the Son of the Most High God and will be given the throne of David.
Luke 2:11 Jesus is proclaimed by an angel to be the Christ (Messiah).
Luke 3:22 God claims Jesus as his Son.
Luke 4:16-21 Scripture fulfilled in your hearing. Jesus claims to be Messiah.
Luke 6:5 Son of man is also Lord of the Sabbath.
Luke 9:20 Peter confesses that Jesus is the Messiah.
Luke 22:66-71 Jesus claims he is the Messiah, the Son of God and that he will sit at the right hand of God (a place of equal position).
John 1:10 The world was made through Jesus
John 1:14 The Word- God became flesh
John 1:18 Jesus is referred to as God
John 1:34 John’s testimony that Jesus is the Son of God
John 3:35 Father places everything in Jesus’ hands
John 5:18 The Jews wanted Jesus dead for referring to himself as the Son of God
John 5:22-23 If we don’t honor Jesus we don’t honor God
I hope that this is helpful to you. Please let me know if you have further questions or challenges. I hope you and you family are well.
God Bless,
Sean
