Did Jesus claim to be the Son of God?

Did Jesus actually claim to be the Son of God?

What are the claims of Jesus Christ? Did he really claim deity and pre-existence? 

This article will focus on the fact that Jesus did indeed claim to be the Son of God. I know there are many people who say that isn’t a claim that Jesus made, I find that quite astounding actually. 

I have read through the Gospel records many times and it’s very clear to see that all the Gospel writers record that Jesus claimed to be the Son of God. 

In Matthew chapter 26 v 63, the High priest speaks to Jesus and says “I adjure thee by the living God, that thou tell us whether thou be the Christ, the Son of God.  Jesus said unto him, Thou hast said” then Matthew records that the High Priest rent his clothes saying that Jesus had spoken blasphemy. What else does the High Priest mean by blasphemy but that Jesus had claimed to be God.

Mark records in chapter five that even the demons cried out to him, ”What have we to do with Thee Jesus Son of God Most High?” Even the demons admitted Jesus was the Son of God. Their description is just ‘Son of God’ but ‘Son of the most High God’. 

Luke records the same incident as Matthew does (Luke 22). He states that they asked Jesus if He was the Christ, the Messiah? The One sent from God? Again, they ask in verse 17, “Art Thou the Son of God?” He says to  them “You say that I AM” which was the Jewish way of confirming the fact. The Jewish leaders knew what He was saying. Scripture goes on to record their words -  “What need have we of further witness? For we ourselves have heard it from His own mouth.” Luke accepts the claim that Jesus is the Son of God. 

The final and most significant witness to the deity of Jesus Christ, the fact that He is God become man, is in John’s Gospel. John was the disciple who was very close to the Lord Jesus and he records intimate details about Jesus’ life. 

The incident is found in John chapter 9. The Lord Jesus met a man who had  been blind since birth and gave him his sight back. The religious hierarchy were very angry that Jesus has done this and tried to make out that Jesus is a sinner. This was because they could not accept that He could do this miraculous act on their religious day, the Sabbath. The healed man is hauled up before them and questioned. His parents are eventually interrogated but they try and get around the issue by saying that the man is old enough to answer for himself. The zealots turn to him and say “give God the praise because we know this man is a sinner. The blind man says whether he be a sinner or not I know not, but one thing I do know is that I was blind, now I see.” 

Now with all the arguments that I or anyone could put to you about God, Jesus and salvation there is one thing that can never be denied - people have had their lives changed through the power of the gospel. Individuals have experienced forgiveness, their sins have been removed and the power of God in their life was able to change and break habits. This is the practical effect of the forgiveness of sins working in their lives. 

You cannot change, you cannot take away from somebody what they have experienced through faith in God and His great salvation. 

The man who received his sight back was eventually thrown out of the religious establishment by the leaders. Jesus came, found him and asked, “Do you believe in the Son of God?” His answer was, “Who is He Lord that I might believe in Him?” What follows are the words of the Lord Jesus that will shock anyone who still claims that Jesus did not say that he was the Son of God. “Who is He Lord?” says the Man, “Who is the Son of God?” Jesus said, “Thou hast both seen Him and it is He that talketh with thee.” 

The man’s response was to worship Him. Worship belongs to God alone but this man realizes that the one who had the power to give him his sight was the Son of God, 

I would like you to consider the questions:

Who was Jesus? 

Why did He die? 

Did He bear the judgement of God upon the cross? 

Did He rise from the dead on the third day? 

He was declared to be the Son of God with power, He died, “that the world through Him might be saved.” John 3:17.  

Here are some personal questions to ponder:

Would you get saved? 

Would you trust Him and know your sins forgiven? 

God wants to forgive us, God wants us to have faith in Him but the choice lies with you. 

Over to you!

God can do anything except sin.

All photos courtesy of Unsplash

Scripture Reading

James 1:13

 

Let no one say when he is tempted, "I am tempted by God"; 

for God cannot be tempted by evil, 

nor does He Himself tempt anyone

If you were debating morals and ethics with your peer group and someone said ‘I have never done anything wrong’ you might be quite surprised and I am sure a discussion would develop. Morality and ethics are complex issues from any angle but especially when we approach it from a subjective point of view. We all have our opinions and are influenced by our ‘worldview’. 

As a Christian, I realise that my world view is often incomplete and inaccurate. Hopefully not because I am stupid but because without the word of God, I do not have access to all of the information that I need to understand the world, past present and future.

In the Bible, God has communicated to us about things that we could not know about from any other source. One amazing revelation God gives us about himself is His inability to sin. The word of God says that God has a flawless character.

This means that God is right in every respect. This covers how he acts, why he acts, matters of motive, intention etc. He is eternally without defect.  This is difficult for flawed human beings to grasp but it is true. Even when we are doing good things and behaving well a sense of pride and superiority can creep into our thinking. Even in His perfection, God is uniquely majestic and noble and yet without conceit.

We naturally find that we react and respond when tempted by sin. There is nothing in the character of God that responds to temptation. Like wood shavings set beside a magnet, there is no pull towards evil. 

It is God’s desire that we replicate His holy character in the way that we live. Give God a chance to make you like him. Spend some time with Him today.